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The Air Fryer topic


Keith_W

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One of the secrets is to spray a light coating of oil on the breading (I haven’t tried a liquid batter, but I have done the flour, egg, flour (or panko) dip) before putting in.  The oil conducts the heat nicely to the breading. Typically I don’t bother with the three phase dip (unless it’s something like onion rigs). For chicken and pork I just use the moist meat and coat with panko, put on a wire rack and then into the air fryer. 

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13 hours ago, Captain said:

There is No such thing as an Air Fryer....  It's just mini oven.😣

I keep trying to tell some friends who are interested in one that yeah, it's an oven. And not a great one, at that.

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14 hours ago, gfweb said:

 

They can promise anything in vague terms. No consequences.

Yes the photos imply but the words are not promising anything concrete. Like so many "as seen on TV" miraculous products which will be at landfill or Salvation Army soon. 

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13 hours ago, mgaretz said:

One of the secrets is to spray a light coating of oil on the breading (I haven’t tried a liquid batter, but I have done the flour, egg, flour (or panko) dip) before putting in.  The oil conducts the heat nicely to the breading. Typically I don’t bother with the three phase dip (unless it’s something like onion rigs). For chicken and pork I just use the moist meat and coat with panko, put on a wire rack and then into the air fryer. 

This is exactly what I do.  I spray the items with a light coating of Pam and it seems to help it crisp up and act more like fried food.   

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I don’t use Pam. I always thought it had a weird smell. I use olive oil spray instead. I’m currently using up some from Trader Joe’s but recently bought some Bertolli from Costco that I have yet to try. 

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19 hours ago, Captain said:

 

I would love to know how they manage to get the whole chicken into the air fryer.  

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Anna Nielsen aka "Anna N"

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3 hours ago, Anna N said:

I would love to know how they manage to get the whole chicken into the air fryer.  

I think a shoehorn may be involved.:wink:

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2 minutes ago, mgaretz said:

I could easily get one into the BSOA. 

Of course you could! But having once owned a Phillips air fryer I am very doubtful that you could put one in there!

Anna Nielsen aka "Anna N"

...I just let people know about something I made for supper that they might enjoy, too. That's all it is. (Nigel Slater)

"Cooking is about doing the best with what you have . . . and succeeding." John Thorne

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  • 3 months later...

I was just gifted the Ninja Foodi Dual Zone Air Fryer (eG-friendly Amazon.com link)

 

I had never really wanted an air fryer and am still reading to see if I can benefit from having one, but my initial review suggests that my little Cuisinart Steam Convection oven will accomplish many of the same tasks - cooking chicken or french fries (from frozen or fresh potatoes), reheating leftovers, etc. I'm not sure that I would use the air fryer for cooking salmon, halibut or cod but maybe I'm missing something. 

 

Has anyone used this particular model and have any pros or cons to help me decide? It's not huge, but it looks like a good size (I haven't taken it out of the box yet) and I don't know if I would be willing to give it a regular spot on my counter and it also looks like a pain to carry back and forth to some other storage spot. 

 

And for folks who have had an air fryer for awhile, are you still using it much? 

 

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I laughed when stepmother bought a small one from BB&B but she uses it almost daily. Today it was carrots w/ olive oil rub as "chips". She likes zuke fries in it and even toasts bread/cheese/coldcut ssandwiches in it.  Easy clean.  Hers is light so even though there is lots of counter space she parks it on a shelf in the pantry.  

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1 hour ago, FauxPas said:

And for folks who have had an air fryer for awhile, are you still using it much? 

Had one for a while. It never quite matured out of the toy stage and into the appliance stage. Passed it on to my bachelor son who has managed to get a lot of use out of it and would probably not give it up willingly.
 

Adult granddaughter is now eyeing one. 

 

I think its value depends very much on the sort of things you generally eat.  
 

Edited to add

I just looked at the model you received and it certainly looks much more versatile and roomy than the unit I had! 

Edited by Anna N (log)
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Anna Nielsen aka "Anna N"

...I just let people know about something I made for supper that they might enjoy, too. That's all it is. (Nigel Slater)

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My anova does a decent job of whizzing around hot air.  However when it comes to frying I prefer hot oil.  As long as you have a dedicated frying vessel that you don't have to wash each time and a reliable thermometer, real frying is neither difficult nor messy.

