Air Fryer Virgin Here, 🥸 Have Some Questions…..

[Panhead John]

I’m finally gonna take the plunge and get an air fryer. I recently went through my kitchen and removed some pots and pans etc. that I no longer or rarely used. I stashed em in an upstairs closet…..so, I finally have room for an air fryer! I ain’t never done did had one before so I’ve got a few questions for the experienced users in the group. I’m looking at this Cuisinart 2.6 qt. model. My main reasons for considering it is its small footprint and the fact I’m only cooking for myself and don’t need a big one. Cuisinart has a pretty good reputation for quality and it has a few features that I think I’d like. It has a glass window and light, which can be turned on/off, which will let me see inside as it’s cooking, 3 presets for specific items …..French fries, wings and frozen snacks, a “toss your food reminder” which beeps halfway through the cook. I’m pretty sold on this model after doing some research today, but if you know of another model with a small footprint and is around this size, I’m all ears.

https://a.co/d/09kqloer

A few questions. 1. When you cook frozen French fries in the air fryer, how and when do you add the oil? Do you spray the fries directly or coat the fries ahead of time with a little oil? Or is no oil needed? Do you find French fries taste better in the air fryer than in the oven? How does air fry compare to actually frying them in oil?
2. Another thing I’m wanting to try is chicken wings. Any tips on how to get best results?
3. I saw one reviewer mention something about a paper, or some type, of liner to use on the bottom of the basket. Is this something I need to do?
4. One thing I wanna try is frozen hash browns…. either patties or the string type, as well as potatoes O’brian. Anybody done em in your air fryer before? How’d they compare to actually using oil in a fry pan?
5. What’s some of your favorite foods to do in the air fryer?

Last question is…..This model has a Bake and a Roast setting. What the heck would I use those for? Thanks for any help and suggestions!

[RonB]

I have never used one, but I do think you will need a wood chunk or 2 for wings for added flavor.

[texastweeter]

Pinch it at the tip first.

[Kascon11]

My wife and I got an air fryer about 2 years ago. We almost cook exclusively with it.(stove top and outdoor cookers are next in line) Frozen hashbrown patties come our very good, (not as messy as shallow fry) Wings and thighs are also good choices. I use this guide (https://a.co/d/0csrntay) for general time and temp. I also use the parchment liners, they are a big help with clean up. Brats, hotdogs, sausage all are great, but without the liners the clean up is a pain. I am still working though French fries, some batches are good some just OK. not sure what I am doing wrong. Onion rings (Red Robin brand) have come out great. Just like all the advice given on this site, YMMV and there is a learning curve. Google is you best co-pilot as I have had to look up time and temp of several items that do not have air-fryer instructions. The airfryer is a electric heating element on top with a fan, air circulation is crucial so leaving room around the food is important and not overfilling the basket bring better results. The model I have (Instapot) has an air filter that needs changing, you might want to get extra to have on hand. The more bacon/sausage and greasy food cooked the faster it need replacing.

I do not have an answer for your question about oiling fries. I have used both methods and had varying results. I heard you but cannot help.

Enjoy your new purchase when it arrives.

[Panhead John]

Thank you! I love onion rings and will definitely try your Red Robin suggestion, as well as the other tips.

[mcook2201]

Please look at the Cosori brand. We have 3 and love them. Have tried other brands but have stuck with Cosori.

Treat it like a convection oven, they are not 'fryers'. May be obvious but, good reminder.

Fries: after preheating and adding the fries, spray lightly with cooking spray. Shake the basket halfway through cooking. May need to let them go longer, depending on the crisp level you like.

Chix wings: awesome in the AF. We dry season and use the chicken button. Light spray of oil. Turn halfway through. I always temp mine for doneness. If we sauce them, it is after the main cook to warm the sauce.

Most of the fryers can accept a liner (parchment paper works fine). Rarely use one- ours is easy to clean.

