NFT: Air Fryers

But conceptually sounds like an abomination, like turkey bacon.

In comment 14467087 Coach Red Beaulieu said:

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But conceptually sounds like an abomination, like turkey bacon.

If it's like turkey bacon, I'm out. Funny, for those who watch America's Test Kitchen, they recently did a taste test on turkey bacon and basically said that they all suck, you just have to go with the one that sucks the least.

as a gift to my mother on Mother's Day (I used to work for Philips). After trying it, she exchanged it for an InstaPot. Based on that experience, I would start looking at ties.

In comment 14467097 GiantGiantsFan said:

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as a gift to my mother on Mother's Day (I used to work for Philips). After trying it, she exchanged it for an InstaPot. Based on that experience, I would start looking at ties.

:)

In comment 14467097 GiantGiantsFan said:

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as a gift to my mother on Mother's Day (I used to work for Philips). After trying it, she exchanged it for an InstaPot. Based on that experience, I would start looking at ties.

I've got an Instant Pot

I have used it a handful of times when I wanted to cook wings, but didn't feel like going outside and frying them.

it's not close to fried wing crispiness. Anyone that says it's the same or close doesn't really like crispy chicken wings. people will say you need baking powder, or you need x, but I've tried quite a few different ways and they come out ok, just not super crispy like fried. for reference I fry my chicken wings in my fryer at 375 (or 400 if I have a fryer that goes that high like a turkey fryer) for about 30 min.

otherwise I have no use for it.

In comment 14467105 pjcas18 said:

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I have used it a handful of times when I wanted to cook wings, but didn't feel like going outside and frying them. it's not close to fried wing crispiness. Anyone that says it's the same or close doesn't really like crispy chicken wings. people will say you need baking powder, or you need x, but I've tried quite a few different ways and they come out ok, just not super crispy like fried. for reference I fry my chicken wings in my fryer at 375 (or 400 if I have a fryer that goes that high like a turkey fryer) for about 30 min. otherwise I have no use for it.

thanks, Pj. I've been sous viding my wings then adding rub and doing a short deep fry to crisp them.

In comment 14467150 Bill in UT said:

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In comment 14467105 pjcas18 said: Quote: I have used it a handful of times when I wanted to cook wings, but didn't feel like going outside and frying them. it's not close to fried wing crispiness. Anyone that says it's the same or close doesn't really like crispy chicken wings. people will say you need baking powder, or you need x, but I've tried quite a few different ways and they come out ok, just not super crispy like fried. for reference I fry my chicken wings in my fryer at 375 (or 400 if I have a fryer that goes that high like a turkey fryer) for about 30 min. otherwise I have no use for it. thanks, Pj. I've been sous viding my wings then adding rub and doing a short deep fry to crisp them.

I could live with that. I have flash fried in the past after smoking or grilling.

I actually wound up with a smoked wing "recipe" that I like almost as much as fried wings.

In comment 14467097 GiantGiantsFan said:

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as a gift to my mother on Mother's Day (I used to work for Philips). After trying it, she exchanged it for an InstaPot. Based on that experience, I would start looking at ties.

Useful? InstantPot looks like another over marketed useless piece of crap, that requires a degree in computer science to operate.

very, very early when the price was $199 (Phillips) and I have NO REGRETS! I've had mine for around 3 years and it's the best kitchen appliance on my countertop. The fries come out perfect without the oil, yet they taste great. The veggies come out perfectly crisp and I don't have to wait for the oven to warm up. I've made grilled cheese sandwiches every which way you can imagine but they have NEVER come out any better than when made in the air fryer.
Last night's leftover Pizza comes out as if you just ordered a slice from your favorite Pizzaria, no kiddin'

I've cooked for a handful of picky kids through the years (ranging from 9 year olds to older teens) and they have loved EVERYTHING that has come out from the air fryer.

So, YES I'm a big fan of this method of cooking and re-heating.

Would it do cooking a $50 dry aged steak?

In comment 14467096 Bill in UT said:

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In comment 14467087 Coach Red Beaulieu said: Quote: But conceptually sounds like an abomination, like turkey bacon. If it's like turkey bacon, I'm out. Funny, for those who watch America's Test Kitchen, they recently did a taste test on turkey bacon and basically said that they all suck, you just have to go with the one that sucks the least.

Don't feed the troll.

In comment 14467156 Coach Red Beaulieu said:

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In comment 14467097 GiantGiantsFan said: Quote: as a gift to my mother on Mother's Day (I used to work for Philips). After trying it, she exchanged it for an InstaPot. Based on that experience, I would start looking at ties. Useful? InstantPot looks like another over marketed useless piece of crap, that requires a degree in computer science to operate.

