Gourmia air fryer

[perc-o-prince]

So I finally got us an air fryer. It's a Gourmia 7qt that got very good reviews. I thought I'd try it out last night with the main reason for getting it... chicken wings!

 

The good news is that they came out great! Not quite like deep-fried but better than baked/broiled. Acceptable for this dyed-in-the-wool, Buffalo-born-and-raised, "gotta deep fry 'em" guy.

 

The bad news was the smoke. Holy crap! Even when we put the fryer on the smooth-top cooktop under the vent hood, we couldn't grab all the smoke (there's a slight install issue with the flexible vent tube that we need to correct but still...). 

 

The wings were blotted with paper towel then tossed in 1T veg oil (as directed) and a little salt and granulated garlic.

 

Anyone have a smoking issue with an air fryer or spot something wrong with the prep? Since it was the first time using it I followed the directions... not something I'm generally known for! LOL!

 

Chuck

https://www.kohls.com/product/prd-4533023/gourmia-7-qt-stainless-steel-digital-air-fryer.jsp?skuId=gourmia%207&search=4533023&submit-search=web-regular

 

[ozzie908]

Tried a Tefal air fryer

and have to say was thoroughly pleased I had not bought it but only borrowed to see if I liked it or not. Needless to say I did not buy one as I can only say I was doing French fries for 2 people and it took ages I could have walked to the chippy and bought some it took so long NOT impressed at all !! But that was the only one I have tried not bothered since getting a new oven...

Austin

 

[aquarius1984]

I have the original Philips air fryer now 8 years old.

Cooks frozen fries well, but fits enough for two people. I also use it for sausages and other small oven cook items when i only need to cook small amounts.

Otherwise if I’m doing say sausage egg chips and baked beans for tea, I put the lot in the oven (beans in a casserole dish) and just fry the egg on the hob.

Chicken portions, bacon, chops, all create smoke. Too fatty to cook in an air fryer without the smoke.

Adding oil to chicken wings which already have a perfectly good layer of fat on them - the skin- only makes it worse.

I’m not sure why you’d coat chicken with skin on in oil to start with. There’s enough in it to baste the meat and cook them.

When this air fryer packs up I won’t be replacing it. It does nothing my combination microwave can’t do and just takes up room.

The only cooking gadget I find useful is a slow cooker. Absolute marvellous inventions. For anything that requires an oven I’d rsther just use the main oven or microwave combi.

 

[perc-o-prince]

I'm going to try another batch of wings without oiling them. I've looked at a few vids re: air fryers and wings today and they don't oil them. I did it because for once, I was following directions. Stupid me!!!!

 

Chuck

 

[pumper]

I have an air fryer and use it for the typical things, frozen tater tots, onion rings etc. I also air fry breaded chicken breast and salmon steaks. It's a decent addition to my kitchen gadgetry.

 

[gizmo]

I have a recent, model Philips XXL air fryer that I scrounged from a skip behind a store. It was a warranty return.
I couldn't fault it, I guess it was returned because it gushed smoke when used.
All it needed was a thorough clean, I completely dismantled it and cleaned every part. Works perfectly .No more smoke.
No though at all has been given to cleaning when designing these things. They are awful to clean, the design sucks airborne fat into the deepest innards and it builds up. If I paid myself an hourly rate, it would have been cheaper to replace the air fryer than clean it out. Plus all the money spent on cleaning compounds that didn't work... Having said that, I am a retired professional cook and I'm very fussy about keeping kitchenware clean. Other folks may be happy to cook in a device coated with a thick layer baked on gunk?
The air fryer has a vent and a large volume of hot air exhausts through the vent. I guess it is to remove steam and smoke but it sure wastes a lot of energy blowing hot air into the room. I wonder if it really needs to waste quite so much heat?

I guess they expect you will use it a year or two till you get disgusted with how dirty it is, then replace it? I generally like Philips stuff but I am not impressed with the design. It should be more energy efficient (blow less hot air into the room) and be designed to come apart easily to clean it out.

