in the bottom of the tub? I find the cage gets mucky as sin but is cleanable bit a puddle of grease forms from some foods which just goes to show I suppose. so I tried this. she who must be worshipped at all times had pork chops. your standard meh kind of fare. so I googled air fryer and this American lad had a video on a rub. I faked it up with brown sugar, mixed herbs, garlic powder, chilli powder, smoke paprika and salt. I pounded them a bit then rubbed in olive oil and rubbed them before air frying at 190 for 10mins. absolutely perfect. not tough and we're very juicy. the air fryer was destroyed mind, so full cleaning required.
Not particularly, firstly thats the point in air friers, you dont need as much oil. You'll get some excess fats off whatever youre cooking, but it just collects in the pan you cook your items in, so its no harder than cleaning say an over dish or what not.
Been air frying for years. Originally we had a Tefal rotary one, was decent but first generation so not a patch on the recent ones. About 6 months ago we bought a Ninja two compartment job with a built in probe for meat. Then about a month back we refitted the kitchen and the wife wanted some ridiculously expensive Bosch oven which also has the feature built in so we have that now too. A ridiculous amount of our cooking is done using air frying. It's so versatile.
I use silicone air fryer liners off Amazon, turn them inside out after use, then whack em into the dishwasher. Easy.
I've got the Ninja 15 in 1. I'd be lost without it now don't use the oven anywhere near as much. Even handier now that food manufacturers are adding air fryer cooking times to the packets. I've noticed now that you can get ovens with built in air fryers so think I'll get one of those the next time my oven packs in.
Yup, we've just bought one of these. Not cheap, but worth it, has a phone app with hundreds of recipes that sets everything automatically, and gives you full control of it.
Yes pork joints are an absolute must in an air fryer particularly pork leg. Crackling is fantastic. No more than roasting conventionally in an oven in a roasting tin. I've got the Ninja double drawer one and it has a little pull out tray at the bottom with holes in it which allows the grease and juices to drain through so the bottom of the meat doesn't go soggy sitting in all the liquid in the bottom. It's all non stick inside which makes it easier to clean so when you've finished you just clean the pan out in the sink the same as you would with cleaning out a roasting tin after cooking in the oven. I find the best way to do a roast chicken is to cook it upside down for half the cooking time to let the juices soak into the breast meat and crisps up the underneath. Then turn it the right way up for the remaining time to crisp up the skin on top and it comes out far better than in the oven. Quicker too, only an hour for a medium chicken with no pre-heating. I sound like a salesman but I find them a rare example of an energy/time saving gadget that actually delivers improved results compared to the original technology it's designed to replace. Oven staples like chips, nuggets, fish fingers, chicken goujons etc etc all come out far better in the air fryer than they do in the oven. Not just quicker and using less energy, actually tasting significantly better too because it cooks them really crispy all around with no sogginess. The only thing I use my oven for now are big things that won't fit in like pizza. Things with lots of sauce or liquid in like lasagna, casserole and stews etc. And things that need a more delicate touch and don't require a crispy exterior like roast beef.
They've changed that now. It's all contained and the two drawers are sealed, but at the bottom of each one is a tray that sits proud of the bottom of the drawer, allowing the fat to sit at the bottom without touching the meat. Edit - actually, I've just re read your post and maybe this is what you meant. I thought you were saying there is a tray underneath like the old George Foreman ones.
Yeah that's exactly what I meant. I think in their marketing speak it's called a 'crisper' or something. But basically a raised tray with holes in that allows the food to stay raised above the juices and preventing the bottom of whatever you're cooking going soggy. That's the exact air fryer I've got with the 2 drawers. So handy because you can cook two different things at the same time like roast potatoes to go with the chicken.
This is the one we have. It has a really handy built in probe that goes through the small hole on the top of the left hand tray and plugs into the side of the air fryer. It allows you to cook a gammon joint for example, and get it to the exact temperature before automatically stopping. Really useful.
I've had my eye on them for a while but I'm struggling to justify one when we already have 2 enormous BBQ's (one gas one charcoal) and the Ooni Pizza oven as well - of course it's only a matter of time before I talk myself round
Yeah that's the newer model than mine. Sadly I've got the older one with no probe. It's not a big hassle to use a manual probe and it's not a big enough difference to make me chuck out a perfectly good air fryer for one that's basically exactly the same just with a built in probe. But it would be handy. Yeah I'm waiting for someone I know to get one and try it before taking the plunge. Not sure I'd use it enough but I said the same before getting an air fryer so wouldn't surprise me if I end up getting one and using it all the time in the future . I've got a big 6 burner gas BBQ, don't bother with charcoal any more. It is nice but I find I can get things to turn out pretty much the same on the gas one and love the convenience of being able to turn it on instantly. It's handy to be able to cook a few things, have a pause then turn it on again in a bit and cook some more. Rather than with charcoal where it's labour intensive to get it started and you have to cook it all when the heat's available because it's too much hassle to light again later on.
Same here We get those 'cheat' light the corner of the bag and walk away for 20 minutes ones for nice and simple mid week meals where its just a couple of steaks or a few lamb cutlets or a couple of burgers and the like - that deboned and butterflied lamb shoulder was a bit more effort because we wanted a longer burn and wood chips to smoke the meat a little and to cook the flatbreads closer to serving time which I guess could be where the Ninja Smoker would come into it's own too See - I said I was sure I'd manage to talk myself into one
The only problem with those instant light bags is they're soaked in lighter fluid which can affect the flavour a little compared with lighting it the long way. And the charcoal itself is cheap quality. For me it doesn't deliver a big enough taste benefit Vs the gas BBQ to be worth the extra lighting time. And storage space in the garage . Think if I used charcoal now at home I'd want to do it with those fancy charcoal pieces with the hole in the middle like chefs use. But doing it that way is very long winded and a labour of love and I'm far too lazy to do that. Which is why the Ninja smoker appeals because it might be able to recreate the low and slow charcoal BBQ effect without the time, effort and skill. Just need someone else to road test it first to see how good the results are and if it's lazy/idiot proofed enough for me . I suspect I'll sit it out this summer, regret it and get one next year.
I need to get past the little voice in my head which keeps saying 'it's just a pimped up George Forman grill'
