Air Fryer

[Magicman]

We have had an Air Fryer for probably a year but our lives have been cluttered and there just has not been a convenient time to give it a whirl.  Well she dusted if off about a week ago and.....


 
"Black Snapper" filets'.

PatD went to the grocery yesterday and chicken breast & wings were $3.49 lb.


 
Drumsticks were $1.09 and they were mighty fine.  

She has been Googling  :P  Air Fryer recipes.   That plus she has been watching Jeff's videos.  ;D

[HemlockKing]

Once you get one you'll wish you got one sooner, they are great. 

[Walnut Beast]

I always here about frozen fries that are pre cooked. Can you slice up raw potatoes as fries in the air fryer and cook them. How do they turn out and how long does it take?

[Jeff]

Absolutely about a half hour in a rotiserrie basket. Frozen fries suck. No advantage as they are flashfried in oil

[Magicman]

 

 
So for supper tonight I got a floured tortilla, some sauce, cheddar cheese (no mozzarella), and diced some ham.


 
And 6 minutes in the air fryer later I had a pizza.  Pretty DanG good. 

[sawguy21]

Interesting. I have been hearing about air fryers but had no idea what they did until yesterday. A friend did up some perogies, they were good and so easy to make! 

[newoodguy78]

Stay tuned sawguy if Jeff and magicman get going on what can be cooked in an air fryer there's bound to be plenty easy to cook deliciousness to be had.  :D

[Jeff]

This is the last thing I videoed.

Apple Pie Pasties made inda Air Fryer - YouTube

[Southside]

We got one a month or so back, have used it a couple of times with our chicken, still figuring it out but came out very good each time.  

[petefrom bearswamp]

Bought one about a year ago after reading Jeff's posts.
Took it out of the box, thought the wife would be thrilled, as she hates me deep frying fish, but noooo.
Made me send it back.
Oh well.

[Stephen1]

My SIL does turkeys wild and store bought in his. Just great and Fast. 
I ordered a new stove for my house and it comes with an airfrier option. When I ge the house, i'll be able to report on it. 

[Raider Bill]

Isn't  a convection oven a air fryer?

[Southside]

My understanding is they are a convection oven that has been ported, polished, and had a bigger turbo installed.

[Raider Bill]

can't go wrong with a good port and polish.

[21incher]

I recently picked  up one of the small oven type ones and we love it. Nothing like homegrown sweet potato fries. This shows some simple  things we use it for.
Sur La Table Air Fryer From Costco Black Friday Sale First Review - YouTube  

[newoodguy78]

All these good food pictures and videos are making me want to get one. Is there a brand that significantly better than others? What are some features that one should look for?
Pardon my questions 95 percent of the food I eat is cooked on a wood stove or grill. The other 5 percent doesn't require heat :D

[Jeff]

Air Fryer Supper

Pigroast Kielbasa and potatoes


 

Pampered Chef Air Fryer Kielbasa. cooked Perfectly - YouTube

[aigheadish]

I've made some pretty tasty jerky in mine. Whatever random steak I can find and afford, cut into strips about 1/4-1/2" wide, stabbed with a fork a bunch, marinated in a mix of Worcestershire and/or teriyaki, onion and garlic powder, some crushed red pepper, salt and pepper, maybe tabasco or some other hot stuff, some honey and/or sugar/brown sugar, maybe some maple syrup. Let it soak for a day or two in a ziploc bag, in which I kind of mash it around every once in a while so the meat gets evenly covered. Fire up the air fryer to about 170 degrees, maybe 200 (I've had to search around for how to get the temp that low on both the air fryers I've had, but they've both had them, I think on a fruit drying setting or something) then let it go for about 5 hours. I occasionally give it a shake and will spoon on the marinade every once in a while too.

We'll do store made egg rolls, McDonald's style hashbrowns, I'll reheat restaurant leftovers in there, all kinds of good stuff. 

I'm interested in how the oven with the built-in air fryer goes. Our nice and expensive Samsung oven is kind of a piece of junk so I wouldn't be surprised to get a new one before too long...

[Jeff]

Here was our supper last night. Everything seasoned on the same bag, cooked together for the same time.
Last night, we made our entire meal, all at the same time in our Pampered chef Air Fryer.

16 minute Steak, Mushrooms and Brussel Sprouts. Cooked all at once in the Pampered Chef Air Fryer - YouTube
1 steak cutvin strips

Baby Bella Mushrooms
Brussels Sprouts

1T Garlic powder
1T Onion Powder
2T Dried Parmigiano
1/4 c Olive oil

Coat mushrooms, steak and sprouts
all at once in a mixing bag. (Gallon ziplock)

400° for 8 minutes, turn food, swap tray positions. cook 8 more minutes, or until desired doneness is achieved.

