Just realized I'm stuck between two ways to prep kale for air fryer chips

I've been hooked on making kale chips in my air fryer as a healthy snack after my shifts, but I can't settle on the best prep method. Some folks online say to just rinse the kale and give it a good shake to remove most water before adding oil and salt. Others swear you have to pat each leaf completely dry with paper towels to get that perfect crisp. I tried the shake method last week, and parts of the batch came out soggy because the water steamed in the fryer. When I dried every leaf thoroughly yesterday, the chips were amazing but it took so much time. Now I'm debating if the quicker way is worth risking uneven chips or if I should always go for the dry approach. What do you all think? Is there a middle ground I'm missing?

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3 Comments

cameron_johnson787mo ago

Derek's salad spinner idea saved me from the same soggy kale mess. I spin mine twice and let it sit on a towel for five minutes before oiling. Have you tried adding a quick towel press after spinning?

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shanefisher6mo ago

So @knight.derek basically turned us all into salad spinner scientists, huh? My kitchen towel is now a full-time kale press.

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knight.derek7mo ago

Yeah that part about water steaming in the fryer is so real. I had the same soggy mess happen when I was in a rush and just gave the kale a shake. Half of it was stuck together in a wet clump. Now I use a salad spinner for like a full minute, way better than patting every leaf. Still get a few limp pieces but most of the batch crisps up fine.

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