Posted on 04/15/2020 9:37:33 PM PDT by L.A.Justice
CONSUMER REPORTS Sales of air fryers are hot. People love the idea of crispy, fried food thats supposed to be a bit healthier because very little oil is used.
But what if you dont have an air fryer? Consumer Reports say chances are you can still air-fry home without spending money or cluttering up your countertop with a new appliance.
So whats the deal with air fryers? These popular countertop cookers turn out chicken wings, french fries, shrimp, and other traditionally fried foods without using a lot of oil. You can spend $50 to $300 for one. The good news is, you dont have to! Consumer Reports says air-frying isnt magic.
An air fryer is a mini convection oven. All you need is a little bit of oil, and then hot air circulates around the food to crisp it. The basket, suspended inside, allows for that air to move around.
But that basket might be too small. After testing 25 air fryers, CR found that the ones with small baskets might require you to make multiple batches of food to feed your hungry family.
But fear not: Consumer Reports says you may already possess the power to prepare air-fried food by using the convection setting on your oven!
Your food will brown best if you use a dark-colored pan because it absorbs more heat than light-colored or glass pans. That makes the heat radiate to brown your food even more.
And your oven can handle much more food than a typical air fryers basket can.
If you dont have a convection over, consider a toaster oven with a convection setting. Some of the newer models even have an air-fry setting that lets you get the same crispy results as an air fryer without spending bucks.
And Consumer Reports reminds us that air frying isnt just for nuggets and mozzarella sticks. You can give it a try for everything from asparagus to zucchini!
been havign good luck wit h the following- it was given to us:
Emiril legasi air fryer-
Mine is 6 qt. I got the larger one so I could have more room to not have to put the foods on top of each other, egg rolls, fries ect. It cooks better if they are not placed on top of each other!! It cooks way faster than it is programmed for, about 1/2 the time I learned after burning a few things!! You will LOVE this appliance!!
We have a GE Profile Convection Over-the-Range Microwave Oven that’s at least ten years old but have never used the convection setting because we don’t want to cut its life short from the abuse. WE don’t have an air fryer either.
Someone who eats a lot of meat like you is a great candidate for sous vide, which only requires a quick post-cook sear for restaurant-quality steaks. You easily get consistent edge-to-edge color that corresponds to the way you like your meat, and the sear provides the flavor and crust that sends it over the top.
Check out YouTube user Sous vide Everything for some mouth-watering tips , or Kenji Lopez at seriouseats.com.
Now you did it - its 3AM and Im hungry!
bkmk
Cooking at a restaurant during college, we would hand cut 500lbs of potatoes daily and soak, dry, and then deep fry twice. While hot with oil, we added a house secret seasoning. ....best fries ever. .....never did the vinegar thing. Will try that at home. Also, a light coat with baking soda will make them extra crispy.
Alton Brown is doing a series called Good Eats Reloaded, wherein he updates episodes of his original Good Eats series with new better methods he has learned in the intervening 10-20 years.
His burger method is to fry a thin 3oz burger in peanut oil (!!). Im intrigued but havent had a chance to try it.
2nd on the sous vide recommendation. Any serious home cook should have a sous vide stick and know the basic techniques. I love being able to go directly from freezer to sous vide bath, sear, table.
Been Carnivore here (meat & water only) for 21 months as of today! My experience is featured in Dr Shawn Baker’s book “The Carnivore Diet” on pages 160-161.
For my carnivorous wife & I we LOVE using an air fryer. I make bacon in ours 3 times a day every day cuz’ air-fryer = PERFECT bacon every time!
Must have appliance for Carnivore’s, IMO!
Then it got used by my wife once, they hated it, and funny enough, it never worked well since.
____________
How many wives do you have?
I have an all-electric home. We do not use the oven during certain hours of the day because of the cost.
We have a Ninja-foodie grill. Best small appliance ever. It air-fries chicken wings, fish sticks, etc., and grills steaks to perfection. Use it damn near every day.
Yep, sous vide is good! I like the same doneness throughout the meat. A quick sear and good to go.
I suggest a gas grill set up outside. I put chunks of apple wood over a burner to get a nice smoke.
What are the benefits of carnivore diet?
LOL
No, you will need a much larger one to fry two people.
I did low carb keto for a while, but the veggies started being a pain. You have to look up how much of this or that you can eat. Plus the shopping, storing, cooking. Just meat is much simpler. I’m down 42 pounds, trig/HDL/ is 40/67.
We have a large Breville countertop oven . It has all kinds of options.
Comes with a basket style tray for air frying, two convection options. We use it all the time.
Bake , toast, broil. Fantastic appliance.
Rarely use the 30” oven.
With the usual 20% discount BB and B offer, a couple gift certs, it’s not too expensive.
Phenominal addition to the kitchen.
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