Author Topic: THE air fryer thread  (Read 2054 times)

Zamboni

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THE air fryer thread
« on: January 03, 2021, 04:29:47 PM »
Inspired by hood meals, my teenager son's affection for hood meals, and low prices, our household now has an air fryer. While I normally am not a fan of getting the latest kitchen appliance fad, this one is panning our so far!

First, hood meals is a tik tok thing. Here's a brief compilation for us old folks:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cJ9fYf-_NmM

So far we've made delicious samosas, fried oreos, and italian sausage. Here's the link to the Italian sausage; worked perfectly:
https://www.staysnatched.com/air-fryer-sausage/

What have you made that is good?

bmjohnson35

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Re: THE air fryer thread
« Reply #1 on: January 03, 2021, 05:06:10 PM »

We cook chicken wings, fries. hot dogs, Italian sausage and salmon in the Air Fryer.  We really like the chicken wings.  The secret is figuring out the temp and cook time and it's relatively idiot proof.  When I make hot dogs, I throw the bun in for the last 60 seconds.  I have a small notebook in the kitchen, where I have recorded the times/temps for the items we cook in the air fryer.  I find the air fryer can and will dry out food quickly, so it's important to figure the right balance of time/temp to mitigate this weakness. 

We just got an Instant Pot for Christmas.  We have used it twice already and I think we will use it a lot more than our air fryer.  It's basically a pressure cooker.  Great for soups, pasta and many other dishes. If you want items "browned" or crisp, you still have to finish them in an oven/toaster oven.


Dictionary Time

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Re: THE air fryer thread
« Reply #2 on: January 03, 2021, 05:17:44 PM »
Brussels Sprouts!
Cauliflower!
Broccoli!

They’re awesome. Mix them up with some olive oil, throw on salt/pepper and spices.  Bang.

MudPuppy

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Re: THE air fryer thread
« Reply #3 on: January 03, 2021, 05:42:31 PM »
Our most frequent use is to make home made fries for our Fry-day night dinner and a movie dates.



Other hits include these chimichangas (usually we use beans or TVP though),  crispy broccoli, crispy tofu (which takes most sauces splendidly),  and falafel


OtherJen

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Re: THE air fryer thread
« Reply #4 on: January 03, 2021, 06:02:39 PM »
Ooh, I've never thought to do falafel. That's a great idea.

We usually do homemade french fries or other vegetables in ours. Husband has successfully done homemade mozzarella sticks.

K_in_the_kitchen

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Re: THE air fryer thread
« Reply #5 on: January 03, 2021, 06:05:10 PM »
We don't have an air fryer, but our recent range replacement touts its "Air Fry" (a Samsung trademark) abilities.  We've used it a few times, and realized it's the same as convect roast on our old range -- I guess we were air frying for years without knowing it.  The only thing we're doing different now is cooking some of the foods on a rack on a baking sheet instead of only on the baking sheet.

Potatoes and broccoli are probably our favorites, tossed in olive oil and "air fried".  We recently stepped up to air frying bone-in, skin-on chicken thighs, and those are truly standout.  Carrot "fries" were delicious using convect roastin the old range and not using a rack, but were dried out and chewy using a rack and the air fry setting, so we're going to try again in our regular roasting pan.

I read that the best overall "air fryer" is a toaster oven with a convect roast setting.

MudPuppy

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Re: THE air fryer thread
« Reply #6 on: January 03, 2021, 06:27:34 PM »
Yeah, have very limited counter space in our particularly small kitchen, so only the greatest get to live there. We have our kitchenaid mixer, our electric kettle, our blendtec blender, and the ninja foodi 5qt pressure cooker/air fryer combo.

HipGnosis

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Re: THE air fryer thread
« Reply #7 on: January 03, 2021, 07:37:27 PM »
Many yrs ago I saw a late night infomercial for a counter-top, infrared, convection oven. I was impressed with what (they said) it could do / make.   I think it was called a nuwave,   But it had a big clear plastic(?) dome that had to moved aside with two hands and then set down...  I knew it wouldn't work for me in my small kitchen.  But I never forgot it.
Then, air fryers came out.  No dome, but they were all designed like a bucket.  So only good for one food at a time.
But then, air fryer ovens came out.  With a door like a toaster oven and multiple racks.  Some even had rotisseries.  But they were pricey - at first.
I started looking at them regularly when the prices fell below $150.   I found one on sale for $119.  Multiple pre-set cooking temps and times, the ability to set my own temp and time, multiple racks (both rods like an oven and fine mesh) and even a rotisserie with a basket to evenly cook small things.  It will also dehydrate.  It has pretty good reviews so I bought it.