[Texas Ranger]

First time with an air fryer, chicken drum sticks.  Oh, my, i  have become a southern cook.

[realzed]

My son got a small air fryer and loves it - but it is quite small and really only usable for a small meal for one or two at best.
Is there an accepted best make and model of fryer that will allow bigger portions or meals large enough for a few people, and is generally accepted as 'the make and model' to have - and that comes with a basket and other gadgets that pretty much covers cooking up a wide range of types of meals or different types of meats?
Thanks - Randy..

[Jeff]

Pampered chef is what we use. It was pricey but I use it every single day.

[Magicman]

The units with a basket are cumbersome.  Get a door.

[realzed]

I looked a bit around on-line - one Pampered Chef unit as an example, appears to be 11-12 qt. size - is that a decent size?
There are some other brands I noted - many of which are in the 6-8 qt. size, but others go up into the 20+ qt. size that look like small microwave ovens!
I would assume the ability to cook a small chicken whole or similar sized unit would be optimal (not too clunky for a kitchen - yet capacity-wise logical). 
I'm not up on any of these obviously and don't really know what I should be looking for or striving to get temperature, performance, and feature-wise..
Looking for any and all tips as to what make some better than others and why..
Consumers guides always seem (at least to me) to recommend off-brand models that I would tend to be wary of - but again I'm not savy as to what brands are good choices and what features would make a unit stand out as a good or better choice over maybe other similar ones!
Doors verses Drawers I can understand - some advertise all of the parts or bins to be dishwasher cleanable - which again seems logical..
Any other tips - some units have a lot of buttons verses dials and digital readouts - which I assume makes settings easier and more variable to adjust parameters.. (my older son is visually impaired) and bright digital displays, dishwasher cleanable, and easy to clean and adapt to various types of foods and meals, would go a long way toward helping him become much more self sufficient in making his own meals - something we are mainly hopeful of achieving with one of these units!
Thx - Randy    

[Jeff]

Dont get anything with non stick coatings. Get stainless.  I can cook for 4 in our pampered chef. They only have one model. It has a rotisserie basket, skewers and racks. You can airfry bake and dehydrate. It makes greaT jerky. Check out my youtube airfryer play list to see just some of what I do in ours.
Air Fryer Cooking Videos - YouTube

[SwampDonkey]

You can get Pampered Chef off their Canadian site, or look at it to.

https://www.pamperedchef.ca/shop/Small+Appliances/Air+Fryer/Deluxe+Air+Fryer/100194

[realzed]

Wow - they are very proud of them aren't they??
$350 - with free delivery... I would hope so!!

[Jeff]

Ours was $299. It is used more than the oven or the stove, and everyday for over 2 years now.

[Ianab]

We have one of the smaller basic (~$100) units. It's not up to cooking a chicken or a meal for 4. But it gets regular use heating snack meals for lunch, or a basket of fries to go with whatever else I'm cooking. Mum has one of those larger units, more like a counter-top fan oven, and it works good for what she needs. 

I guess it depends what you actually need? If I'm cooking chicken for 4, then it's worth using the regular oven, or slow cooker if I'm planning ahead. If the kids want some nuggets for lunch, then 10mins in the air fryer has them sorted before the regular stove even gets up to temp. 

The ~$300 for a Good (and useful) appliance isn't silly.  Spread the cost over the years it's going to last, and it's reasonable. 

Ditto on the advice to go with Stainless over "non stick". We were given an electric non-stick electric frypan a few years back as a gift. I'd always been suspect of them as the teflon always wears out, so always cooked in my old (cheap) cast iron frypans. Anyway the gift electric pan worked fine, and got used, but as expected the teflon broke down after a few years. Not complaining as it cooked a lot of bacon in that time, but my cheap 30 year old iron pans have only got better with age. 

But the electric pan was so handy I replaced it with a more expensive stainless one. Not sure what they have done to the stainless, but it's less sticky than the old teflon pan  ??? It's also much heavier (steel vs aluminium), which seems to keep the heat more even. Should also last years longer.  

[SwampDonkey]

I cook on cast iron, pancake griddle or fry pan. You get a good surface on there, and as long as you cook with some oil or grease, she won't stick. I cook a lot of pancakes and sausage during the work days. ;D

[SwampDonkey]

If you pay less than $300 before tax, I wouldn't expect many functions or much of a lifespan. Of course unused much, it'll last a long time. :D These are not toaster ovens. Those things should be condemned. I know of 2 that burnt up.

[21incher]

We now use the Sur La Table one that Costco sells for $99 on sale every couple weeks. We love it. Tried several of the pull out basket types and they were not big enough for 2.

[Texas Ranger]

We now use the Sur La Table one that Costco sells for $99 on sale every couple weeks. We love it. Tried several of the pull out basket types and they were not big enough for 2.

