Air fryer, anyone?

[NW-Bound]

We bought an air fryer at Costco last year when they had it on sale. We liked it so much that we bought another one to bring up to our 2nd home. The 2nd one is a different brand than the 1st.

My wife bought an Instapot, but changed her mind about having to learn to use it, and returned it unopened. The air fryer works no differently than a toaster oven or a convection oven, and takes no learning. It works a lot faster than a convection oven because of more air movement. And being smaller, it works great for daily use. The power consumption is much reduced too.

Here are some examples. Earlier in the week, I roasted 4 chicken drumsticks for dinner, and it took but 10-12 minutes. Today, I roasted some Hatch chilies in order to peel the skin, and it took 6 minutes. If I recall correctly, the chilies took more than 1/2 hour last time I roasted them in a toaster oven.

We have used it to bake fish, reheat french fries, etc... So fast and convenient. The only thing to watch for is to not overcook food as it is so fast. Until I know the timing, I check often for doneness with a Thermapen.

 

[SheitlQueen]

I use mine to cook chicken thighs, reheat things (microwave died) and have made fries in it. Also cooked some hard boiled eggs but prefer the instant pot for that. I like it but bought a small one. Thinking about getting a larger one.

 

[Fedup]

Maybe I will look into this air fryer, I like to make yam fries at home.

 

[Sanstar]

I love my air fryer and use it every day. Falafel, tofu, all the vegetables and pizza. Much faster, crispier than regular oven.

 

[ExFlyBoy5]

+1 on the air fryer. We had an Instapot, but didn't meet expectations...but the air fryer? Awesome!

 

[NW-Bound]

I just found another use of the air fryer: browning onion in preparation for onion soup.

It works fairly well and fast. I have to stir up the onion every 10 minutes, with the heat at 330F. And I have a tray that can hold only 2 large sliced onions at a time, but it's OK.

I took the fryer out to the back patio to do this. It's still going with the last batch. Last time, when I browned the onion on the stove top, the whole house smelled of onion.

 

[Ready]

How does it compare to a convection oven? Does the food taste different, or does it just cook faster?

 

[NW-Bound]

Same as a convection oven, just a lot faster. More hot air blown directly over the food means faster heating. It's easy to singe the food around the edges, if you set the temperature to the max of 400F.

Got my onion caramelized without the use of any oil or butter. Makes it easy to clean up the pan. It's late now, so I put the onion in the fridge and continue the onion soup tomorrow. I will brown it a bit more with some butter in the pot before adding broth to make soup.

 

[Jerry1]

How does the air fryer do in making fries? Anything close to deep fried? Do you use frozen or do you need to use fresh potatoes for best results?

 

[NW-Bound]

I have not made fries from scratch using this. Frozen fries were good.

The hot air blown over the food causes the moisture to seal in. Setting the air fryer at 350F is NOT the same thing as baking in an oven at 350F. It is something between baking and grilling.

See one guy roasting chicken drumsticks. Skip to 4:00 to see the result. His is a different brand, but my Costco fryer turned out the same.

Then, watch Gordon Ramsay making turkey sliders. Skip to 5:00 to see the result.

 

[ERD50]

Same as a convection oven, just a lot faster. More hot air blown directly over the food means faster heating. It's easy to singe the food around the edges, if you set the temperature to the max of 400F.

Got my onion caramelized without the use of any oil or butter. Makes it easy to clean up the pan. It's late now, so I put the onion in the fridge and continue the onion soup tomorrow. I will brown it a bit more with some butter in the pot before adding broth to make soup.

I've made this a couple times - microwave French Onion soup. Sounds like blasphemy, but it was very good and super easy. DW can't eat onions, so this easy, small batch method is nice for me. I think it worked better for me as a half batch, the onions caramelized better. And I used beef broth, not the bullion cube, and less butter I think.

https://food-hacks.wonderhowto.com/...-french-onion-soup-in-your-microwave-0166887/

-ERD50

 

[ERD50]

...

Then, watch Dave Ramsey making turkey sliders. Skip to 5:00 to see the result....

Noooo!!!!!! Not DR, Gordon Ramsey!

whew, please, no more DR!


edit - I see you caught it before I posted!

