ronnie_suburban wrote:Looking for fresh info, opinions, recommendations, experiences, etc. If anyone has any, I'd love to hear about them.
Thanks,
=R=
Advantages of an air fryer:
1) You can get food similar to fried without all of the oil. You can pretty much limit the oil use to a couple sprays with a cooking spray like Pam.
2) It is really easy to clean. You remove the basket and since most of them are non-stick, it takes at best a minute to clean.
3) In this climate where 100F+ days are frequent, the air fryer does not heat up the kitchen as much.
4) When your oven is out of commission you can also use it to roast and bake although the space is limited.
5) You can reheat items like french fries and hamburgers and other leftovers and they taste a lot better than using an oven or a microwave.
Most of my friends have wanted to buy an air fryer but have bulked either due to teh cost or the lack of space as our kitchens are not very large at all. We have had several "air fryer parties" pre-Covid where we have tried different things.
Most of the foods that we have tried are generally those that are fried. The ones that we have found successful include:
1) Chicken wings - we have tried these a dozen ways. Our preference is to thaw the wings before cooking, roll the wings into a container of very seasoned cornstarch and then use the air fryer. We preferred the whole wings over the wingettes and to toss the wings into the sauce AFTER cooking.
2) Roast Cornish Hen - It did a great job on the bird. It was juicy and turned out really well.
3) My wife's favorite is fried OKRA. We have not been very successful in reproducing it in the air fryer. However, we like to take our home grown okra, place it in a plastic bag, add Cajun seasoning (preferably Joe's Stuff from the NOLA School of Cooking), add a little olive oil and roast it for about 12 minutes. The okra has never been slimy as it is usually consumed the day of picking. Other roasted vegetables will do well.
If you are looking for a lot of off the wall ideas involving an air fryer is Pro Home Cooks by Mike Green on YouTube.
https://www.prohomecooks.com/https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OtGBQw_ ... oHomeCookshttps://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aEcIkbZ ... oHomeCookshttps://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qdWhFjm ... oHomeCooksMike does wild things like cinnamon rolls, pizza, and the like.
Disadvantages:
1) You have very limited space. A 3.1L air fryer is only good for about two people. If I have wing night for several friends, I have to cook in advance of borrow an additional fryer.
2) Trying to do popcorn can cause a fire.
3) While the fryer does a lot of good things, there are better ways to do some items.