All about air Fryers

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Has anyone tried the air fryer oven yet? As posted in another thread I would like to try it to dehydrate small batches of veges and fruits. I'm wondering if anyone who may have the oven has tried this?

I've had my power xl air fryer for a while now and I use it at least once per week. I'm so glad it's not just another appliance I bought and never use. I had to clean out a cabinet in my kitchen to make room for it so it wasn't on my counter all the time.

I use it mostly for onion rings and vege tots. If you have not tried the cauliflower tots, I highly recommend them. I am addicted! Plus I can pop them in and NOT heat up the house, which has been a huge help this summer since the heat and humidity have been awful. It's also very convenient to make a snack or side dish for just one or two people and not feel like you are wasting a ton of electricity like you would with the oven.
 
I use mine every day... but not for dehydrating, wouldn't recommend that. I have two dehydrators for that purpose. I've used mine for roasting shrimp... I've even fried okra in it. When trying to bake it is lacking, not easy to control, have to keep a very close eye on it.

As you state... doesn't heat up the kitchen or use as much electricity... far better than the several toaster ovens I've owned. The precise controls of my unit offers far more versatility. I've actually baked lasagna in it, not to bad.
 
About 2 1/2 years ago , I was here getting info on Air Fryers , never bought one because we were not cooking at home.

Now we are , so I got a question.
Can you cook a pot roast, a pork loin roast, steaks , hamburger patties , any
meat other than chicken strips, fish sticks, wings, that sort of thing.
I think you can cook a chicken in the bigger ones.

Seems that the Power XL is the one to buy.

Jim
 
@phideaux Mine has been regulated to smaller things which it is excellent at! Don't get me wrong... cooking for one or two can be challenging sometimes. The air fryer has it's place in my kitchen. Mine can cook larger things... but why would I want to?

My stove/oven is gas so I have a finely tuned grill. I have one stove eye that is 17K btu's so I can put a sear on anything like you wouldn't believe etc... And there is nothing like the steady dry heat an oven produces over time... For what it's worth...
 
Anything you can cook in the oven you can cook in the air fryer as long as it fits. It works like a broiler so keep that in mind and don't burn the top of stuff.
It takes some getting used to because of how fast it will cook. It's pretty easy to overcook stuff. Burgers are one of my favorites. Steak is good. Just remember to flip whatever you are cooking so it gets both sides grilled. Pizza is another good thing to cook. There are thousands of videos of people cooking everything under the sun in them.
I use my pellet grill when it's too hot for the oven. Tonight I cooked cornbread in a cast iron skillet on the pellet stove. Turned out good.
 
I'm a sucker for kitchen gadgets. Or at least researching them. Many I end up not buying, after I decide they're no better than something I already have.

I am intrigued by the air fryer over Peanut has. The Cuisinart TOA-60. I put one on my Amazon WishList. Will decide later if I want to buy it or not. I like this larger size one with a front opening glass door so you can see inside. The round kettle style ones you can't see inside and they cook only smaller amounts.

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B01K0W8LT...olid=12OOM7YOOKUHO&psc=1&ref_=lv_ov_lig_dp_it

On paper, the one above looks pretty good to me. And it is Peanut-approved! For the air fryer function at least. Peanut - can you tell us, does it do other toaster oven things well too? Like make toast? Most toaster ovens seem to fall far below regular toasters when making toast, but we've been using a toaster oven for that anyway, to save counter space. If we replace our aging cheap B&D toaster oven with this new Cuisinart whiz-bang, will it do a good job on toast too?

The white version is $5 more, but I have a hunch that it might be easier to clean. I don't know. Stainless looks nice, but it collects fingerprints and if you rub it too hard, even without using abrasives (a definite no-no), and you can accidentally mar the finish.
 
Haertig said:
The Cuisinart TOA-60.

Peanut - can you tell us, does it do other toaster oven things well too? Like make toast?
Click to expand...

Nothing makes toast like the little gadget that holds only 2 slices of bread.
biggrin.gif


Seriously, the toa-60 makes great toast. It just takes longer to heat up the large interior space. But then it can make a lot of toast per batch.

It's real downside is analog timers, most annoying. It takes some time/experience to the perfect desired output.
 
phideaux said:
About 2 1/2 years ago , I was here getting info on Air Fryers , never bought one because we were not cooking at home.

Now we are , so I got a question.
Can you cook a pot roast, a pork loin roast, steaks , hamburger patties , any
meat other than chicken strips, fish sticks, wings, that sort of thing.
I think you can cook a chicken in the bigger ones.

Seems that the Power XL is the one to buy.

Jim
Click to expand...

