recommendation for use of our new Air Fryer

[DeanFL]

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Just received our new 5.8 qt air fryer. We do a lot of cooking dinners at home, and tended to use skillet with olive oil etc for stirfry veggies, fish, and such. Thought an air fryer would be a very good alternative. It came with a 100pg recipe book.

Thought I'd ask The Villages cooks out there what good recommendations THEY have? Thx in advance,
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[Tmarkwald]

I returned mine

[GrumpyOldMan]

I had that exact model. It works well. I used it for mostly potatoes, chicken breasts, and shrimp.

Be gentle with the handle. It is cast plastic and our broke after a few months. Other than that I was really happy with the ease of making some roasted potatoes, etc... fast, easy, easy to clean. And little to no oil/grease, which makes my PCP happy.

[FLgirlNow]

I have one also, different model. It makes great steak fries. Just cut the potatoes in large "fry" size, spritz with a little cooking oil from the spray can (very little) and then cook them for about 18 minutes. They come out great. Also have used the air fryer to make BBQ Ribs. Put in for about 45 minutes and they come out really good and fall off the bone. You can basically use it for anything you'd make in the oven or on a grill as it's more or less just a small convection oven, but it cooks much faster and it doesn't dry out your food. Hope this helps (try the fries -- they are really good).

[Stu from NYC]

We have seven in one and like it. Trial and error in cooking.

Took awhile but enjoying the "fried fish" with a coating we do ourselves. Since the power of yours is probably different than ours suggest you set it for a fairly short time and check it and than keep going until you are happy with results.

Cod and Haddock worked out well.

Have done pierogies and fish sticks as well.

Steak done in the broiler tray did ok the first time we used it but kind of a pain to take out the broiler tray to check it so not sure if we will do it that way again.

Does a nice job toasting as well.

[thelegges]

Tons of online recipes. Due to the fact that there are so many different kinds and so many sizes pick a recipe do a trial and error. Just remember if you’re doing anything that would reasonably been fried you need to take it out and shake it a couple of times or otherwise it will just be done on one side.we have 3 air fryers.
One counter/toaster/bake. It’s pretty small, takes less space, for 3 appliances, lives in TV.
Up north have a 6 qt that I have roasted a chicken in, I hate it cause it’s hard to clean, but you can make fries for all.
3rd is the mini, that stays packed for Disney trips, that took the place of a quesadilla maker, that finally died.
None of them cook the same

[tophcfa]

I recommend that you make lots of fried lobster and invite TOTV members over for dinner: )

[Madelaine Amee]

I have one, a very good one. I bought it because I absolutely could not live without one. I make fries, I cannot believe I bought this huge thing to make fries, but I did.

I have found that it prepares frozen food very well. I happen to like stuffed chicken breast and it cooks those to perfection. It reheats pizza very well.

I have a friend whose son cooks everything in his, from breakfast in the morning to supper at night.

For me, it is an expensive toy which makes great fries.

[golfing eagles]

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Just received our new 5.8 qt air fryer. We do a lot of cooking dinners at home, and tended to use skillet with olive oil etc for stirfry veggies, fish, and such. Thought an air fryer would be a very good alternative. It came with a 100pg recipe book.

Thought I'd ask The Villages cooks out there what good recommendations THEY have? Thx in advance,
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Shrimp and wings

[I'm Popeye!]

Fish and Chip with a little Spinach.

[Outofjersey]

The food in the air fryer comes out much better than if you use the microwave

[Girlcopper]

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Just received our new 5.8 qt air fryer. We do a lot of cooking dinners at home, and tended to use skillet with olive oil etc for stirfry veggies, fish, and such. Thought an air fryer would be a very good alternative. It came with a 100pg recipe book.

Thought I'd ask The Villages cooks out there what good recommendations THEY have? Thx in advance,
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Chicken wings, pork chops, steaks, chicken cutlets n breasts, fish.....thats just to name a couple. Everything can be cooked in it n its delicious

[Gullwing]

On the internet “best damn pork chops ever”.

