Poll of the Day > If you have been thinking about getting an air fryer (review)

(+) Yeah! (+)

So, today was my first day using an air fryer, and I must say they are pretty freaking amazing.

I have not created a batter yet for fried chicken, but I did do chicken legs today with just spices on them, and even without batter they were crispy and delicious (the skin was nice and crunchy).

Meanwhile I made both mushrooms and tater tots in the fryer.

The tater tots were just frozen tots from the store, I sprayed with a bit of oil mist, and added season all, garlic power and black pepper to. They were delicious (At least as good as tots from a fast food place etc, even though they were frozen). I ate almost the whole bag as I made a full basket later for a snack lol.

The mushrooms I also made more of later (initially I made like 5 tots and 3 mushrooms to go with the chicken). They were delicious. I just cut them into thirds and sprayed 1 side of them with a bit of oil + garlic powder. Took only about 10 minutes to make them extremely yummy.

I got a 5.8 quart air fryer (on sale for 50% off on amazon and then another $10 off on top of that. Total price was around $70.

It can hold quite a bit of food without the food touching. I would say enough for 2 people normally, but if you like to cook multiple things (like mushrooms + tots + chicken), it makes a full meal for one. The clean up is insanely easy as well, I use aluminum foil usually when cooking in the oven to make clean up easier, but that is not needed at all for the air fryer (1 minute of washing in the sink and your done).

It's fast as well, I just basically open the basket midway and turn the food (or shake the basket for the tots). I didn't turn the mushrooms at all though (no need).

Tomorrow I am going to try and make hamburgers in it, but, an advantage already will be that the basket is non-stick and I should be able to make very thin burger patties. I can't wait to try it. I will probably try making some home made french friest/potato wedges as well.

The potato dishes especially are going to be great. There is a, basically large mozz stick recipe that I converted into a lasagna like dish, but I am going to unconvert it with this. Basically make good mashed potatoes, put mozz in the middle and itallian bread crumbs on the outside. The way the air fryer works is probably going to make that insanely delicious.

I have mine set up in my room on a marble slab on top of my microwave, although the slab didn't get hot at all, I followed the instructions to make sure if there was any heating it wouldn't hit the microwave. I really wish I had bought one sooner because the food is amazingly good, easy to prep, easy to clean, and healthy as well (Very little if any oil is used).

I've had a lifelong fear of deep frying (due to an incident when I was around 11 or 12), so there are many foods I never was able to make. This solves that, and makes many other foods WAY easier, so far more likely to make for just myself.

I highly recommend them. I was not sure if I would like the food made by one until I tried it, but it's actually amazingly good at frying stuff. I'll save way more than $70 long term by not having to order uber eats or eat out because I can make scrumptious food at home easily and fast. It's easier to use then my gas grill (which is like 5 feet from my bed now in the back yard lol). I still have not tried steak in it, and I think i'll prob still be better off with my gas or charcole grill for steaks, but who knows, maybe not. It would be easier/faster and I wouldn't have to pay as much attention if it does steaks nearly as well.

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Ive always wondered how these are different from those countertop convection ovens that used to be popular...toaster ovens I think they were called.

wolfy42 posted...

If you have been thinking about getting an air fryer

I have been!

I've also been considering getting a rice steamer for years now.



wolfy42 posted...

There is a, basically large mozz stick recipe that I converted into a lasagna like dish, but I am going to unconvert it with this.

Mozzarella sticks are one of the things I'm curious to know how the fryer handles. Especially pre-made ones that are technically made to be baked rather than fried (because I'm not a huge fan of baked sticks).

I'm also moderately curious how the thing would handle bacon.



wolfy42 posted...

Tomorrow I am going to try and make hamburgers in it, but, an advantage already will be that the basket is non-stick and I should be able to make very thin burger patties.

I actually have a rotisserie for that - two medium-sized patties fit in a single cage, then you basically bake them sideways and a good amount of the excess fat drops out. Throw them on a kaiser roll and you're good to go.

The rotisserie is also pretty good for steak - I generally sear it in a frying pan, then switch it to the rotisserie and bake until it's rare, and it tastes great. The bake could be an issue because it can dry out meat, but the searing helps solve that problem and locks most of the juices in. So good.



wolfy42 posted...

