I'm sure many of you own one. I don't but am contemplating as I love fried fish, etc. Sometimes I like foods with a 'crispy' coating. Would an air fryer be cleaner than say a pot of oil on the cook top? How well do they work, live up to the hype?

Yays or nays on these things...

I bought one about 6 months ago. I love it. You can easily get your crispy on. I do a lot of vegetables and they come out perfect. Bonus; don't need the oven in the summer. Yes! They easily live up to the hype. I do salmon fillets 7 minutes @ 400 Perfect.
Much cleaner then a pot of oil and Healthier.
They work very well. Quiet. Fast. Easy clean up.
Not much counter space.
I have no nays. You need one

quote:

You need one

+2
I have friends that tell me that is all they use nowadays-not even the microwave.

I give mine three out of five stars. It works fairly well, but there have been disappointments including inedible sweet potato chips. They do chicken wings and drumsticks just great. Mine is a big, fat, ugly, black Farberware. It's fairly easy to clean, and that's about all I can say for it. I keep it in a closet so I don't have to look at it.

quote:

Originally posted by Bill/Oregon:
I give mine three out of five stars. It works fairly well, but there have been disappointments including inedible sweet potato chips. They do chicken wings and drumsticks just great. Mine is a big, fat, ugly, black Farberware. It's fairly easy to clean, and that's about all I can say for it. I keep it in a closet so I don't have to look at it.

That is part of my issue- where to put it. I have a really small kitchen (please feel sorry for me). I don't use my microwave much but again, where to put these things?

What air fryer brand is good? What options should it have?

Air fryers are basically just repackaged convection ovens...

Breville is top of the line. but it sounds like for ou size is likely the dominant factor. Good luck!

Not a large footprint.
You can check sizes online. If it’s just for one they do make a mini. Easy to cook in batches.
mmm potato fries

Quit talking about it, just get it. My wife does fabulous chicken in hers.

She uses it for Salmon, Halibut, and Chilean Sea Bass as well. I was against it to begin with, but I was also wrong about microwaves, fax machines. and the value of a GPS. (I eat a lot of crow around here.)

quote:

Originally posted by Kensco:
Quit talking about it, just get it. My wife does fabulous chicken in hers.

She uses it for Salmon, Halibut, and Chilean Sea Bass as well. I was against it to begin with, but I was also wrong about microwaves, fax machines. and the value of a GPS. (I eat a lot of crow around here.)

I love a man who can admit his errors.

Okay, what brand air fryer have you got?

Ann, on speaking of kitchen size, many years ago when I was still in the HVAC business we were putting the AC in this woman's new home + she was complaining that her kitchen was too big, + I knew right there that we were dealing with a crazy woman! Time proved me right, too.

I have a Ninja multi-mode air fryer. It’s OK for fried fish but nowhere near as good as deep fried. I’ve experimented with different coatings, times, etc, all with mixed results. The good news is you can pressure cook, can, fry, and damn near everything in between with it, so it’s sort f like a one stop shop and doesn’t take up much room on a counter. For 2 people servings, it’s a good idea.

quote:

Originally posted by Norman Conquest:
Ann, on speaking of kitchen size, many years ago when I was still in the HVAC business we were putting the AC in this woman's new home + she was complaining that her kitchen was too big, + I knew right there that we were dealing with a crazy woman! Time proved me right, too.

She was not a cook for sure.

My wife has a Ninja Max. It is fairly bulky, but what comes out of it is pure heaven.

quote:

Originally posted by Kensco:
My wife has a Ninja Max. It is fairly bulky, but what comes out of it is pure heaven.

Thank you! It is on the list to check out.

quote:

Originally posted by Kensco:
My wife has a Ninja Max. It is fairly bulky, but what comes out of it is pure heaven.

Same one I have. It will cook anything In whatever method you want. If I could just get it to smoke a Boston butt, I’d be in heaven.

Sweet potato fries.

I think my wife messed those up. They were a little over done. I kept my mouth shut and ate them.

(I forgot to mention that I also thought ATM machines was a stupid idea. Wrong again.)

Work OK provided you give up on the calorie thing. Still need to coat whatever you are cooking (except things that contain fat) with FAT/OIL/BUTTER to enjoy whatever you are cooking.

WTF Kensco?
Tell us something that you really liked but was a disappointment.
Potato fries are great in these things.

Ken, that reminds me of a story that my ex mother-in-law , Theresa, told me many years ago. When Ray got back from war 2 + married Theresa, the 1st night she cooked him a dinner + he ate every bite, + when he was done, told her that was the worst thing I have ever eaten, never cook it again.

Ann, if you want mine, I'll be happy to ship it to you gratis. Then if you like the concept you can donate it to your local Goodwill and buy the one you want. I am leaning toward an Instant Pot with the air fryer capabilities.