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The Air Frying Thread

It's been super slow on the Community tonight, so I thought that since people have been going out to eat a lot less during recent months but eating and cooking at home more instead, I'd start a thread on my most recent obssession: air frying. 


I'll admit that food such as fries a battered chicken are still going to come out better in a deep fryer, but I'd rather not have my food soaked in extra fat.  So, if in air fryer is able to do half as good of a job "frying" (actually baking) fried foods, I'm okay with that.

 

My advice would be that if you have the counter space, pay the extra bit of money for the larger sized air fryer.   You'll thank yourself for that later because unless you live by yourself, you might otherwise find that you need to cook in batches and that either one person has to wait to start eating, or you have to wait for second round to get the rest of your meal.

 

I've never been big on proper cooking and I've probably always relied far too much on processed foods. An air fryer is convenient because it allows you to easily cook your meal and when the timer runs out, it automatically shuts off. That ends up being great in the sense that you can go do something else while your meal is cooking. One of my favourites is air fried chicken legs. I'll usually just put some ketchup or bbq sauce on it and in about 30 minutes, it's ready.   

 

One pet peeve is about how poorly some of these devices are contructed. I've heard of some models leaking hot steam from the front of the unit causing a burn hazard. The basket release saftety lock is also often a cheap piece of plastic, and I wouldn't expect the non-stick coating on most of these to last more than a few months.  There has to be some good models out there though.

 

I really have no idea why I posted this message, other than that I was bored. I would imagine that some members have some good air frying recipes.

 

 

80 REPLIES 80


@dabr wrote:

The air fryer fries can never really replicate the taste of properly deep fried fries.  Sorry, but in my opinion the taste is not comparable. 

 


of course it can't but I wouldn't try eating deep fried every day

 

I see air frying as having a convenience factor, cooking while being able to do something else at the same time, without needing to worry about something catching on fire on the stove because it's forgotten.


@will13am wrote:


The convection feature in a toaster oven is not nearly the same as an air fryer.  I have a convection oven.  The tiny fan promotes convective heat transfer to enable food to cook a bit faster and more evenly.  Air fryers use a much greater airflow to "emulate" the frying effect.  Of course air is not oil and so there is no absolute substitute for deep frying.  It is a step closer and in some applications, it is close enough.  Non Battered fried chicken comes out great with the skin super crispy.  Dry battered foods come out fine also.  

 

Going off topic, Timmies donuts are disgusting.  They have been using frozen dough for about a decade.  I only buy grocery store donuts that are cooked on site daily.  Check out your local country grocer, they make a wicked apple fritter.  


Deep frying does taste better, and is more crispy, but when you get older, the health effects start becoming concerning. 

 

For donuts, you should try San Remo Bakery some time.


@will13am wrote:

Recently, I succumbed to peer pressure and bought an air fryer.  I do not deep fry indoors and so this purchase was intended to satisfy the fried food itch over the winter.  After using it for a bit, I have found it to be a credible alternative to the deep fryer.  My favorite fried food which is french fries comes out "good enough".  I have tried cooking fish with a dry bread crumb batter and outcome was good beyond expectation.  I have tried a semi-wet batter and it was total disaster.  The batter does not crust fast enough and consequently the airflow in the unit blows all the batter off the food into the outer basket.  I am not throwing out my deep fryer anytime soon, but there is a new appliance situated next to it in the cupboard.  

 

BTW, when shopping for an air fryer, go for one with the square shaped basket and 5.8 litre format.  Forget the smaller ones, there is not enough room for more than a tiny single serving of food.  The volume number is very deceptive.  In order to achieve good results, food cannot be stacked.  Much of the basket is empty space.  A 5.8 litre unit can do about one pound of fries at a time.  It is large enough to cook a whole chicken.  


Are you implying that I made you spend money?  I should have spent the extra $30 or so and go a bigger one. While a bigger unit might take a little bit longer to cook and could use more electricity, you limit your options when you realize that you can't fit a whole bird in the chamber without cutting it up.