[mydavid]

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Just received our new 5.8 qt air fryer. We do a lot of cooking dinners at home, and tended to use skillet with olive oil etc for stirfry veggies, fish, and such. Thought an air fryer would be a very good alternative. It came with a 100pg recipe book.

Thought I'd ask The Villages cooks out there what good recommendations THEY have? Thx in advance,
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. I have a Ninja grill + air fryer does better then my out door grill, and does a great job on fish in air fryer mold.

[Jewelz]

I love mine and use it a lot! At first, I used olive oil and bought a spritzer for it. My daughter told me to use the olive oil pan spray and that works perfect!!!

[wiltma]

Hard boil eggs

[3105boy]

Our Cosari died during the third use. We replaced it with a Power XL. Try baking Pillsbury cinnamon rolls and biscuits (small tubes). Set temp to 340, preheat, and they take just 4 min to cook directly on the fryer pan!

[stephen.q.pankow]

We use ours mostly for fish and chicken wings. Delish!

[asiebel]

This is the airfryer I have had for a year! Love it. Wings, chicken, brauts, fries, steak,
Italian sausage, chicken tenders all great!
I used a few recipes at first from the book and started googling airfryer recipes. I do use the temperatures from the guide and always preheat! Enjoy@

[paulajr]

The aerosol spray supposedly ruins the coating on the inside of the basket...


I love mine and use it a lot! At first, I used olive oil and bought a spritzer for it. My daughter told me to use the olive oil pan spray and that works perfect!!!

[paulajr]

We do a lot of “real” cooking with our air fryer, but find it is great for quick meals with frozen food. We love frozen egg rolls, Frozen “Veggie Tots”, “crispy carrots” , frozen wings...
I love to cook, and cook daily, but for the “ we just got home and want something quick” meals, we use this a lot...


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Just received our new 5.8 qt air fryer. We do a lot of cooking dinners at home, and tended to use skillet with olive oil etc for stirfry veggies, fish, and such. Thought an air fryer would be a very good alternative. It came with a 100pg recipe book.

Thought I'd ask The Villages cooks out there what good recommendations THEY have? Thx in advance,
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[willbush]

We use it for everything, FF, Chicken, Pork Chops etc...all come put perfect..anything you normally fry in grease can be done in this; we have two one in motorhome and one for home...like everything else, learn to use it...healthy

[DeanFL]

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Many thanks (so far) for the suggestions. FIRST use will be tonight. We plan on a couple COD pieces (probably crusted with the flour/egg/panko). And side of thin-sliced mini potatoes with carrots and mini peppers and brocolli, airfry those all together first, then fish.

Will use the spray olive oil on the veggies, maybe a light marinade first.

Would typically prep all this in a skillet with (poured) olive oil, so this will be a good test. Less mess (oil residue on the stove top), and hopefully crispy texture.

Glad I got the larger size (5.8 qt).
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[kbogli]

Food with a coating like your piano cod will need a spritz of oil to help crisp the coating. Consider buying some parchment paper rounds with small holes in them to lay in the bottom of your basket cleanup will be a breeze, you can them on amazon. Especially good for messy wings

[Pdesensi]

Salmon, steak, and tater tots

[rothbear]

I have that model and love it! Much better than my old air fryer. You need to go to YouTube and subscribe to Fabulessly Frugal. She has great recipes and hints and tips. She also just came out with an e-cookbook. Plus this is the model she uses most. Here is a link to her starter one. The Ultimate BEGINNERS GUIDE to Air Frying → How to Use an Air Fryer: ALL You Need to Know - YouTube (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0Cj12NIWG80)

Also make sure to join the Facebook group that is in your user's manual/information that came with the unit. Lots of great ideas and recipes from subscribers. I have a couple of cookbooks from Amazon as well but I find more online.

Just play with it and have fun! I love doing pork chops in mine. BTW....the easiest way to clean it? Dawn Power Wash!

