Most steak recipes name for a brush of oil earlier than you season it. Frivolously coating your steak in oil serves two principal functions: It offers your seasoning an additional glaze of fats to cling to, which helps the it stick to the meat, permitting the seasoning to permeate the steak extra simply — and in keeping with Delish, it can additionally assist you obtain a pleasant, even crust. A giant a part of what makes a steak distinctive is the distinction in texture between the crusty exterior of the meat and the delicate, juicy tenderness on the within. In accordance with Insider, air fryers work by circulating scorching air, so when your steak is coated in oil, all of that warmth bakes the oil, which helps evenly roast the floor of the meat.
One other necessary factor to think about is the kind of oil that you simply use. Most individuals have a tendency to make use of olive oil universally in nearly every thing, and whereas it is true that olive oil is flexible and has a ton of helpful functions, it is actually not your best option for cooking steak. That is due to olive oil’s smoke point, which is on the decrease facet (by way of MasterClass). Which means that olive oil will burn and smoke at a decrease temperature in comparison with another oils. As a result of cooking a steak requires larger temperatures, it is best to use an oil with a better smoke level so as to forestall the oil from burning and smoking throughout the cooking course of. We would wish to advocate avocado oil, which has a smoke level of about 520 levels Fahrenheit.