Anna N

My only reason for adding the water is to prevent the possibility of smoke from the fat. Smoke would put me out of action. Next time I will measure the amount of water remaining.

It is and it isn’t. It is closer to the heating element but also closer to the very powerful fan. Discretion is advised.

There are some things that the air fryer is supposedly designed to handle well —frozen burgers for example. Once again the Internet is all over the place with respect to time and temperature. They range from 350°F x 10 minutes to 360°F x 14-20 minutes. I did not bother with YouTube videos! I put 2 tablespoons of water into the basket and then added the frozen burger. I set the timer for 10 minutes and the temperature to 350°F. At the five minute mark I flipped the burger. I checked the temperature and it was only 116°F. I flipped it once again and added five more minutes. This time the temperature was 183°F. A bit of an overshoot. I was worried it would be dried out. Not sure if you can see that it remained juicy. (My crummy eyesight makes photography a challenge.) I consider this a success and will make a note that 350°F for 13 minutes is probably the sweet spot for these particular burgers.

@Duvel Thank you so much for this. It almost seems as if the versions I have seen over here are hugely simplified.

There is no broil function.

Things in the freezer department were completely out of hand so I determined I must bite the bullet and see what was really in there. Among other things, too embarrassing to mention, were far more duck breasts than anyone should have when they live alone. But such bounty offered material for a number of experiments. Today was experiment number one. I researched as much as I could on the Internet for how to cook a duck breast in the air fryer. The ones I found suggested wildly differing times and temperatures. One YouTube video took a tool that sort of resembled scissors and chopped up both the flesh side and the skin side of a duck breast! I watched in horror. It also seemed to me that “well-done” was the preferred final result. I find that troubling since it is probably also the most likely result! The results all looked amazingly like something that might come from the kitchen of a Wolfgang Puck or perhaps a Jean-Georges Vongerichten. My shit detector was in red alert mode. So I followed my own instincts. I did score the skin. I did salt it well. I let it sit at room temperature for 30 minutes or so and then carefully dried it off with paper towels. I put 2 tablespoons of water into the basket of the air fryer (in hopes of preventing any smoking) and then I preheated it at 400°F for five minutes. I put the duck breast into the basket skin side down, set the timer for eight minutes and the temperature at 400°F before hitting the start button and turning on the over-range fan. After eight minutes. I added 5 more minutes to the timer, turned the duck breast over and again hit the start button. After 13 minutes it looked like this. I took a temperature reading and it was at 68.5°C/155°+F. That was plenty done for me! But there was little crisping of skin. I reached for a jar of marmalade and spread a generous teaspoon over the duck breast before giving it another minute in the air fryer. I let it rest for 5 minutes before cutting into it. It was edible but I would have been ashamed to serve it to anyone else. It has shrunk much more than any duck breast I had ever cooked before. It was also on the tough side. But there is much more experimenting in the future. Bearing in mind that an air fryer is only a very compact and powerful convection oven, I am open to any thoughts on what you might try next. It cannot involve much more than a duck breast and some salt and pepper! Grocery shopping is not an option.

Not sure I would like a salad but I am crazy about the name.

My congratulations to her. She makes a great read.

Ain’t no accounting for tastes.

Thank you. @Porthoshad actually done a fine job of answering my question (thank you) but I still wanted to go right to the source. I don’t want to find myself at some future point in time where I am sitting next to the German ambassador in the Canadian consulate and happen to mention hot German potato salad and discover it is unheard of in that country. I do not have any pearls that I could clutch.

Thank you. Sorry to have been insistent! Not necessary at all To try and untangle the web. I was just curious to know if something along the lines of a warm potato salad with bacon was known in Germany. I have a lovely recipe which I’m quite happy with although I haven’t made it for a long time.

Thanks. I would still love for @Duvelto give his take. If nothing else it may well be amusing.

Wait a minute! @Kerry Bealfinds them indispensable when she makes a personal delivery of a pizza to me!

Thanks. I would have to be extremely desperate to make a snack of dried fish. I’m probably missing something very good!

How are the other fish generally used?

It’s hard to swallow. Well at least José Andrés has $100 million with which to help feed the poor. Which really doesn’t go anywhere near to bridging the gap between the haves and the have nots. Here. just saying.

Thank you I need to find out if they are available at Costco in Canada. I will add them to my list and the next person who goes to Costco will be charged was looking for them.

Oh please don’t apologize. Thank you so much for sharing — it’s been just great.

Please tell me more. Photo maybe?

Looks delicious. The lazy susan had a bit of a fling as a dining table addition among friends. Not usually quite as large. Something more appropriate for condiments.

Another experiment today. I wanted to see if I could cook two things at the same time and have them both come out properly cooked. frozen meatballs in the basket. . Tater tots in the pizza pan on a wire rack above the meatballs. I arbitrarily chose 350°F for 15 minutes with a shake at the seven minute mark. I was quite happy with the results.

I don’t have access to Target’s mini meatballs up here but I do buy cooked, frozen meatballs. I find them extremely easy and versatile when cooking is not what I want to be doing.

Please talk to us about German potato salad. Is it a thing or is it like English muffins that the English have never heard of?

Am I reading this right? You froze raw Yukon Gold potatoes?

Thanks. I have often wondered about obesity in China but have never taken the time to look it up. Looking at various sites I see that the obesity rate in the US exceeds 40%. Quite a difference! (It is somewhat less in Canada.)