Best air fryer food

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Delish

Party in an Air Fryer: 75+ Air Fryer Recipes from the Editors at Delish

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This best-selling 160-page spiral-bound guide includes photos for every recipe and it lies flat to make it that much easier for you to prepare crispy, crunchy food—without the oil! You’ll find guilt-free recipes for everything from onion rings and mozzarella sticks to roasted vegetables and juicy chicken, plus pro tips for using your air fryer and genius hacks for making your favorite recipes even better.

PHOTO: JOEL GOLDBERG; FOOD STYLING: HADLEY SUI

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Air Fryer Bang Bang Broccolini

Bang bang sauce already has a kick to it, but if you really like the heat, bump up the amount of Sriracha or add an extra drizzle before serving. For an over-the-top addition, drizzle with a little mayo too (trust us!).

Get the Air Fryer Bang Bang Broccolini recipe.

The Best Things to Cook in Air Fryer, According to Chefs

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• Insider asked chefs to share their favorite things to make in an air fryer. 
• Their favorite dishes to make in this appliance include gnocchi, chicken, and crunchy chickpeas.
• It's also possible to make flavorful steak, bacon, and chicken nuggets in an air fryer. 

Cooking bacon in an air fryer is pretty easy.

Jess Dang, chef and founder of meal-planning service Cook Smarts, told Insider that bacon is one of her favorite things to cook in an air fryer.

"Fat drips from the bacon and out of the basket, so the bacon ends up leaner," she told Insider. "It's so much less messy and requires less supervision than other cooking methods."

For a quick dessert, try cooking up some bananas.

Air fryers can turn slices of plain fruit into deliciously caramelized treats, Dang said, and she recommends using bananas. 

"I slice them in half lengthwise and add them to banana splits," she explained. "Sometimes I'll brush them with a little coconut oil first for an extra-special treat."

You can cook a flavorful steak in an air fryer.

Yankel Polak, head chef at ButcherBox, told Insider that it's possible to cook a delicious steak in an air fryer. 

"Rub the steak with a little olive oil and a generous amount of salt and pepper before cooking," he said. "The olive oil helps it get a really good sear and the salt and pepper give a simple, yet satisfying flavor."

To make sure your steak cooks evenly, Polak said, flip it over halfway through the cooking time. This ensures both sides of the meat have contact with the hot surface of the basket.

Fry up chickpeas for a crispy, savory treat.

Whether you're looking for the perfect salad topping or just want something healthy to snack on, air-fried chickpeas may be the answer. 

"Air-fried chickpeas are crispy, portable, and delicious," said Dang. "You can easily toss in some spices and seasonings along with a small amount of oil to jazz them up a little. "

Za'atar, curry powder, or chili powder are perfect seasonings to experiment with if you want to add an extra kick of flavor to air-fried chickpeas. 

Air-fried doughnuts are often light and fluffy.

If you're looking for a way to make homemade doughnuts a bit less calorie-dense, try using an air fryer instead of a deep fryer.  

Polak told Insider that the secret to delectable air-fried doughnuts is to avoid putting a very wet batter in the air fryer. 

"Opt for making your doughnut batter more like bread dough for a cake-like consistency. The key is to use more flour than egg," they said. 

This appliance can help you make crunchy, homemade chicken nuggets.

Skip the store-bought chicken nuggets and whip up your own batch at home with an air fryer.  

"The air fryer is terrific for keeping crunchy, coated chicken juicy and tender," said Polak. "Just make sure to moisten your chicken with a swipe of olive oil or mustard to keep the breading adhered."

It's also important not to go overboard with breading — adding too much can lead to the coating being blown off by the airflow of the air fryer. 

You don't need breading to prepare juicy chicken breasts.

"The air fryer yields a much juicier chicken breast than either the oven or stovetop," said Dang. "Due to the compact design of an air fryer, there's not as much room for the juices to evaporate like they sometimes do with other methods." 

Some types of fish will become moist and flaky when you air fry them.

Using an air fryer can help take some of the guesswork out of preparing seafood. It can also help you to avoid dry, overcooked fish. 

"I recommend using an air fryer for baked or breaded fish. The hot air gets the outside of the fish nice and crispy without overcooking the inside," said Polak. 

Air fryers can take gnocchi from gummy to golden.

Dang told Insider that she thinks using an air fryer is one of the best ways to prepare premade, frozen gnocchi.

"The first time I tried frozen cauliflower gnocchi, I didn't get the appeal — I just wound up with a gummy mess," she said. "But when I tried them again in the air fryer, they came out golden and crispy." 

Personal pizzas are just the right size for cooking in this appliance.

