Cooking with an Air Fryer

[mgaretz]

I just got a Philips AirFryer XL, (WS and BBB have them on a good sale right now), so am I hopefully reviving this topic.  It came late (around 5pm) so couldn't use it for dinner, but I had to test it!  So I made some french fries  

 

I used one potato (a medium sized russet), skin on and cut into 1/4" fries.  There are a lot of methods out there, even Philips has several versions.  I decided on one that closely mimics "twice fried" fries.  All of them have you soak the fries in cold water for 30 minutes, pat them dry and apply a small amount of oil.  I used 1 tsp but that was too much.  I think 1/2 tsp would have worked.  I cooked them for 5 minutes at 360F then another 10 at 390F, shaking between the two steps.  They were a little over-cooked, but otherwise excellent.  I would not have been able to tell they weren't deep fried.  Next time I think another 7 minutes would be the right length of time.

 

Tomorrow I am going to go for broke and try fired chicken.

 

So what are your experiences and things that turned out great (and not so great).

 

 

[mgaretz]

Well my attempt at fried chicken was a fail.  First, the "dip in flour, dip in egg, dip in flour method" did a great job of breading my fingers, the chicken not so much.  I either need to practice or figure out what went wrong, or use a different method. Then the breast was cooked through, while the thigh and leg were way undercooked. I would have thought it should have been the other way round. 

[lindag]

the breast (white) meat always cooks faster.

BTW, don't make the mistake I did and bread the chicken for use with the air fryer.

The flour mixture just turns gummy and does not crisp.

Next time I attempt chicken air-fried I'll just use some type of marinade, I'm sure that would be an improvement in the final product.

 

[mgaretz]

The other night I made a combo batch of potato and sweet potato fries.  They came out good, but I used too little oil (1/4 tsp for one medium russet and one medium sweet potato) so they weren't quite as crisp as I would have liked.  

 

Today, for fun, I made potato chips.  1 medium sized russet, sliced thin (2mm) with a mandoline and 1 tsp oil.  Cooked for 20 minutes at 330F, shaking several times.  Then lightly salted with sea salt.  Yummy.

 

 

[mgaretz]

Yesterday we made some store-bought chicken tenders for lunch.  We tried two different brands: Tyson and Rocky.  They both came out good.  I liked the texture of the Tyson coating better, but it had too much pepper.  The Rocky was more corn-bready, but still good.  They both came out nice and crispy and very quickly too.

[Anna N]

19 minutes ago, mgaretz said:

Yesterday we made some store-bought chicken tenders for lunch.  We tried two different brands: Tyson and Rocky.  They both came out good.  I liked the texture of the Tyson coating better, but it had too much pepper.  The Rocky was more corn-bready, but still good.  They both came out nice and crispy and very quickly too.

Thanks. Hope you will continue to experiment and document here.  I am resisting with all my might But...   Certainly it will have to do much more than potatoes.

[rotuts]

so at BB&B :

 

http://www.bedbathandbeyond.com/store/s/philips-airfryer-xl?ta=typeahead

 

w coupon 279.

 

I watched a few vids, for chicken wings  you place them in one layer, but might get the 'basket' as an option.

 

if you add oil, you add that to the top, not the items to air fry , correct ?

 

how about clean up?    I can see the basket , so can guess on that.    then the lower part where the basket fits in    

 

how does that clean up in terms of effort ?     what about the top fan area where you place the sm amour of oil ?

 

I have not  yet found a web .pdf to download and read.

 

re : potato chips :   what keeps the thin slices separate to ari fry

 

bad news for me, I know someone with a birthday coming up.

 

still looking for the calamari air fry video    

 

please don't tell me there is one on YouTube 

 

@mgaretz 

 

thanks for your reports.

 

here is a demo from YouTube that answered many of my initial questions, it seems independent and uses an

 

analog version of the fryer which probably predates the digital version Id guess :

 

 

the vid covers clean up, and moving the wings around if you use more than one layer.

