Air fryers seem to work better
this post was submitted on 19 Jun 2024
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This is the way. I’ve had good luck cutting it into small pieces, coating in oil (or ghee), and then air frying until you’ve gotten your preferred level of doneness.
Thanks, yeah I think maybe this is what I’m missing.
I don't think cauliflower has the sugar or the protein to crisp up on its own with just fire, you would probably need to rely on some form of coating that includes sugar or deep fry it with some batter in which case the textural element would come from the batter and not the cauliflower. Maybe I could offer some more specific advice if I knew what was the context of you making this.
I'm not entirely sure tho.
I can't say I've ever tried to crisp it, I have cooked the shit out of it and can't really think it if crisping. Even coming out brown in an oven or a skillet I still don't think I'd say it's ever crispy, you'd have to put something heavier in the breading, I'd try panko?
I would actually consider:
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Not cutting up florets and cut it with as much surface area as you can so there's surface area to hit your pan/ grill/ baking sheet.
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Maybe consider a simple syrup solution applied to the cauliflower and then browned. The sugar on the surface ought to provide the required texture.
Maybe consider a simple syrup solution applied to the cauliflower and then browned. The sugar on the surface ought to provide the required texture.
That is actually something I planned on trying. I often fry chicken and add some balsamico and honey or lately sweet chilli sauce to glaze it, and I thought of trying this with cauliflower for a change.
Interesting. Hadn’t thought of simple syrup. I love ordering crispy cauliflower bites when I am out and now that I’m thinking about it they do tend to often have a glaze.
Maybe try searing it on high heat until it gets brown and crispy-ish on the outside and then put it in the oven? Breading it might be another option, but in both cases you're only going to get it semi-crispy on the outside - I think it has too much water content to crisp all the way through.
Edit: Haha, searched for "crispy cauliflower" and that's what came up: https://minimalistbaker.com/quick-crispy-cauliflower/
Yes this is one of the recipes I tried. Perhaps I need to make some adjustments and try again.
Air frier gets it crispy.
The oven is not the friend of crispy cauliflower, neither is submerging it in oil.
I do not own an air fryer but I’m starting to think I may need to invest in one.
Raw cauliflower is pretty crispy
I would call it crunchy vs crispy.
Truly, it’s only downhill from raw.
If you use a wet batter you will get a crispy coating with tender cauli insides. It's wildly delicious.
Do you have a good batter recipe for cauliflower? The one I tried didn’t work out too well.