Dang said air fryers are ideal for cooking small frozen or homemade pizzas.

"Because an air fryer has a small cavity that doesn't require preheating, it gets the cheese bubbly and the bread toasted much faster than an oven would," she told Insider. 

Dang added that combining naan bread, tomato sauce, and mozzarella makes for a quick and tasty personal pizza that's perfect for cooking in an air fryer. 

You can make sweet and savory baby carrots in an air fryer.

Chef Zach Cummings of Timbers Kauai in Lihue, Hawaii, told Insider that baby carrots are one of his favorite foods to prepare in an air fryer.  

"The intense, focused heat of the air fryer achieves this beautiful caramelization in a fraction of the time it takes to cook baby carrots that way in a traditional oven," said Cummings. 

For perfectly caramelized carrots, Cummings said, coat them in extra-virgin olive oil, toasted fennel seeds, fresh thyme, sea salt, and pepper. Cook them at 375 degrees Fahrenheit for 10 minutes and shake the basket halfway through.

Use the appliance to make your own kale chips.

Since air fryers use extremely hot air to both cook and remove surface moisture from foods, they're actually great for making kale chips.  

Cummings said he recommends tossing kale with coconut oil and sea salt before adding the leaves to your air fryer.

"The air fryer brings out the aroma of the coconut while keeping the kale chips light," he explained. 

Stuffed peppers are an easy and versatile air-fryer dish.

Chelsea Knight, chef at Fable Lounge in Nashville, Tennessee, told Insider that stuffed peppers cook well in an air fryer.

"You can use any kind of filling, from a delicious cream cheese to your favorite meat," said Knight. "I would also suggest wrapping the peppers in bacon."

For a savory, air-fryer party snack, you can also try stuffing smaller peppers with cubes of mozzarella and serving them with a marinara dipping sauce. 

Air-fried zucchini makes for a crispy snack or side dish.

Coating fresh zucchini coins or slices in bread crumbs and popping them in an air fryer makes for a crunchy, plant-based snack.

"Fried zucchini is a healthy side dish that you can dress up with your favorite spices, or keep it simple with just some olive oil, salt, and pepper," said Knight. 

You can make your own potato chips with an air fryer.

The ability to turn thin slices of potatoes into crispy chips is one reason air fryers are popular. But, as Knight pointed out, you don't have to stick to plain spuds for your homemade chips. 

"You can definitely use regular white potatoes, but you can also substitute sweet potatoes," said Knight. 

For best results, it's a wise idea to coat your potato slices with a touch of olive or vegetable oil before placing them in the air fryer. 

It's possible to cook crunchy chicken wings in an air fryer.

Chicken wings are sometimes battered and cooked in oil, which can make them high-calorie and greasy. If you're looking for a lighter alternative, Knight said, try air-frying your wings instead. 

"Chicken wings are great to cook in an air fryer as a snack or a whole meal," Knight told Insider. "Air-frying means that you still get crispy wings without the added calories of deep-frying."

Looking to get an air fryer of your own? We test and recommend the best air fryers:

• Best air fryer overall: Philips Premium Digital Airfryer - See at Amazon and Williams Sonoma
• Best air fryer on a budget: Dash Compact Air Fryer - See at Target and Amazon
• Best multitasking air fryer: Instant Pot Duo Crisp + Air Fryer - See at Walmart and Amazon

Read More:

7 things you should cook in an air fryer and 7 things you shouldn't

9 mistakes you're making when using your air fryer

10 things you didn't know you could make in an air fryer

10 of the best air fryer recipes you should know

10 of the best air fryer tips and tricks to follow, according to chefs

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Deep fryers not only for fast food

In previous issues we have looked at the features and benefits of steaming and frying food. Separately, it is worth stopping at deep-frying. It is the dishes prepared in this way that are especially popular with visitors to catering establishments: all chefs note that in Russia they love the crust!

What can be deep-fried

First of all, such dishes are prepared, of course, in fast food establishments - such as, for example, McDonald's or ROSTIK'C kfc: deep-fried potatoes and chicken have become real lifelines for these restaurants during the economic downturn . Dishes prepared with a deep fryer are also popular in beer restaurants and pubs. However, it is difficult to do without a deep fryer in any kitchen: due to this type of equipment, the chef can easily expand the menu of his establishment.

Friture is a French word for a deep layer of vegetable or animal fat in which culinary products are fried.

You can cook a variety of dishes in deep fat: meat, fish, vegetables. Of course, french fries are very popular - children especially love them. Restaurants often offer fried onion rings, squid or shrimp, and bread toast as snacks. In oil, you can also cook pieces of fish or meat, after dipping them in batter. But these pieces should not be large. Such dishes are very common in Japanese restaurants - in fact, they take up about 30 percent of all orders.