I've had a lifelong fear of deep frying (due to an incident when I was around 11 or 12), so there are many foods I never was able to make. This solves that, and makes many other foods WAY easier, so far more likely to make for just myself.

I've never really had a fear of it - when I was a kid my grandmother owned a Fry Daddy (which was basically just a hot bucket you put lard into), and we'd fry ethnic cookies in it (basically these: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Angel_wings ). So I was always pretty chill about the idea of handling red hot grease.

The real problem for stuff like that is grease disposal. It can get messy, which in turn kind of discourages using it as often as you otherwise might. It's part of why I don't even make french fries or bacon in a frying pan as often as I might, because there's always a fair amount of grease left to get rid of.

When my father was still alive he actually used to keep the grease, then do this thing where you mix bird seed into the grease and let it congeal into a lump that you can feed to birds. But that's not really my jam.
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Yeah, it's way different then a toaster over, although they may have made ones like it later on.

ParanoidObsessive posted...

I've also been considering getting a rice steamer for years now.

For that i'd highly recommend the Instant Pot, it handles steaming rice, but is a pressure cooker, a saute pan, a slow cooker, yogurt maker and something else (Forget the last one). I have not used it to make yogurt (cause I don't like yogurts) but all the other options rock.It makes GREAT soup as a pressure cooker super fast.

ParanoidObsessive posted...

Mozzarella sticks are one of the things I'm curious to know how the fryer handles. Especially pre-made ones that are technically made to be baked rather than fried (because I'm not a huge fan of baked sticks).

I'm also moderately curious how the thing would handle bacon.

I'll let you know on the sticks soon, as i'm gonna make some from scratch in the next few days. I called my dish Baked potato pancakes and it was what I would usually bring to pot lucks or especially T-day meals if I was visiting someone (cause I don't like any of the normal t-day foods, turkey/yams/stuffing/cranberry sauce). It basically was lasagna but with layers of mashed potatoes instead of noodles, mozz cheese, and then bread crumbs and cheese on top. The mash potatoes would get golden on the sides/bottom, and the cheese gets crunchy (like a pizza) on top. Super delicious and I could have that for a full meal on T-day lol (while still having plenty for everyone else).

I actually did the hamburgers just now, and they were ok, better then on a stove top/in an oven, but not as good as the grill. Think i'm gonna stick to a grill for them, as it's significantly better.

I'd love to get a rotisserie sometime, but i'm running out of space. If I buy a mobile home or rent an apartment later I probably will though, but for now this is probably my last cooking purchase (have my insta pot + toaster + tea maker + fryer now all in 1 room, along with a microwave as well).

As far as bacon, even with a 5.8 quart one, I think I could only fit a few pieces in at a time, but I may try it anyway someday. The greese would probably be annoying to clean out of it though (generally not much mess because you don't use much if any oil, but the burgers were already more of a hassle to clean up (Another reason to use the grill), and bacon would be much worse. I generally use an empty pasta sauce jar to dispose of my grease when making bacon, and in the recent past I usually just broil/bake it in the oven (can easily make 2 aluminum foil pans worth at once, and store the cooked bacon in the fridge for a week as I snarf on it hehe).

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Yeah my wife got me a ninja foodi grill for my birthday. I love it, I use it every other day.

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Revisiting bacon.

While I would NOT want to clean bacon grease off it (even after pooring most of it off), I COULD try putting aluminum foil down inside to catch the grease (on the bottom under the basket, not on the basket part.

The basket part would be easy to clean, and you would still get the air fryer cooking advantage that way.

It still would not cook alot of bacon at once, but I could just do batches of it. Maybe 5 pieces at a time (First 5 pieces I eat right away), or I guess if it's pretty easy to do, I could just make the bacon when I wanna eat it instead of all together.

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I'd like to get an air fryer and an insta pot but I haven't made up my mind yet.

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i got one for my birthday on the 6th, haven't had a chance to use it yet unfortunately.

@EvilMegas
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I've tried a few air fryers, none of them worked any better than a conventional OVEN... that's the thing, oven; not fryer.

