Air Fryer

Do any of you all use one and are they good or not? Being diabetic I was told they would be a good way to prepare some foods.

I love mine. It's on the smaller side because it's usually just me and my daughter I'm cooking for.

Some of the things I've cooked in mine...

Hard boiled eggs
Grilled cheese
Acorn squash
Hot dogs
Pork steak
Duck breast
Mini corn dogs
Pizza rolls
Chicken nuggets
Chicken

I'm about to put some batches of pumpkin seeds in tonight.

Sounds like what I'am looking for. Thanks. If you don't mind what kind did you get?

You cannot beat French fries in the air frier…straight up great. Also chicken tenders.

All of the time.

Brats and fry's are better in the air fryer then any other way.

I did a cut up chicken and thought it was awfully greasy. A mess to clean up but I hate grease.

I like mine so well I bought 2.

I don't like the full sized unit nearly as well as the smaller one that has a cup style fryer. Cut up spuds and toss them in. Shake every 5 minutes for about 15 minutes and the best taters you've had....and good for you that way.

It's the only way to re heat meat as well. Chicken, beef, venison all heats up real nice...Even if breaded.

I got mine from Amazon, Ultrean 4.2 qt Air Fryer.

Tlguy, how do you hard boil eggs in it?

In mine we've done tacos, tostadas, wings, chicken tenders, country fried steak, potatoes, fries, sweet potato fries, cinnamon rolls, chicharones. Our air fryer is built into the Blackstone grill

Never understood the hype. It is just a mini oven.

Because it takes 3 minutes to preheat instead of 15 and isn't a huge energy waste when I just want to "fry" up some chicken nugs for me and the kid. But you're right, it is just a countertop convection oven.

I still haven't nailed down the temp/time for the eggs, I've found it depends on the size of the eggs. Mediums take less time than jumbos.

We been using one for a while. My wife and daughter uses it all the time. My son has a big one and cooks all kind of stuff. It’s a good way to go for healthy cooking. The one we have is chefman. I don’t know if it’s a good brand, but, they like it.

Seems like we use ours almost daily. One thing I don't care for is bacon. The list of stuff we've in the fryer is too long to write down. Also works great for reheating leftovers. Can',t think of the name of it, but it has 3 steel mesh trays.

Replaced my oven with a glass top from lowes with a built in air fryer and a dehydrator. Air fryer mac and cheese is the the best.

Use mine everyday. If it broke tomorrow i would buy another immediately. I have the Power Air Fryer XL Oven.

have only try ours a few time's and not happy with it , made a mess and took twice as long has they said

What Brand do you have?

This was my experience trying to cook chicken. Still clucking in the center, never could get it done. Or by the time you did get it done it would be dryer than a popcorn fart. I just had a cheap one from Amazon so that could have contributed to the problem.

I won't cook meat in it, but fries and other things are good in it

I have the Emeril Lagasse Power Air Fryer 360 XL. This basically a small oven with air fryer in it. I cook chicken, fish, pizza, toast, and bacon. I might try other things, but right now most of my food is TV diners type food. Many people tell that things are too creasy, but the instruction with mine tell you to cook in a basket and put wet paper towels in a tray below it. This is also good when frying bacon, to do away with the smoke.

I has taken me a while to get used to cooking this way, try things and change time or temps until you get it to your liking. The air frying settings create more heat and can be turned on or off on mine. When I am doing pizza I cut down on the time and heat settings and the last couple of minutes turn on the Air Fryer fan and it helps to crisp things up and they aren't over-cooked.

I got the largest one which is a higher wattage and a larger oven. Supposed to be able to rotisse a 6 pound chicken or bake a 12 pound turkey. I haven't tried either one yet.

Garry-

Haven’t done it yet, but I will try some Pinenuts in it today. Love the fries.

They're ok. Just a convection oven. They do make some mean chicken wings without the mess of a fryer. But it's still just one more small appliance I have to clean up and store.