I have the power xl. So does multiple family members. I’m on my second one. We use it almost daily. Had to replace it because i made the mistake of soaking the basket in a tub with a dishwasher pod. Thanks to bad info online the pod ate the non stick off. Won’t make that mistake again.
I’ve cooked all sorts of meat in it. Both wrapped in foil and loose like burgers just set in the basket. The biggest thing is to add some water to the bottom So the grease doesn’t smoke or worse. Doesn’t take much just make sure it doesn’t go dry.
I’ve heated and cooked just about everything in ours.
FYI Bed bath and beyond sells them in all the sizes and they have decent coupons. I ordered my replacement online.
 
angie_nrs said:
I got up early this morning and flipped on the TV while pouring my coffee and guess what I saw?

A Power Air Fryer Oven. Now that sounds interesting to me. You can do rotisserie chicken, 3 racks of food, or dehydrate food. I'm almost thinking I should have held off and purchased the oven instead, but I just learned of it this morning. I've never seen the original infomercial for the regular unit, but I just went and set the DVR to record the infomercial for the oven since I just caught the last couple of minutes of it. Am I a geek or what?

I do love the idea of not having to use the oven in the summer. Last summer I used my crock pot outdoors to help keep the house cool and we did LOTS of grilling. I also have a hot plate that I plug in outdoors and cook on the porch. I just hate cooking indoors during the summer!
Click to expand...
Angie,
We have the power air fryer oven, and I love it. I made fried chicken the other day and it came out great. The first batch, some of the breading stuck to the shelf, so I perforated some parchment paper and put it under the chicken for the second batch - nice and crispy and didn't stick. My husband makes french fries and onion rings in the AFO, and they come out amazingly well. He used it tonight to cook salmon, and the salmon was tender and juicy.
 
I bought perferated parchment papers, actually, they came with all the accessories I bought extra. I used it under some chicken wings and set fire to the paper, twice. Slow learner, I guess.
We use a little spray oil on the racks and also spray a little oil on the food. If there is raw flour after it's been cooking for a while I spray it. Air fryers are great for cutting down on oil but they still need a little.
If you cook bacon in it watch it closely so it doesn't overcook.
Shake the food around so it crisps up on all sides.
 
I took my computer into the shop for a repair last year. This is a shop that is privately owned and has been around for many years. They had a display about three levels of computers. There are cheap, Black Friday type computers, made to not last and wear as long. Then there are mid grade computers that office supply places sell. The best made computers are made and sold by manufacturers, such as Dell. Want a Dell computer? The best grade and priciest comes from Dell itself.

So while I was waiting, I had a conversation with one of the repair people. He told me this is true of many things, such as crock pots, air fryers, etc. You can buy the cheapest one you can find at Walmart, but typically, they do not last as long as a higher end one.

My daughter bought an instant pot earlier this year. She researched for weeks before deciding which one to get and bought a more expensive model. This is true of all of her small kitchen appliances. She wants to buy once, and since she is in her 30's, knows she will be using these things for years. I had never seen such a nice crock pot as hers. But as an older person, do I want to buy something that will be more expensive and outlive me by years or maybe decades? Or do I want to buy the cheapest one I can find?
 
I usually buy the middle of the road. Not the most expensive but not the cheapest. I'm one of those guys that either research the heck out of something or I make an impulse buy and sometimes regret it later. I read reviews and watch Youtube videos.
If I'm buying something that will get used a lot I will spend more. If it's something I will use rarely I don't spend as much.
Expensive doesn't all ways mean better.

I loaded an addon for my browser called Fakespot. When I have reviews displayed I can click on the icon in the address bar and it will open the Fakespot website in another tab and give me a pretty good indication of the reliability of the reviews.

We live in a throwaway society and most things are not built to last a lifetime like they were years ago.
My Dad's favorite saying was "It just has to outlive me." I remember that every time I have to redo something he did. Sometimes I wish he had spent a little more so I didn't have to redo it. :)
 
Weedygarden said:
I took my computer into the shop for a repair last year. This is a shop that is privately owned and has been around for many years. They had a display about three levels of computers. There are cheap, Black Friday type computers, made to not last and wear as long. Then there are mid grade computers that office supply places sell. The best made computers are made and sold by manufacturers, such as Dell. Want a Dell computer? The best grade and priciest comes from Dell itself.

So while I was waiting, I had a conversation with one of the repair people. He told me this is true of many things, such as crock pots, air fryers, etc. You can buy the cheapest one you can find at Walmart, but typically, they do not last as long as a higher end one.

My daughter bought an instant pot earlier this year. She researched for weeks before deciding which one to get and bought a more expensive model. This is true of all of her small kitchen appliances. She wants to buy once, and since she is in her 30's, knows she will be using these things for years. I had never seen such a nice crock pot as hers. But as an older person, do I want to buy something that will be more expensive and outlive me by years or maybe decades? Or do I want to buy the cheapest one I can find?
Click to expand...