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I think Im gonna get that special lid that turns the instant pot into an air fryer

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Shrug this one works great. I'm about to make me some snackalicious bbq chicken legs. Can't wait to do it with boneless skinless thighs actually (my favorite). It's pretty much the same method from yesterday initially (which gets the skin extra crunchy yum, but at the last 3 mins you coat it with BBQ sauce. I bet it's gonna be insane.

But yeah it's WAY better than a normal oven. I don't think i've had a conventional oven so never got to try that. I certainly was never able to make potato products like this though (super crunchy the way I like em, in just minutes).

It was great for mushrooms as well, but can't wait to do oil coated brussle sprouts soon.

Anyway it's especially good if you rent a room and don't have a normal oven to use regularly (I could but it would mean going upstairs and I try and give my roomates their privacy). It is doing everything an oven would do, but more (but mayb enot more then a convection oven would).

Certainly worth the around $70 I paid for it though, heck worth it already and it's only the second day I'm using it lolz).

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Mead posted...

I think Im gonna get that special lid that turns the instant pot into an air fryer

What? I didn't know that existed? Oh well, I like having this one anyway and it was cheap, and it's more space then the insta pot (and lets me cook with both at the same time).

Still wish I had heard of that.

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blu posted...

Ive always wondered how these are different from those countertop convection ovens that used to be popular...toaster ovens I think they were called.

I mean our newer toaster oven has an air fry feature so they don't have to be different if you don't want them to be.

They're also way more versatile and way cheaper than a whole new oven.

I've been using an air fryer for about a year or so. 90% of my usage is from chicken with some basic herbs, the rest is for salmon and other fish. Very happy with it.

My partner made crispy port belly and it was amazing.

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imCheatingdude posted...

I've been using an air fryer for about a year or so. 90% of my usage is from chicken with some basic herbs, the rest is for salmon and other fish. Very happy with it.

My partner made crispy port belly and it was amazing.

I mean, the chicken is good and easier than the BBQ, but it's mostly convienence (BBQ could work). The only thing I'm really finding it superior over other devices so far is potatos, but it does do the mushrooms with less effort/clean up (no oil needed or just oil spray).

For me it's convienent as it works like an oven (and better in some ways) but in my room, so that is really nice. It made hamburgers better then traditionally ovens for sure, but not as good as the grill. For my chicken thighs eventually, the grill is probably worth the extra time/effort, but if I just wanna eat a few thighs quickly and not make a whole batch and put some in the fridge/freezer, this will be much easier/faster.

It's convienence mostly, except for potatoes (so far), but I also have not tried actually making fried chicken yet (I have 4 pieces left to try that on) something I could never do before (although in theory I could in a shallow pan with a light amount of oil, I never tried).

Making snitzel (chicken, don't like pork other than bacon mostly), though was always a huge mess and a ton of work. I might be able to do that much easier with this as well, and it's yum. So for frying stuff..well hence the name..the air fryer is prob gonna be better. It gives me other options for food I would normally cook in the oven as well (though not slow cook I don't think....but I guess I could try doing a roast at a lower temp and see how that comes out.

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It's definitely more convenient. I just put some foil on top and add a dash of olive oil. I'll prep about 5 boneless thigh fillets for my work lunch with rosemary, thyme, pepper and pink Himalayan salt. Throw them in there for 20 mins and flip once. That's my lunch for the week done.

We tried some fries once, but they came out average. I attribute that to putting a bit too much in there in the first place.

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We have an Emril Legasse air fryer. We use it all the time.

imCheatingdude posted...

It's definitely more convenient. I just put some foil on top and add a dash of olive oil. I'll prep about 5 boneless thigh fillets for my work lunch with rosemary, thyme, pepper and pink Himalayan salt. Throw them in there for 20 mins and flip once. That's my lunch for the week done.

We tried some fries once, but they came out average. I attribute that to putting a bit too much in there in the first place.

You put foil on top of the frying rack (the one with the holes?). I was thinking of putting it under it to collect the juices (to speed cleanup), but was worried putting it under the food would impede the cooking method. Would be the easiest setup for bacon though if I could just place it on the foil directly (hate cleaning bacon grease).