 

I used to fiddle with the Paragon mat or probe (both of which are excellent).  Now I just heat the Paragon on max till the oil temperature reads 180-190C.  Then I add my food.  I judge doneness by color.  This is not rocket science.

 

Were I preparing large batches I might be persuaded to air fry in the anova,

 

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I have a Phillips which I use fairly frequently.  The best part is how easy the clean up is.  For example we had burgers done in the air fryer and we just wiped it out with a paper towel and put it in the dishwasher, no splatter on the stove and I did the buns in the CSO.  I also make appetizers like samosas, spring rolls, sausage rolls, etc. In it.  No deep frying yet they come out nice and brown and crispy inside of 10 min.…really handy. The capacity works for the two of us but for a family of four you would need a larger machine.  
I move it from the pantry counter to the kitchen counter to use.  Not a big deal. 
I love mine but as noted above depends on what kind of cooking you do.  Lately due to health issues I am looking for ease of preparation…one day I will get back to cooking more elaborate meals.

Hope that helps.

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The two-basket airfryer piqued  my curiosity so much that I spent far too many hours watching YouTube video reviews and researching recipes.
 

The very reason that the two-basket model appealed was making a protein and a vegetable at the same time and having them both ready for service. But this seemed to defeat the reviewers for the most part.  The fries were done before the turkey burger which was practically cremated. It struck me that every time you tried to do two things at once you would need to experiment to get the timing right. (You would most certainly need to get one of @rotutsgraph-paper books with a red cover to keep records.)

For example (and I’m making up these times) If you were just to prepare frozen french fries in one basket your timing might be 10 minutes. If you were to put chicken wings in the other basket you would have to markedly extend the time for the fries.

So using both baskets reduces the power to each. But the suggested times given in the literature accompanying the machine didn’t seem to be very helpful.

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Anna Nielsen aka "Anna N"

...I just let people know about something I made for supper that they might enjoy, too. That's all it is. (Nigel Slater)

"Cooking is about doing the best with what you have . . . and succeeding." John Thorne

Our 2012 (Kerry Beal and me) Blog

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59 minutes ago, Anna N said:

The two-basket airfryer piqued  my curiosity so much that I spent far too many hours watching YouTube video reviews and researching recipes.
 

The very reason that the two-basket model appealed was making a protein and a vegetable at the same time and having them both ready for service. But this seemed to defeat the reviewers for the most part.  The fries were done before the turkey burger which was practically cremated. It struck me that every time you tried to do two things at once you would need to experiment to get the timing right. (You would most certainly need to get one of @rotutsgraph-paper books with a red cover to keep records.)

For example (and I’m making up these times) If you were just to prepare frozen french fries in one basket your timing might be 10 minutes. If you were to put chicken wings in the other basket you would have to markedly extend the time for the fries.

So using both baskets reduces the power to each. But the suggested times given in the literature accompanying the machine didn’t seem to be very helpful.

 

Do the reviews suggest, then, that the two basket chambers aren't really independent of each other? The Amazon page to which @FauxPaslinked claimed that they are independent. That looked appealing. On the other hand, I can believe they might not be truly independent, based on experience with my household oven. It has a divider that slides into the chamber to make an upper and lower oven with different temperature set points and cooking modes. It adds versatility but the two chambers still affect each other.

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Does anyone have experience with both an Air Fryer and an Anova Oven?

I'm wondering what makes the difference between a regular convection oven and an Air Fryer.

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the DC  AF is very interesting 

 

points have been brought up that need

 

further analysis

 

on the video they present :

 

178743580_DR1.thumb.jpg.779736d7ab75e3cb7ad2a6ab83089b25.jpg

 

813499242_DAF2.thumb.jpg.cf923cf183b503d4748a11fd0ab0e074.jpg

 

does this suggest different temps  for each basket ?

 

or same temp , different start times to get both done at the same time ?

 

indeed a Red graph paper notebook

 

should come w the machine !

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28 minutes ago, Smithy said:

 

Do the reviews suggest, then, that the two basket chambers aren't really independent of each other? The Amazon page to which @FauxPaslinked claimed that they are independent. That looked appealing. On the other hand, I can believe they might not be truly independent, based on experience with my household oven. It has a divider that slides into the chamber to make an upper and lower oven with different temperature set points and cooking modes. It adds versatility but the two chambers still affect each other.

