Air Fryer

[becca]

Starting this at Bensmom's suggestion.   

[BensMom]

Copying my post from the good/bad/random thread....

I made pretty decent french fries in the new toaster over/air fryer.

[GoingNuts]

 

[BensMom]

And for lunch today, I air fried some chicken wings. DH is working from home and dd is home, so we all had wings and fries for lunch. I didn't take a picture. The wings came out pretty well. Not a lot of flavor, but I was experimenting and more concerned with how they cook then with flavor. I just dredged them in flour with salt and pepper and lightly brushed them with oil (I don't have an oil mister--need to get one).

It was a bit messy. I don't know how a regular air fryer is set up, but with the toaster over/air fryer, there's a mesh "basket" (more like mesh baking pan), and it's hard to put the flour-coated wings on/in the basket without getting flour on the counter or in the toaster oven. My oven came with a "drip pan" that I put under the basket, but the drip pan is smaller than the basket--not sure why they did that, so some of the flour got on the bottom of the oven. Anyway, the wings were good. I kept thinking how I was having this terribly unhealthy lunch of fried chicken and fries and then realized it wasn't really unhealthy, so yay! I don't really anticipate using the air fryer all that much--I had never specifically wanted one--but it's kind of cool for stuff occasionally.

What has anyone else done with their air fryer? 

[becca]

Wings come out really well in mine.  I didn't do any starch on them, just tosses with some Cajun style seasoning mix, and a small amount of oil.  My fryer has a deep basket that sits in a lagger pan.  They are connected, but the basket can be lifted out of the pan to toss and shake the wings, or other goods like French fries.   I roasted a whole chicken which was excellent.  I'd have to google the time. I made lamb loin chops in it last night!  They were delicious.  Of course I've some French fries, but sweet potato and regular. I've also done frozen fries in it.  Oh, this weekend, I played with empenada discs, and filled with taco meat leftovers mixed with cheese and a bit of black bean and corn salsa.  Crunchy, but yummy.

[SilverLining]

Perfect timing. We just bought an Actifryer.  It has a paddle that turns while cooking so food gets turned. Some people recommend removing it for delicate foods and just manually turning.

We cooked a bag of those mini potatoes. They were delicious.

I want to find a good recipe for onion rings.

[becca]

I have this one:  http://www.cruxkitchen.com/crux_air_convection_fryer_5-3QT.php

I don't see it for sale anywhere, any more, but I got it on sale at Macy's for $79.  It's big, but, I can roast a 5lb chicken in it. 

[SilverLining]

This is ours.

https://goo.gl/images/kRn7Xa

It's much smaller. I wanted one easy to carry up and down from the basement. It should fit on the shelf down there too.

[becca]

We did a kitchen remodel, so, I've not unpacked all of the old stuff.  Trying to just unpack what we really use, so that has given me space for new gadgets.

[SilverLining]

Spiced some chicken wings, 35 minutes. Delicious.

[becca]

Air fried fresh cod.  So good!  I mixed equal parts Panko and regular, plain breadcrumbs, maybe 1/2 to 3/4c each).  Added 3T flour, salt, and a dash of Florida Pepper from Penzy's, and mixed well with a couple T of avocado oil.  I'd have used more seasoning if dd wasn't eating it.  I dipped in egg(beaten with a bit of water), and coated as much as possible, pressing on crumb mixture.

Preheated air fryer to 370, and cooked about 8-10 minutes, flipping halfway.  Time will depend on thickness of fish.

I enjoyed mine with tarter sauce I mixed at home with reduced fat mayo.  Dd had hers with lemon.

[GoingNuts]

Wow, that sounds amazing.  I'm drooling. 

[BensMom]

I made chicken tenders in the air fryer and they were good. Crispy on the outside and nice and tender on the inside. I used chicken tenderloins, which I never use because I don't like the tendon, but I removed that. I didn't really use a recipe--just dipped in egg and dredged in flour, garlic powder, salt and pepper and I think paprika. I brushed them lightly with oil because I don't have an oil spritzer, but I just got one, so I'll try that when I air fry potatoes tonight.

[becca]

I've used a bit of panko bread crumbs with a little flour mixed in, Bensmom, for extra crunch. 

[BensMom]

I looked for panko in my cabinet when I made the chicken tenders, but I'm out of it. I'll try that next time.

I have to say that I really like having the air fryer as part of the toaster oven. If it were a separate appliance, I'd have to store it somewhere and probably wouldn't bother getting it out. With the toaster oven, it's right there, so I've been using it a lot--to reheat potato wedges I made, cook mozzarella sticks on New Year's Eve, I even air fried a hot dog and it was really good cooked that way. I'm going to try empanadas in it tonight. I made homemade potato skins for New Year's Eve and the recipe just says to bake the potato shells (after you've cooked and hollowed out the potatoes), but I turned the oven to air fry for just a few minutes to crisp them up. So it's easy to go back and forth, though I didn't have them in the air fry basket, so not quite as effective. I like the new toaster oven, which I didn't *need*, but is nice and the air fryer is a nice addition.