I have a air fryer in my toaster oven, but have never used it.
Might need to try it as I worked on an air fryer cookbook earlier in the week.
I stated upthread:
We haven’t notice any terrible smell of something gone rancid etc.
We moved to clean and found stains underneath—we think from heat. We also found stains in the group between the subway tiles—we think from aerosolized oil that blows out the vents. We wish we’d known, since the countertop and tiles are white.
Mine cooks in about half the time as an oven, wastes less power, does a much better job on many foods and is healthier (bit does not completely replace) deep frying. There are lots of things to like about it.
I love my air fryer. It’s not a slide in drawer job, it’s a lift lid job like a convection oven and it has a rotisserie.
I did a small roast beef on the rotisserie tonight, threw some spuds in the bottom and steamed some veges. I haven’t used my actual oven for a few years, no need to. I make mini frittatas in it for brunch, cook roasts, it’s brilliant for chicken wings or party pies for a Saturday night watching footy.
I’ve done roast pork in it on the rotisserie, brilliant crackle and moist meat.
I just got an air fryer because … why not? I can always use a new toy. A month when Amazon doesn’t deliver new toys is a month wasted!
The one I got is a popular basket type (Ninja AF101) and I’m just starting to play with it. I have no immediate strong impressions but let’s face it, an air fryer is essentially a small, efficient convection oven that bakes and roasts faster than an ordinary oven and potentially with better results. It cooks frozen french fries, but it doesn’t work miracles on them. There’s a wide variety of things I’m interested in trying with it like chicken wings, fries tossed in duck fat, and mini-potatoes or potatoes Parisienne tossed in olive oil and herbs. The ability to cook sides like that independently of the main oven is definitely a plus.
Also, I’m thinking it could be very useful when I rinse small cremini or button mushrooms en masse for use in spaghetti. These take forever to dry so that they saute properly. I’m thinking I could use the “dehydrate” function to accelerate the drying, then toss them in melted garlic butter, and air-fry them instead of messy sautéeing.
Do I love this thing? I’ve consulted with the jury, and they’re still deliberating. I think it has great potential, though.
Bacon is better off cooked on a sheet pan in the oven. Anything too greasy or with a lot of liquid is not really suitable for an air fryer. IMO. Once a month or so I clean the coils and the nooks and crannies of the basket with Q-tips dipped in dish detergent and hot water. A little baked on grease will come off, not all, but there are not strong old cooking smells the next time I use it.
The best bacon cooking technique IMO is to drop your entire unopened package into your sous vide vessel and cook 12-24 hours at 147 degrees F. After it is done, snip a corner of the package and pour off the bacon fat for later use.
The bacon can now be “crisped” in a pan for a minute on each side. It can also be refrigerated for later use by placing a slice on a sheet of parchment paper, then folding the paper accordion style, adding another slice after each fold. The entire thing can then be placed in a large zip-lock bag.
Oooh, that’ll work, too. I hate cooking bacon and tend to cook a pound or more at a time and freeze.
I bought one and really like it but I’ve never found a way to get hash browns to turn out right…which was the primary reason I bought it.
I suspect my disappointment with the french fries was because I was using 5-minute fries, which came out much like they did in the oven, with the added “bonus” of being overdone even though I cut the time to half of the normal oven time (I did them for 5 minutes; in the oven it usually takes 9 to 10). Today I got regular frozen fries which come with specific instructions for air fryers (which calls for a much lower temperature and shorter cook time than for an oven). Also got a big box of frozen chicken wings, so over the next few days the air fryer will get run through its paces and I’ll have a better verdict. I knew there would be a learning curve.
We have had several. Frankly, I do not care for them.
A few months ago I traded in the toaster oven for an air fryer and a long-slot toaster. It’s the same Ninja AF101 that everyone has. Together they actually freed up a significant amount of counter space for me. The long-slot toaster can go all the way to the back of the counter freeing all the space in front, and the air fryer is half the width and several inches less deep than the toaster oven was.