I still have it and only use it for anything that isn't going to spit fat. So far, only heating frozen chips (fries) and home made wedges, and heating up pies. I wouldn't cook chicken in it, especially wings, too likely to spit chicken juices at the fan to create mess and smoke. I wouldn't cook any uncovered meats in it.

I am still undecided if it is worth the real estate it occupies in my pantry, or if I should find it another home.

Well there's one opinion for you...

 

[foraloysius]

I have a Philips airfryer XL, it was one of the first models on the market. I still use it now and then, but if I had known then what I know now, I wouldn't have bought it. I actually hate it for it's bad design and trouble to clean it. The mesh bottom of the inner basket is a nightmare to clean. I have tried everything, but at a certain point, food particles stick to it even when you clean it religiously. I believe the outer basket is teflon, but I'm not fretting about it because the food doesn't touch it. But next one will be different.

Here is a picture of two inner baskets. The one on the left is the Philips basket, the one on the right from a Montana, a brand sold here in the NL. The basket on the right has a ceramic coating and is much easier to clean according to some reviews.

With the Philips it's also important to pull the plug. Mine once started spontaneously, fortunately I was at home, so I could stop it. But I found it alarming that such a thing can happen.

Picture from the internet.

In regard to smoking, I have had that problem, but I solved it by using an anti smoke lid.

 

[perc-o-prince]

Well, I believe the original question was answered. Someone Rich knows on Facebook said he never coats with oil, despite instructions to do so in the book. His smoked the first few times and hasn't since. Also, with what I saw in a couple of recipes on YouTube, wings can just go in the preheated basket sans oil.

 

Did Trader Joe's Mandarin Chicken in it for dinner last night. The book called for 15-18 minutes IIRC, but it was done to a crispy turn in 12. That's less than 1/2 the time it takes in the oven and it was crispier than we've ever made it.

 

Tater tots with breakfast this morning. 12-15 minutes for a pound of them so the instruction book says. 8 minutes for 20 tots and they were crisp on the outside and steaming/moist on the inside. Perfect.

 

This unit may just get some countertop real estate once we finish the kitchen. The new vent hood to replace the shipping damaged one is going in today (we installed the dented one so we could use the cooktop) so that's a major step in finishing. After that it's just covering the ends of the cabinets with beadboard, painting and moldings!

 

Chuck

 

[chachp]

Air fryers fails and successes

<span style="font-family: helvetica;"> </span>

<span style="font-family: helvetica;">I haven't used mine in years.  Hubby loves fried Okra.  I think it tastes like something that came out of the bag on the mower but that's another conversation.  I thought I would be nice and tried frozen, breaded Okra for him because it was healthier that way.  It was HORRIBLE!!!  OMG, It was hard as a rock and completely turned him off to the concept of air frying.</span>

<span style="font-family: helvetica;"> </span>

<span style="font-family: helvetica;">So it's been sitting on a high shelf in the pantry for years.  It's one of the original Philiips ones.  I have made chicken in it a few times and I think that comes out pretty good but other than that I haven't used it much.  Because its a smaller one, I have to cook in batches when doing chicken so I just use the convection oven.  </span>

<span style="font-family: helvetica;"> </span>

<span style="font-family: helvetica;">This thread did inspire me to give it another try.  So I made salmon in there and I have to say it came out really well.  Ten minutes at 390 and they were just right.  Maybe we'll give it another try.</span>

 

[henene4]

I use mine for basically anything frozen.
Fries, chicken nuggets, potato pockets etc.

And it works surprisingly well and quick.
Making my fries in the oven takes 30min with preheating and such, 15min no preheat in the air fryer.

I just put my basket (both inner and outer) in the dishwasher.
Doesn't clean it perfectly, but 98% of the way there.
Every now and then I use oven cleaner.

