Air fryer, anyone?

[HadEnuff]

Quote:

Originally Posted by NW-Bound 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.

quite possible.

[NW-Bound]

I just made chicken sandwich for dinner with the air fryer.

Four thin fillets about 3/4" thick, defrosted but still cold. So, I put them in the microwave for 1 minute to warm them up. Preheated the air fryer at 370F for 1 minute. Cooked 1st side for 3 minutes. Temperature checked at 140F. Turned them over, then cooked for 2 minutes for the other side. Temperature checked at 170F. Done.

I then set the timer for 1 min to heat the buns. I had to do them in 2 batches. The first batch, I pulled out the tray at about 20 sec. They got nicely warm. Done. Put the other batch in, and run the oven for the remaining time (40 sec). They came out looking like toast!

[Moemg]

I made chicken kebabs in the air fryer .I cut up chicken , green pepper and an onion . I marinated it in soy sauce with a pinch of honey . After everything was skewered I brushed them with olive oil ( a pinch) .15 minutes at 370 and they were perfect .

[NW-Bound]

I have not tried kebab in the air fryer, but would have thought that 15 minutes would be too long to cook it.

I have been using the air fryer to toast hoagie rolls to make lunch sandwiches. With the fryer set at 370F and preheated for 1 minute, I only need to put the rolls in for 1 minute, then turn them for even toasting then set for just 1 more minute. The skin is crispy, and the center is steaming when I cut the rolls.

[MichaelB]

Here’s an interesting article from one of the The NY Times food writers. It’s in part a review of the air fryer, but some cooking tips are also shared. https://www.nytimes.com/2019/04/01/d...e=sectionfront

Quote:

After air frying nearly a dozen batches using different techniques, I found that cooking them in stages at two different temperatures (350 degrees, then 400) yielded a solid A-minus batch of fries: not as good as deep-fried, but better than my oven-baked fries, and easy enough for a Tuesday at home when the craving struck ./. Serious Eats, Mr. Mims coats the chicken skin with baking powder before air frying. The baking powder expands in the heat and causes the skin to bubble up and turn supremely crisp, he explained. ./. So I asked Mr. Mims, other than chicken wings and French fries, what were the best things I could make in my air fryer? “Vegetables!” he said before I’d even finished the question. “Especially the soggy ones.” “The air fryer fan wicks away excess moisture, almost dehydrating food, so it’s really great for notoriously soggy vegetables like zucchini, summer squash, eggplant and okra,” he continued. “The pieces get dried and crunchy on the outside and tender within.” I tried his suggestions, tossing the vegetables with a tiny bit of oil and air frying until the pieces were burnished, glistening and tender-crisp. They were all a bit better than if I’d run them under my broiler, and far easier and less messy than frying.

[Moemg]

Quote:

Originally Posted by NW-Bound I have not tried kebab in the air fryer, but would have thought that 15 minutes would be too long to cook it. .

The chicken pieces were really big .Plus I like my chicken cooked through . The nice thing about the kebabs were the vegetables stayed really crisp .
I have been using my air fryer once a week since I got it and I absolutely love the gadget .

[NW-Bound]

I use mine every day. And I am rarely using the toaster oven now, which is slow and not energy-efficient in comparison.

I never have a convection toaster oven, but doubt that it can approach the speed of the smaller air fryers. Of course, the convection toaster oven has a much larger capacity, but for daily use for 2 people, the air fryer is of just the right size.

[ls99]

Can the air fryer make toast? If so i might get rid the toaster oven.

[NW-Bound]

It burns my slice of sandwich bread in less than 2 min. It is that fast.

A drawback is the capacity, but most toaster ovens are of the 2-slice type anyway.

[Red Badger]

Quote:

Originally Posted by ls99 Can the air fryer make toast? If so i might get rid the toaster oven.

My Cuisinart does. It's a toaster oven with convection/air fryer options. It was spendy (~$300), but replaced a good quality toaster oven. As mentioned earlier, almost life changing.