It was an adjustment but I’m happy with how it’s worked out. Things get done faster and the results are better, out of both appliances. The Ninja is not as good as breaking out the deep fryer of course, but certainly less cleanup, especially using silicone basket liners. Still have to wash the basket once a week or so, but not after every use. Frozen wings and fries come out great in just 10 minutes. Frozen crab cakes come out great too.
Thanks for the tip about basket liners. I note that they come in both reusable silicone and disposable paper, with and without airflow perforations. According to some YouTube guy, they’re especially useful with air fryers that have mesh-type basket inserts. The Ninja has a slotted non-stick crisper plate that’s easier to clean. More stuff to experiment with!
For regular oven frying, I’m a huge fan of parchment paper. A sheet of parchment on a cookie sheet works wonders both for non-stick properties and for easy cleanup.
Mine makes my kitchen light flicker. Impossible to use at night.
Is there any fix for that without using a dedicated circuit for the appliance?
I am not really a fan anyway. The food is dry and underwhelmingly dull. If I use the metal rack half the french fries fall into the bottom and if I put things in the bottom they burn and stick.
The Ninja model some of us have mentioned draws 1550 watts. That’s pretty typical. At 110V that’s just about at the limit of a 15-amp circuit. If your kitchen lights are on the same circuit it’s a wonder it doesn’t trip the breaker. You don’t necessarily need a dedicated circuit, but preferably a setup where the kitchen outlets at least are on a separate circuit from the lights. Modern standards generally call for kitchen outlets to be on their own 20-amp circuits and accommodate 20-amp appliances with special slotted 20A outlets.
As for stuff being dried out, I don’t have any experience yet to offer advice, but many instructions and demos call for either tossing ingredients in oil or lightly spritzing them with olive oil from a spray bottle. Spritzing the bottom of the basket with oil may also help prevent sticking, and if it isn’t non-stick, the use of a parchment or silicone basket liner may help, as noted above. As I mentioned, I’ve been using a baking sheet lined with parchment paper with great success for years in a regular oven for all kinds of frying and baking.
I had my house rewired in 2017 when I re did the kitchen. It had aluminum wires before that. Got lots of new outlets with seperate dishwasher, microwave circuits. Did not get the air fryer til this year.
I do add some oil to some dishes.
Due to other dinner makings in the pipeline, I haven’t yet had a chance to fully put the new air fryer to the test. But I did have an intersting experience. I was about to nuke some leftovers for a quick snack and thought, gee, it would be nice to have a few fries with that. There was no way I was going to wait for a big oven to preheat, so I just stuck a scrap of parchment paper into the basket, put in some 5-minute fries, lowered the temperature setting to 350, and set the time for 5 minutes (oven normally takes 9-10) and hit “start” without even bothering to preheat. It was ready at about the same time as the microwave.
Were they the best fries I’ve ever had? Of course not, but they were crisp and tasty, and ready super fast. My snack was done and the plate in the dishwasher before a regular oven would even have finished preheating. And because of the parchment, the air fryer didn’t even need cleaning.
The air fryer reminds me of my early experiences with my first microwave, back in the Age of Dinosaurs. I suspect I will discover that there are some things it’s extremely useful for, and other things that are best not attempted despite some recipes claiming the contrary.
Silicone liners, or parchment liners, have small holes punched in them. I’ve used a scrap of aluminum foil in a pinch, poking many holes in that. The hot air has to circulate, top and bottom. It isn’t just a mini-oven as some seem to think, trying to bake cookies or wet things in it.
The more you use it, the more you’ll love it. It will become so valuable to you that you’ll start staying home to protect it from home burglary. “Take my car…take my pets…heck, take the kids if you must…but, for crying out loud, leave my air fryer!”
I kinda miss my kids whenever I eat air-fried wings.
Exactly. I buy the double packs of the thick cut from Costco and cook in batches on a sheet pan lined with parchment paper. Drain on paper towels and into a gallon zip lock for storage in the fridge. When I want bacon, 3 slices on a paper towel and 1:30 on number 2 in the microwave.