I love my Instant Pot. I use it all the time. It’s my main rice cooker and I have had dedicated rice cookers. It’s also great for Risotto, jook, and, especially making broths/stock. It’s highly versatile and I think a mainstay more than a gimmick.

I looked hard at air fryers but they didn’t seem that worth it. Because it’s just a convection oven.

For certain things. I know people who cook steaks and pork but I couldn’t do that to a good piece of meat. Fries, fresh pizza or reheated pizza and nuggets for kids....all day. It’s fast, easy and not messy.

Love cooking in it.one of best kitchen items I ever bought

If you enjoy chicken thighs, there is no better way I've made them at home than using the air fryer for perfect amounts of crispy skin without having them get dry. I refuse to cook thighs another way, unless I'm making them French onion style.
Pizza is almost as good as fresh on a re-heat in the air fryer as well.
Asparagus is sneaky good in it too.

Besides the frying pan, there is nothing I use in the kitchen more than my air fryer. I use it to reheat things more than I do the microwave.

In comment 14467156 Coach Red Beaulieu said:

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In comment 14467097 GiantGiantsFan said: Quote: as a gift to my mother on Mother's Day (I used to work for Philips). After trying it, she exchanged it for an InstaPot. Based on that experience, I would start looking at ties. Useful? InstantPot looks like another over marketed useless piece of crap, that requires a degree in computer science to operate.

Yes, which is why its sitting in her basement.

has one he uses just for wings and fries. He's 500 miles away; but he swears the wings come out pretty good and crispy....I'm like crispy the way he and I both understand how wings should be. He said yup, they turn out great...so I believe him and he says he's going to get me one for an occasion like Bday or Xmas. I look forward to trying one out for sure!!!

an air fryer and an instant pot. The instant pot gets a lot more use. The air fryer not so much. I've tried just about every air fryer recipe for french fries and onion rings and they never come out right. Fried chicken? Forget it. Ended up peeling off the coating and the chicken was dry.

I haven't tried reheating pizza. Isn't that what a microwave is for? :)

but it's great for soups because you can't burn them. The timer shuts off when you set it too and it keeps the soup warm until you're ready to serve it.

has replaced my rice maker, pressure cooker and egg machine. Makes the best hard boiled eggs of any method I've tried, and I've tried them all, lol.

"it cooks things so fast, like artichokes in 10 minutes!"


What a crock of BS, yeah it's ten minutes once the pot is boiling and then up to the recommended high pressure, which takes like 20-30 minutes.

So it really a half hour plus TOTAL time, the same time in which I can boil or steam artichokes in any normal fucking pot.

Yeah for folks that don't like to cook or pay attention, it has a recipe book that basically tells you how to program the damn thing, but it's definitely not any more INSTANT than conventional cooking methods.

Totally BS device IMO.

Pretty good YouTube video on Air Fryers from America’s Test Kitchen.
Link - ( New Window )

yes, and it's for convenience. Yesterday a dozen hard boiled eggs without timing anything - perfectly hard boiled easy to peel eggs every time. Poached eggs? Simple.

Mashed potatoes in less time and effort than boiling the potatoes.

Pulled chicken without using a smoker or crock pot.

Some things don't take less time per se, but the device does replace multiple other devices. To me it's like when HP came out with those home devices that printed, faxed, copied, and scanned. Did it print better than the lexmark printer, or scan better or faster than similar other scanners? no, but it did all of them in one device.

It is great as a slow cooker and pressure cooker, so far for me.

In comment 14467832 BlueLou'sBack said:

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"it cooks things so fast, like artichokes in 10 minutes!" What a crock of BS, yeah it's ten minutes once the pot is boiling and then up to the recommended high pressure, which takes like 20-30 minutes. So it really a half hour plus TOTAL time, the same time in which I can boil or steam artichokes in any normal fucking pot. Yeah for folks that don't like to cook or pay attention, it has a recipe book that basically tells you how to program the damn thing, but it's definitely not any more INSTANT than conventional cooking methods. Totally BS device IMO.

I don't think that's true (but then again, I'm a big fan of the Instant Pot).

I mean, yeah, it's not as quick as people say when you include building up and releasing pressure, but for many or most things it definitely is much quicker. Rice is done more quickly and it comes out more consistently done. Braised meats (e.g. pot roast, corned beef, etc) are done way quicker. It makes fantastic stock or bone broth and a much, much faster time (and the final product is much clearer than the stovetop version).

I get crispy wings out of it (not sure why the other poster didn't).

I use it every day to roast vegetables as I like them crispy (I use a spritz of an olive oil spray).

Lately, I have been making great "hard boiled" eggs in the air fryer. It's easy, and it's perfectly timed.