@darlicious wrote:

Another option if you purchase larger package poultry products as i do ( I have a no frills that heavily discounts chicken a few days before expiry. The last time was skinless, boneless chicken breast $2/lb with an in store buy $15+ get 2k in points and a 200pts/$1 personal offer+spend $20 get 5k back. I bought $30 worth split between 2 household accounts. With a few more items to top out over $20 on each 15 pounds of chicken cost $30-$20 (20k pts)=$10.


I'd rather get fresh chicken legs for $0.40/lb. That's my secret.

Anonymous
Not applicable

So...is this like placing the food on a pan and on your dashboard out in the sun on a hot summer day?

🙂

@will13am You don't enjoy mashed potatoes?

@will13amwrote:

If your latest T-Fal air fryer the actifry model with the stir stick?  That one is a really bad design.  Fries come out like mashed potato.

 

@will13am   Yes it is the actifry model and you're right the fries are more mushy than actual fries. I'm going to try using it one last time by removing the paddle which (in my opinion) is partly responsible for making foods mushy, but I don't think that's the only problem with it.

 

So just re-read your post but didn't notice what make of air fryer you purchased as it sounds like some air fryers may actually do a decent job for foods that need to be crisp?

 

While, for our purposes, I'll still be eventually replacing the Actifry with a proper electric fryer, it would be nice to know what other brands of air fryers do a better job than the Tfal actifry.


@darlicious wrote:

@will13am 

There's one on the island ill check it out if I ever travel again......i do have nuffy's donuts a quick ebike ride away (all uphill)  and home of the $3 donut cartem's at the end of my street. I would never pay $3 for a donut ($30/dozen) but one of the girls brought in a dozen of all different flavours that we all sampled. Holy donut holes talk about exceeding expectations! Amazing clean true flavours, not too sweet.....the one that still stands out on my tastebuds was the white chocolate green matcha tea one. Delish!


There are no country grocers in the lower mainland?  I did not know they were a local store.  I really like their bakery.  The stuff is baked on site and at end of day the shelves are cleared to make way for new stock early in the morning.  


@dabr wrote:

The air fryer fries can never really replicate the taste of properly deep fried fries.  Sorry, but in my opinion the taste is not comparable. 

 

Used to have a TFal fryer worked great for 10+ years before some parts started becoming loose (door hinges, and basket hinge) and needed to be retired.  Bought the so called wonderful Tfal air fryer to replace it based upon the glowing reviews.  Fries are passable but no what I would call real fries.  Tried a few other foods in it, but not really impressed.  Been sitting and taking up counterspace for the last 2 years.  Will  buy another deep fryer when I see one that meets all the criteria of stainless steel insert and with large enough capacity and price point match what I think is reasonable.   As to the health advantages, as long as deep fried foods are not being consumed daily, a couple of times a month shouldn't be a problem for most people.  Of course, if someone has health issues, then getting the air fryer might be more beneficial for them.  Maybe I didn't experiment enough with the air fryer...

 

@JoyLuck   Lol...never seen that one before, interesting but not sure about the usefulness as it seems unusually small, unless there's only one person to cook for. 😊

 

The community forums are more quieter lately than they used to be.


If your latest T-Fal air fryer the actifry model with the stir stick?  That one is a really bad design.  Fries come out like mashed potato.


@JoyLuck wrote:

@dabr wrote:

 

 

@JoyLuck   Lol...never seen that one before, interesting but not sure about the usefulness as it seems unusually small, unless there's only one person to cook for. 😊

 

 


Yes, it is definitely small and not suitable for everyone. I wanted something that was easy to clean and did not use too much oil.


@JoyLuck   Oh yeah, if it does what you need from it, then of course.. 😊


@dabr wrote:

 

 

@JoyLuck   Lol...never seen that one before, interesting but not sure about the usefulness as it seems unusually small, unless there's only one person to cook for. 😊

 

 


Yes, it is definitely small and not suitable for everyone. I wanted something that was easy to clean and did not use too much oil.

dabr
Mayor / Maire

The air fryer fries can never really replicate the taste of properly deep fried fries.  Sorry, but in my opinion the taste is not comparable. 