It goes on the shelf in the pantry with the waffle maker, george foreman, blender, elec. frying pan, crock pot, instant pot, cake pop maker, air popcorn machine, deep fryer and dehydrator.

I use mine daily. I have this one. Air Fryer

I use if for everything. "Fast" foods like frozen pizza, chicken strips, fries, etc. I cook bacon, burgers, dogs, sausage, pork chops, grilled chicken, breaded chicken, fish (breaded or baked), breaded shrimp. I've used it for desserts like cobbler, apple crisp, brownies (anything that can be baked in an 8x8 pan, 9x13 won't fit.) It's great for toasting things like English muffins, or garlic bread. Mine has a rotisserie and I've used that for cooking small whole chickens, and pork loin roasts. Basically, anything that would normally be deep fried, grilled, or baked can be made in it.

Thank you Angela…sounds perfect for saving space, or in a small house or apartment with no conventional stove. Or to replace a microwave . I would like to try one .

While I have both a microwave and oven, I still use this more than either of them. What I especially love about it, is living down here in the south, it doesn't heat up the house the way the oven does. Before I got this, I basically baked nothing from May-Sept. unless I did it at the break of day. Now I can bake anytime. It's also quicker than a standard oven. By the time a normal oven preheats, a lot of things will already be done in the air fryer.

We have one but don't use it much. Does good on chicken but that's about it for us.

I despise fries done in it, nothing like fries done in peanut oil.

Thanks Angela, that info is very good . I think it is better on the food to warm up leftovers with this , than the microwave. I can really see this being the perfect choice for a small kitchen, or one without a stove. It can be moved and cook in it anywhere. I like the one you have shown in the link too.

We have this one. It’s great.

I toss my fresh cut fries in about a tablespoon of used fryer oil and then season and put in the air fryer. Gives you a little taste of the fryer but not soaked or cooked in them.

That sounds like a real plus too, not needing to use much oil ...which I dont deep fry things anyway , but this option to still be able to do that with minimal oil is nice.

This really makes me feel blessed. I don't own any of those things !

She doesn't complain about a garage and camp full of hunting/fishing/trapping gear and furs/mounts and I don't complain (as far as she knows) about accessories to make me good food. It's a win-win.

Win win.... good food . I have a good large crock pot. Very useful in slow cook full meals . I'll use that when I make my collagen stock out of beef and chook bones. I've been reading up on using it for slow cooking wild turkey meat.

If electricity is used at all , and most all of us do in many ways, air fryers seem like a cost-effective faster way to prepare most foods. And defiantly take up less space for small areas. Or as a good backup in case a stove goes on the blink.

I prefer much more , cooking over flame, gas or propane stoves... are perfect. I'll always choose that way foremost.

"waffle maker, george foreman, blender, elec. frying pan, crock pot, instant pot, cake pop maker, air popcorn machine, deep fryer and dehydrator."

Of those things I only have a waffle maker, crockpot, instant pot, and dehydrator. I use the air fryer more than all four of those things combined though. Next in line would be the crockpot. For me, the instant pot was a waste of money. I hardly ever use it.

The instant pot is the best thing since sliced bread if you use it for the right thing. I only use it for "one pot meals" which is mainly some type of pasta. We usually make dinner with the Insant pot about once a week. The first time we used it we wanted to make some chicken stir fry. Much quicker to just do it in a pan on the stove. But for pasta or one pot deals its the cats meow. Dump everything in cook it on high pressure for 4 minutes and dinner is served

I've found that to be true, yes. I just rarely make one pot meals, lol. Maybe I'll have to find some new ones to try out.

Never heard of this instant pot. Almost sounds like a crock pot, but faster. Pasta and rice, legumes and other things requiring water can all be fixed with crock pot, though I havent done that in a long time.

Angela, it seems that those things, spaghetti, grains such as rice, etc, that need water cooking, still need to be done the conventional way, on a stove , not with the fryer .

I like my instant pot. Once you go down the rabbit hole of recipes, you can find some real cool ideas. Much better at doing pot roast type stuff than a traditional crock pot. Pot roast, shredded chicken, ribs, cube steak, all family favorites at our house in it.

