Air Fryers

[Lindalana]

I have Smart oven Breville with air fry function. I grow potatoes and absolutely love air frying them. Zukes are not as great.
We do not eat meat so can not comment on that.
After getting Instant pot and Smart oven my life and my cooking changed miles away from what I used to do. I converted just about every recipe I used to do and this is it.

[DonDuck]

We had a really good microwave with a convection oven function. We wore the microwave out, but didn't use the convection oven one time. When it finally broke down, we replaced it with a smaller and cheaper microwave. With the microwave, we never cook anything in it, but it does a lot of heating liquids and thawing of frozen foods. Add an instant pot, an air fryer, a couple of induction cookers and other handy devices; and I enjoy learning new ways to prepare food.


My wife was given some large containers of various dried and dehydrated prepper foods today. I've never eaten much instant foods before, but I'm looking forward to trying stuff like dried strawberries, dehydrated beef stroganoff and various other products which are packaged to be stored for years. It may take me back to my Army days and the dried field rations we ate. I saw some peanut butter powder in a store recently. I have to buy it and try it. I may hate it and toss it, but I will know how close it comes to one of my favorite foods.

[imp]

Don, the peanut butter powder is something I have used in the past and it is versatile and good. From a peanut sauce for chicken to baking in cakes and cookies and making some really good peanut butter cream frosting, some use it in smoothies I think.

[Worth1]

I stuck a whole turkey out the window yesterday on the way home from work.
It was fried by the time I got home.

[DonDuck]

Originally Posted by Worth1

I stuck a whole turkey out the window yesterday on the way home from work.
It was fried by the time I got home.

Was the breast meat tender and succulent or dried out like shoe leather? It's really hard to not over cook the breast meat when you cook it out the car window. Did you cook it with or without stuffing?

[DonDuck]

I decided this morning to open the one gallon can of "prepper" strawberries and see how they tasted. My intent was to open the can and add some dehydrated strawberries to some oatmeal and eat it for breakfast.


I now know why it will last forever in the containers. My can openers (electric and manual) didn't come close to opening the can. A large screwdriver and hammer finally created a hole large enough to pour it into a one gallon zip lock bag.


I wasted my time. The straw berries tasted horrible. They were bitter and ruined some perfectly good oatmeal. The cooked oatmeal and the zip lock bag now reside in the bottom of my trash can

[upcountrygirl]

actual dried strawberries from the oven or dehydrator(not powder) at least I think are good, don.

[DonDuck]

Originally Posted by upcountrygirl

actual dried strawberries from the oven or dehydrator(not powder) at least I think are good, don.

I've had very good dehydrated strawberries in the past and they were good. The prepper one's I tried this morning were horrible. I was surprised at their bitterness. I wondered if they were prepared in some kind of chemical to extend the shelf life.

[DonDuck]

Originally Posted by upcountrygirl

actual dried strawberries from the oven or dehydrator(not powder) at least I think are good, don.

I've had very good dehydrated strawberries in the past and they were good. The prepper one's I tried this morning were horrible. I was surprised at their bitterness. I wondered if they were prepared in some kind of chemical to extend the shelf life.


I also have a large can of dehydrated bananas. I will not open them until some day when I have no choice but to eat them. I don't like dried bananas when they are perfect.

[Worth1]

Originally Posted by DonDuck

Was the breast meat tender and succulent or dried out like shoe leather? It's really hard to not over cook the breast meat when you cook it out the car window. Did you cook it with or without stuffing?

It was dried up worse than a dead West Texas cactus.
No stuffing.

[imp]

I think it is against the law to cook the turkey outside the vehicle window without stuffing it first.



If the turkey is not stuffed and you hold it by the leg, it makes a loud whistling noise like a whooping siren. If you hold it by a wing, it makes a tornado sound and scares people.

[DonDuck]

Yep! In Texas, it is illegal to use your cell phone while driving thank goodness. I do think it is still legal to mix stuffing, fill the turkey; and hold it out the window for cooking while driving.

[mikemansker]

We're drifting a little here.

[imp]

Originally Posted by mikemansker

We're drifting a little here.

Been adrift so long now, am not even looking for land, LOL!

[DonDuck]

Okay, I'm climbing onto the rescue boat.


After finally deciding to purchase an air fryer, we have tried many things with about 80% good to great results and 20% bad results. I was afraid the cooking basket would be so small, only small quantities can be cooked. We got a fairly large basket in ours and it has worked well cooking for two people in a single batch, You don't want to overcrowd the basket because it restricts the air circulation.


I've not been happy with the results of Panco coated foods in the air fryer because the Panco dries and almost burns before the food is cooked. Regular yellow cornmeal also gets a little dry and gritty before the food is cooked. I plan on trying masa corn meal and finding out how well it will work in an air fryer. I do like plain or seasoned bread crumbs on many things because it cooks well and retains some moistness.



I've been most impressed with cooking meat because the hot air seems to drive the seasonings deeper into the meat. It has the appearance of "well cooked meat", but the meat continues to be moist and tender inside. I've never owned a meat thermometer. I'm not totally comfortable guessing if the meat is cooked correctly inside even when it appears cooked on the outside. I now own a digital meat thermometer and will use it on some pork chops tonight. I don't like over cooked meat and I don't really like under cooked meat. I'm not a fan of steak tartar or chicken tartar.


I haven't tried baking whole potatoes yet, but potato wedges cook perfectly with a brown skin on the outside and a fluffly, soft interior. They are perfect with a sour cream dipping sauce or ranch sauce.


I don't know anything about other brands of air fryers, but we bought what I think of as an off brand named Ultrean. I don't know if other brands are as easy to use with good results as ours, but I am happy with our air fryer.