 

I added this to same mgaretz a reply on the basics so he can get back in the kitchen and try some other things

 

there will be an award for the first YouTube on calamari

 

Edited August 14, 2016 by rotuts (log)

[rotuts]

 

of course, you would SV the various PorkB's and freeze rather than par boil   thaw and then do the above.

 

 

this is a lot more interesting that Indoor VolleyBall.

 

Beach VB is not on right now

 

Edited August 14, 2016 by rotuts (log)

[Shelby]

3 minutes ago, rotuts said:

 

 

this is a lot more interesting that Indoor VolleyBall.

 

Beach VB is not on right now

 

STOP SHOWING ME THIS PORNOGRAPHY.

 

 

 

(yeah the brazil game was awesome)

 

Do I need a fryer?  No...I have a deep fryer that lives in the basement.

 

I don't need this.  

 

But it looks awesome.

 

Difficulty in cleaning would put me off, though.

[Anna N]

Click

 

So if you can do calamari in the Actifry why not in the Phillips?  Do not just look at the photos read also. 

[rotuts]

""   

Taste test? Absolutely fabulous. Incredibly moist, not dry at all, and it was mind blowing how tender they were. These look a lil better so they would present a lil better at a fancy do you were having. ""

 

that's very encouraging.   and from frozen.

are there thoughts that this might not work in the Philips ?

still don't have a Cosco Card.

Edited August 15, 2016 by rotuts (log)

[rotuts]

I noticed an interesting tip on one of the AF's vids :  brushing the screen w oil before adding your Stuff  , to help with clean up  makes sense 

 

but back to Chinatown Fried Squid, the game changer for me :

 

lets say the coating is cornstarch / seasoning.  lets say it sticks to the squid

 

where does your oil come from ?   would it have to be a light spray ?  I can't see mixing the squid at that point in a Tbs of oil.

 

 

[mgaretz]

Most foods that emulate deep-fried foods still have some oil on them.  That's for two reasons:  To give them added crispness and to give us that taste of fried foods.  It does leave a lot less oil on the food than deep frying, and my wife cares about that.  Personally I'm not worried about it and it's not the reason I bought it.  I bought it primarily because it doesn't waste any oil, I don't have to figure out how to dispose of the waste oil, it cooks much quicker, and cleans up easier.

 

I did try some roasted Brussels Sprouts in it last night.  Not so good.  Part of it was  probably that I cooked them too hot and didn't use enough oil, but the thing that will keep me from cooking them in the air fryer in the future is that once it cooked and dried out the inevitable separate leaves, they blew all over the inside.  Not that hard to get out and clean up, but I'll stick to the BSO for Brussies.

[mgaretz]

Last night I tried chicken tenders from raw chicken.  I did them with two different styles of breading - flour, egg, panko and flour, egg, flour.

 

Before breading I did a lot of web searching and came upon three significant tips and they all worked great:  1.  Start by patting dry the chicken with paper towels.  Counter-intuitive but it works like a charm.  The first layer of flour goes on perfect.  2. Shake off the excess before moving to the next step.  3.  Have a "dry hand" that handles the flour/panko and a "wet hand" that handles the raw chicken and the egg step.  Keeps your hands from becoming breaded better than the chicken.

 

The Philips recipe books says to mix oil with the bread crumbs.  Since only half the batch would have the bread crumbs, I decided to spray the oil on as a last step.  I probably wasn't generous enough with the oil.  In general, they both came out good, but I preferred the all flour version.  They could have been more golden in color.  I chalk that up to not enough oil and the two stage heating process as called for in the recipe - 10 minutes at 330F and another 5 at 390F.  Next time I will use more oil and try 390F for the whole time.

 

Served with microwaved, fresh white corn and salad.  Panko on the left, flour on the right.

 

 

[Anna N]

n 

[Anna N]

I was so tired last night but I did want to share my experience with you so I apologize for the rather blurry pictures. It was also not a fair view of the air fryer in terms of french fries. I did not find them especially good.  I think I cut them a little too thick,  perhaps overloaded the basket somewhat and should definitely have given them more time.   But let the games begin ........