 

I'm wondering if it's partly the electrical limitations of a countertop appliance. You can only draw so much power from a standard outlet. For example, you can only broil on one side, not on both. And cooking times are reduced for anything that uses both chambers instead of just one, so I assume the cooking temps are basically reduced. 

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5 minutes ago, rotuts said:

the DC  AF is very interesting 

 

does this suggest different temps  for each basket ?

or same temp , different start times to get both done at the same time ?

 

indeed a Red graph paper notebook

should come w the machine !

 

Yes, according to the information I read, each basket can be set to a different temperature and time. It has a "Smart" cook feature that will hold the basket with the shorter cook time until the longer cook time on the other basket reaches that same time. So, if one will take 15 mins at 300F and the other will take 10 mins at 400F, then the 400F will be on hold until the 300F basket has cooked for 5 mins. 

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a P.S.:

 

those pics in the AF basket remind me

 

of FoodPhotography :

 

via a google news feed

 

there was a ref to a FoodArrainger

 

who took a drap burger  from a FF chain

 

re-arrainged the lighting , and got

 

the burger to look like the chains pics.

 

does food out of any air fryer

 

look like the food in these baskets ?

 

P.P.S. :  the FoodArtist  use tooth pic to seep

 

the factious burger items in place , esp the pickles 

 

so you could see the edges in the pics

 

etc.

 

 

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56 minutes ago, Smithy said:
1 hour ago, Anna N said:

 

Do the reviews suggest, then, that the two basket chambers aren't really independent of each other?

To the extent that you can use one or the other on its own they are independent. Once you try to use them both together with each requiring a different temperature and/or time then they are inter-dependent. This assumes that you want both items ready to serve at the same time. You can still modify the time and temperature of each basket in an attempt to nudge them in the direction of being ready together. But that seems to me to negate any convenience you might’ve had. 

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Anna Nielsen aka "Anna N"

...I just let people know about something I made for supper that they might enjoy, too. That's all it is. (Nigel Slater)

"Cooking is about doing the best with what you have . . . and succeeding." John Thorne

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45 minutes ago, rotuts said:

does this suggest different temps  for each basket ?

 

or same temp , different start times to get both done at the same time ?

If basket one will take 10 minutes at 390°F and basket two will take 28 minutes at 350°F then the control designed to have them both ready at the same time will “hold” the shorter time basket and not begin cooking until the 28 minutes has counted down to 10 minutes. 
 

edited to add

 

@FauxPasAnswered this question much more elegantly. Not sure if we were posting at the same time or if I just missed reading her post. 

Edited by Anna N (log)
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Anna Nielsen aka "Anna N"

...I just let people know about something I made for supper that they might enjoy, too. That's all it is. (Nigel Slater)

"Cooking is about doing the best with what you have . . . and succeeding." John Thorne

Our 2012 (Kerry Beal and me) Blog

My 2004 eG Blog

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2 hours ago, Okanagancook said:

I move it from the pantry counter to the kitchen counter to use.  Not a big deal. 

 

And this is part of my hesitation; this model is quite large and heavy. Over 8 kgs (18 lbs) and (rounded) non-metric dimensions are 16" L x 14" W x 12" H.  That's almost the size of my Cuisinart CSO and I don't have permanent counter space for it. I'd have to really think about where to store it, the only available space right now is a cabinet above the fridge and my husband would have to do the storage and retrieval every time it was used if it was up there!  And it would have to be making some very good eats indeed for him to do that on a regular basis. Else, I would have to really rearrange storage in the pantry to find room for it, and I'm not keen on that. 

 

I don't do a lot of fried foods right now, I guess. As @JoNorvelleWalkersays, you can do real fried without a lot of hassle if you are organized for it, but I never seem able to get around the idea of dealing with leftover oil. 

 

My friend raved about cooking sausages in the fryer, but I'm ok with cooking them in the CSO (I've given up on trying to keep it clean, so don't care about the spatter) or in a frying pan (range is induction, so I can spread some paper towels around to minimize the splatter. 

 

My husband is happy cooking burger patties on the grill outside and then he does the clean-up so I'm not going to change that scenario. 🙂 

 

I wondered about the dehydrate function on the air fryer, but need to find some reviews of that function. 

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