We bought another model on sale at Cosco, love it  Not the biggest, but good for two of us,  I was reluctant to get one but my daughter and I conspired and got one for my roommate for mothers day   She has yet to use it but I use it a lot

[Magicman]

We have been using a Farberware basket style that was given to us.  To me the design was cumbersome.


 
So today the UPS guy delivered a new Emeril Lagasse 360 front loader with basket and rotisserie & with a dehydrator mode.  Because of the available counter space we got the smaller model.

[Jeff]

If I have to replace ours, im trying the 360 simply because of cost.

Last nights air fryer hopped up pizza. Start with frozen cheese pizza.


 

[SwampDonkey]

Looks like CDN$200 off their CDN site for the Emeril Lagasse 360. $249 locally at Canadian Tire. The chef it is named after has a Youtube ad. He has a larger French door version to.

[Magicman]

Mine was listed on Amazon @ $169.05.  My Capital One card asked if I wanted to search for a better deal, and of course I said yes.  This one still came from Amazon @ $129.47 including tax and shipping.

[SwampDonkey]

We have to watch Amazon closer up here because often times other sources are cheaper. The Amazon offers here are CDN$335 - $508 for Emeril Lagasse 360. A lot cheaper direct or Canadian Tire. ;)

[realzed]

My Pampered Chef saga:
Ordered one @$315 CDN and rec'd it July 15th..
Got an e-mail telling me Aug 01 they put them on sale for $215 CDN.
I called first week in Aug and said "can you give me something as a rebate considering I just got one 14 days prior to the sale going on?"
(I could handle a $10 or even $20 sale price difference and written it off to poor timing - but 33% off - no way!)  
Answer - "NOPE.. we don't do that"..
I said "for all of the trouble and expense you are forcing me to return a very workable unit and it will cost you shipping both ways and I will just reorder another at the sale price then."
Response was: "that's the only way it will happen" - SO I packed it up and fired it back all within the 30 day free return period.
Liked the original unit and it was very usable, quiet, efficient, and surprised us just how well it did work..
Fast forward to today - new one showed up on the doorstep at 9 AM.. we test-fired it up for some wings this afternoon to celebrate and it sounds not unlike a small helicopter about to take off and orbit our kitchen here!
As luck would have it, the first expensive version was perfect - just far too costly considering the sale pricing.. and this new one obviously has a defective fan or something loose internally!
I'll try tomorrow to call to see if they will just exchange it - but if it gets more complicated than that, this may end my Air Fryer experiment - at least with Pampered Chef Canada..
My Cardio team says I need to reduce my stress level and eat healthier fat free foods- why does everything in life have to be so *DanG complicated?
I think I'll just fire up the BBQ and cook up a big 'ol juicy steak and have a beer or 4..  

[kantuckid]

We had a range & fridge bought in 1996 and they worked Ok but last spring wife ordered a new set. Took months in our new wait forever appliance era. The new range has an air fryer feature which amounts to a small fan that circulates hot air. Nothing more than a convection oven with a fan really. She bought a basket with ~ 1/4" wire grid and uses it with a matching pan underneath. Makes VG potato wedges, okra cut lengthwise w/S&P and paprika is good too. 
Certain things it does well, others not so much. The air fryers are common with new ranges. She wanted another GE Profile range but that required the WIFI aspect which was a turn off for us. We are computer savy but who wants a range thats dead in the water when the web is out. Reviews also say that visitors like our kids would need the wifi code to cook a meal if we were gone, etc.. Too much tech so we avoided them.  

[aigheadish]

Our oven, a Samsung, cost about 1400 bucks when we bought it about 6 years ago. About 2-3 years ago it started randomly not heating up the oven parts (stovetop works fine). I did some looking online about what the culprit could be and that showed me that it boiled down to several different things and nothing concrete that would solve the problem- just notes saying Samsung appliances suck (I concur) and you could throw time and money and still maybe not solve the problem. We had a repairman out who basically said the same thing "you could throw a bunch of money at it but it may end up being enough to pay for half a new oven, and Samsung sucks." Welp...

We went to Lowe's last weekend to buy an oven, found one we liked ok, told the clerk which it was, they said go up front to pay, so we did but there was some issue with the delivery time. My wife started having bad feelings about the whole deal. Delivery time was set for this past Friday, so my wife took half the day off to be home when it showed up, but it never did (in the meantime I had the internet guy come out and he was 2 hours late! Almost dark by the time he got there!). She went back to Lowe's Saturday to crab about it. They said "oh, that's been delivered." She said it had not, so they called the back who said "yeah, we didn't deliver it because it didn't really exist." She canceled the order and we went to a different place Appliance Factory, I think. They seemed much more competent and while we paid a bunch more I think we are getting a much better oven and in a color the wife likes. 

