Beef jerky strips in an air fryer
Marinated — the short answer
70°C (158°F) for 300–420 min
- For
- about 6mm at the thickest point
- In
- Multicooker with air fry
- Published for
- Ninja Foodi MAX Health Grill & Air Fryer AG551UK
- Preheat
- Not needed
- Check
- Bends and cracks along the fold rather than snapping cleanly
Five to seven hours at 70°C for 6mm strips marinated overnight.
Marinated
The quick answer
70°C (158°F) for 300–420 min
Published range of five to seven hours for 6mm slices. The chart prints no amount.
- Assuming
- about 6mm at the thickest point
- In
- Multicooker with air fry
- Published for
- Ninja Foodi MAX Health Grill & Air Fryer AG551UK
- Preheat
- Not needed
- Result
- Cooked but dry
Preparation
Cut in 6mm slices and marinated overnight, as the row prints.
How to tell it is done
- Bends and cracks along the fold rather than snapping cleanly
- No moist patch in the middle when torn
Where these figures came from — marinated
- Applies to
- Specific to this model
- Why this rating
- A published dehydrating row, held as the chart prints it. The chart has no amount column, so the slice the row prints is the only measure it gives, and a few rows do not print one. The manufacturer's booklet states separately that the appliance does not preheat in this mode.
- Last reviewed
- 2026-08-13
What this does not cover
- Published by the manufacturer for this appliance. It is evidence about this machine and is not general advice.
- Dehydrating removes water without cooking. Nothing here is a cooking time and none of these figures brings food to a safe temperature.
- Dehydrating does not bring meat to a safe temperature. This is a texture instruction only, and jerky made from raw meat is not covered by any food-safety rule in this catalogue.
Sources (1)
Ninja Foodi MAX Health Grill & Air Fryer AG551UK — Inspiration Guide and cooking charts (PDF)
SharkNinja Europe Limited — Manufacturer cooking chart (United Kingdom)
Relied on for: The temperature, time and quantity for beef jerky strips.
States this directly
Passage read and verified
Retrieved 2026-08-13 from argos-support.co.uk
Retrieved from Argos's manual library for Argos product 735/0124, published alongside the instruction booklet as a second document.
What usually goes wrong
Uneven drying across the batch, because strips cut by hand are never all the same thickness and drying time scales steeply with it. Slicing against the grain also decides whether the result is chewable or leathery.
Running the appliance safely
The rules for the machine are the same whatever is in it: plug it straight into a wall socket, leave clear space round it, do not overfill it, do not leave it running unattended, and unplug it at black smoke or an electrical smell. They are set out once, each with its source and what to do if it has already happened, and not repeated on every food. Every rule for running an air fryer safely.
Beef in fast-moving hot air
A steak in an air fryer is a compromise: moving hot air browns a surface well but not as fast or as hard as a pan, so the centre gains temperature during the time the crust takes to form. Thickness therefore decides whether air frying is the right tool at all — thick cuts do well, thin ones overcook before they colour.
Where to go from here
The pages that answer the questions this one tends to raise.
- How food actually gets crispyWhy patting it dry, spacing it out and a little oil are all the same instruction — so you can apply it when a page runs out.
- Why published timings differIf another chart says something else, this is usually why — and which one to believe.
Easily confused with
- Chicken jerky strips — A different cooking problem with a different answer.