More air fryer comparisons ..& boy I'm hyped. Instantpot gourmet crisp.

[Mr Gus]

So "thrifty" joeboy has been wowed by his "steal-of a deal" & face it we all understand heating up a small space over a big one.

To reach 180c our AEG double? takes (season dependent, thus unheated kitchen) between 20 & 30 mins to get up to temp*
The Panasonic dimension 4 (23 litres)?? takes about 10 minutes ..this one has a couple of extras & has a smidgen more pressure capability compared to others, it sits in the middle, just below the "pro crisp model"

Both units are fan assist.

Got the Costco model of the instantpot gourmet crisp out of the car last night, late, ..& ran it for a simple test (After washing it out)
8 litre version. currently £119.95 (imminent price rise)

1x big pack of batter crumb coated chicken fillets (all of them, overfilling the air fryer pot by placing them around the edge, on their sides, & some in the middle ..so 5 or 6 (that's what we'd cook normally to be energy frugal, cook time from cold would be 40 -55 mind with varying degrees of oven baked, but little crunch, ..so I tend to do them in the Panasonic for around 40 mins+ & play it by ear.

Now.. The difference.
My air fryer lid & unit to go 204c max temp, min wis 80 (ish) c in 1c increments.
Removed chicken fillet pack from freezer, laid em out (60 seconds)
Press "air fry" ...I'm a virgin here & s'perimentin..
Air fry indicator sets to max for 10 mins & starts...
Temp attained to start cook countdown within 60 seconds ..of which we can argue a toss about high inverter draw using it in a camper wagon or off grid later ..this 8 litre instantpot is rated at 1500w (spec sheet)

Countdown asked for me to turn at 5 mins (halfway point) ..I opened the lid, "didnt" & let it carry on to gauge it, let it finished the remaining 5 mins.

Result? ..cooked, crisp, good enough, but should have turned, so tonged them over & gave them an extra 5 mins (15 mins total cook time from frozen)
Pulled one piece out to pinch, cut, assess colour & crisp in a cheese topped roll with mayo & ketchup.

Verdict: Izzy & I were blown away, she tried a bite of the cut up fillet which as a deaf person I could hear the crunch a room & hall away!
Are mine, nice colour, meat was tender, left the others under the closed lid.

Kind of off knocked off my feet from 1st cook I only remembered my thermo probe 5+ mins later, took out remaining pieces, not due to the metal ring of the I-pot & lid metal, & temp given as 74c in the fillet.I

Will perform a reheat later tonight of 3 mins from cold to crisp n' warm & see if that's good enough for a "salad chicken crisp"

Nb, the extra time was because I really wanted to push the crispness & see where it failed, ..it didn't, the colour & crunch improved, so it is a runaway success in a 1st outing & does all the regular instantpot stuff.

Crispy pork will doubtless feature in coming days, I'd have cooked a chicken but the pup got in the way of being out too long.

Summary: " Like an excited nerdy kid in a green technology shop" ..I'm seriously impressed.

This on the same day as bloody Johnson tells folk to bin their old slow "noisy kettle" spend £20 & save a tenner a year on energy ...are we all going to get through this on bloody tea!???

Been (& continue) to hang on about the instantpot, this version being older & on offer is what needed rolling out when food banks started to fill up 5 years back, & with the separate air fryer lid only more so!

[Oldgreybeard]

We did something similar a week ago, bought a Sage (really a Breville) combination air fryer/grill/mini oven/slow cooker. Similarly impressed with it, and it uses a lot less energy than the big fan oven and grill. I think the fast heat up time makes the biggest difference, did some toast using the double sided grill function this morning and it was around 30% faster than using the toaster.

[Mr Gus]

John Lewis are doing the 8 litre "marginally" power speeded duo+ air fryer on a deal WITH a Google next big delivered for £119.99 currently
Code at checkout " GOOGLENESTHUB " (minus quotes)

We aren't collecting tech, our original is from around 2015, (still heavily used) & the one Izzy is running off with 5.7litre from 2017, & you may have read about our cheaper "mistake" purchase of a plastic compartment one with no inhalation & dubious coating.
This we went with a brand that has been a solid performer & used regularly.