I was aiming for an air fryer in the oven as well, but we didn't get that option, we'll be sticking with the countertop model. I hadn't heard if they were any good or not built into the oven. 

I'm not a fan of the internet connected appliances, sounds like trouble waiting to happen. I have a thermostat that is controllable through an app on the phone and I do like that, as it's nice to crank on or off the a/c or heat from somewhere else but it doesn't have to have internet access to work properly. 

[realzed]

New Deluxe Air Fryer from Pampered Chef arrived today and upon first 'test flight' it appears to be without the helicopter noises and all else seems fine - hopefully this one will be a 'keeper' and I can start trying to master this Healthy Eating deal!  8)

[kantuckid]

Our oven, a Samsung, cost about 1400 bucks when we bought it about 6 years ago. About 2-3 years ago it started randomly not heating up the oven parts (stovetop works fine). I did some looking online about what the culprit could be and that showed me that it boiled down to several different things and nothing concrete that would solve the problem- just notes saying Samsung appliances suck (I concur) and you could throw time and money and still maybe not solve the problem. We had a repairman out who basically said the same thing "you could throw a bunch of money at it but it may end up being enough to pay for half a new oven, and Samsung sucks." Welp...

We went to Lowe's last weekend to buy an oven, found one we liked ok, told the clerk which it was, they said go up front to pay, so we did but there was some issue with the delivery time. My wife started having bad feelings about the whole deal. Delivery time was set for this past Friday, so my wife took half the day off to be home when it showed up, but it never did (in the meantime I had the internet guy come out and he was 2 hours late! Almost dark by the time he got there!). She went back to Lowe's Saturday to crab about it. They said "oh, that's been delivered." She said it had not, so they called the back who said "yeah, we didn't deliver it because it didn't really exist." She canceled the order and we went to a different place Appliance Factory, I think. They seemed much more competent and while we paid a bunch more I think we are getting a much better oven and in a color the wife likes.

I was aiming for an air fryer in the oven as well, but we didn't get that option, we'll be sticking with the countertop model. I hadn't heard if they were any good or not built into the oven.

I'm not a fan of the internet connected appliances, sounds like trouble waiting to happen. I have a thermostat that is controllable through an app on the phone and I do like that, as it's nice to crank on or off the a/c or heat from somewhere else but it doesn't have to have internet access to work properly.

Our new fridg & range took almost 6 months to come after ordering. The frdg came sooner but we had it held for both to come same day. FWIW-my earlier comment stating an experienced Lowe's salesman told us to avoid Samsung ranges and fridges got shot down here. Appliances are a very slow thing to get hold of in the "pandemic era"-if your picking and choosing much.
Our oven air fryer works fine but not like the instructions say. My wife, a cook from the old school who learned early in life how to put food on the table, now preheats the oven beyond the instructions. Honestly, we find our under $50 toaster oven from Walmart still does some things better than an air fryer.
She bought a rectangular non-stick basket (fine mesh) & pan combo that's used mostly to air fry stuff. We've been doing air fried okra but truth be known it might keep yer heart lively but sure no replacement for pan fried, breaded okra!
Many modern, major appliances are WIFI dependent! More gizmo's, the more likely that true. 

[red]

I'm late to the game but finally bought one today at Wal-Mart . . Gourmia air fryer oven $99 it has two doors GTF7460 

[Magicman]

I especially like the double doors.  8)

[SwampDonkey]

So, what did you fry up red? ;D

[red]

I'll use it tomorrow for Steak and potatoes 

[Stephen1]

My new gas stove has an air fryer option in it. I do bacon in the morning, takes 12 minutes.....

[Jeff]

Our original airfryer replacement, is starting to sound different. It's been a good machine, but we will replace it with something more economical

[aigheadish]

Air fried bacon in the oven, huh? That sounds like an excellent experiment. I commented above that our new oven did not include an air fryer, but alas, it does! We've used that feature a few times but we aren't as comfy with it as we are the electric countertop model yet. It'd be nice to use it more to figure out how it works and gain some countertop space back.

[21incher]

My new gas stove has an air fryer option in it. I do bacon in the morning, takes 12 minutes.....

You can still buy gas stoves up there? NY is getting ready to ban them >:( . 

[red]

I just cooked the Steak and it was very good . . I should have bought one sooner . . this unit is 1700 watts which is pretty good 

[Stephen1]

My new gas stove has an air fryer option in it. I do bacon in the morning, takes 12 minutes.....

You can still buy gas stoves up there? NY is getting ready to ban them >:( .

Yes I could as of last year....I heard rumours of some sort of problem. We are propane which I understand is considered the cleanest gas fuel to burn

[Texas Ranger]

Due to a timing error, I have invented asparagus fry's.  Crunchy.