Avoid anything with heavy breading, like fried mushrooms. The outside will harden and leave the inside mushy or undercooked before being done.

Feel pretty confident hash browns will do fine.

We cook a lot of: chicken wings, link style sausages, frozen dinner entrees (like chix breast, meat balls), fish sticks, chix tenders, tots, fries, wife does steaks often, pork chops, fresh salmon and other fish. Grilled cheese, Rubens. We really use ours a lot, almost daily.

[Skinsfan1311]

+1 on the Cosori..we love ours..wings, taters, chicken breasts, (boneless or bone-in), pork chops, frozen onion rings, (most frozen apps), they're great for reheating pizza too.

[Carolyn]

The Cosori gets good comments on the noise level.

[Steve R.]

Cosori fan here. They even sent us a brand new one last year when our first one (a few years old at the time) was recalled due to an issue with the power cord.

[Finster]

That window sounds like a pretty good feature.
I don’t use any kind of spray or oil in mine. We do use paper liners most of the time.. it makes clean up easier.
we’ve used ours for a bunch of different things… fries, o rings, cheese sticks, other stuff like that. I’ve cooked marinated chicken breasts, steak tips with mushrooms, meatballs…etc. My daughter had one in her dorm room at school and she said her roommate would make full blown meals with it 🤷
Like any other cooking gadget, Im thinking you’re only limited by your imagination and/or what you can learn watching YouTube videos

[Panhead John]

Thanks Finster !

[Carolyn]

Anybody try to make cookies in their AF? That would be a game changer for me to be able to make just a couple cookies at a time and not have to heat up the oven.

[Carolyn]

Draznnl That would be awesome to get a real opinion on how they turn out.

[Oak Smoke]

We keep the frozen Pillsbury grands biscuits on hand for breakfast. You can put two of them in the microwave for 15 seconds to thaw them a bit then take them to the air fryer for 8 minutes at 400 degrees. They are very good. I don’t know why you couldn’t adapt something like that for cookies.

[Panhead John]

Carolyn During my research on AF’s I saw a few brands that showed pictures of cookies being done in them. I don’t see why not!

[captainlee]

Kids gave us one 6 years ago. I don't remember the brand but it was so noisy which was a turn off. We never got into using it, tried a few things but it just wasn't for us. I'm sure the newer ones have improved as many people swear by them. Post some pics when you get going.

[SheilaAnn]

Why not just get the bougie toaster oven that has the air fryer setting (which as mcook2201 mentioned is just convection)? Then you can do anything baked, broiled, roasted, “air fried”, warm setting, and the list goes on.

Limited-time deal: Breville BOV900BSS Smart Oven Air Fryer Pro and Convection Oven, Brushed Stainless Steel https://a.co/d/02gw7e2s

this is the one I have, there is a less frilly model as well.

[Panhead John]

Thanks SA. After checking it out, it’s a little too big of a footprint for me.

[jayjordan]

+1 on the Breville. French fries, fish patties, wings air fried, then the many other functions like toast, pizza, baking, cookies, etc. (My favorite function is the Warm function with temperature range from 110 to 480 degrees that I use to hold cooked meats.)
Probably bigger than you want, but if you have a toaster oven this replaces it for the additional space.

[Smoked Transistors]

SheilaAnn I’ve got the Breville BOV900BSS Smart Oven Air Fryer Pro—and I love it. Honestly, I end up using it more as a warming oven than anything else 😄 But when it’s time to air fry, it gets the job done no problem.

[DavidNorcross]

We have had one for years and never used it. Recently started using it for fries because it is just better for you. They are great. Looking forward to following this thread.

[WI Bubba]

I don't add oil to fries, and I'm happy with how they turn out.

I'm not convinced that the window will actually be a useful feature. To me it seems like a PIA to keep clean, and much like the window on the regular oven, you can't see through it well enough to be useful.

