How A Piece Of Bread Is The Answer To A Smokey Air Fryer

Air fryers are undoubtedly versatile, allowing people to cook just about anything they can put in the oven. The number of unexpected foods you can throw in your air fryer is shocking. We're talking bacon and sausage, fried pickles, and pizza rolls. 

One downside to the air fryer is that it has a tendency to smoke when cooking something greasy, particularly when cooking meat at higher temperatures. The grease can drip down through the airflow holes at the bottom of the fryer dripping directly onto the bottom of the air fryer above the heating element — and then come right back up as thick fumes. Not only is it unpleasant, there's a real risk your appliance could catch fire. 

Thankfully, among the handy must-know air-fryer hacks is a trick to prevent just that. When cooking something greasy, simply put a slice of bread in the drip pan of your air fryer. The bread absorbs dripping grease, thereby reducing the smoky side effect and making cleanup easier. Just be careful that it doesn't mess with the airflow essential to air fryer cooking. Avoid blocking the air holes, and you should be good to go.

This air-fryer hack is one of the best ways to use up stale bread. It's also a great use for the oft-neglected bread heels. Just don't expect to eat the fat-soaked bread as is. You could simply toss it in the garbage once it's cool enough to handle. But that sounds like a waste of food (albeit food that was potentially bound for the garbage anyway). If you have dogs, they probably wouldn't say no to a greasy snack. But there are a few ways you can use it, especially since it should be well on its way to crispy when the air fryer is done.

If the grease it soaked up is of the delicious variety, you can save it to use on tomorrow's lunch sandwich. Bacon grease isn't the only mayo swap for unforgettable BLTs, but it might be the best. You can also cube the bread and pop it straight back into the air fryer to finish turning into croutons.