The instant pot is basically a pressure cooker. It provides the same result as a crock pot in a much shorter time. Great for pasta

Sharon - Like a modernized foolproof pressure cooker. Pretty slick.

Thank you ! Huh....I'm learning lots in this sandbox I like it.

I have a good propane stove , love cooking on open flame. I can control temps to perfection. I will always want this type of stove , but as Angela mentioned, if warming up the house isn't wanted, seems like the fryer is it , along with fast cook time , meaning less cost in electric . In Montana, it is not often that warming a house is a worry , as thankfully, the weather is much cooler most of the year.

I still like the idea of the fryer. Been researching different kinds . I'm big on easy cleaning and hassle free maintenance . I research the tar out of subjects anyway before making a purchase. Don't want something that grieves me to keep clean .

Re: hard boiled egg
Trapper Talk Sharon 09/21/21

Oh right ! That's the instant pot.

I'm behind the times , here ...I'm learning

Thanks SJA !

Yeah, Sharon, I still do rice or pasta type dishes on my stove top. I'm don't think cooking those type things in the air fryer would work any better than trying to cook them in the oven.

The Instant pot certainly works for rice or pasta, but I still prefer my stove top...I may just be old fashioned, lol. What coondagger is talking about though is where the Instant pot's work well... stuff like dumping in tomatoes, sauce and dry pasta altogether into it then just letting it do it's thing. Or as mentioned pot roasts where you'd throw in raw meat, potatoes, carrots, etc but have it done in less than an hour as opposed to all day with a crock pot.

Anyone have any favorite instant pot recipes?

I still like the idea of the fryer, for another reason thought of...say , you're going to be out of town driving ...and want a private option for preparing your own food , like in a hotel or even staying somewhere else ....as long as you can have access to power , you can transport it and have your own meals in comfort.

Been looking at Cosori 5.8 qt.

I am known for my killer spaghetti , so the propane flame time-honored way will remain

Don't feel bad Sharon, I never heard of one until I saw them mentioned here...and I still have no idea what they are! lol

I have a crock pot which we only use for parties to keep something warm, a waffle iron and a small deep fryer that i do use and an air fryer that we'll probably give away. Ohh, and my favorite, a milkshake machine that's older than I am.

Milkshake ! Ice cream melted a bit !

I do like the options and versatility of a fryer...what a good deal to take it with me traveling ! And other reasons.

Hi tec....amazing. Who sniveled at guns when they were first invented ? I wouldn't have !

Eat your heart out!


The grandkids always want me to fire this baby up when they come here.

That's my little deep fryer beside it. McDonalds has nothing on my fries done in peanut oil.

My wife loves hers. Nice thing is they are fast cooking and you can make things you normally would deep fry in them with hardly any oil. She likes her instant pot even better. Turtle, which tends to be tough, is "fall off the bone", when cooked in an instant pot.

Ha ! Chocolate with fudge mixed in -with whipped cream on top !

Trapper7, then meat such as wild turkey tougher parts, or anything else tough, would do well in the pot ...like a crock pot, only faster.

The wife and kid use our air fryer a couple times a week at least. Way faster than heating up the big oven and convection cooking makes for crispier food. The instant pot is fancier. It can be a pressure cooker or a slow cooker. Making soup takes minutes for dinner. We use that much more in the fall and winter. It’s not a great slow cooker.

Well I'm getting pretty sold on the Cosori. Very good reviews, not too costly, quiet, and not too bad to keep clean.

The other reason it caught my attention, at first glance , the name looks similar to the Citori shotgun

I appreciate this thread. Every fall into winter I get into a cooking frenzy....must be the cool air

I have a combination unit that does air fryer and pressure cooker.

It's a Ninja Foodi of some sort. I don't know which model but it is like a 9 in 1 unit. Can use it as a crock pot, instant pot, air fryer, saute, steam and couple other things. It's like all the gadgets in one.