Air fryer, anyone?

[HadEnuff]

I was trying to find comparisons between an air fryer and a convection oven, but not the countertop convection ovens that look like a toaster oven, but rather the large ovens we all have in our kitchens, but have a "convection" feature.
I have a Bosch convection oven, which has a "convection roast" setting. Is there any reason to think that the small countertop air fryer units would work better than one of these?

[NW-Bound]

I dunno, but how do you compare small pots/pans to large pots/pans? Don't we have an assortment of them for different uses?

I recently found that the air fryer was wonderful for roasting Hatch chilies and bell peppers before skinning. The small size was just right for the job. It took less than 10 minutes, and the amount of power was so low, the heat emitted to the surrounding was not perceptible. Great for use indoors where the air conditioning power usage can be more than 3/4 of the summer monthly bill.

[Breedlove]

It's funny , with all of the new counter top appliances we don't even need an oven or stove.

[Bamaman]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Breedlove It's funny , with all of the new counter top appliances we don't even need an oven or stove.

But what we might need is more counterspace.

[NW-Bound]

We still use the big oven, a double one, once or twice a year when we host Thanksgiving or Christmas dinner.

For daily use, we use an indoor toaster oven and the air fryer. We have a covered patio with a cooktop, where my wife uses two more toaster ovens outdoor when roasting something bigger and for longer. The idea is to keep the heat out of the house. And she occasionally uses both of those outdoor toaster ovens.

[Aerides]

Good fun piece on air fryers vs. other appliances in the new yorker a couple of weeks back:

https://www.newyorker.com/culture/ki...holiday-season

[Chuckanut]

Quote:

Originally Posted by NW-Bound . Great for use indoors where the air conditioning power usage can be more than 3/4 of the summer monthly bill.

Or you can do what I do with my toaster oven - put the thing outside on a table and let it heat the great outdoors rather than your cool house.

I just got an inexpensive AF to test it out. Santa brought it for Christmas after a very big hint. After one week I can say with some authority that there are certain things it does very well like warming up pie, cooking sweet potato fries or quick piece of fish or chicken. But, it is another thing to take up space in my rather small kitchen. So the question is simple, Is the air fryer worth the hassles of having it? As of today I don't know. But, playing with it and experimenting with what it does sure is fun.

I am going to be harder on the AF than I was on my Instant Pot. My Instant-Pot has the advantage of being economically positive. It saves me money. As I have mentioned before, I could toss mine in the trash today and I would be $$'s ahead because of all the tasty yogurt I have made in it at about 1/3 the cost of the store bought stuff I was eating. I don't see that advantage for the AF, so it will really have to shine.

[REWahoo]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Chuckanut Or you can do what I do with my toaster oven - put the thing outside on a table and let it heat the great outdoors rather than your cool house.

That's SOP here. Our oven gets very little use May through September.

[SumDay]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Breedlove It's funny , with all of the new counter top appliances we don't even need an oven or stove.

Exactly! My Instant Pot and Convection counter top oven handle 90% of our cooking these days. In fact, I prefer my electric skillet to cleaning the entire top of my fancy a$$ gas range that came with our house.

As for the air fryer, we had one for a while and just felt it took up too much space and wasn't significantly better than using the counter top convection oven. I sold it on Facebook Marketplace for $15 less than we bought it for. YMMV.

[Chuckanut]

Quote:

Originally Posted by SumDay Exactly! My Instant Pot and Convection counter top oven handle 90% of our cooking these days. In fact, I prefer my electric skillet to cleaning the entire top of my fancy a$$ gas range that came with our house. As for the air fryer, we had one for a while and just felt it took up too much space and wasn't significantly better than using the counter top convection oven. I sold it on Facebook Marketplace for $15 less than we bought it for. YMMV.

I am wondering the same thing. If I really like with the AF does, why not go whole hog and buy a good quality convection oven?

