Use An Air Fryer To Bring Your Leftover Taquitos Back To Life
The air fryer is the perfect example of how important a name is in marketing. It's also a cautionary tale about how it can limit your customers' perceptions and expectations. The hugely popular kitchen appliance was sold to the public as a seemingly magical way to fry food with air instead of grease. Really, it's just a brilliantly designed convection oven that is fast and effective. Sure, it's ideal for heating chicken fingers and French fries, but it can do a lot more. For instance, it can resurrect those leftover taquitos and make them taste just as good as the day they were first cooked.
Essentially, taquitos are mini open-end burritos that are rolled up and deep-fried. Cooking them with an air fryer gives the treat a crispy shell with a warm and tender filling. The appliance circulates hot air around leftover taquitos to quickly heat the exterior. This can revitalize soggy taquitos, making them crisp and crunchy again. The entire process takes just a couple of minutes to complete — depending on your air fryer and the settings you choose.
What to remember when reheating taquitos in an air fryer
Most air fryers have more than one setting, allowing the user to choose where to focus the heat, how hot to make the cooking chamber, and how long the food is bathed in that circulating hot air. If you don't have a mode feature that lets you select "reheat," you can get there by lowering the temperature and extending the time. Even the most basic air fryer can cook your taquitos to perfection, whether you want them warmed up (low and slow) or extra crispy (hot and fast). However, if you haven't experimented with your air fryer, it may take a little trial and error to get the texture and temperature you desire.
The other essential thing to remember when reheating leftover taquitos is an air fryer cooks much faster than a conventional oven. While it might take 15 minutes at 350 degrees to warm up taquitos in the oven, an air fryer will give you the best results in about two minutes, so if this is your first time using this method, be extremely careful about overcooking.