For fries potatoes, I had a full basket (but only 1 layer), and spraying a bit of oil on the toats + added spices made them freaking delicious AF lol. I still have not tried fries (frozen) or fresh cut wedges (have the ingrediants for both).

That is something I'm looking forward to, but I bought so many meats when I went shopping to try I'm pretty much having to focus mostly on them.

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Wow these BBQ chicken legs are off the charts. Way better then BBQ (prob won't be better for thighs but maybe).

First what I did.

Cooked the normal 30 mins for legs, flipping halfway through. lightly sprayed with oil + added pepper/garlic/season all/papprika to the chicken.

Last 4 minutes I pulled them out and coated them with original Bullseye bbq sauce. Put back in.

Advantages over BBQ were as follows.

First fully cooked through, but still very juicy. A prob with BBQ is ensuring that happens without burning the outside. I still prefer the char a bit more from BBQ but the legs especially are hard to cook through without burns.

Second the sauce, it just got baked on quickly at the end so they are fully coated with the sauce. It's delicious and stuck better then on a grill.

The skin is nice and crispy underneath, like it was fried and then coated with sauce (pretty much what happened. Prob the best legs I have made at home by a decent amount.

Can't wait to try boneless/skinless thighs now.

And to try coated/fried chicken sometime soon.

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wolfy42 posted...

What? I didn't know that existed? Oh well, I like having this one anyway and it was cheap, and it's more space then the insta pot (and lets me cook with both at the same time).

Still wish I had heard of that.

yeah I only heard about it recently when helly mentioned it in another topic

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wolfy42 posted...
wolfy42 posted...

I can't wait to try it. I will probably try making some home made french friest/potato wedges as well.

Is that a French priest?

It basically was lasagna but with layers of mashed potatoes instead of noodles, mozz cheese, and then bread crumbs and cheese on top. The mash potatoes would get golden on the sides/bottom, and the cheese gets crunchy (like a pizza) on top. Super delicious and I could have that for a full meal on T-day lol (while still having plenty for everyone else).

Can I have the recipe?
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Mead posted...

yeah I only heard about it recently when helly mentioned it in another topic

I just looked them up on amazon and the reviews don't look great. You can also only have the bottom of the pot have food on it (so much less space than my 5.8 quart one), and it cost as much as getting a whole fryer like I did(at least with the sale I got). I paid $70, the meat one is 104, but there is another one for $60. They especially say it doesn't work well for chicken and other meats etc (hamburgers as well). Glad I went with the deal I got.

Revelation34 posted...

Can I have the recipe?

Sure, I have not made it in awhile but here is the general recipe (bear in mind I always cooked by memory and my memory blows now lol).

First and most important is good home made mashed potatoes. They are the primary part of this dish, so making them taste great is VITAL. Make sure not to over cook the potatoes, then smash them, and add a decent amount of butter + spices + some milk, till the taste freaking great. I also add some grated parmesian cheese, but that is up to how you like your mashed potatoes to taste (there will be cheese in the dish already).

Next coat a baking pan with oil (just a light coating). You can use butter if you prefer, but the oil will get you a nice brown outer layer on your potatoes (which tastes great). Lightly sprinkle the top of the first layer with itallian bread crumbs, then make a nice layer of Whole milk (if you can find it) mozz cheese. Part skim will still work if that is all you can get, but it's not as good. Create another layer of potatoes, light bread crumbs, and more cheese, and then a top layer of potatoes (you can skip the bread crumbs here if you want since the top layer of cheese gets crispy).

Stick it in the oven at 400, and keep a good eye on it, you want the top to have brown spots and be crispy , but not harden over and turn dark brown/black (much like lasagna). The high temp causes the cheese to change fast so don't just leave it for 10 minutes, check every couple of minuts after the first 5.

Let it sit after removing it for at least 5 minutes. The outside of the potatoes (where they touch the pan) should have browned and become crispy, like a pie crust almost. The top has crispy cheese, and the middle has soft cheese and delicious mashed potatoes.

It's extremly yummy.

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wolfy42 posted...

You put foil on top of the frying rack (the one with the holes?). I was thinking of putting it under it to collect the juices (to speed cleanup), but was worried putting it under the food would impede the cooking method. Would be the easiest setup for bacon though if I could just place it on the foil directly (hate cleaning bacon grease).