[Moemg]

I got an air fryer and I love it. Thanks NW I got the Gourmia air fryer . It is a learning curve especially the cooking times .I made coconut shrimp and it was awesome .

[clifp]

I got my Air Fryer (Phillips) during Amazon Prime day, and I love it. I really needed to start eating more vegetables, because other than salads I seldom made them at home.

But I love the convenience and taste of the everything from Costco frozen stir-fry vegetables to sweet potato, zucchini and kombucha fries. It is also good for easy cleanup meals of pork ribs and pork chops.

I liked mine so much I got one for my secret santa person.

[NW-Bound]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Chuckanut Or you can do what I do with my toaster oven - put the thing outside on a table and let it heat the great outdoors rather than your cool house. ...

As mentioned on post #45, we have not one, but two toaster ovens outside in the covered patio, where I have a counter with a 4-burner stove top, and a kitchen sink.

And these are in addition to the toaster oven in the kitchen, and the air fryer.

PS. My wife regrets not having a full oven outdoor, instead of just the stove top. And she already has a double oven inside.

[NW-Bound]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Chuckanut I am wondering the same thing. If I really like with the AF does, why not go whole hog and buy a good quality convection oven?

To cook small portions such as two fish fillets for a meal for two persons, the air fryer gets the job done in 5-6 minutes. I doubt that a larger convection oven even gets up to temperature in that amount of time.

[ransil]

AF makes the best tater tots..

[Moemg]

I made chicken wings without a drop of oil and they were fabulous and crispy .I love this appliance .

[Red Badger]

Quote:

Originally Posted by HadEnuff I was trying to find comparisons between an air fryer and a convection oven, but not the countertop convection ovens that look like a toaster oven, but rather the large ovens we all have in our kitchens, but have a "convection" feature. I have a Bosch convection oven, which has a "convection roast" setting. Is there any reason to think that the small countertop air fryer units would work better than one of these?

I have 2 convection toaster ovens (one's an outside pup). The air fryer is a whole new ball game! It truly makes fries, onion rings, fish'n'chips, etc like they were deep fried. I have an earlier post on this thread on the Cuisinart unit that we opted for. Pricey, but DS and I love it.

Get an AF. Life is fleeting.

[Moemg]

They more I use the air fryer they more I love it and I dislike special appliances . We eat fish several times a week and the air fryer makes it so quick and the clean up is a breeze .Last night I made crab cakes and they were perfect .

[HadEnuff]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Moemg I made chicken wings without a drop of oil and they were fabulous and crispy .I love this appliance .

I bought one, inspired by this thread. I did chicken wings. Did not care for them. They were crispy on the outside, and looked great. But I didn't like the texture compared to when I roast them or grill them, or compared to when I buy them at my favorite chicken wing bar. I found them to be chewy, almost rubbery. DW agreed.

Also did some onions and zucchini. Same thing. Must be me.

I took it back to Walmart. On the way in two different women asked me how I liked it. I basically told them what I just told you. They both looked at me and said "yeah, me too."

I have a high-end Bosch convection oven at home, and I may fiddle around with that and see if I can make that do things I like.

To each his/her own. Didn't work for me, though.

[NW-Bound]

Quote:

Originally Posted by HadEnuff I bought one, inspired by this thread. I did chicken wings. Did not care for them. They were crispy on the outside, and looked great. But I didn't like the texture compared to when I roast them or grill them, or compared to when I buy them at my favorite chicken wing bar. I found them to be chewy, almost rubbery. DW agreed. Also did some onions and zucchini. Same thing. Must be me...

Is it possible that you overcooked the wings? What I have found is that the cooking time is so short, it's easy to overcook most food. I also preheat the fryer for a couple of minutes before popping in the food.

When I do something new, or do not remember the time I did the last time, I keep my Thermapen handy, and check the temperature every minute. Along with the temperature checking I also turn or sauté the food to ensure even cooking.