Such is the heat pushed through the metal code of the instantpot is he tempted to cook my rice after the air fryer meat was done, see how it fares on energy in the initial preservation stage, but even if it's negligible it's assisted the operational temp & "stay warm" along the way"

I did look at both the anova oven (electrolux) & the sage (breville) but lack of insulation & the box that has to live in a work too meant it didn't tick enough versatility/ portability boxes for us. ..that & I want to move my before meat slicer into there now the kitchen aquarium freaked out & killed everything in the heatwave after a water change (20 years no problem & "bang" , (despite air stones, & two good pumps running in tandem)

Reducing our meat we have been cooking a large chicken weekly & gleaning that to share with the dogs, & having it in wraps or with rice / pulses & appreciating it more, so crispy pork will be done the same way, sliced & had with a bowl of rice, veggies etc..
& Then there is the habituated deal for quick cooking / discounted and too cheap to pass up & see go to a back of the shop bin!

So intend to cook better, eat less, appreciate more as part of the trend, of which a fast finisher like an air fryer is needed.

[Joeboy]

So "thrifty" joeboy has been wowed by his "steal-of a deal" & face it we all understand heating up a small space over a big one.

To reach 180c our AEG double? takes (season dependent, thus unheated kitchen) between 20 & 30 mins to get up to temp*
The Panasonic dimension 4 (23 litres)?? takes about 10 minutes ..this one has a couple of extras & has a smidgen more pressure capability compared to others, it sits in the middle, just below the "pro crisp model"

Both units are fan assist.

Got the Costco model of the instantpot gourmet crisp out of the car last night, late, ..& ran it for a simple test (After washing it out)
8 litre version. currently £119.95 (imminent price rise)

1x big pack of batter crumb coated chicken fillets (all of them, overfilling the air fryer pot by placing them around the edge, on their sides, & some in the middle ..so 5 or 6 (that's what we'd cook normally to be energy frugal, cook time from cold would be 40 -55 mind with varying degrees of oven baked, but little crunch, ..so I tend to do them in the Panasonic for around 40 mins+ & play it by ear.

Now.. The difference.
My air fryer lid & unit to go 204c max temp, min wis 80 (ish) c in 1c increments.
Removed chicken fillet pack from freezer, laid em out (60 seconds)
Press "air fry" ...I'm a virgin here & s'perimentin..
Air fry indicator sets to max for 10 mins & starts...
Temp attained to start cook countdown within 60 seconds ..of which we can argue a toss about high inverter draw using it in a camper wagon or off grid later ..this 8 litre instantpot is rated at 1500w (spec sheet)

Countdown asked for me to turn at 5 mins (halfway point) ..I opened the lid, "didnt" & let it carry on to gauge it, let it finished the remaining 5 mins.

Result? ..cooked, crisp, good enough, but should have turned, so tonged them over & gave them an extra 5 mins (15 mins total cook time from frozen)
Pulled one piece out to pinch, cut, assess colour & crisp in a cheese topped roll with mayo & ketchup.

Verdict: Izzy & I were blown away, she tried a bite of the cut up fillet which as a deaf person I could hear the crunch a room & hall away!
Are mine, nice colour, meat was tender, left the others under the closed lid.

Kind of off knocked off my feet from 1st cook I only remembered my thermo probe 5+ mins later, took out remaining pieces, not due to the metal ring of the I-pot & lid metal, & temp given as 74c in the fillet.I

Will perform a reheat later tonight of 3 mins from cold to crisp n' warm & see if that's good enough for a "salad chicken crisp"

Nb, the extra time was because I really wanted to push the crispness & see where it failed, ..it didn't, the colour & crunch improved, so it is a runaway success in a 1st outing & does all the regular instantpot stuff.

Crispy pork will doubtless feature in coming days, I'd have cooked a chicken but the pup got in the way of being out too long.

Summary: " Like an excited nerdy kid in a green technology shop" ..I'm seriously impressed.