I'd say I use my air fryer more than any other appliance in my kitchen.

In comment 14467087 Coach Red Beaulieu said:

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But conceptually sounds like an abomination, like turkey bacon.

We got one as a Christmas gift from my mother in law. It pretty much sucks. It's convenient for tossing in cheese sticks and chicken nuggets for the kids in that it cooks them much faster than an oven, but that's about the extent of its usefulness.

I was skeptical about how crispy food would come out of the air fryer, but wings, fries and anything breaded has done really well. I make "air fried" zucchini this time of year quite a bit, and they come out crisp. I also use panko to help.

I can't stand a mushy wing, but the ones I've done are crispy enough for my liking.

In comment 14467832 BlueLou'sBack said:

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"it cooks things so fast, like artichokes in 10 minutes!" What a crock of BS, yeah it's ten minutes once the pot is boiling and then up to the recommended high pressure, which takes like 20-30 minutes. So it really a half hour plus TOTAL time, the same time in which I can boil or steam artichokes in any normal fucking pot. Yeah for folks that don't like to cook or pay attention, it has a recipe book that basically tells you how to program the damn thing, but it's definitely not any more INSTANT than conventional cooking methods. Totally BS device IMO.

You can't truly understand how much time the Instant Pot can save you until you use it to cook a whole chicken or, better yet, pork shoulder.

great point on the InstaPot. If I don't want to set up the smoker and do a butt for 10-12 hours, you can cook it in just over an hour. And it doesn't have to be smoked BBQ, it can just end up being a pork roast.

I've chunked it up and gotten Carnitas cooked in 20 minutes in the InstaPot, and then put them in a frying pan to crisp the outside.

In comment 14468195 FatMan in Charlotte said:

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great point on the InstaPot. If I don't want to set up the smoker and do a butt for 10-12 hours, you can cook it in just over an hour. And it doesn't have to be smoked BBQ, it can just end up being a pork roast. I've chunked it up and gotten Carnitas cooked in 20 minutes in the InstaPot, and then put them in a frying pan to crisp the outside.

FMIC - you mean 20 minutes from the point in time when it's cooking at full steam pressure, right?

And how long did it take to get to pressure?

In comment 14468177 santacruzom said:

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In comment 14467087 Coach Red Beaulieu said: Quote: But conceptually sounds like an abomination, like turkey bacon. We got one as a Christmas gift from my mother in law. It pretty much sucks. It's convenient for tossing in cheese sticks and chicken nuggets for the kids in that it cooks them much faster than an oven, but that's about the extent of its usefulness.

Disagree completely. Also got one through the mother in law, and I thought for sure it was going to waste valuable space in our shoebox apartment. I use that thing like once a day... chicken, fish, sausage, even have air fried steak. And I love throwing veggies in there. Possible you have a bad model or just need to experiment further with yours?

5 min or so to get up to full pressure (on high), how long does yours take Lou?

Last question: how full was the insta pot?

In my very disapointing experience with it, I had it FULL, which obviously delayed the start of the steam pressure cooking. I'm guessing the heating element works far better when the pot is considerably less than to the brim full?

In comment 14468205 pjcas18 said:

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5 min or so to get up to full pressure (on high), how long does yours take Lou?

Clock full of veggies for a soup, 20 minutes or so. Very disapointing.

In comment 14468213 BlueLou'sBack said:

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In comment 14468205 pjcas18 said: Quote: 5 min or so to get up to full pressure (on high), how long does yours take Lou? Clock full of veggies for a soup, 20 minutes or so. Very disapointing.

I've only used it for pulled chicken, pork medallions (so pork loin), mashed potatoes, and hard boiled eggs. I have a 8qt duo instant pot.

It wasn't filled up with 8 qts of food though.

but it was 5 min or so I believe.

In comment 14468212 BlueLou'sBack said:

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Last question: how full was the insta pot? In my very disapointing experience with it, I had it FULL, which obviously delayed the start of the steam pressure cooking. I'm guessing the heating element works far better when the pot is considerably less than to the brim full?

I have cooked Carnitas from prep time to table in under an hour. I usually only have the InstaPot about 40% full - maybe more depending how the hunks sit. I have done a whole pork butt in over an hour and it was pretty full (probably 75-80%)

Is that a lot of time? Maybe, but I usually braise chuck for a lot longer.

(Of course, when you're used to 48hr SV cooks, 90 minutes seems like lightning.)

is a bit of a straw man. Other than a saute, everything you cook with- oven, pressure cooker, rice cooker, boiling water, grill (especially charcoal), smoker, sous vide, deep fryer are all going to take at least 10 minutes, usually more, to get to temp. The air fryer may be the only exception. Oh, and a blowtorch