Cooking with an Air Fryer

[rotuts]

after seeing the AltonBrown @ Home vid 

 

( an improvement over GE I think , except for the expletives 

 

that added nothing )

 

an AirFryer moved up a few notches on a theoretic list.

[mgaretz]

Kirkland Panko-breaded shrimp and sweet potato tots, air crisp mode at 390F for 16 minutes.  Both came out great.

 

 

[ElsieD]

27 minutes ago, mgaretz said:

Kirkland Panko-breaded shrimp and sweet potato tots, air crisp mode at 390F for 16 minutes.  Both came out great.

 

 

 

It sounds as those you are liking the air fryer itself a lot more than the air fryer function on the BSOA.

[mgaretz]

12 hours ago, ElsieD said:

 

It sounds as those you are liking the air fryer itself a lot more than the air fryer function on the BSOA.

 

Yes, so far, but the BSOA has it beat for capacity.  But I am also liking the grill part of the Ninja, which I will now call the NFG, not a great set of initials for something that is actually pretty good...  😉

[palo]

So you're saying the NFG is PFG?

 

p

[mgaretz]

For those that are interested, Amazon has some refurbished Ninja Food Grills on Deal of the Day: https://amzn.to/3mSNV1w $104 for the model without the probe, $169 with.

[chileheadmike]

I did some "fried" zucchini in my NFG. Did not come out very well.

I sliced it into sticks, flour, egg wash, bread crumbs. Into the NFG with a spray of PAM.

 

Came out pretty dry and just not very good. The breading was hard. Zucs were fine. 

 

I think I'll stick to good ole fashioned oil. 

[mgaretz]

Thursday my plan is to do a "french-fry-off" making from scratch fries in both the NFG and the BSOA.  

[mgaretz]

Here are the not-so-great results of the "fry-off".  For the test, I used a single potato (russet) sliced and water soaked for 30 minutes, dried then coated with a small amount peanut oil and some salt.  The potatoes were then weighed and evenly split into two batches.  My last success with the NFG was 18 minutes at 390F, so that is what I used for both, with a stir half-way in.  My experience with the BSOA is that it either takes longer or needs a higher temp than a smaller air fryer, but for this test I decided to do apples-to-apples with the only variable being the machine.  That proved to be a bad choice for several reasons as will become evident.

 

First up are the fries from the NFG.  They were clearly over-done and very crispy and the insides all but vanished.  The time was obviously too long.  Why did it work last time?  The amount of potatoes was half of the successful attempt so I am sure that was the factor.  

 

 

Next up are the fries from the BSOA, which had the opposite problem - they were underdone.  Cooked all the way through but limp.  The taste was good and the insides were fluffy, but they either needed a higher temperature or more time.

 

 

So neither was a success.  The NFG pre-heats about a minute faster than the BSOA.  I am sure both would have made good fries if the timing or temp had been adjusted, so more testing is in order.

 

Is there a winner?  Not yet, but the NFG clearly has the time advantage, while the BSOA has ton more capacity.  I did eat all of them!

 

Stay tuned...

 

 

[palo]

I think the bottom line is that the BSOA id not an Air Fryer

 

p

[mgaretz]

Thought I would post my latest "air fry".  Brussels sprouts done in the NFG on air crisp mode - 10 minutes at 390F with shake half-way.  The sprouts were tossed in a tsp of peanut oil with some salt and pepper.  Came out very good.  The BSOA can do this too but tkaes significantly more time.

 

 

[mgaretz]

Back to fries in the NFG on air crisp mode.  A whole (medium sized) russet.  18 minutes at 390F.  Perfect!   Nice and crispy on the outside, fluffy on the inside.  Only planned on eating half, but they all vanished somehow.

 

 

[mgaretz]

And finally here are the same fries made in the BSOA.  They were cooked on air fry mode at 425F for 22 minutes.  They were OK, but some were overcooked, others were undercooked, not many were just right.  (Didn't keep me from eating them.)  But the BSOA comes in a distant second to the Ninja Foodi Grill, so the win goes to Ninja.

 

 

Next I am going to try fries in the NFG without the half hour water soak.  Instead I am just going to rinse them.  I do that anyway, putting them in a bowl, filling with water, dumping and repeating before the longer soak.  In the first two rinses you can see the starch in the water.  None in the long soak.  And why do we care if the excess starch is removed anyway?  Isn't one of Kenji' secrets to crispier oven potatoes to rough up the surface so more starch is exposed?