The Tefal ActyFry is a somewhat flawed concept.
The stiring is useful, but they have one fixed temperature at 150C which is just way to low.

Smoking wasn't really an issue I had.

Efficiency wise it can be pretty efficient.
They pull 1400W or there abouts, half of my oven.
And run half the time.

The venting is indeed for steam.

But really for anything more than 1-2 portions or long cooking things really not that useful.

 

[perc-o-prince]

I forgot about this thread!

 

So, the air fryer gets permanent space on the countertop, where space is kind of at a premium. I did wings without tossing them in oil like the instructions said and they were very good! Chicken thighs several times, roasted potatoes, Trader Joe's Mandarin Chicken (8 minutes vs 25 in the oven!), salmon, tater tots, reheating previously fried takeout, and much more! It gets used at least every-other day!

 

I haven't tried a steak or burger in there yet, but will definitely give it a go!

 

Chuck

 

[henene4]

Burgers

I found that such usually pan reserved stuff turns out a little to dry fory taste.

The heat is much more intense than a normal oven but still not comparable to pan searing.

 

[sudsmaster]

Well, it sounds like people either love or hate their air fryers, and it might depend on the brand and model fryer.

Me, I bought some frozen spring rolls at Costco today. The instructions said use and air fryer or oven. I didn't want to use the wall oven, so I fired up the Oster countertop convection oven. Convection being relatively akin to air frying, I reasoned. The darn Oster took forever to warm up, and I left the rolls in it while it was warming. Once it got to actual convectioning I halted the process earlier than i might have, when I saw oil dripping from the rolls. They turned out pretty good. Later in the day I decided I didn't want to wait for the Oster to come up to temp, and put more spring rolls in the microwave instead. As one might imagine, they came out a bit soggy, but actually not bad at all.

I really don't need another kitchen gadget, so I'll pass on the air fryer for a few more years yet.

Thanks.

 

[twintubdexter]

<span style="font-size: 14pt; color: #008000;">I wonder how many people watch these commercials for air fryers and believe you can cut up a raw potato, pile it in the air fryer and out comes delicious golden, crispy french fries? I have a very cheap model, dial controls. It works fine for small servings of things like Tater Tots which have already been partially deep fried and then frozen provided they're cooked in a single layer. It also works well for re-crisping things like KFC. Other than that, it's a toaster oven with a fan.</span>

 

<span style="font-size: 14pt; color: #008000;">Homemade fries also tend to be kind of limp. A few generous shakes of Viagra before cooking might help.</span>

 

[iheartmaytag]

I have a cheapy from Target

I think it's the Power XL or something like that. It was originally bought for a Christmas gift, then it was decided to give the recipient something else, so I kept it for myself. It does and excellent job. FF in about 12 minutes. I don't' make fresh, however, these are frozen crinkle fries. My daughter's chicken tenders are crispy and fresh tasting in 15 minutes. Chicken legs from raw to crispy 22 minutes.

The kid loves chicken legs, I got a dozen for $1.86 at Dillon's. split that into three packages. The only main difference is you do need to add a bit of oil, my recipe asks for 1 Tbsp added directly and kind of cut into the flour mixture. at the 5 minute mark I will turn the legs and may spritz with Olive oil from the sprayer. Usually the natural oils in the skin are enough to hold the flour and crisp.

Pizza rolls are good. I just saw a recipe where you roll out canned biscuits. It showed the flaky type, divide the biscuits and roll flat. Put a small square of cheese and a wedge of sliced ham. seal by placing the other half on top. Brush with an egg wash and fry in air fryer for 10 minutes. yummy.

If this one breaks, would I get another. After a year with this one, my answer is yes. I use it at least twice a week, easy to clean. The basket and outer container can go in the dishwasher, I don't wash it there. But sometimes You have to soak for a while to the chicken crust off. I wipe down the inside with a damp cloth. Very happy with this purchase.