Edited August 17, 2016 by Anna N (log)

[Anna N]

 

So breakfast ... Sweet potato fries with chili mayo. 

Fast, easy, tasty. Crispy ....no.  Greasy...somewhat.

[palo]

First off, congratulations on your new acquisition/toy!

 

I hope it lives up to your expectations. I too am looking into such an addition to my kitchen, but have started a new topic:

 

that provides a reasonable alternative. 

 

p

 

[rotuts]

@Anna N

 

""  Greasy...somewhat ""

 

operator error ?   did you spray or add oil and mix ?

 

went down to BB$B inspire of the weather.

 

they had both the digital and the smaller analog side by side.

 

neither app is small, and the larger digital seems humongous   think : the latest Cuisinart 

 

the mechanism for removing the cooking unit is different for the digital , you will have to note it in a video.

 

the system on the digital on display did not go in and out easily and did not lock in easily either .

 

maybe Customer Abuse ?    the digital is on sale for I think 260.  that's not reflected on the web price.

 

can't say if they will give you another 20 % off  

 

the grilling rack is not stocked  at least in my store.

 

they will take a coupon and order it in the store, but there might be shipping charges.

[Anna N]

1 hour ago, palo said:

First off, congratulations on your new acquisition/toy!

 

I hope it lives up to your expectations. I too am looking into such an addition to my kitchen, but have started a new topic:

 

that provides a reasonable alternative. 

 

p

 

Thank you. Been there, done that. Heavy, awkward, unwiedly. YMMV

[Anna N]

1 hour ago, rotuts said:

@Anna N

 

""  Greasy...somewhat ""

 

operator error ?   did you spray or add oil and mix ?

 

went down to BB$B inspire of the weather.

 

they had both the digital and the smaller analog side by side.

 

neither app is small, and the larger digital seems humongous   think : the latest Cuisinart 

 

the mechanism for removing the cooking unit is different for the digital , you will have to note it in a video.

 

the system on the digital on display did not go in and out easily and did not lock in easily either .

 

maybe Customer Abuse ?    the digital is on sale for I think 260.  that's not reflected on the web price.

 

can't say if they will give you another 20 % off  

 

the grilling rack is not stocked  at least in my store.

 

they will take a coupon and order it in the store, but there might be shipping charges.

 Operator error?  You impugn me, young man!  I used about a half teaspoon of oil and tossed them in it with my hands.  I might try to spray next time. My suspicion is that sweet potatoes do not lend themselves to crispness no matter the appliance you apply to them.  But I will address the greasiness either by reducing the amount of oils or by using a spray oil. Stay tuned.

[KennethT]

@Anna NFWIW, I have never met a cripsy, non-greasy sweet potato fry - even conventionally fried, or in restaurants...  I've had some start out ok, but after 5 minutes at the table, all crispiness has left the building....  maybe just my luck, but I tend to avoid them now.

[rotuts]

I certainly agree that SPF's are are extremely difficult to create , if not impossible.

 

there are said to be  magic coatings that help   .....

 

 

[Anna N]

30 minutes ago, KennethT said:

@Anna NFWIW, I have never met a cripsy, non-greasy sweet potato fry - even conventionally fried, or in restaurants...  I've had some start out ok, but after 5 minutes at the table, all crispiness has left the building....  maybe just my luck, but I tend to avoid them now.

 I agree with you. Very recently we had a discussion on this very topic on eG with some claiming that the Japanese sweet potato did better than our standard North American versions.

Edited August 17, 2016 by Anna N (log)

[Anna N]

19 minutes ago, rotuts said:

I certainly agree that SPF's are are extremely difficult to create , if not impossible.

 

there are said to be  magic coatings that help   .....

 

 

Yes, I believe you can make a crispy coating but it defeats the health aspect of sweet potatoes.