For fries potatoes, I had a full basket (but only 1 layer), and spraying a bit of oil on the toats + added spices made them freaking delicious AF lol. I still have not tried fries (frozen) or fresh cut wedges (have the ingrediants for both).

That is something I'm looking forward to, but I bought so many meats when I went shopping to try I'm pretty much having to focus mostly on them.

I've tried a bit of both for chicken do 50/50 kinda randomly. I pause and flip it regularly so that might help.

You definitely can't do it with salmon fillets though.

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wolfy42 posted...

I just looked them up on amazon and the reviews don't look great

oh bummer, kinda glad I havent bought one now

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So at around 1 am, I got hungry, it had been a long time since the chicken thismorning and while I had a quick snack of mushrooms and taters (may be a no fairly normal snack for me as no clean up and super fast), I needed something more substantial.

I decided to give the tri tip steak a shot, but intead of doing it as a whole steak.I made it into steak tips (bite sized steak pieces basically). I covered it all in canola oil (light coating) and a bunch of spices (garlic/pepper/season all/paprica/onion powder). Tossed it in for 8 minutes turning halfway through and it was quite good. Could really use a good sauce (I'm gonna have to seriously learn how to make a bunch of good sauces to go with this air fryer).

Anyway that was by far and away the easiest I have ever cooked steak, from opening the package to eating was 10 minutes. It was nice and seared on the outside, but juicy on the inside, perfectly medium for each piece. I could have used a bit more spices but I didn't wanna over spice the first time (and honestly I'll probably use a sauce of some time in the future).

Another good food item to make though, and especially useful late at night or any time you want food fast, but still want it to taste good. Clean up was about 2 minutes as well, that more then anything is what I'm most impressed by this thing. I used aluminum foil to help prevent cleanup in the oven, but this doesn't even need that.

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Yum, made the fried chicken. It said not to use a batter, so I just used flour + spices, sprayed with a bit of oil and it was delicious. Just made 4 pieces (took a pic but it's on my phone, might post it later). Totally cake to make though. I actually liked it more than the BBQ chicken tbh, I ended up basically nibbling on the bones to get the last pieces of fried skin lol.

YUM!

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What's wrong with using a batter?
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The instructions on the air fryers say they move air around quickly so it blows the batter off basically. I did it with dry flour (mixed with spices) and a little oil spray and it was delicious though.

Unless that is a sexual reference where you have another guy tap you out for a bit, in which case I guess ....nothing?

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Wow, the air fryer is the best bagel toaster I have ever had, and I've had a few.

So I didn't feel like setting up my toaster, and I did a search to see if you could just toast bagels in the air fryer.

Sure enough you could, but the air fryer only can hold 1 bagel at a time (if you want to eat 2 for breakfast).

This is easily handled (Even while making tea as well).

Unlike the recipes I found only (directions I guess), I found this works the best.

First preheat the air fryer to 360, that takes about 2 minutes of having it on to 360.

Put your first split bagel into the air fryer, leave it in there for 2 minutes, then remove it, and put the second split bagel in for 2 minutes. During those 2 minutes butter your bagel (helps if your butter is already soft by leaving it out a bit before hand, or if you leave it out all the time (I don't).

When 2 minutes are up, take out your second bagel and butter it, while you put the first bagel back in for another 2 minutes. Remove and replace with the second bagel and your first bagel is already done. Total time from start till bagel goodness is about 8 minutes (10 minutes for the whole process to be over with both bagels done). That is faster then I like to steep my tea, so I start the tea process early.

Now why is this so good?

Well first it toasts the whole bagel which many toasters do, but unless it's a toaster oven, you can't really put the bagel back into a sideways toaster without butter dripping off etc. With this, the butter gets toasted on and a more yellow color and better flavor for sure. The entire outside of the bagel is crispy but not burnt, and the inside is hot, not cold. It's superior by far than any sideways toaster I have ever used, and even better than the toaster oven I used to have (Which had the problem of burning the bagels sometimes etc.)

I am finding new things that my air fryer is good at every day. Soon I shall try hot dogs.

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