Air Fryers?

[Buehler445]

Wife and I have been talking about getting one. Our oil fryer is being a **** so I think it is time.

What’s the planets thoughts on them? Any models that are good or not?

[Buehler445]

Originally Posted by Baby Lee

If the price or capacity are a sticking point, consider a Flavorwave. Essentially the same cooking procedure, but Flavorwave has more capacity and you can watch your stuff cook to monitor doneness. OTOH, doesn't get as hot [350 v 390 degrees] and may be a little more fragile. MSRP is a little higher on Flavorwave, but it's been around a lot longer, so you can find them readily on Ebay and other secondary markets for much cheaper [Me, my parents, cousin, grandma, and sister all have units, some for 10+ years, and paid between $30-50 at various outlet stores and flea markets].

http://www.foodfryerguide.com/air-fryer-vs-nuwave/

Good info BL. Thanks. How difficult are those nuwave units to clean?

[aturnis]

Originally Posted by vailpass

I bought one and the first day I used it ****ing John Elway re-signed ****ing Brock Osweiler.
Do NOT buy one of these electric voodoo curse machines.

Did you smash it alongside your Keurig? Rofl

[manchambo]

We use ours a lot. Potatoes are good. You have to experiment a bit--boil them first and they come out really good.

How dogs come out simply amazing, and I imagine various sausages would as well. I get big ones and split them long ways.

Grilled cheese also comes out very well.

[mr. tegu]

Originally Posted by Baby Lee

It's the differences in heat transfer depending on medium.

Frying pan - hot metal on intended food. Really fast at point of contact. Danger of burning or sticking before cooked through.

Sous vide - hot water around intended food. Great temperature control. Cooking temperature limited by the boiling point of water. No browning or Maillard. Cumbersome to keep food separate from water.

Deep fryer - hot oil around intended food. Longer time to warm up oil. Cooks fast. Still slight danger of overcooking, oil stays on/in food after cooking.

Regular oven - hot ambient air around intended food. Slowest cooking, most 'foolproof' in terms of not burning/scorching etc.

Convection/airfryer/flavorwave - hot moving air around intended food. Speeds up regular oven characteristics much like a blast of hot or cold breeze heats/cools you faster than a hot/cold room of ambient air. Also, moving air wicks away grease/moisture from food surface, promoting crisp exterior. Since air moves around the food, needs to be cleaned more often than regular oven, as the air will blow grease/moisture/crumbs onto surfaces of the cooking vessel.

This is very helpful. I hadn’t been interested in one yet as it always seemed gimmicky but it sounds pretty legit as a cooking method.

[Baby Lee]

Originally Posted by Buehler445

Good info BL. Thanks. How difficult are those nuwave units to clean?

The [nice?] thing about them is, with the unit at the top pushing air down all the time, the lower you get the more you have to clean.

The white part on the bottom just keeps it in place on your counter. It is external to the part where the food is held, just dust/clean like you would any countertop machine.

There is a glass dish base. It's about as big around as a pizza and about 3 inches deep. It nests in the white base and is separate from the top part completely. Most of your 'mess' will pool down in the bottom of this, and you wash it like you would any large platter.

There are various stainless steel racks you can mix and match that go inside to hold the food. Obviously, since they are in direct contact with the food, they need regular cleaning as well. Think of like a BBQ grill the size and shape of a pizza pan with little legs on the bottom. Since they're stainless steel they reliably clean up with soap/water and will take elbow grease if anything gets cooked on good.

The clear top shell comes loose from the white heating unit on top. You just twist it 25-30 degrees and it pops off. It's a little more cumbersome to clean due to its size, but since it's higher up and the sides are vertical, you don't have to clean it every single time. After a while the oils and such start to make it cloudy to see through and you'll want to take it off and clean.

The white unit at the top you'll hardly ever have to clean. Unless you cooking something like a fatty brisket or foods with sauces that will splash up there, you can go months or years and it will stay clean enough to use. There's a mesh guard you can remove to soak that protects the heating element, and at some point, you may use it enough you have to remove the fan and soak it as well, but this is a rare thing. Obviously you can clean the exterior like you would your toaster or coffee maker exterior.

The top part looks like this when separated from the base.

[HonestChieffan]

arent air fryers the gizmo they say has burned a bunch of homes down?

[Baby Lee]

Originally Posted by HonestChieffan

arent air fryers the gizmo they say has burned a bunch of homes down?

Are you thinking of turkey deep fryers?

If so, no. And further, it's not the fryer that burned the homes down, but the idiots who used them improperly, unaware of basic physics.

[cooper barrett]

Originally Posted by OnTheWarpath15

Three bills? **** me.

FMB is spending money on kitchen gear like I used to do on HIFI gear. I had an industry accommodation discount of 50% on most gear and I used it before I lost it.

Every time the wife went in the media room there was new shit, never bitched but never knew how to do anything but turn the TV on...

[cooper barrett]

Shouldn't you

quote

that?

Originally Posted by Baby Lee

It's the differences in heat transfer depending on medium.

Frying pan - hot metal on intended food. Really fast at point of contact. Danger of burning or sticking before cooked through.

Sous vide - hot water around intended food. Great temperature control. Cooking temperature limited by the boiling point of water. No browning or Maillard. Cumbersome to keep food separate from water.

Deep fryer - hot oil around intended food. Longer time to warm up oil. Cooks fast. Still slight danger of overcooking, oil stays on/in food after cooking.

Regular oven - hot ambient air around intended food. Slowest cooking, most 'foolproof' in terms of not burning/scorching etc.

Convection/airfryer/flavorwave - hot moving air around intended food. Speeds up regular oven characteristics much like a blast of hot or cold breeze heats/cools you faster than a hot/cold room of ambient air. Also, moving air wicks away grease/moisture from food surface, promoting crisp exterior. Since air moves around the food, needs to be cleaned more often than regular oven, as the air will blow grease/moisture/crumbs onto surfaces of the cooking vessel.

[Baby Lee]

Originally Posted by cooper barrett

Shouldn't you that?

quote

what?

[SAUTO]

Originally Posted by Baby Lee

what?

I think he has it out for you.

[Baby Lee]

Originally Posted by SAUTO

I think he has it out for you.

If you say so, most of his stuff I feel I need an Ovaltine decoder ring so I just gloss over it.

Dunno what this was about either, but since it was directed at me specifically I figured I'd inquire.

[cooper barrett]

Originally Posted by Baby Lee

what?

Just joking but what is the source? I never eat fried food (less 1 thing) but I was reading this thinking about dropping $50 on one.

[Baby Lee]

Originally Posted by cooper barrett

Just joking but what is the source? I never eat fried food (less 1 thing) but I was reading this thinking about dropping $50 on one.

Source of what? The words I typed? My brain I guess.

More specifically, mr. tegu asked a question. My eyes read it. I asked myself 'how should that question be answered?' My brain came up with a reply, and my fingers typed out the words.

Are you not familiar with the concept of conversation?

[cooper barrett]

Originally Posted by Baby Lee

Source of what? The words I typed? My brain I guess.

More specifically, mr. tegu asked a question. My eyes read it. I asked myself 'how should that question be answered?' My brain came up with a reply, and my fingers typed out the words.

Are you not familiar with the concept of conversation?

Kewl by me just seemed to me to be cut and paste and I was looking for a source.

Nice write, I enjoyed, good info.