Salmon fillet in an air fryer

Manufacturer figures with no state given

Each of these is a published figure for one named machine. The manufacturer does not say whether this is fresh or frozen. So they are kept apart from the figures above, and not used as the answer for any of them.

• Cookworks 9L Dual Air Fryer: 190°C for 12 min

  A single printed figure for a 170 g fillet. No thickness is printed.

• Russell Hobbs SatisFry Air Fryer & Grill Multi Cooker 5.5L: 180°C for 8–12 min

  Published range, brushed with oil and seasoned.

• Russell Hobbs SatisFry Air Fryer & Grill Multi Cooker 5.5L: 230°C for 5–8 min

  Published range for Grill, with 120-140g printed in the remarks cell.

• Ninja Foodi MAX Health Grill & Air Fryer AG551UK: 260°C for 6–8 min

  Published range for six salmon fillets of 130g each.

• Tefal Easy Fry Max EY245B40 5L Air Fryer: 140°C for 15–17 min

  A published 350g of salmon fillet. The same figure this manufacturer publishes for its 4.2-litre model.

• Tefal Easy Fry Dual Drawer 8.3L Air Fryer & Grill — Drawer 1: 200°C for 8–10 min

  The table's own 8–10 minutes for up to four fillets in drawer 1 of the Tefal Easy Fry Dual Drawer. It does not say what moves the time within that. The manufacturer does not state whether these are fresh or frozen.

• Tefal Easy Fry Dual Drawer 8.3L Air Fryer & Grill — Drawer 2: 200°C for 8–10 min

  The table's own 8–10 minutes for up to two fillets in drawer 2 of the Tefal Easy Fry Dual Drawer. It does not say what moves the time within that. The manufacturer does not state whether these are fresh or frozen.

• Tefal Dual Easy Fry Flex 9L EY9228G1 — Zone 1, with the divider in: 200°C for 8–10 min

  Tefal Dual Easy Fry Flex, zone 1, the larger side, with the divider in: up to 4 fillets.

• Tefal Dual Easy Fry Flex 9L EY9228G1 — Zone 2, with the divider in: 200°C for 8–10 min

  Tefal Dual Easy Fry Flex, zone 2, the smaller side, with the divider in: up to 2 fillets.

• Tefal Dual Easy Fry Flex 9L EY9228G1 — The whole drawer, with the divider out: 200°C for 8–10 min

  Tefal Dual Easy Fry Flex, the whole drawer, with the divider out: 1 kg. Given as a weight where the zones are given as a count; the time does not change.

Questions people ask about salmon fillet

Skin side up or skin side down?

Skin side down for moist fish that lifts off cleanly: the skin shields the flesh from the hot plate and is what sticks instead of the fillet. It will not crisp underneath, though. For crisp skin, dry it well and cook it skin side up, facing the element.A general cooking principle, not a measurement.

What is the white stuff that comes out of salmon?

Albumin, a protein in the fish that is pushed to the surface as the flesh tightens, where it sets white. It is harmless. A lot of it means the fish was cooked hard or for too long, so it is a useful sign to shorten the next cook.A general cooking principle, not a measurement.

Do I need to turn salmon over?

No. None of the manufacturers' rows held for salmon asks for a turn, and a fillet is fragile enough that turning it is more likely to break it than to improve it. Leave it where it is and lift it out with a wide spatula.From the figures on this page.

How do I stop salmon sticking?

Oil the fish, not the plate, and leave the fillet alone until it has set: cooked fish releases, half-cooked fish tears. Do not use an aerosol cooking spray on the plate, which builds up on non-stick coatings.A general cooking principle, not a measurement. Food sticking to the basket

What usually goes wrong

Chalky and dry, with white albumin beaded across the surface. Salmon's window is narrow and the appliance is fast; two minutes too long is visible on the plate.

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.

Salmon in fast-moving hot air

Salmon's fat keeps the flesh moist across a wider window than lean white fish, but its proteins set within a narrow temperature band and squeeze out moisture sharply once they do — the white albumin that beads on the surface is that happening. Skin crisps readily in moving hot air, better than in a pan, because the air removes moisture from all sides rather than only where it touches metal.

More on salmon

Where to go from here

The pages that answer the questions this one tends to raise.

• Using a thermometer, and where to put itThe times above are for a piece that is not the one you are holding. A probe measures yours, which is what the safety rule on this page asks for.
• 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.
• Cooking from frozenUsually cooler and longer than the same food fresh, and never worked out from the fresh figure.
• Reheating leftoversA different question governed by a different rule — steaming hot throughout, and only once.
• Why published timings differIf another chart says something else, this is usually why — and which one to believe.
• Do you need to preheat an air fryer?The manufacturers disagree, in writing, in their own manuals. That is the answer, and this page shows you which of them is talking about a machine like yours.
• Why air fryers dry food out, and what to do about itThe mechanism that makes the outside crisp is the mechanism that makes the inside dry. They are not separable, only manageable.
• Single basket or dual zone?Two drawers buy you independence, not capacity. Whether that is worth the worktop depends on whether your problem is quantity or variety.

If it went wrong

What tends to go wrong with salmon fillet, each with the fastest thing to check first.

• Food sticks to the basket — Cold surface, no oil, or a coating that has begun to wear — and one of those three is worth acting on quickly.