-ERD50

 

[Fedup]

NW-Bound, not to be picky but Gordon Ramsey didn’t wash his hands after touching raw turkey and then he touched the fridge and raw peppers. Ew!

 

[NW-Bound]

I did not watch it closely the first time, and only skipped to see the result.

You are right! He only wiped his hand on a towel.

But seeing the patties coming out looking good, I thought it should be good to do steak the same way. And indeed there are lots of youtube videos on air-fried steak. And french fries made from scratch too.

 

[NW-Bound]

The first one I bought from Costco was a NuWave.

Here's the 2nd one that I bought from Costco. Customers rave about it in the reviews here: Air Fryer.

 

[ransil]

How does the air fryer do in making fries? Anything close to deep fried? Do you use frozen or do you need to use fresh potatoes for best results?

I get fast food fries from Wal-Mart, they look like mcdonalds fries, they seem spoty on having them on the shelf, i get a few bags when they are in stock.
Tater tots are good too.

 

[Jerry1]

Mmmmmmm. Tater tots.

 

[Lucie]

How does the air fryer do in making fries? Anything close to deep fried? Do you use frozen or do you need to use fresh potatoes for best results?

In my opinion, homemade fries are as good as restaurant fries. We simply slice the potatoes lightly toss them in oil and put them in the air fryer. We do the same for sweet potatoes. Frozen fries work well too.

Since we are from Buffalo, we cook our chicken wings in the air fryer. They come out very crisp. We toss them in the original Buffalo wing sauce (1/2 melted butter, 1/2 Frank's hot sauce) and they are excellent! The air fryer is very easy to clean up too.

 

[NW-Bound]

I've made this a couple times - microwave French Onion soup. Sounds like blasphemy, but it was very good and super easy. DW can't eat onions, so this easy, small batch method is nice for me. I think it worked better for me as a half batch, the onions caramelized better. And I used beef broth, not the bullion cube, and less butter I think.

https://food-hacks.wonderhowto.com/...-french-onion-soup-in-your-microwave-0166887/

-ERD50

I may try the microwave later, but suspect that it would smell up the whole house like with the stove top.

No real bone broth for me this time, but I am using McCormick beef base paste, a grade better than bouillon.

And speaking of bone broth, another use for the air fryer is to roast the bones before making broth. Quick, economical, easy.

 

[daylatedollarshort]

Some friends of ours also bought an air fryer on sale from Costco and are trying to talk us into getting one, too. They love theirs.

 

[Moemg]

The first one I bought from Costco was a NuWave.

Here's the 2nd one that I bought from Costco. Customers rave about it in the reviews here: Air Fryer.

Which one do you like better ? I have been thinking of getting one .

 

[NW-Bound]

The newer one is better built and has a larger tray. Costco does not sell the NuWave anymore, at least the store near me.

By the way, at about the same time I bought the NuWave at Costco, I saw that Fry's Electronics had the same model at a higher price. Fry's model also did not have the accessories that Costco threw in for free.

 

[walkinwood]

What about cleaning the air-fryer? The first video that NW-Bound posted, you can see the fan portion is gunked up (43 seconds into the clip).


Does it have a cleaning mode like an oven? It it easy to clean if it doesn't have a cleaning mode?

 

[NW-Bound]

I have not seen an air fryer with a self-cleaning mode. Perhaps it's not possible due to their outer case being plastic and not able to stand the higher temperature (their max setting is commonly 400F).

This question caused me to lookup the machine cavity after pulling out the tray. There's a heating coil mounted about 2" above the food tray, and there's a metal fan blade above the coil. It does not look hard to reach in there, but it may not be easy to clean the metal roof of the chamber above the fan.

I have had mine for only a month, and the roof of the chamber is still clean like new. I guess it depends on how much greasy food you cook in it. I use no oil to very little, and just coat the food with a thin layer when I want it.

 

[SumDay]

We honestly like the convection toaster oven better, and ended up selling the air fryer on Facebook Marketplace, for almost what we paid for it.

Now the Instant Pot? I am smitten with that sucker. I use it heavily in the winter - it's like a comfort food machine.