i dont deep-fry at home very often.

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There is no substitute for the awesomeness of deep-frying. I do it in the wok (the sloped sides let you use less oil), but I'd be tempted by a dedicated fryer, if it were friendly to animal fats, which most of them aren't, these days. Frying in lard (most things) or tallow (potatoes!) is just better. And yes, duck fat fries are great, but I'm not made of money.
 
I've not entertained the idea of an air-fryer, mainly due to lack of space in my tiny kitchen—although, been shopping for a replacement toaster oven and noticed that Breville sells an air fryer that's the same size as my current (almost broken) toaster oven. Considering getting that—purchase needs to be a Breville.

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DitmasPork said:
I've not entertained the idea of an air-fryer, mainly due to lack of space in my tiny kitchen—although, been shopping for a replacement toaster oven and noticed that Breville sells an air fryer that's the same size as my current (almost broken) toaster oven. Considering getting that—purchase needs to be a Breville.

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Ive been super close to picking this up, as well. I think ONLY because I don't have a toaster.

These models are a b!tch to clean though, in comparison to the small basket style. The metal air fryer perforated basket likes to drop all its fried toaster leavins to the floor of the machine.
 
MowgFace said:
Ive been super close to picking this up, as well. I think ONLY because I don't have a toaster.

These models are a b!tch to clean though, in comparison to the small basket style. The metal air fryer perforated basket likes to drop all its fried toaster leavins to the floor of the machine.
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Yes, agree. We have a Breville toasted oven, the door spring is busted—I line the bottom with foil, but the thing is very dirty—time for a Breville upgrade. Basket style fryer is not an option for us.
 
My air fryer has non stick coating that flakes off of the basket right away. I am waiting for a carbon steel air fryer before replacing it.
 
Well, mono, because it will heat up faster. But I could live with stainless if that comes out first.
 
I have an old breville toaster oven that went into storage years ago. It worked great on toast. However its convection fan was terrible. Located on the side it could burn one half of a pizza and leave the other side raw.

Air fryers have heat and fan at the top typically which work great. Even browning. You do have to flip the food half way through. Its a convection broiler. I removed my toaster oven to make room for the air fryer, the air fryer can make toast but I keep an old school pop up toaster around too. I put pizzas in a real oven.

I see more combo units out there. Air fryer/toaster oven. Air fryer/pressure cooker/stock pot. Space for stuff is a problem but I don’t know if any of these combo units are good.
 
Aren't air fryers just small convection ovens? I'm struggling to see what they really bring to the table versus just a normal 'proper' oven.
 
Jovidah said:
Aren't air fryers just small convection ovens? I'm struggling to see what they really bring to the table versus just a normal 'proper' oven.
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Not much (if anything), as far as I can see. I guess they are aimed at kitchens that do not have an oven, or do not have a modern oven with convection.
 
I thought the air-fryer concept was a gimmick until I bought one five years ago. We have a dual wall oven, the breville bench oven above (with "airfryer" super convection), and a proper philips air-fryer.

TLDR; The philips made such an impact on convenience, come black friday I bought a spare one (premium XXL) without batting an eye.

.02
 
Jovidah said:
Aren't air fryers just small convection ovens? I'm struggling to see what they really bring to the table versus just a normal 'proper' oven.
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The spoon is just a mini shovel, the knife just a mini sword, the pairing knife is just a mini chef knife, and the toaster oven is just a mini oven. Really, we don’t need any tools besides chopsticks and a cleaver. But, here we are, with kitchens full of appliances and weaponry.

The way we apply heat to food, just like the way we cut food, changes that food. In the case of cooking, an electric oven baked differently than a gas range, which requires venting of the hot air, and loss of steam. The smaller air fryer may be better at venting that moisture filled air than a larger gas oven because the fan is more powerful relative to the smaller space being evacuated. Or because of the placement of the fan (and heat, see below) at top rather than the sides.

An article.
 
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air fryers are their own thing. the f-word is misleading imho. it is not an alternative to deep frying. at all. ever.

i got one as a gift. i certainly don't need it, but it's nifty for some things. like kale chips, crisping up herb leaves, cooking eggplants and brussel sprouts.

nifty enough to warrant its footprint? not really.

.
 
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DavidScubadiver said:
The spoon is just a mini shovel, the knife just a mini sword, the pairing knife is just a mini chef knife, and the toaster oven is just a mini oven. Really, we don’t need any tools besides chopsticks and a cleaver. But, here we are, with kitchens full of appliances and weaponry.
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I make excuses for my knife collection; I know it's a hobby and absolutely not required...but I do actually try to limit the amount of appliances and other redundant stuff; it just ends up wasting precious space - and money.
DavidScubadiver said:
The way we apply heat to food, just like the way we cut food, changes that food. In the case of cooking, an electric oven baked differently than a gas range, which requires venting of the hot air, and loss of steam. The smaller air fryer may be better at venting that moisture filled air than a larger gas oven because the fan is more powerful relative to the smaller space being evacuated. Or because of the placement of the fan (and heat, see below) at top rather than the sides.