[Bamaman]

Every person in our family uses our air fryer 4-5 times per day. At that rate, it's not going to last very long. Next time, we'll go for a larger version.

And my wife complains about having to wash the interior out time and time again daily. Well that's just part of it.

We still love the appliance.

[ls99]

Several posters agreed, yes does toast. Not sure if I should buy one now or wait until they show up at goodwill for five bucks, slightly used. My current toaster oven is about eight years old and works fine, just takes up a good bit of counter space.
Or go with "blow that Dough" decisions decisions.

[NW-Bound]

It's just a "heat applicator", with the speed somewhere between that of a regular oven and a blow torch.

Whatever a regular oven does, an air fryer does it faster, often too fast if you are not careful, particularly for new users.

[Red Badger]

Quote:

Originally Posted by ls99 Several posters agreed, yes does toast. Not sure if I should buy one now or wait until they show up at goodwill for five bucks, slightly used. My current toaster oven is about eight years old and works fine, just takes up a good bit of counter space. Or go with "blow that Dough" decisions decisions.

Option #3....

Cut a hole in the side of existing toaster oven.
Insert a kick-ass hair dryer.
See if it air fries.
Yes - dilemma solved
No - pop rivet and sheet metal fix to the hole.

Easy peasy!

[ls99]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Red Badger Option #3.... Cut a hole in the side of existing toaster oven. Insert a kick-ass hair dryer. See if it air fries. Yes - dilemma solved No - pop rivet and sheet metal fix to the hole. Easy peasy!

Maybe instead I'll try my heatgun which I use for shrink fits on wiring. )

I suppose it takes X amount of KWH to make toast. Blowing the hot air around may save 20 seconds for light browning of multi grain Rye bread. Not sure it makes economic sense for occasional use to buy an air fryer as long as my old toaster oven is functionng.

Back in elementary school, we used to make toast on the side of the coal stove heating the classroom. Hold the brad agianst coal stove's side until done, flip, hold with fingertips until other side is done.
On my camp woodstove I have 4x5" stainless grid on top, onto this place bread, pay attention, when done flip, another 30 seconds or so and it is ready.

[Chuckanut]

My AF does a great job quickly reheating baked goods while keeping the crust crispy.

[NW-Bound]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Red Badger Cut a hole in the side of existing toaster oven. Insert a kick-ass hair dryer.

Quote:

Originally Posted by ls99 Maybe instead I'll try my heatgun which I use for shrink fits on wiring. )

A heat gun set on high would work better than a hair dryer. They don't build hair dryers to singe women's hair off their scalp, and you need it to be that hot.

And even though a heat gun works, it is not efficient as an air fryer because the hot air is not recirculated. Indeed, in use you can see that the air fryer heating element is powered on/off to maintain the set temperature, just like any oven would do. The surrounding environment is not heated up at all.

Here in the Southwest in the summer, I would not hesitate to use the air fryer inside the home. Even a toaster oven would heat up its corner of the kitchen. I then pay extra money on air conditioning to cool it down. Not cool! And literally so.

[NW-Bound]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Chuckanut My AF does a great job quickly reheating baked goods while keeping the crust crispy.

It's the opposite of the microwave oven, which reheats things quickly and turns them soggy at the same time.

Very simple rule for reheating food: If it is supposed to stay moist, it's the microwave oven. If it is supposed to stay dry or crunchy, in the air fryer it goes.

[ls99]

If I get ambitious, I'll get a used toaster oven at goodwill, mount a fan motor on the outside, with metal blades on inside and test. Total cost out of pocket not to exceed $10. I think I have a fan motor somwhere in my junque pile.

[NW-Bound]

It's still not as efficient as an air fryer, because an air fryer has a much lower thermal mass than a typical toaster oven. Hence, it takes only 1 minute to preheat my air fryer.

Besides, a kludge, er improvisation like yours is difficult to sell to my wife or any woman for that matter.