My fav store bought foods in it are breaded green beans and toasted raviolis (both sold frozen).  Pizza rolls and tater tots are good too.   And chicken tenders are now a staple (because they're so easy). 
It's also great for reheating left overs, esp fries and breaded mushrooms.

My fav home made foods are an egg, cream cheese and canned pumpkin bake.  By adjusting the amounts and seasoning, it can be a breakfast dish, a side dish or a dessert.  The air fryer evaporates the wetness of the pumpkin.
And baked, seasoned apples.  I put some fireball whiskey in the last one.

American GenX

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Re: THE air fryer thread
« Reply #8 on: January 03, 2021, 07:40:34 PM »
We just got an Instant Pot for Christmas.

Same here, but I got the 11 in 1 Instant Pot model with the air fryer lid.  6 quarts - single person household.  I didn't have an existing pressure cookie or air fryer.  I haven't used it, yet.

Zamboni

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Re: THE air fryer thread
« Reply #9 on: January 03, 2021, 07:59:32 PM »
Oooh, I hadn't thought about brussels sprouts or broccoli. Going to try broccoli tomorrow . . . Please keep the ideas coming!

bmjohnson35

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Re: THE air fryer thread
« Reply #10 on: January 03, 2021, 08:48:03 PM »
We just got an Instant Pot for Christmas.

Same here, but I got the 11 in 1 Instant Pot model with the air fryer lid.  6 quarts - single person household.  I didn't have an existing pressure cookie or air fryer.  I haven't used it, yet.

I found the following site to be a great resource for the instant pot:https://pressurecookrecipes.com

As for the air fryer, it's also great at warming up cold pizza.  We line the base of the unit with aluminum foil when I cook wings.......the fat runs through the holes of the tray and is captured by the aluminum foil, which makes it easier for clean up. I haven't found a site as good for the air fryer........would be great if someone posts a similar site for air fryer.

Joel

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Re: THE air fryer thread
« Reply #11 on: January 03, 2021, 09:03:18 PM »
We did a coconut shrimp recently that was really good.

MudPuppy

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Re: THE air fryer thread
« Reply #12 on: January 03, 2021, 09:13:55 PM »
Maybe not exactly what you’re wanting, @bmjohnson35, but we have used this recipe for bananas about to turn (we skipped the stove part by using butter zapped in the microwave) and the site seems to have plenty of other recipes.

https://www.airfryerrecipes.com/cookbook/recipe/air-fryer-cinnamon-bananas/

FIRE Artist

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Re: THE air fryer thread
« Reply #13 on: January 03, 2021, 09:27:30 PM »
I have one and use it typically for convenience foods, of which my absolute favourite is to reheat/re-crisp a Costco rotisserie chicken in it.  My air fryer is pretty small, and the chicken takes up the whole basket, but 5 minutes @ 400 and a warm, soggy skinned chicken comes out screaming hot and super crispy. 

When I first got it, I did things like steak and brussels sprouts, but the novelty has pretty much worn off for using it for anything but frozen convenience foods and rotisserie chicken. 

American GenX

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Re: THE air fryer thread
« Reply #14 on: January 03, 2021, 11:13:25 PM »
We just got an Instant Pot for Christmas.

Same here, but I got the 11 in 1 Instant Pot model with the air fryer lid.  6 quarts - single person household.  I didn't have an existing pressure cookie or air fryer.  I haven't used it, yet.

I found the following site to be a great resource for the instant pot:https://pressurecookrecipes.com

As for the air fryer, it's also great at warming up cold pizza.  We line the base of the unit with aluminum foil when I cook wings.......the fat runs through the holes of the tray and is captured by the aluminum foil, which makes it easier for clean up. I haven't found a site as good for the air fryer........would be great if someone posts a similar site for air fryer.

Thanks.  I brought the website up and will check it out further.

Zamboni

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Re: THE air fryer thread
« Reply #15 on: January 04, 2021, 05:31:47 PM »
Popped a cut up head of broccoli in the fryer on some parchment paper today. First I tossed it in salt, pepper, garlic powder, and grated parmesan. Thumbs up from my son, so I'm very happy about that!

bmjohnson35

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Re: THE air fryer thread
« Reply #16 on: January 04, 2021, 05:39:42 PM »
Maybe not exactly what you’re wanting, @bmjohnson35, but we have used this recipe for bananas about to turn (we skipped the stove part by using butter zapped in the microwave) and the site seems to have plenty of other recipes.

https://www.airfryerrecipes.com/cookbook/recipe/air-fryer-cinnamon-bananas/

Thanks.  I will look through their recipes.