An article.
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Well that's sort of my question... I never owned or used an airfyer so I'm kinda curious what the fuss is all about since at the face of it they always looked like little mini convection ovens to me.
 
You
Jovidah said:
I make excuses for my knife collection; I know it's a hobby and absolutely not required...but I do actually try to limit the amount of appliances and other redundant stuff; it just ends up wasting precious space - and money.

Well that's sort of my question... I never owned or used an airfyer so I'm kinda curious what the fuss is all about since at the face of it they always looked like little mini convection ovens to me.
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You definitely don't need an air fryer.. It happens to be the best way I've found to cook Kirkland's thick-cut bacon and in my opinion it does a better job reheating some foods and cooks faster faster than a conventional oven. But I've not used it enough to have a strong opinion on it, other than the kirkland bacon. And bacon isn't healthy so all in all, it has not been good for me.
 
I would have a problem with an air fryer in the summer in Texas as my big vent hood would not be able to remove the heat since the air fryer would not be close to the vent hood unless I moved it over the range every time, I used it. No way I would do this.

I got rid of my wall oven because of this problem.
 
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The one thing I thought I would love about an air fryer it doesn’t actually do, which is make french fries without deep frying. They just aren’t the same. But what it does do well is wings in half the time, baked ziti, and many other small batch items without heating up the big oven. I guess it earns its space on the counter, but I probably wouldn’t have bought it if I’d known that it wouldn’t do great French fries.
 
The old bait and switch. Showing a basket full of golden fries that cannot possibly be achieved with the product. Might as well show a thanksgiving Turkey :)
 
If I do it I like to do it outside on a side burner of a gas grill. and I’ve had my eyes on air fryers too; I never buy any of that kind of crap but that one might give results that can’t be replicated without
 
salparadise said:
Yup, now I have a Fry Daddy on the counter beside the air fryer. It does make great fries without any fuss. Now I just need me a George Foreman grill and I’ll be all set.
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I have eaten a lot of good fish cooked in a Fry Daddy. My Grandfather had one when I was young. They sure are easy to use and maintain. You don't have to deal with the hot oil just keep it in the Fry Daddy.

Forget the George Foreman grill, my cousin had one.
 
salparadise said:
Yup, now I have a Fry Daddy on the counter beside the air fryer. It does make great fries without any fuss. Now I just need me a George Foreman grill and I’ll be all set.
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Does it have adjustable temperature? I find that following the Belgian process of a low temp fry, followed by a second, higher-temp fry makes for much better fries. Huge difference, to my taste.
 
coxhaus said:
Forget the George Foreman grill, my cousin had one.
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I was being facetious. I had an aunt that had one and thought it was wonderful. I didn’t want to burst her bubble so I stayed mum.
Rangen said:
Does it have adjustable temperature? I find that following the Belgian process of a low temp fry, followed by a second, higher-temp fry makes for much better fries.
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No. No settings at all, not even an on/off switch. It heats the oil to 395F in ten min, put the fries in and the temp drops and then gradually builds back up to 395F. So in effect you are cooking them at a lower temp first and then higher temp. It holds a relatively small amount of oil which seems to be the key to simulating two stage cooking. The fries cook through first and then brown nice and crispy. I’ve tried the manual two stage method in my Dutch oven before, but perhaps not enough to perfect it. This fryer seems to give most of the benefit while keeping it quick and simple. I just leave the oil in it until it’s time to change. Has a lid and stores easily under the sink.
 
DitmasPork said:
I've not entertained the idea of an air-fryer, mainly due to lack of space in my tiny kitchen—although, been shopping for a replacement toaster oven and noticed that Breville sells an air fryer that's the same size as my current (almost broken) toaster oven. Considering getting that—purchase needs to be a Breville.

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I have a Cuisinart version of this and it's a pretty mediocre air fryer at best, but it's the best damn toaster oven/mini oven you've ever seen. I use the convection bake setting to do butternut cubes and it cooks/crisps them in about half the the time as my full size oven. It's just very easy to burn stuff in so always have to keep an eye on it. MowgFace is right about cleaning.
 
Only time I deep fry is New Years dinner
Tempura. Make dipping sauce Dashi, soy sauce, mirin pinch of sugar.

Janice cousin has Tempura cooker. Light batter, panko shrimp, enoki mushroom, sweet potato, chiso leaves, eggplant, & carrot.

Also make sashimi platters.

We have old toaster oven don't use pop up toaster. This thing is well made the elements look heavy duty like they will last forever.

Big box toasters made in China aren't worth a damn. Thought about air fryer decided against it.

Don't like to deal with oil. Use it sparingly in skillet to cook fish. Same with falafel patties make from scratch. Oven steak fries.


Also like steamed fish Chinese style.
 
I've used something basically the same (just less pretty). Aside from the potential health issues of reused oil, it works fine (but depends what you fry and you still can't leave the oil forever).
 
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