Thanks for the encouragement. I think you’re right!
Interesting anecdote. Later in the day after my quick snack with the quick’n’dirty 5-minute fries in the air fryer, I had one of my rare, strange hankerings for McDonald’s. So off I went to pick up a McD’s Quarter-pounder BLT. To me, the McD’s fries had almost exactly the same taste and texture as the 5-minute fries out of the air fryer. Just with more salt. I think a lot of what’s behind really great fries is the fries themselves, notably the oil they’re immersed in. My disappointment with my first attempt at fries was that I had no idea what I was doing and they were grossly overdone at too high a temperature.
Some don’t, but this is a point well taken. In the example I mentioned, I just wanted a small quantity of fries and didn’t want to mess up the air fryer basket, so I just stuck in a torn-off bit of parchment paper. There were big air gaps all around the sides for air to circulate, so even though I didn’t perforate it, there was lots of hot air bouncing off the bottom.
“Toasted” ravioli is something I recently discovered was relatively simple to make with it; it almost resembles real cooking but uses pre-made fresh or frozen ravioli, floured, egged, and bread crumbed then air fried, under 5 minutes cooking per batch, as many as you can fit in the basket in one layer (prop them up diagonally against the sides to fit more in). Comes out just like the local Italian takeout chain makes 'em, and they have a deep fryer or a salamander for that.
So far the experience with the new air fryer has been going well, now that I understand how to adjust time and temperature because it’s very different from the regular oven. It’s better for some things than others, and, unsurprisingly, particularly good with fries and chicken wings. I love how quickly things get done, without having to preheat a big oven. The only slight disappointment so far was that spring rolls are a bit too crispy. Not a big difference, but they’re slightly better in the regular oven. It’s the opposite for fries and wings.
I’m now starting to buy things with the air fryer in mind: another big box of wings today, and some freshly made potato pancakes – a lovely comfort food that I rarely have. They’re only good for two days, so I laid parchment paper between them and froze them. I’m sure the air fryer will do a fine job of cooking them from frozen, but I still have a lot to learn!
It’s not perfect. But I love my toaster oven air fryer. Not just decent results, but often greatly reduces cooking times. Never tried the basket type. Some things just do better with convection mode than air fryer mode, or a combination of those. But the main thing to learn is it is better to underestimate cooking times than the reverse; they can be off by 300%.
The nomenclature of some of these appliances is annoying and confusing. An air fryer is not really a fryer in the way that it’s normally used; it’s better described as a small convection oven. But a convection oven is also misnamed, because it doesn’t work by convection, its singular feature is a fan that does the exact opposite of convection!
Yes! The reduced cooking time can be a really important feature – a little snack ready in a few minutes instead of preheating a big oven for 15 minutes and then a longer cooking time.
I’m starting to regard my air fryer with its fan sound and countdown timer as a sort of different version of my microwave – the latter heats in the manner of a steamer, the former heats in the manner of a fryer.
I got an air fryer a couple of years ago during that brief craze. I don’t really use it on the regular, but every now and then I get a hankering to do my own hamburgers, so it’s not entirely a doorstop. I also made some barbecue chicken with it and that turned out pretty well, as I recall.
Was there really a “craze”? They seem to continue to be really popular. Anyway, in connection with hamburgers the good use I have for an air fryer is for the fries. Hamburgers are properly only done on a flaming and smoky outdoor grill, which is also where the buns get lightly toasted.
My favorite things to air fry: French fries (slice potatoes, soak, rinse, dry, dry again, seasoning and oil), Tilapia (rub with mayonnaise. Panko), green beans (numerous ways), Brussel sprouts (charred), Gobi Manchurian (cook the breaded cauliflower while the sauce simmers on the stove), Pizza reheat, Spring rolls (still working on this one, I actually prefer cold spring rolls).
It’s hard to troubleshoot without knowing exactly what meat you’re talking about. I can tell you one of my favorite air fryer cooks is beef round eye (about as lean as you can get). Marinate in nothing but olive oil, salt, and black pepper. I’ll do it about 350 degrees for 24 minutes, turning every 6 minutes. When the timer goes and the heat shuts off, I turn it one last time and let the residual heat warm it up a bit more while the meat rests.
We love our air fryer and use it all the time. Keep it on the back porch so the heat and aroma doesn’t overpower the house. Whole chicken is another go-to dish.
I take it your back porch excludes wild animals? I read your post and thought maybe i could put a tiny folding table next to the house and do this during the summer. And then i thought about the foxes and stuff that show up when i use the grill.
I also imagine (haven’t tried it yet) that it would be great for roast mini potatoes or potatoes Parisienne, tossed in olive oil and Herbs de Provence.
Well, I pour out any drippings and set the bottom with the basket in the sink and fill with hot water and detergent to soak. The bottom is smooth plastic and a snap to wash clean. The basket has a no-stick coating so I wash it with something that won’t scratch. If it is really gross, I spray on Dawn Power Wash spray, let it sit, wipe, and wash with soap and water. Takes longer to write this than actually do it. … If you just make toast you don’t have to wash it, just shake crumbs out. Once a month I will soak the basket and clean all the little slats with a dishwashing brush, greasy gunk can get caught in there and harden with several uses.
We do have all those, but they’re so shy I rarely see them. Even if they decided to have a go at the air fryer, the basket wedges tightly enough that not even a handsy guy like a raccoon could un-slot it.
So I think you’d be fine using the air fryer outdoors, although if the animals as bold as you say, you’d want to be careful about leaving any lickable spoons or tongs lying about.
All right, maybe it would be a little more accurate to say “the time when air fryers suddenly leaped into the public consciousness” instead. Which, it turns out, I wasn’t part of anyway. According to Amazon sales data, air fryers were the “it” gift of 2018, and I didn’t get around to getting mine until 2020. Which, frankly, makes a lot more sense. I don’t generally jump on trends like that. I generally let the first generation of something come and go, let the bugs get worked out, let everyone figure out what features are useful and which are pointless, and then I make my move.
