Has anyone used an air-fryer?

Discussion in 'The Good Life' started by Sara-s, Nov 15, 2018.

  1. Sara-s

    Sara-s This Pun for Hire

    I have seen these online and like the idea (in theory.). But I would like to know if anyone has used one. If so, did you like it? Any favorite or least favorite brands?
    I would appreciate any info you can provide.
     
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  2. Queen of Blades

    Queen of Blades Mistress of Mischief Staff Member

    Moderator Supporting Vendor
    I have recently purchased an air fryer.

    I tried this Black & Decker first, but was very unhappy with it. The exterior got very hot, it was too big, didn't cook evenly, and the basket was too shallow.

    After returning the B&D, I decided on the Bella 5.3 qt. I am very happy with it. The only part that gets hot to the touch is the front of the drawer, the size is reasonable, cooks perfect, and cooks plenty for two people.

    I've cooked tater tots, sweet potato fries, hash brown patties, pizzas, steaks, pork chops, chicken wings, and probably some other stuff I'm forgetting. Steaks and pork chops weren't a big hit, but they were juicy. I probably just need to figure out how to get the best steak out of the air fryer. Wings are awesome. No breading or anything. Cook em, sauce em, and serve.

    I would recommend getting an air fryer with a digital display.
     
  3. richgem

    richgem suffering from chronic clicker hand cramps

    I have been thinking of getting one too, if I could find a nicer price on them. So, I have no direct experience to speak from. But, a friend of mine has tried a few and it comes down to what @Queen of Blades has already said. Essentially, some are better than others and some foods air fry better than others. With the one my friend settled on (can't remember the brand), fries were great, fried chicken was "ok." Just as an example.
     
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  4. ChiefBoatsRet

    ChiefBoatsRet New Member

    I recently bought mine at Costco because of the price and their return policies. After reading many reviews I have determined that no matter the brand they all seem to have a fairly short lifespan. So far everything baked has turned out great. I say baked because they are nothing more than a small convection oven. Even the largest is big enough for two, maybe three servings usually made one thing at a time. Not much good for a family of four or more. For me it was worth the 60 bucks I spent, I wouldnt pay much more than that though. Going to Amazon will make your head spin at the massive number of brands / look alikes that are available.
     
  5. Sara-s

    Sara-s This Pun for Hire

    I decided on the Oster Air Fryer. It just came today.
    [​IMG]
    More comments after I've cooked some stuff in it.
     
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  6. richgem

    richgem suffering from chronic clicker hand cramps

    [​IMG]
     
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  7. Hairy Alaskan

    Hairy Alaskan eww da toilet

    We have used ours many times over the year we’ve had it. Most things we’ve cooked in it have come out very well. Hot wings come out great and are nice and crispy without any coating. Most frozen foods come out pretty well like egg rolls, fish sticks, chicken strips, taquitos, etc. For some reason frozen pot stickers didn’t come out good at all.
    The one big downside to our air fryer is we have to do small batches for things to come out evenly crispy. Most pictures of air fryers show full baskets of food but they won’t come out evenly that way. You’d have to stir them constantly. You can really only do single layers because the browning mostly comes from facing the heating coil above the basket. Other brands might be better at this than an ours. We have a Farberware brand one.
    Because of our air fryer, our daughters now refuse to eat chicken nuggets at school lunch because they aren’t crispy like the ones we make at home.


    Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk
     
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  8. Sara-s

    Sara-s This Pun for Hire

    @Hairy Alaskan thanks for the feedback. My Oster actually is designed to stir the food as it goes. Here’s a video to show how it works;



    I cooked a couple of boneless chicken thighs(breaded) in it, for dinner. They came out great! They were moist inside and crispy on the outside. It’s off to a good start.
     
    Last edited: Nov 24, 2018
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  9. Hairy Alaskan

    Hairy Alaskan eww da toilet

    That is pretty cool. Thanks for posting that. That may end up on my Christmas list.


    Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk
     
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  10. Sara-s

    Sara-s This Pun for Hire

    Last night’s experiment was grilled sausage patties. (This fryer has Bake or Grill settings). They were moist inside, but lacked the crispness I get when I use the broiler in my oven. I’d cook it this way on a day that’s too hot to run the oven, but it’s not quite as good. Cooking time was the same as it takes under my broiler.
     
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  11. Hairy Alaskan

    Hairy Alaskan eww da toilet

    I tried breakfast links in ours once. They just swelled up and got wrinkly. Not as good as pan fried. Haven’t tried bacon yet.


    Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk
     
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  12. Sara-s

    Sara-s This Pun for Hire

    I’m still experimenting. It does take some learning to figure out what will work well & what won’t. I made some frozen hash-brown patties yesterday. They came out great- very crisp. Since I suspect that every brand of these differs a bit, I am finding it helpful to keep some notes on what I am doing, including what I like & dislike as well as cooking times.

    So far, we have found that we really like chicken, pork chops & hash-brown patties better in the air fryer. But the sausage patties are better under the broiler.
     
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  13. ChiefBoatsRet

    ChiefBoatsRet New Member

    For steaks I am a griller but I tried a couple of smaller fairly thick steaks. 400 deg about 5 min per side (checked with thermometer), good char & perfectly med rare. They were delicious & I was pleasently surprised. Great for reheating pizza & fried foods, soups and sauces not so much.
     
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  14. brit

    brit in a box

    at first glance i thought the post read hair dryer , then thought maybe a cockney slang term..never used one..
     
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  15. Sara-s

    Sara-s This Pun for Hire

    We’ve made French fries in them, (fresh, not frozen) with pretty good result. They could have been crisper, but they should have been cut into smaller pieces.

    We’ve also made breaded chicken a few different ways; regular breadcrumbs, Panko breadcrumbs and seasoned flour. The regular breadcrumbs seem to work best int the air-fryer. This weekend we are going to try some wings.
     
  16. Sara-s

    Sara-s This Pun for Hire

    We made the wings tonight. They came out crispy and tasty. We served them with some Buffalo sauce & hash-brown patties on the side.
     
  17. Komi

    Komi New Member

    Air fryer = best bacon ever.
     
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  18. Sara-s

    Sara-s This Pun for Hire

    How is it different in the air-fryer?
     
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  19. Killerflyingbugs

    Killerflyingbugs Well-Known Member

    My neighbor has one, dont rember the brand but had some "fried" shrimp from it and it was good.

    On the subject of cool kitchen gadgets, i just got an insta-pot and it is amazing! I also have a pizza pizzaz and it is also super cool.
     
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  20. Komi

    Komi New Member

    Less mess and when you figure out your timing for the crispiness that you like it’s perfect every time.
     
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