 

Used to have a TFal fryer worked great for 10+ years before some parts started becoming loose (door hinges, and basket hinge) and needed to be retired.  Bought the so called wonderful Tfal air fryer to replace it based upon the glowing reviews.  Fries are passable but no what I would call real fries.  Tried a few other foods in it, but not really impressed.  Been sitting and taking up counterspace for the last 2 years.  Will  buy another deep fryer when I see one that meets all the criteria of stainless steel insert and with large enough capacity and price point match what I think is reasonable.   As to the health advantages, as long as deep fried foods are not being consumed daily, a couple of times a month shouldn't be a problem for most people.  Of course, if someone has health issues, then getting the air fryer might be more beneficial for them.  Maybe I didn't experiment enough with the air fryer...

 

@JoyLuck   Lol...never seen that one before, interesting but not sure about the usefulness as it seems unusually small, unless there's only one person to cook for. 😊

 

The community forums are more quieter lately than they used to be.

@will13am 

There's one on the island ill check it out if I ever travel again......i do have nuffy's donuts a quick ebike ride away (all uphill)  and home of the $3 donut cartem's at the end of my street. I would never pay $3 for a donut ($30/dozen) but one of the girls brought in a dozen of all different flavours that we all sampled. Holy donut holes talk about exceeding expectations! Amazing clean true flavours, not too sweet.....the one that still stands out on my tastebuds was the white chocolate green matcha tea one. Delish!


@darlicious wrote:

@JoyLuck 

Battering and airfryers....does that even work? There are just some things in life that are meant to be deep fried. Any other method just produces an unsatisfactory inferior product. Breading food is meant for baking or worrying I suppose but it's a poor substitute for batter and if it's deep fried it is not any healthier than the real thing. If you're craving an unhealthy meal....indulge in the real thing and satisfy that part of the  brain. Why does tim hortons have crappy donuts now? Because they are no loñger make them from scratch on the premises  Instead they're brought in half frozen and half baked. They are then half baked again to finish them off. The only way you could get me to eat one would be if I was half baked then I might finish them off.

 

@computergeek541 

I have an air frying option on my toaster oven which I've used for fast frozen French fries. I could give you many a recipe but i had a roommate once that would save the crumbs left in the bottom of the bag of various snacks....chips, crackers, corn chips, cereal(low sugar varieties) Collected in the "empty" chip and sometimes needing a rolling pin to further crush the larger chunks this made a surprisingly tasty coating using a little beaten egg (and milk if available) or mayonnaise  to make sure it adheres to the chicken.

 

Another option if you purchase larger package poultry products as i do ( I have a no frills that heavily discounts chicken a few days before expiry. The last time was skinless, boneless chicken breast $2/lb with an in store buy $15+ get 2k in points and a 200pts/$1 personal offer+spend $20 get 5k back. I bought $30 worth split between 2 household accounts. With a few more items to top out over $20 on each 15 pounds of chicken cost $30-$20 (20k pts)=$10.

 

Back to the topic at hand.....make a quick marinade once you get home. About equal parts oil and acid. Almost any oil but canola, extra virgin olive oil or avocado are good choices and  new or old red, white or rose wine, any vinegar, pickle juice, lemon or lime juice and add some herbs and spices, salt and pepper. Mix all over and set aside and pull out the foodsaver2000 or your box of large freezer bags and portion and vacuum seal. Easy to defrost and they'll airfry nicely! Try these combinations for quick marinades (all with oil and.......)

 

  1. Lemon juice, zest of 1 lemon, 3-4 crushed garlic cloves, any chopped fresh herbs (basil, thyme, rosemary, oregano, parsley, cilantro, dill, tarragon, sage, chervil or chives) salt+pepper 
  2. Same as above but with a generous tablespoon of dried Italian or French herb blends
  3. Juice and zest of one lime, chopped pickled hot peppers and a splash of the juice, heaping tbsp of chili powder, tsp of cumin, crushed garlic, chopped cilantro, hot sauce, salt+pepper
  4. White or rose wine, heaping tbsp of grainy mustard, tbsp of honey, chopped chervil, parsley, chives or finely diced onion or shallot, salt+pepper

Just about anything works just keep itv balanced with equal parts oil/acid , salt+ pepper.