That's where we are.
We discussed buying a cheapy , to see if we like it. It may not be for us.

My daughter has a cheap WM one, loves it , they use it daily. Family of 4.

We might use it 2-3 times a week.

We are discussing what to buy.
Looking at reviews.
I really like @Peanut one, but it's more and bigger than we need . We saw it at BBK.
The PwerxL is also rated high , but do we need one even that big

Power XL also makes a 7 qt one she likes , but thinks it will be harder cleanup.

We are slow movers, but she wants one , if for just French fries.

Jim
 
phideaux said:
We are slow movers, but she wants one , if for just French fries.

Jim
Click to expand...
I am too, when it comes to most purchases, other than the every day stuff. God help the salesman who is trying to sell me a car, especially if he has an idea of what I want or should have and hasn't been listening to me. I would prefer a stick shift, which is almost impossible to find in vehicles these days. They want to put me in a 4 cylinder granny car with an automatic. It ain't happening! Driving up to the mountains in one of those? Nope!
 
Once you have fries or tater torts cooked in an air fryer you won't go back to deep frying. Just dump them in still frozen, shake the basket halfway through the cooking time. Same way with chicken wings. We actually have 2 air fryers and we sometimes use both at the same time.
I am headed to the kitchen to make wings now.
You all are a bad influence on my food intake but thanks. :)
 
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I have never deep fried anything in my life. I figure it is too much of a mess. If I want something deep fried ... that's what restaurants are for. Frozen french fries (which I rarely eat) just go in the oven and I put up with what comes out. Maybe one of these air friers might improve those.

I remember years ago when popcorn "air poppers" were all the rage. I hated the dry, tasteless popcorn that came out of them. I bought one of those movie theater type poppers. That has the kettle inside a plexiglass enclosure that you put oil in, it has an internal stirring mechanism, and things just pop right out of the top of it, lifting the lid. Now THAT makes good popcorn! Phenomenal actually. However, cleaning is a bear. No matter how meticulous you are, oil eventually gets all over the inside, and there's just no easy way to get semi-solidified oil off of plexiglass. Because of the difficult cleanup, we rarely use it anymore. :(

Oil is just such a mess!
 
.......Power XL also makes a 7 qt one she likes , but thinks it will be harder cleanup......

I have the big one but I can't remember how many quarts it is. The power XL only had 2 sizes. I'd recommend the larger one, even if only for the two of you. We use it for vege tots, sweet potato fries, and chicken tenders mostly but with the bigger space, it'll cook faster b/c there is more air flow between the food. Even the big one doesn't hold a lot, but I don't stack food in it either. I think I really need to do some more experimenting with it and we've had ours for a while now.

We don't wash ours after every use. If it's something like tots that don't really make a mess, we will wash it after every thrid or fourth use. When there are burnt krispies in the tub under the mesh basket, we'll clean it out. I dropped my basket unit on the tile floor once, so it doesn't sit as good as it used to. I saw 2 more of them at a discount store and bought them both so that I have replacements when I need them. Yes, I like it that much:) It never fails.....as soon as you buy something you like, they change it.
 
You "can" cook bacon in the air fryer, but the bacon gets blown around quite a bit in my experience (thick sliced would be best for this). YMMV...

We still use our air fryer regularly.

We use it mainly for hamburgers and fried chicken these days, as the usual "junk foods" (corn dogs, french fries, cheese sticks, etc...) are off the menu until after my transplant.


For hamburgers, we buy the 1/4# pre-made Angus patties.
Put in the air fryer basket and set the temp at 350° for 10 minutes, flip and cook another 10 minutes then check with a meat thermometer for preferred doneness.
(EDIT: The times above are for frozen patties. Thawed should be closer to 6 minutes per side)


For Keto Friendly Fried Chicken, pat the chicken dry with paper towels, then spray or lightly coat with cooking oil and sprinkle seasoning (we typically use a salt free Garlic and Herb mix, but you can use whatever you'd like).
Set the air fryer temp at 375° and cook for 15 minutes. Flip then cook another 15 minutes. Check for doneness with a thermometer.
 
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phideaux said:
We just had BLTs for lunch again.

Frying all that bacon...messy.
Heated up kitchen.
Splatters all over stove.

Would the air fryer do good on making oil free crispy bacon?

Jim
Click to expand...
Yes, bacon can be cooked in an air fryer. You just need to watch it closely and turn it over. It will cook faster than the stovetop or the oven.
Once you have fries or tater tots in an air fryer you won't go back to the oven or deep fryer.
My wings are just about done and the house is smelling gooood.
 
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