 

[mgaretz]

Another fries experiment:  It's common wisdom to soak the fries in cold water for 30 minutes before drying, oiling then air frying.  I have noticed that if I rinse the fries twice then after that the water doesn't get cloudy, so I wondered if just two quick rinses would be as good as 30 minute soak.  The answer is yes!  

 

[Anna N]

@Kerry Bealwas chatting with me today about the Dutch potato spice as she headed to our local Dutch store for somee cheese. I did not want any of the spice but I did want some roasted potatoes. Here they are done in the air fryer (380°F for 20 minutes) I simply tossed them in a little olive oil and seasoned with some coarse salt. 

My favourite thing to do in the air fryer these days is Johnsonville brats. No fuss. No muss. No mess. I simply remove them from the refrigerator and from their packaging, place them in a nonstick tiny cake pan and bake them in the air fryer at 350°F for 15 minutes. I flip them at the half way mark. They are always perfectly cooked and there is no need to watch over them.  
 

 

 

[rotuts]

@Anna N 

 

pleased to see you back.

 

[Smithy]

54 minutes ago, Anna N said:

@Kerry Bealwas chatting with me today about the Dutch potato spice as she headed to our local Dutch store for somee cheese. I did not want any of the spice but I did want some roasted potatoes. Here they are done in the air fryer (380°F for 20 minutes) I simply tossed them in a little olive oil and seasoned with some coarse salt. 

My favourite thing to do in the air fryer these days is Johnsonville brats. No fuss. No muss. No mess. I simply remove them from the refrigerator and from their packaging, place them in a nonstick tiny cake pan and bake them in the air fryer at 350°F for 15 minutes. I flip them at the half way mark. They are always perfectly cooked and there is no need to watch over them.  
 

 

Thank you for reminding me of these simple uses for the air fryer and for some more good ways to cook potatoes. We've been traveling for 6 months and the air fryer has sat unused at home for all that time. Meanwhile, we came home with a surfeit of potatoes, and they're sprouting almost faster than we can use them. I think tonight it will be air fryer time!

[palo]

I 💗💗💗 my air fryer!!!

[Anna N]

 

chicken thighs tossed with smoked paprika, onion powder and garlic salt. Into the air fryer at 380°F for 20 minutes. I flipped them after 10 minutes. These were very small thighs and I think I could have cut a few minutes off the time. 

Edited May 12, 2022 by Anna N
Fix typo. (log)

[Anna N]

 

Carrots tossed in olive oil, sesame oil, soy sauce and then roasted in the air fryer at 350°F for 18 minutes. 

[DesertTinker]

@Anna NI used your time/temp/pan recommendations for some Johnsonville bratwurst last night in the Cosori. They were perfect! I’ve done them many times before, but never at that low a temperature, and not in a pan. Loved the easy cleanup (no dishwasher here).

[Anna N]

Chicken Kiev (frozen, store-bought) 360°F for 18 minutes.   Works every time.  Also  posted In breakfast thread. 

[Anna N]

 

Not everything works in the air fryer! Forget broccoli — the texture is horrible. 

[heidih]

40 minutes ago, Anna N said:

 

Not everything works in the air fryer! Forget broccoli — the texture is horrible. 

Oddly chewy yet dark in places?

[ElsieD]

My sister is off cycling around Europe so I borrowed her Cosori air fryer.  If I really, really, really like it I will buy my own, make to be determined, but meanwhile, it's nice to be able to practice.  So far, I did up some chicken thighs, nice crispy skin but a tad overcooked.  Sweet potato fries, from frozen.  Fail.  A few were crispy, the rest a soggy mess.  A grilled cheese sandwich.  This one surprised me.  It was as about the same color coming out as when it went in.  I wasn't going to eat it but decided to run it under the broiler for some colour.  I may never eat a grilled cheese sandwich cooked any other way again.  Delicious .  Tonight I am going to cut some potatoes in small cubes and cook them up.  We'll rinsed, with a bit of oil and a very light sprinkling of  Dutch potato spice.  We are having smoked beef hash for supper and I thought I would do the potatoes this way and then mix them in with the rest of the stuff.

 

A couple of questions:  which air fryer do you have and would you get the same one again?  Do you use it as much as you thought you would?

 

I'm wary of buying another appliance.  I have a few expensive things that I rarely use and don't want to do that again.  Any and all suggestions are welcome.