The Ultimate Guide on How to Cook Perfect Bacon in a Cosori Air Fryer

Cooking bacon to crispy, mouthwatering perfection can be a hassle on the stovetop The splattering oil, constant monitoring, and lingering smell make traditional bacon cooking a chore However, with the Cosori air fryer, you can make crispy bacon easily and quickly.

As an avid home cook and Cosori air fryer owner, I’ve perfected the art of cooking bacon in this game-changing appliance After plenty of trials resulting in undercooked, rubbery, and burnt bacon, I developed a foolproof method for cooking bacon flawlessly every time.

In this comprehensive guide I’ll walk you through my tips tricks, and steps for cooking bacon in the Cosori air fryer. I’ll cover everything from choosing the right bacon to temperatures, cook times, and best practices for crispy, evenly cooked bacon without the mess and hassle of the stovetop. After reading, you’ll be able to whip up restaurant-quality bacon from the comfort of your kitchen. Let’s get cooking!

How to Choose the Best Bacon for the Cosori Air Fryer

Not all bacon is created equal. Choosing the right type of bacon is key to achieving the perfect crispy texture in the air fryer. Here are the best cuts of bacon for air frying:

• Thick-cut bacon: The thicker the better! Thick slices of 1⁄4 inch or more hold up best in the air fryer. Thinner bacon will overcook and burn quickly.

• Center-cut bacon: This comes from the leaner part of the pork belly with less fat. Center-cut results in bacon that is crispy, not greasy.

• Applewood smoked or maple bacon: The flavors infused in these bacons add an extra layer of taste.

• Avoid pre-cooked bacon: You want raw bacon with no nitrates or weird additives. Check the ingredients!

Stick with high-quality, raw, thick-cut bacon and avoid anything too thin or overly processed. This ensures the best air fryer results.

Dial in the Right Temperature

Setting the air fryer to the proper preheat temperature is imperative for cooking bacon correctly. After testing every temperature under the sun, I found 390° F to be ideal. This gives just enough heat to render the fat slowly while crisping up the bacon evenly.

Cranking the air fryer up too high causes the bacon to burn on the outside before the inside cooks through. Too low of a temp and your bacon will never get crispy. 390° F is the sweet spot.

Don’t Overcrowd the Basket

One of the biggest mistakes people make is trying to cook too much bacon at once in the air fryer. Just like baking cookies, overcrowding causes uneven cooking.

I recommend cooking no more than 4 slices of bacon at a time in a typical 5.8 qt Cosori air fryer basket. Overloading the basket steams the bacon instead of crisping.

Cook bacon in batches to allow proper air flow and cripsing. This also allows you to monitor each batch and remove them at the perfect level of doneness.

Use a Baking Rack for Best Results

To optimize air flow and drainage of rendered bacon fat, I highly recommend using a baking rack inside the air fryer. The rack suspends the bacon up out of the collected grease allowing air to circulate all around.

A basic wire rack designed for the Cosori air fryer fits perfectly. The rack also makes the bacon easier to flip half way through cooking.

Keep an Eye on Cook Time

The amount of time needed to cook bacon in the air fryer depends on the thickness of the cut and how crispy you like your bacon. Thinner cut bacon will be done faster.

For thick cut bacon I recommend 8-10 minutes at 390°F, flipping the bacon halfway through cooking. Start checking for doneness at the 8 minute mark.

The bacon should darken in color, shrink up a bit, and feel crispy. If not, cook for 2 minutes more and check again until desired crispness is reached. Remember, it will continue to crisp up a bit after removing from the hot air fryer.

Let it Cool Before Eating

This is one of the biggest mistakes I see people make with air fryer bacon. As soon as the timer beeps, they dig in devouring what seems like perfectly cooked crispy bacon. But moments later as it cools it turns limp.

After removing the bacon from the air fryer, let it rest on a paper towel for 2-3 minutes. This allows the bacon to finish cooking and the oils to settle, ensuring it stays nice and crispy once cooled.

Pat the bacon with paper towels to drain excess grease for service. Now it’s ready to enjoy!

Clean-Up is a Breeze

One of the best benefits of cooking bacon in the air fryer is easy clean-up. Unlike the stovetop, there is no splattering grease covering your entire kitchen. All the oil drips to the bottom of the air fryer safely out of reach.

Once cooled, the air fryer basket and rack can be removed and cleaned easily by hand or placed in the dishwasher. A quick wipe of the fryer drawer with a paper towel, and you are done. It doesn’t get much easier than that!

Helpful Tips and Tricks

• Chilling the bacon for 10-15 minutes before air frying helps it hold its shape better once cooked.

• Rubbing each slice lightly with brown sugar gives a candied texture.

• For perfectly flat, uniform bacon, place another wire rack on top to weigh it down while cooking.

• Add smoked paprika, cayenne, garlic powder, or red pepper flakes to the bacon before cooking for a kick of flavor.

• Make a big batch and freeze individual slices to reheat as needed for breakfast sandwiches and BLTs.

• Bake the cooked bacon on a wire rack set on a sheet pan at 400°F for 5 minutes to reheat and recrisp leftover bacon.

Get Creative with Air Fried Bacon

While air fryer bacon is delicious eaten on its own, don’t be afraid to get creative with recipes:

• Crumble it over salads, baked potatoes or mac and cheese for a smoky crunch.

• Make candied bacon by brushing slices with brown sugar syrup before air frying.

• Wrap bacon around Brussels sprouts, pineapple chunks or shrimp before cooking.

• Top nachos, chili dogs, loaded fries or baked potatoes with crumbled bacon.

• Transform bacon into bacon jam to top burgers.

The possibilities are endless when you have perfectly cooked crispy bacon ready to go. The Cosori air fryer makes whipping up batches easy and mess-free.

Thanks to the Cosori air fryer, I now prefer making bacon at home over buying pre-cooked bacon. I have total control over getting it cooked just how I like it with no mess to clean up.