The Wonder of the Air Fryer

Hello all! I'm new to the community and glad to be here.

I've always been a cook. I was thinking the other day, what if I had saved and catalogued recipes for everything I have ever cooked? First, it would be huge. But I know that over the years many things that I loved to cook have just been lost to time. But better late than never right? So joining the community to both catalogue things I cook and share them with others. I plan to talk about things I cook and recipes, but also about cooking devices, techniques, grilling, really anything that might be interesting.

So first and foremost, let's talk about one of my new favorite things, my Air Fryer. There are a huge amount of cooking devices out there, and in my opinion some just don't add much to your kitchen, but some really are great! One that I think is really great is the Air Fryer.

If I had to describe what the Air Fryer does best in one word, it would be "crispy." The Air Fryer makes food so crispy and delicious. It is really a convection oven, so it cooks things evenly. It cooks things fast. It also uses very little cooking oil.

A few things that I think the Air Fryer does really well....

Chicken Thighs - When you cook chicken thighs in the air fryer they come out moist and delicious. But the best thing is that the skin is perfect, you can almost "snap" it off. I like to do mine at 380 degrees, skin side down first for 12 minutes, then flip for 12 minutes more.

Chicken Wings - I love crispy chicken wings, and they are hard to make that way without frying in a lot of oil. But the air fryer makes awesome chicken wings. I do mine in the air fryer at 360 degrees for 12 minutes, flip them and do 12 minutes more. Then, raise the temperature to 390 and cook 6 more minutes and they are so good. PRO TIP: They will not get crispy if they touch, but you can actually cook them with the drumettes standing up on the sides of the basket so you can get more in there. ANOTHER PRO TIP: One thing that always helps chicken wings get crispier no matter how you cook them is to take them out of the packaging the night before, dry them, lay them out on a cookie sheet, and put them into the refrigerator overnight. The drier they are, the crispier they can get!

Pizza/Reheated Pizza - So leftover pizza is great, but putting it in the air fryer makes it even better. The crust gets so crispy. But then I thought that sometimes when I get pizza the crust is not crispy when I first order it. So now I put all my pizza in there, it is so much better. I usually do 325 degrees for 4-5 minutes and it is great!

Bacon - I like my bacon crispy! The air fryer delivers! 350 degrees for 8-9 minutes is just right! EVEN BETTER is how good it is at cooking things that are bacon wrapped. I love jalapeno poppers and if I have a complaint, it is that the bacon is never crispy enough when I grill them. Not if you do them in the air fryer! YUM. The bacon will be super crispy. PRO TIP: when cooking bacon in the air fryer, add a little water to the bottom of the basket and it will not smoke.

Shrimp - I think the challenge with shrimp can be that it has a very short window between perfectly done and overcooked. The Air Fryer really does a great job with shrimp because it offers even heat that is precisely time controlled, so it really is an easy way to get them just right. A DOWNSIDE: When you make shrimp in the Air Fryer the smell seems to linger, every time you fire it up for awhile afterwords you will get a shrimp smell coming from the device. It does not affect the flavor of the food though.

Salmon - The air fryer makes some great salmon. Here is a great example! Last night, we had an awesome salmon salad! We usually do salmon at 400 degrees for about 10 minutes. Of course, this depends on the thickness, smaller or thinner pieces may take less time. You can check it after about 7-8 minutes and when it is flaky, it is done. We usually cook it skin on, and another great thing is once it is done in the air fryer the skin peels right off.

This salad (pictured) was pretty simple, chopped lettuce, tri-colored tomatoes, cucumbers, kalamata olives, feta cheese, salt, pepper, and a little oregano. Then a simple olive oil and vinegar dressing. Topped with a perfect salmon filet made for an excellent supper.

I highly recommend the Air Fryer as something that is a great addition to any kitchen. Fast cooking, easy cleaning, and using little oil are all great benefits. But it is exceptional at cooking certain things, and making things super crispy.

I love to cook, to try new recipes. I also love to talk to people about cooking. If you have questions, or ideas, or want to share your love of cooking please reach out! I'd love to hear from you!

Check me out on @noise.cash (https://noise.cash/post/4rp9jjvbmmmmr)