[judyflorida]

We use it for bacon 3 times a week, cooks great. Have cooked pork lion, fries, frozen foods, chicken. I really like mine.

[Grunt 1946]

Reheating Pizza 3 mins, fries 8 mins, Hot dogs 4 min. put the bun on top for another minute, Blackend shrimp, Biscuits, hash browns, etc. It's a wonderful device and cuts down the energy the big oven uses up no more preheating. Pretty much greaseless.

[Carlsondm]

Coated shrimp, chicken wings, onion rings, tempura, fries, Tater tots, waffle fries, and fish work well in our air fryer. We have our own happy hour! The tots are a favorite and no additional oil needed. You will be surprised how greasy restaurant fries are after this experience.

[CFrance]

Salmon, steak, and tater tots
I bought some mini tater tots for our 1-yr-old grandson last year. There was half a bag left afterward, so my husband decided to try them in the little air fryer we have (2 qt). He thinks they're great, so we keep them on hand.


He likes hamburgers, chicken thighs with a rub on them, pork chops, wings, and chicken tenders, all done in that little air fryer. I bought him an air fryer cookbook for Christmas--air fryer recipes for two people.


Ever since discovering this air fryer, he has stopped using the grill, for which I'm very grateful because the grease catcher was never emptied on time before the dog nosed it. My husband and friends say meat comes out juicier from the air fryer than from the grill.

[DeanFL]

I have that model and love it! Much better than my old air fryer. You need to go to YouTube and subscribe to Fabulessly Frugal. She has great recipes and hints and tips. She also just came out with an e-cookbook. Plus this is the model she uses most. Here is a link to her starter one. The Ultimate BEGINNERS GUIDE to Air Frying → How to Use an Air Fryer: ALL You Need to Know - YouTube (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0Cj12NIWG80)

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Used the air fryer for the first time last night. BTW, thanks for the link (above) re youtube instruction videos. So informative!!!

So first, made a side dish of cut-up small potatoes, carrots, and brocolli. Marinated all in a bowl with a bit of soy sauce and light no-salt, Mrs Dash, pepper. And a tiny bit of olive oil. Used the 'root veggie' selection - 400 for 12 minutes I held out the broc until 1/2 done and the 'shake' command alerted. They all came out reeeaaally nice - crispy and perfectly done.

Then cod pieces - light batter with flour/egg/panko. Used the 'fish setting' 350 8 min. Used perf parch paper under the fish. Viola' perfect.

Only issue was that the veggies (now in a covered pyrex dish) cooled off a bit and developed condensation while sitting. Need to determine how to time entree & sides using one fryer.

The Cosori 5.8 qt was perfect and so easy to use and clean (esp after the videos...)

So, in the end - rather than using a skillet on the stove, we saved using much more oil, splatter on stovetop, oily food,more cleanup, not too crisp etc - to AirFryer with much quicker cook times - great texture, and crisp. Less energy use too. This air fryer was $99 on Amazon.

Thanks to all for the great comments - so helpful! yay ToTV.
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[DeanFL]

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so, now after having the Air Fryer for a couple weeks and using it about 6 times, very very happy. Must say, inititally the main reason we got it was because of friend's recommendations, but was unsure how we would use it.

And now we definitely see how useful it truly is. It's just like a small handy convection oven. We've used it for fish, chicken, potatoes, root veggies, and a couple frozen hashed brown patties. Everything turned out so good, using very lttle if any olive oil (spray). All with a crispy texture.

Used to sautee'/pan fry a lot. Problem with that seemed to be lack of crispyness and oil use. We feel better eating foods prepped with far less oil - and quick cooking with easy clean up. It's now our go-to cooking device.

The Cosori 5.8qt model we got from Amazon is perfect for us. And we were pleased in viewing many youtube vids, after the purchase, that this one is very highly rated. We got it for under $100, it's now $119... Amazon does this with their prices it seems.
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