I've never been interested in an air fryer but seems like they've been around for awhile now. I use the gas range, toaster oven, outside grill, microwave oven and oven for all cooking. Not sure how an air fryer (which sounds like a convection toaster oven) would be useful.

I was watching a cooking show that proposed that air fryers are very useful in the kitchen - convenient and perhaps less oil (healthier?).

I'm skeptical but would perhaps it may be useful for roasted veggies, fries, breaded pork cutlets / chicken / fish. I'm not sure how much of what I usually cook would be better in an air fryer vs how I cook it today (usually on the outdoor grill or in a pan; rarely deep fry in oil). I heat frozen fries in the toaster oven - this is perhaps the only thing that may move to air fryer at this point.

Do you guys use air fryers for cooking other than what you would normally deep fry (again, since I don't deep fry much)? Air fryer is better? Stuff that one would normally cook in a pan or on the grill or perhaps oven if one didn't have an air fryer?

Looking at the Instant Pot Vortex Plus - sounds like it works well BUT has some durability issues (breaks after about 2 years?). But recommended by ATK.

My former roommate had one, I don't recall what brand it was. She used it quite a bit but I was never all that impressed by it. It tended to make food come out tough and chewy like a microwave does. Not sure, maybe there's some sort of technique involved. These days if I want something hot like that I'll usually just go old school and use the oven.

We love ours, it is our 2nd one. Much better than the “standard” type.

Biggest difference is the new one is much easier to clean.


https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0CGMFGX87?

We use ours multiple times a day. I cook salmon, steak, chicken, fries, you name it.

Left over pizza reheated in the air fryer is great.

It's on sale now so maybe I'll get one. I hope it doesn't break in two years.

I'll try it out. Are cook times about the same as in the toaster oven or regular oven?

I think the initial attractions will be tonkatsu and pizza (pizza don't fit in my toaster oven).

You can dehydrate with them, take rolls and give them a nice crunch, air fryers are awesome

It is a convection oven, if you've got one don't bother buying a new gadget.

quote:

Originally posted by 911Boss:
We love ours, it is our 2nd one. Much better than the “standard” type.
Biggest difference is the new one is much easier to clean.
https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0CGMFGX87?

We must have had an old one of that brand. It was a PITA to clean!
We went back to the “food in a basket style” of air fryer -> the Cosori brand.

I have this Ninja and love it.

It lets you cook two things at once with different temps and times. It also has several functions other than air frying. I still prefer cooking most food, especially meats, on a grill or with a skillet but the air fryer is amazing for quick meals or for making sides. I also travel extensively for work so don’t always have fresh food around and keep stuff in my freezer for when I return late and it excels at cooking frozen foods quickly and as well as they can be cooked.

I also have this Ninja indoor grill which is also super nice for convenience when I dont feel like cooking but still want a decent meal. I cook steaks and chicken and fish on it when I’m lazy or busy. It’s not as good as a real grill but still pretty good.

Both items are extremely easy to clean which is also nice.

quote:

I have this Ninja and love it.

We have the next-size-smaller Ninja Foodi Air Fryer, 8 Qt DualZone and it's great. We've had it for almost four years, no problems.

I have had three different ones. I get them sent to me to review. I usually pass them on to someone after I've tried them for awhile. I couldn't even get frozen fries or onion rings to come out of them to my liking. They were either burnt on the edges or soggy and limp. I would buy frozen food specifically for air fryers and they still came out mediocre at best. Somethings just need to be made using fat.

I make fries out of fresh potatoes fry them in beef tallow mixed with canola oil and add flour to the tallow mixture before adding potatoes. No air fryer will even come close to that.

My regular fryer is too big as I purchased it in Alaska when I regularly hosted fish fries at my house. Plus, I hate cleaning a fryer and straining the oil.

The bought an Nuwave Brio Plus Air Fryer 8 Qt in January 2025 for $90.99 (i.e. much cheaper than today). I pretty much only used it for wings (fresh not frozen) for the longest time. Three things changed in the last year that made it a 4x to 7x per week appliance:

Black Friday 2025 - I got a great deal on a sous vide and the air fryer is a fantastic way to get a good char on meat after being in sous vide. I cook bacon, pork, beef, chicken, etc. in it and meat that is flat goes on a hot skillet and meat that isn't flat goes in the air fryer.

I grew potatoes in my garden for the first time. I really like baked potatoes in here. Frequently, the baked potato comes out and the sous vide meat goes in.

I go through phases on French fries. I'll like 'em for a while and then goes years without eating them. I've been in a like 'em phase and frozen french fries come out good (not great).

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Ego is the anesthesia that deadens the pain of stupidity

DISCLAIMER: These are the author's own personal views and do not represent the views of the author's employer.

We got one from workmate of my wife for free. The only thing we’ve cooked is tater tots and reheated chicken wings and pizza and for those that worked great.

quote:

Originally posted by FenderBender:
It is a convection oven, if you've got one don't bother buying a new gadget.

I've found some work better than others for specific things.

Our gas oven has convection - compared to the other appliances we have it does a fair job.

We have a Breville Smart Oven which has convection and airfry settings. This appliance is used daily; toasting bread, roasting veggies/chicken, baked potatoes, baking banana bread or reheating pizza. It's pretty much my go to appliance. The airfry setting works better than the convection on our gas oven, but I still think it only does a fair job (doesn't get the skin on chicken wings as crispy as I'd like) and the basket used for that is kind of a pain to cleanup.

I have an old Phillips airfryer and can make wings that are better than Buffalo Wild Wings (crisp but not burnt skin) - but only in small batches - enough for one person. Cleanup is pretty simple. It only gets brought up from the basement when I'm craving wings.

My wife is a traditional cook, it takes a lot to have her use something "different". I bought her an air fryer and she's adopted it. She used to use the gas grill for chicken, today it's the air fryer. It does great corn on the cob, fries, onion rings, nachos and a lot more. It's not used daily but like the instapot has its purpose as a kitchen tool.

I got one as a gift. I tried it and was not impressed. The prep time was longer and the cleanup was a pain! Not for me.

My air fryer has intruded on my love for my toaster oven

I have an Emeril pressure cooker/air fryer combo.

It makes quick work out of chicken wings.

I have two air fryers - one 'food in a basket' type w/ a handle on the front and one w/ a front opening door resembling a small oven. I like them so much, I use them more than the microwave. I mostly use them for frozen foods, such as frozen chicken strips, wings, & fries.

I will make a steak in the air fryer. It's not as good as grilling, but it'll do a good job, and it only takes 6-7 minutes.

We have a Cosori Turbo Blaze 6 qt.
No regrets, wish I had bought it 30 years ago.

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