They had the crispiest shell out of them all.īoth the microwave and toaster-oven nuggets were mushy. They were browned and looked like they were broiled, with some flecks of darker breadcrumbs. They also had a crisp outer shell that I had been hoping for.Īir fryer: Much like the nuggets from the oven, these nuggets came out darker, fluffier, and crispier than the first two methods. I'm not sure why I was surprised, but they puffed up to create a fluffier final product. It also had a lighter color than the oven baked and air fried nuggets.Ĭonvection oven: These nuggets had a more appealing, browned look to them. However, the breading was still not crisp. Toaster oven: This produced a nugget that felt a bit firmer. They were also very limp and the breadcrumbs had a wet, mushy texture. ![]() While they look dark photographed, they were pretty pale in person. Microwave: The biggest difference was that these chicken nuggets looked as though they had shrunk. Victoria Montalti/Insiderįrom appearance and texture alone, the chicken nuggets looked pretty similar from every cooking method. The cooked nuggets looked similar, but the microwaved ones looked pale and shrunken and the air-fried ones looked broiled. The different methods gave the nuggets a similar appearance, but I thought the microwaved ones looked very unappetizing. While it's typically suggested that you should shake small foods like french fries halfway through cooking, Perdue didn't suggest this for the nuggets. I then sprayed PAM on the basket plate before adding the nuggets. While I've cooked fresh ingredients and meals in the air fryer, I hadn't used it to heat up frozen foods before this attempt, so I was excited to test the chicken nuggets.Īmerica's Test Kitchen's Dan Zuccarello clarified to Insider's Marisel Salazar in 2021 that an air fryer is a "mini-convection oven that cooks food by circulating hot air around it with a fan." He also thinks it's great for frozen foods, like chicken nuggets, and freezer meals.Īs per the instructions, I preheated my PowerXL Vortex Air Fryer to 400 degrees, which only takes three minutes. I preheated the air fryer before spraying it with PAM and setting the nuggets to cook. ![]() I first tested the microwaving method, which I was very wary about. With some standard frostbite on the chicken from my freezer, I followed all the instructions that suggested adding some additional time to the heating processes. And despite the package combining the instructions for ovens and toaster ovens, I couldn't believe that both methods would turn out the same. ![]() However, I was pretty sure the microwave would create a lackluster or even unpalatable nugget. I was also confident that the air fryer would make the chicken really crispy. Victoria Montalti/InsiderĪlthough I knew I wanted to heat up some nuggets in an air fryer, I was shocked that there were actually conversion instructions on the package dedicated to the trendy appliance.įrom the package's proclaimed preferred method of using a conventional oven, I had high hopes for my own oven. The frozen chicken package included directions for how to heat them in an oven or toaster oven, a microwave, and surprisingly, an air fryer.
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