20181205_184435.jpg

 


The convection feature in a toaster oven is not nearly the same as an air fryer.  I have a convection oven.  The tiny fan promotes convective heat transfer to enable food to cook a bit faster and more evenly.  Air fryers use a much greater airflow to "emulate" the frying effect.  Of course air is not oil and so there is no absolute substitute for deep frying.  It is a step closer and in some applications, it is close enough.  Non Battered fried chicken comes out great with the skin super crispy.  Dry battered foods come out fine also.  

 

Going off topic, Timmies donuts are disgusting.  They have been using frozen dough for about a decade.  I only buy grocery store donuts that are cooked on site daily.  Check out your local country grocer, they make a wicked apple fritter.  


@JoyLuck wrote:

@computergeek541 

 

The Granpappy has no basket. It’s a bit bigger than a paint can and you just pour the oil right into the non stick container and fry away.

I have not yet tried deep frying fish with bread crumbs, but will give it a try with Panako. It will probably be a lot healthier than the beer batter.


I have used the T-Fal EZ clean deep fryer for years with great success.  The unit takes over 3 litres of oil which is a lot more than most units.  The importance of a big vat of oil is that the oil will not cool significantly when food is added.  Of course lots of oil is its weakness come cleanup time.  Fortunately, cleanup is simplified by the built in oil filtration and storage system.  

 

Recently, I succumbed to peer pressure and bought an air fryer.  I do not deep fry indoors and so this purchase was intended to satisfy the fried food itch over the winter.  After using it for a bit, I have found it to be a credible alternative to the deep fryer.  My favorite fried food which is french fries comes out "good enough".  I have tried cooking fish with a dry bread crumb batter and outcome was good beyond expectation.  I have tried a semi-wet batter and it was total disaster.  The batter does not crust fast enough and consequently the airflow in the unit blows all the batter off the food into the outer basket.  I am not throwing out my deep fryer anytime soon, but there is a new appliance situated next to it in the cupboard.  

 

BTW, when shopping for an air fryer, go for one with the square shaped basket and 5.8 litre format.  Forget the smaller ones, there is not enough room for more than a tiny single serving of food.  The volume number is very deceptive.  In order to achieve good results, food cannot be stacked.  Much of the basket is empty space.  A 5.8 litre unit can do about one pound of fries at a time.  It is large enough to cook a whole chicken.  

@JoyLuck 

Battering and airfryers....does that even work? There are just some things in life that are meant to be deep fried. Any other method just produces an unsatisfactory inferior product. Breading food is meant for baking or worrying I suppose but it's a poor substitute for batter and if it's deep fried it is not any healthier than the real thing. If you're craving an unhealthy meal....indulge in the real thing and satisfy that part of the  brain. Why does tim hortons have crappy donuts now? Because they are no loñger make them from scratch on the premises  Instead they're brought in half frozen and half baked. They are then half baked again to finish them off. The only way you could get me to eat one would be if I was half baked then I might finish them off.

 

@computergeek541 

I have an air frying option on my toaster oven which I've used for fast frozen French fries. I could give you many a recipe but i had a roommate once that would save the crumbs left in the bottom of the bag of various snacks....chips, crackers, corn chips, cereal(low sugar varieties) Collected in the "empty" chip and sometimes needing a rolling pin to further crush the larger chunks this made a surprisingly tasty coating using a little beaten egg (and milk if available) or mayonnaise  to make sure it adheres to the chicken.

 

Another option if you purchase larger package poultry products as i do ( I have a no frills that heavily discounts chicken a few days before expiry. The last time was skinless, boneless chicken breast $2/lb with an in store buy $15+ get 2k in points and a 200pts/$1 personal offer+spend $20 get 5k back. I bought $30 worth split between 2 household accounts. With a few more items to top out over $20 on each 15 pounds of chicken cost $30-$20 (20k pts)=$10.