I don't clean mine, so I cant tell you if liners would help or not. It's just not something I think about. I think Lisa would tell you they are a good idea.

I've never used mine for hashbrowns, but I think the string type might be a problem depending on how large the mesh is for on the basket. Mine has a roughly 1/4" mesh so I think more than a few potato strings would fall though.

Since you are cooking for just yourself I think you will get a lot of use out of an air fryer if you take the time and have the patience to get over the learning curve. You will have to accept some failures. That might be a problem for you. Are you going to be able to toss a few things in the trash knowing that you were perfectly capable of making them well in a pan instead of mucking it up in the air fryer?

[Panhead John]

I’ve tossed more than one cook in the trash before, not a problem there…..but, it would have to be really bad. Luckily I don’t have a problem researching things beforehand. YouTube is my friend! Tell me about these liners. Are they pre-cut to a certain size, do they come with your air fryer, what kind of paper is it?

[tstalafuse]

We use ours alot, especially on game days, for snacking type foods. Anything you might use a convection oven for the air fryers will work well for in smaller portions.

They instructions always say to get the thing hot before adding the food, but we just toss the food in at the start since they are always frozen so it gives the food a little defrost. If we wait to add the food once it is hot we always have to add time to get things done.

The package instructions almost never work correctly as they are for a specific size fryer that we never seem to have. Kinda like the microwave says cook for X time for X wattage, but ours is never that wattage, so you will have to adjust and keep track of different foods just like your smoker.

For french fries, we spritz with a little spray oil, cook half way, shake the basket, spritz a little more, and when they are done to our liking we spritz again to get salt to stick to them. Every brand of fries seems to have different best time/temp, but for us the Costco fries seem to work best.

We have pretty much given up on bone in chicken wings (could just be the big frozen bag of wing sections) as by the time they temp they are tough and dry, but full size bone in skin on thighs come out perfectly as do the Costco brand chicken nuggets.

The hash brown patties come out good, but the shredded ones don't seem to come out for us. I think it is because most of the time the patties have already been cooked so they stay in the shape of the patty and they are just reheating and firming up the crust.

Things that have a breading (mushroom/okra/pickles) and the food it self sweats while cooking end up being just a huge mushy mess. It doesn't seem to matter how high a temp or how long they just never get that crunch. Some things are just best for oil frying.

These are the things we have found work best for our fryer: pizza rolls, taquitos, french fries, hotdogs/sausage/sausage patties and chicken nuggets come out best for us so those are t

The parchment liners really helps with clean up, but make sure you buy the correct size for you fryer. They come in different widths, and ones that are too small are royal pain to use. We also use small magnets one each side to hold the liners open as they tend to fold over and block the air flow to the food.

[Panhead John]

Thanks for the info!

[jayjordan]

On our second air fryer, have never sprayed oil on frozen fries because they have plenty of oil already due to being par fried before freezing.

[OC Sandy]

An air fryer is a fun little gadget to have. If I leave mine on the counter I end up using it more often. When it's stored in the cabinet.....well, out of sight is out of mind. lol Fries and wings are probably what I use it for most. I like to get some smoke on the wings then bring them in the house and air fry them to a nice crispy finish.

For what it's worth, I'm another vote for Cosori. I've had two from them. The original one which is similar in size and function to the pic you posted. Then I upgraded to the mini oven style that air fried, baked, roasted, rotisseried, and took out the trash. Ok, maybe not the trash part. I ended up not liking the second one as much mainly because of the size/footprint. So I gave that to my son and bought another brand (Gournia at Costco) of the smaller type airfryer. I like the single purpose air fryer so much more than the multi-purpose one.

[Finster]

We have 2 different air fryers.
One has dual baskets for frying different things at once. It rarely gets used.
We have a Costco Gourmia with a single larger basket. It gets used quite a bit.

[bbqLuv]

Air Friers are fantastic for their intended purpose.
We us ours almost daily.
Follow directions and recipes to start then do your own thing.