Fish sticks and clam strips: Using your air fryer to make these golden beauties

Perfectly crisp, golden-brown fish sticks are the ultimate comfort food. With a squeeze of lemon and a dip in tartar sauce, this simple food can taste divine. Normally to get the perfect crunch on the outside you need to deep fry the fish sticks in a lot of oil. This leads to a total calorie overload. However, thanks to air frying, you can get that same crispy deliciousness without all the grease. All you need to do is grab your air fryer to make fish sticks in a matter of minutes.

Cooking frozen fish in an air fryer gives it a delicious crispy crust, and is much faster than deep frying. To get a nice crispiness and a delicious flavor, you just need to get the cooking time and method right. Here are the simplest recipes for air fryer frozen fish sticks and air fryer frozen clam strips, so you can enjoy them with much fewer calories and the same fried taste.

 

How to cook frozen fish sticks in an air fryer

While cooking frozen fish sticks in an air fryer is no rocket science, a lack of the right technique and timing can cause some people to fail.

How long to cook frozen fish in an air fryer? In less than 10 minutes, your meal will be ready to eat.  Here is what you need to get the best air fryer frozen fish sticks.

To air fry frozen fish sticks, you simply need to take them out of the freezer, put them in the air fryer basket and cook for about 9 minutes till you get a nice golden brown color. It’s so easy, even a kid can learn to do it. When they’re done cooking just add some tartare sauce for that extra zing.
Cooking Time: 9 Minutes

Cooking Temperature: 200 ° C or 390 ° F

Ingredients: frozen fish sticks, oil of your choice

Cooking Method

  • Spray your air fryer basket with some oil so that the fish sticks don’t stick to it
  • Pre-heat your air fryer to 390 ° F. This should take about 3 minutes.
  • Put the frozen fish sticks in the basket
  • Cook for about 9 minutes
  • After 4 minutes shake the basket to flip the fish sticks. You may spray some oil on both sides to get that perfectly crisp crust.

Recipe Notes

  • Cook from frozen, no need to thaw
  • Shake half way
  • Spraying the basket lightly with oil is important to prevent losing the golden-brown crust.
  • If cooking fresh fish with your own breading, then increase the cooking time to about 10 minutes. The rest of the instructions remain the same, flip it and spray oil when you are half way through.

Serving Suggestions

Now that you know how to air fry frozen fish sticks, you can use the following serving suggestions to take it up a notch higher.

  • A drizzle of lemon will elevate the dish instantly
  • You can also serve it with tartare sauce. Here is a quick recipe you can use. Mix together 200ml mayonnaise, some chopped parsley and shallots, couple of tablespoons of capers, and a dash of salt and pepper. For a healthier option, you can replace mayonnaise with greek yoghurt. This quick and easy tartare sauce is ready to go with your air fried frozen fish sticks.

How to cook frozen clam strips in an air fryer

Clam strips are arguably among the best finger foods. Crisp on the outside and tender inside, clam strips can be served as both an appetizer and a main entrée. Frozen clam strips have made things even easier. You can now enjoy this delicacy without much effort or time. If you have an air fryer there is no need to even deep fry them. You can enjoy the same great taste with much less guilt.

So, how do you cook frozen clam strips in an air fryer? It is simpler than you think, but you need to get the timing right to get the perfect texture. So, here is an answer to all your questions about cooking frozen fried clams in an air fryer.

Cooking Time:  12-15 Minutes

Temperature: 200 ° C or 400 ° F

Ingredients: frozen clam strips, oil of your choice

Cooking Method

  • Spray your air fryer basket with some oil so that the clam strips don’t stick to it
  • Pre-heat your air fryer to 400 ° F. This should take about 3 minutes.
  • Put the frozen clam strips in the basket.
  • Cook for about 12-15 minutes depending on the thickness of the strips. You can always check in between to see if they are done
  • Shake the basket after 5 minutes. If you are looking for a perfectly crisp golden crust, spray some more oil on the strips at this point

Recipe Notes

  • Use directly from the freezer, no need to thaw
  • Cooking time can vary, so keep checking after the first 10 minutes. Look for nice golden color on the outside

Serving Suggestions

  • Air fryer frozen clams taste even better with a nice tartare sauce. You can use the recipe for tartare sauce mentioned above or you can use packed sauce. You can also serve them with salsa or any other dip of your choice.
  • Clam roll is another quick dish you can prepare using these air fryer frozen clam strips. Place the air fried clam strips in a toasted hot dog bun with some lettuce and tartare sauce and enjoy!

Once you try out these super easy, air fried frozen fish sticks and clam strips, you will never want to deep fry them again. Serve them at your next party and your guests will never be able to tell that they are not deep fried.