This on the same day as bloody Johnson tells folk to bin their old slow "noisy kettle" spend £20 & save a tenner a year on energy ...are we all going to get through this on bloody tea!???

Been (& continue) to hang on about the instantpot, this version being older & on offer is what needed rolling out when food banks started to fill up 5 years back, & with the separate air fryer lid only more so!

Very glad to read all this Gus. I can't see beyond the unit now.
Can do 4 trays of food.
Cooks beautifully.
Uses very little power for what it can produce.
So easy to use, set up and just walk away.
Healthier with the fat going to bottom tray.

We are using our unit every day. Back up from Glasgow yesterday afternoon after a fantastic weekend. Could not be bothered with a lot of effort so it was fish and chips with spring rolls and sweetcorn. Airfryer to the rescue.

Next up is trying the rotisserie mode with a full on Wednesday evening!

[Mr Gus]

Joe, would be good to cook some "like for like" factory breaded something from the same brand & compare speed of pre-heat & cook taking on board spec & volume, ..you got a hell of a deal on yours with metal trays, glass window AND rotisserie,


Tbh, some say my air fryer (being an early unit compared to the dual tray vortex) is not as good as "dedicated" ip models (& presumably other air fryers) but that metal heatsink can't be beat imho.

2hrs later whilst it was cool outwardly it was holding onto heat enough for me to think about stated cooking & doing out more saving potential ..spurred on by idiot Johnson bothering about buying a new kettle (SCREAM)

This in your bongo (other oddly named camper vans & brands are available) would be amazing if the load & inverter combination worked out I think.
If I were spending out a camper it would be "sod the standard rattley standard oven & grill" (used to bug the hell out of me) ..stick in a bigger fridge & an ip-air fryer.

Findus crispy pancake fry off at high noon!?

Air fried Mars bar for desert?

[dan_b]

I was gifted a Salter air fryer for my birthday just recently (well my birthday was 2 months ago but only recently received it!)
It's quite a small unit, only goes to 200C and has a 30min timer, but the things I've cooked in it so far have all come out nice. And it must surely be using less energy to oven cook the items than the main kitchen oven, given the significantly smaller volume of air it's trying to heat.

It's a 2 litre unit with a 1kW heater, and clockwork dials. I like it.

[Stinsy]

I have the Ninja 2-drawer air frier and while I haven't used it a huge amount I've been very impressed.

It cooks the best chicken I've ever eaten! 3 small or 2 large quarters per drawer, 200℃ 25 mins. Perfect! (optional, open and apply Nandos sauce 2mins before the end).

My kids eat fish fingers, used to put the oven on 200 and shove them straight in, 20 mins later they were done. Air frier does them in 7 mins.

[patrickl]

How important is the pressure cooker aspect of Instant Pots? (Is IP a trademark or a generic term?) Obvs it depends what one is cooking, so I guess the question is really - IP owners, do you use the pressure cooker aspect & what do you cook with it. And for those who have the more oven-like/basket like versions, do you miss the lack of a pressure cooker capability?
Thanks
P.

[patrickl]

[it] only goes to 200C

Hi Dan - FWIW, wandering Amazon and comparing specs, I have yet to find an air-fryer that goes higher than 200C.

P.

[Oldgreybeard]

How important is the pressure cooker aspect of Instant Pots? (Is IP a trademark or a generic term?) Obvs it depends what one is cooking, so I guess the question is really - IP owners, do you use the pressure cooker aspect & what do you cook with it. And for those who have the more oven-like/basket like versions, do you miss the lack of a pressure cooker capability?
Thanks
P.

I'm not a fan of pressure cooking, but I've used a slow cooker for decades, still use an ancient Prestige one that my mother gave me when I left home to go to uni, around 50 years ago. One of the reasons we chose the Sage multifunction unit was because it includes a slow cooking option, you can just put casseroles etc in it and leave it cook all day at a low power setting. The one thing the Sage doesn't have is a rotisserie, something that the smaller Breville has, and which can also rotate the air fryer basket. The latter is something that I think would be very handy for chips.