Yes, I remove the crisper tray every time I clean the machine. And yes, the tray should always be used; that's how the air circulates. I have mentioned before that some people put foil or parchment paper in their air fryer but to me that defeats the purpose of the air circulation. You probably know that anytime you use a convection fan in the oven, the outside of the food will brown a lot faster, so it may not be ideal for baking raw batters. Of course I'm probably wrong about that, haha.
I read a couple of comments on Amazon by folks who use foil & parchment for cleanup purposes. Maybe you'd do that below the tray, but certainly not instead of it or on top of it. I think one woman lost her tray or damaged it and foil/paper were her substitute, since (apparently) you cannot buy parts. The included recipe book has recipes for: Blueberry Cornbread (in a pan) Scones (directly in basket) Coffee Cake (in a pan) Shortbread Cookies (in a pan) Polenta Olive Oil Cake (in a pan) Cheesecake Bars (in a pan) I was on the web last night before I bought this and lots of websites list the foods you don't want to cook in them. They almost all list broccoli because the tops will dry out, but the included cookbook has a recipe for it. Mashed.com says to not do burger, while others rave about doing air-fried burgers. Mashed also says that wings don't fare well. They have a "Never Do This" article that states "Baking [cakes] in an air fryer is a mixed bag," then you scroll down to the next article where they say "One of the reasons why air fryers are such a great tool in the kitchen is that they're versatile. It turns out you can even make your favorite baked goods in one." It's stuff like this that makes me send emails that elicit snarky replies. I guess we're not supposed to really absorb what they say.
I never even consider the air fryer for baking stuff, probably because none of my baking pans would fit in there. I keep thinking I'll try baking potatoes in it but then I forget all about it. I mostly use the air fryer for reheating or "quick cook" prepared things like wings, fries, fish sticks, etc. I could probably make better use of it but I don't.
So I burned up the morning grabbing air fryer recipes off of the web. There is a common complaint that the recipes that came with the unit cook things too hot/too long. Once you have a decent "how to" for chicken breast, thigh, pork chops, etc, then you can tweak your own recipes. The one recipe that caught my eye was using leftover rotisserie chicken rolled in corn tortillas for air-fried taquitos. That recipe was actually a little more complicated than the others (you saute veggies, cheeses and the chicken before rolling them up and then air-frying), but it would be easy enough to follow the basic steps to throw together whatever you wanted for a quick meal. I bet leftover Mississippi Pot Roast would make a pretty good taquito filling.
I just cooked Sams Angus Beef patties in mine. Turned out decent, and appeared to be juicy but was not once on the bun. May cook differently next time. First time I have ever cooked anything like that in the fryer.
I'm seeing mixed advice on cooking burgers. Those who say "Not the best idea" claim that the inside cooks before the outside browns...kinda like a microwave burger might turn out. I just copied my last air fryer recipe for this session and it's a burger recipe. That recipe cooks them at 400°F. Perhaps 375°F and a longer cook time would work. Or maybe a higher temp that will crisp the outside before the inside is done. Oven-baked burger recipe temps range from 350°F to 425°F, and many of them say to sear the burger in a pan first, so perhaps there are compromises. What does Mister [Butcher] Mitchell have to say about it? As he knows, it's the Maillard Reaction that gives browned foods the flavor, which is why the oven burger recipes say to pan sear first (and which calls into question recipes for air frying cookies and other baked goods.) I cook stuff sous vide (vacuum bags in a hot water bath) and they always recommend a quick shot on the grill or in a hot pan or even under a blow torch to impart the flavor.
@John Brunner , first off, these were frozen patties and have never cooked them that way. He would never make these anyway because they are pre made and frozen. But I wanted to try them and to have him eat something beside a Ky Legend ham sandwich every day. But he says let thaw some then pre cook in hot skillet then add oven or cooker. With some oil would make make crispier outside also.
Funny, I deleted the part of my response referencing all the websites that made that exact same recommendation. I also deleted the part where I said if I got the burger in a hot pan and I'm starting to cook it, it's gonna stay in there until it's finished. What's the point of moving it into an over or an air fryer?
So I was putzing on Amazon searching on "Accessories for 6 qt air fryer" and got 134 pages of results. I'll come back to it some other time.
The fact is, an air fryer is simply a small convection oven; no big mystery there. So anything that cooks well in convection will probably turn out OK. I believe they were created as a way to quickly heat convenience foods and not for "haute cuisine."
Yup. A way to eat junky food with less guilt. Although I am anxious to try out some of the chicken and fish (and pork chop) recipes that I see. I love me some fried flounder, but the calories and the mess are an obstacle. Same goes for coconut shrimp. Of course, I'll go from using it every night for a month to "I think I got one of those kicking around here somewhere."
Honestly, I have never had any "fried" food come out of the AF and taste as good as actually frying it. French fries are OK, but only if spritzed with oil before cooking. Most other things are helped with a spritz of oil, too. Of course people have different tastes and different opinions, so you'll be the best judge of how things turn out.
I understand. I've had my periods of flavorless healthy cooking. I went out and bought some brussels sprouts and avocado oil to air fry for dinner tomorrow night. I have leftover steak and half a baked potato. I'm not sure how I'll reheat those. The interesting things about seeing/reading folks using parchment paper is it's given me ideas on using the air fryer feature in my Breville. Maybe I can do grease-dripping wings in it.
I'm discovering an unhealthy downside to air fryers. It seems that any "bad-for-me-food" I find an air fryer recipe for (1) really gets my taste buds going for that fried food, and (2) produces underwhelming results. Now I wanna buy a deep fryer.
LOL. I have pretty much relegated my air fryer to reheating things that I want to keep crispy (read: were previously fried in grease.) You're welcome.