Its fast, and it makes food crunchy.
And by golly, I love texture.
All you have to do is confirm you score it right.
I have fond memories of snacking on kid-sized kielbasa rounds at my neighbor’s house growing up.
They must have loved it too because it seemed to always end up on the table.
While the richness can be a treat, I got tired of it fast.
But as soon as I threw it in the air fryer, everything changed.
Kielbasa, like most sausages, is a seasoned meat mixture thats encased.
The casing gives the sausage shape and also holds in the fats and juices when its heated.
Keeping this casing intact will preserve that juiciness and youll have a plump kielbasa.
Anyone who loves how juicy kielbasa is will probably not like this method much.
But if you love a bit of texture, come along.
Scoring kielbasa right is really just scoring it a lot and in a regular fashion so it crisps evenly.
How to make air-fried kielbasa
I tried two different scoring techniques: spiral-cut, and an x-cut.
Only cut about a quarter-inch in, you dont want to slice through it completely.
Only go about a quarter-inch deep.
Youll do this three times.
Turn the sausage a third of the way over.
Repeat with another series of x-cuts.
Turn the sausage one more time and repeat the same series of cuts.
The kielbasa will have a sort of argyle pattern on its surface.
MyInstant Vortexbrowns a bit faster, so Id check on that after eight minutes or so.
Flip the sausage halfway through the cooking time.
The kielbasa should be separating at the slice marks, browning on the edges and sizzling all over.
Rest assured, theres no wrong choice here.
