Air Fryer Help
 

Hi all: I would like Help! We bought one off the tv shopping channels, but you had to be king kong to push the basket in to make it work. So it got returned.

What I would like to know is: what brand+ size do you own that you are happy with And some of your favorite recipes.

I have a convection oven regular size and a Breville small oven. Would I be just as wise to buy the copper basket and tray to use in one of those instead of another counter space stealer???

Which would you prefer?
TIA, Jennifer
ps: it needs to be easy to push in and pull out. I'm getting weaker than I use to be, I hardly use my cast iron pans any longer.

I saw two of them at yard sales last fall !

We do have a friend that loves it, though.

I bought the copper tray with basket-like rack to fix french fries on. Forget it They don't cook even and take forever.

My advice to you.....stop watching those infomercials! Bought one....good to roast veggies in, fries......otherwise makes a great door stopper!

I have one and I really like making my chicken nuggets in it. I soak the chunks in dill pickle juice for 30 minutes and then follow the dipping method of egg wash and coating after that. They are done in 10 minutes and so very good with the dill flavor.
Thawed a salmon plank, cut in smaller pieces, foil to line the basket, lemon pepper and a spray of EVOO, again very good and quick.

I do not do fries so do not use it for that.

Check out Walmart to try one and see if you like it. Lots of recipes online.

The trick on a lot of the air fryers is to tip the handle up a little as you're pushing it in. Then it should go in just fine.
I absolutely love my air fryer. I use it a lot. It makes the best pork chops and steaks. We also use it for frozen french fries or tater tots, onion rings, etc. No oil and really crispy. Yum.

Makes fantastic chicken, pork chops, ribs. Don't like fries in it.

I read a few of the replies first to see what kind of feedback you got on this. I have the NuWave Brio and love it. I love fries (frozen) made in it. It was a gift, but I love not having to use an oven for just the two of us.

I have made pork chops (breaded) that turned out really well. Frozen bread sticks are great. I have made delicious brownies.

One thing to know is on some brands you have to slant the cooker to get it back into the main unit. I think this happens with the larger size...mine is only 3.2 quart.

Haven't used it lately but since we both volunteer daily at the animal shelter, no real time to fool around with cooking much.

Good luck. Like I said, I really like mine and would not get rid of it.

I like mine a lot too....but then I really don't want to use the stove oven if I can avoid id.

There are air fryer groups on facebook...great source for info and recipes.

I have one also and use the instant pot more than any appliance. I do hot dogs or sausage in the air cooker and could
use the IP for that too. Wanted it to do low fat cooking but just takes up space .

Where do you get pickle juice? I've been wanting to try chicken soaked in pickle juice and cooked in my air fryer but we don't eat enough pickles to save an adequate amount of juice. Are there any stores that sell pickle juice?

Since we're on a fixed income I improvised with the tray. I just put a cookie cooling rack on top of my cookie sheet and put the fries on that. They ended up cooked perfectly with little trouble and a savings for the bank.

LOL, good to know, works as good as a breadmaker (doorstop wise).......haha

Check online about 'canning' dill pickles for a recipe to use. Just me here so that is the way I go, make my own juice with NO pickles. Super easy to make using dried dill seeds and you can add any extra spices you might want.
I use 1/2 cup or so juice in a zip-bag to cover the chicken pieces, I flip it over a couple times.

We have the Power Air Fryer XL. well, my DH has it, LOL! He loves it. His favorite thing to fix is a whole chicken -- a smaller one, say 3.5 to 4.5 pounds. And I love eating what he makes!

A friend has one and she has perfected using it for fries -- both regular and sweet potato. She buys frozen fries and puts them directly into the fryer.

Thank you all for your replies!
You can get the pickling spice packets at Wal-Mart and Fry's grocery store. I never heard of soaking in pickle juice but I bet that is a unique flavor.
I've been investigating on line.......still undecided as of tonight. If I decide to get one I'll post my decision and the results.
Thanks again!!!

I actually thought about that, glad to know you had success! Thanks.

We have one, and, we just love it!

I bought it online from Amazon - during the cyber Monday sale (first Monday after Thanksgiving).
We ended up getting one made by Avalon Bay ... just went with the one that had the most, positive, 5 Star reviews (and, the least negative reviews).

Our absolute favorite recipe is thawed chicken breasts, brushed with mayo, then sprinkle/coat with ranch flavored bread crumbs. Turns out perfectly every time!!! YUM !!

Also, another family favorite is: frozen mozzarella cheese sticks brushed with egg white wash, then covered with ranch flavored bread crumbs. Just delicious!!

Good luck with your air-fryer shopping!!

I have made chicken tenders as well.

Maybe I'm not using my air fryer correctly......so those of you who do a lot of things with yours can enlighten me-so I don't feel so guilty about this impulse purchase! I bought mine at Walmart last year..an in store demo....used it a few times for frozen fries, roasted veggies....that's about it. Do you have the accessory kit like the ones I see on walmarts online site- does that enable you to do more, better things...like do a whole chicken in it? Don't suggest FB...don't want to venture there...thanks for any suggestions.

No, we don’t have any accessories or kit for ours. And, I don’t even know if ours would be big enough for a whole chicken?
My husband just goes online and looks up Air-fryer recipe. He looks for the ones that don’t sound too complicated, and that use the ingredients that we generally have on hand.

I think he usually sticks with the Allrecipes website.

This blogger made a small chicken in her fryer https://bitzngiggles.com/air-fryer-roast-chicken/

looked delish...but what about the minimal amt of juice that does ooze from chichicken while cooking....? I may try that

I have the Phillips air fryer, I bought a refurb'd one from Amazon so I got a really good deal on it. It's the kind with the manual timer, which I didn't like at first because if I wanted to stop it early it wasn't easy and I worried about breaking the timer by forcing it forwards...then I realized (duh) I could just unplug it and let the timer tick the rest of the way down. I bought a little switch that I plug the fryer in to, so I can just hit the switch rather than unplugging a running device. Works great!

I use it a good bit - I like a lot of Trader Joe's frozen foods (like spring rolls, falafel patties, samosas) and those cook up great in there. I've also made potato chips, tortilla chips, and french fries in there. The tip for those is to shake it and stir it around often. For potato chips I stop and "harvest" the finished ones periodically - the ones I cut too thin will burn otherwise. Tortilla chips are less maintenance since I'm cutting up pre-made corn tortillas that are of even thickness already. Fries definitely turn out best if they're thinner cut. (I like crispy fries)

I like it, I think it's pretty handy and I use it at least 3-4 times a month.