 

Back to the topic at hand.....make a quick marinade once you get home. About equal parts oil and acid. Almost any oil but canola, extra virgin olive oil or avocado are good choices and  new or old red, white or rose wine, any vinegar, pickle juice, lemon or lime juice and add some herbs and spices, salt and pepper. Mix all over and set aside and pull out the foodsaver2000 or your box of large freezer bags and portion and vacuum seal. Easy to defrost and they'll airfry nicely! Try these combinations for quick marinades (all with oil and.......)

 

  1. Lemon juice, zest of 1 lemon, 3-4 crushed garlic cloves, any chopped fresh herbs (basil, thyme, rosemary, oregano, parsley, cilantro, dill, tarragon, sage, chervil or chives) salt+pepper 
  2. Same as above but with a generous tablespoon of dried Italian or French herb blends
  3. Juice and zest of one lime, chopped pickled hot peppers and a splash of the juice, heaping tbsp of chili powder, tsp of cumin, crushed garlic, chopped cilantro, hot sauce, salt+pepper
  4. White or rose wine, heaping tbsp of grainy mustard, tbsp of honey, chopped chervil, parsley, chives or finely diced onion or shallot, salt+pepper

Just about anything works just keep itv balanced with equal parts oil/acid , salt+ pepper.

20181205_184435.jpg

 

@computergeek541 

 

The Granpappy has no basket. It’s a bit bigger than a paint can and you just pour the oil right into the non stick container and fry away.

I have not yet tried deep frying fish with bread crumbs, but will give it a try with Panako. It will probably be a lot healthier than the beer batter.


@JoyLuck wrote:

@computergeek541 

 

I was debating about getting a Ninja air fryer from Costco. I really enjoy fish and chips, but I could not find a decent recipe where the batter would not drip to the bottom. I, instead bought the Granpappy deep fryer from Amazon a couple of months ago when it was on sale. Cleanup is super easy and the temperature is set automatically, plus It only uses one litre of oil. Only drawback is the size is small and you have to cook in batches. I fry for one person at a time.

 

I’ll still consider an air fryer if there is a super easy recipe out there for fish and chips along with the easy cleanup.
B3B3A962-9687-4660-AEB5-4BC5630DC9A5.jpeg

 

 

 


I think that for most air fryers these days are of the basket that pulls forward with a handle. For the one the deep fryer that you have, it looks as if you'd have to use pot holders to lift up the basket. I see that you understand what I mean by needing to cook in batches because of having too small of a size.  I would say go big and get something that has a 5 to 6 quart capacity. That way, you'd be able to cook a whole chicken in there with room to spare.

 

I kind of regret getting a 3.8 quart fryer as there are times that I wish I had a larger device that cook bigger food items or more at the same time. I know that at one point, Amazon had a Ninji Foodi unit on sale for $150 (dont' remember the capacity). Then again, needing to assemble and convert the machine to the different all-in-one modes could have an annoyance factor.

 

As for making your own fish an chips, have you tried, using breading instead?  As for batter, you'd probably have to freeze your fish after battering it. Deep frying is proably going to give more even crispiness, but I'm sure that many people would be concerned with cooking food by submerging it in some type of oil/fat.

JoyLuck
Mayor / Maire

@computergeek541 

 

I was debating about getting a Ninja air fryer from Costco. I really enjoy fish and chips, but I could not find a decent recipe where the batter would not drip to the bottom in the air fryers. Instead, I bought the Granpappy deep fryer from Amazon a couple of months ago when it was on sale. Cleanup is super easy and the temperature is set automatically, plus it only uses one litre of oil. Only drawback is the size is small and you have to cook in batches. I fry for one person at a time. On the other end of the scale, I also have a propane deep fryer that uses about 4 lites of oil and makes a giant mess. Needless to say, that fryer sits on the shelf in the shed a lot.

 

I’ll still consider an air fryer if there is a super easy recipe out there for fish and chips along with the easy cleanup.
B3B3A962-9687-4660-AEB5-4BC5630DC9A5.jpeg

 

 

 

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