- The specificity of Japanese cuisine involves the serving of deep-fried tempura fruits (for example, bananas), - says Elena Li , the chef of the cafe-bar "O'SUSHI!". Tempura is a flour made from wheat, rice and starch. The batter from it gives the dish splendor, so it is suitable for deep-frying. Also, Japanese cuisine is characterized by the serving of hot ice cream, which is generally impossible to do without a deep fryer: it is hot on top, and inside it is unmelted, cold. All these dishes are in demand by guests: for some, they are still a novelty, while others, on the contrary, have already recognized and loved them.

William Pokhlebkin, in one of his famous cookery books, talks about the technology of cooking, which was common in Rus' in the 7th-8th centuries. It was called spinning - frying in hot oil. The prepared product was placed in a tall frying pan with melted fat and placed in the oven, where it was “spun”. It was in this way that, for example, Kolobok was prepared. In fact, yarn is the prototype of deep-fried cooking.

Deep-fried ham can be prepared, for example: if you dip a thin slice of this product into boiling oil for a few seconds, it takes the shape of a flower.

Finally, many dough products are prepared in deep fat: pies, chebureks, donuts, doughnuts. True, for the production of the latter, instead of a deep fryer, convenient donut machines are increasingly being used. The main "trick" of such establishments is the preparation of donuts in front of the client. For the preparation of pasties, as experts advise, it is necessary to take deep fryers with a wide frying capacity - they are more productive and it is in such containers that it is most convenient to turn products over.

Which products to choose

For deep-frying, only high-quality products suitable for this type of frying should be selected. For example, to get high-quality french fries, varieties are selected that are high in starch.

As far as oil is concerned, preference is still given to sunflower oil. It must be refined and deodorized (odors removed). Olive oil is not suitable for deep-frying. Rapeseed oil is also not recommended. But not so long ago they began to use palm oil. It has a very good property - it has a high smoke point, namely 210C (sunflower - 180-190C). Along with the product itself, oil is an important component on which the taste of the cooked dish depends. It needs to be changed in time. The moment of changing the oil can be determined by its color.

How to solve the power consumption problem

If the restaurant kitchen is not connected to gas, then it is not always possible to purchase a large professional deep fryer here because of its rather high energy consumption. In this case, you can buy, for example, two small ones. This is exactly what they did in the cafe-bar "O'SUSHI!", which was equipped by the company "Torgovy Design". Two professional Jeju fryers manufactured by the Taiwanese company KARMA GLOBAL LTD, model JF-08, were located here.

- We chose this particular model because it combines low oil consumption and low power consumption, explains Elena Li. “In addition, we need two deep fryers for separate preparation of snacks and desserts.

To select the optimal model for the needs of a particular establishment, it is better for a chef to contact specialists.

Ekaterina Khomutova, manager-technologist of the technological department of the Torgovy Design company, says that deep fryers are divided into desktop and stationary.

- Table-top deep fryers are compact and have a small volume - from 3 to 8 liters, says Ekaterina. - They are 1-capacitive and 2-capacitive. For ease of use, some tabletop fryers have an oil drain valve. Stationary deep fryers have large dimensions and a large displacement - 11-14 liters. They also come in 1 or 2 containers. All stationary fryers have an oil drain valve. Important criteria when choosing this piece of equipment are the availability of sufficient space and the required power - usually the client is limited in this. If a restaurant needs a large fryer, but cannot afford it, then a large-capacity table fryer with two containers is the way out.

Each fryer comes with a basket. Additional deep-frying baskets are rarely purchased when purchasing an air fryer. The mesh of the basket does not burn through, as it has a fairly thick weave. The period of use of oil is increased due to the presence of a “cold zone” in deep fryers, which every high-quality imported deep fryer has. If the dish is not given to the client immediately after cooking and it should be kept hot (for example, the distribution line option), then the installation of food warmers or heat showcases is envisaged.

Our company offers a wide range of fryers. The warehouse program includes both domestic and imported equipment. From the imported line, we can offer fryers from such companies as ROLLER GRILL (France), ACOPA, BECKERS, EKSI (Italy), JEJU (Taiwan). Under these brands, table-top fryers are mainly represented. A number of companies, such as FAGOR (Spain), GARLAND (Canada), KOVINASTROY (Slovenia), TECNOINOX and ZANUSSI (Italy), are engaged in modular equipment, so their deep fryers are more often placed in heating lines. Roller Grill fryers up to 10 liters in volume, as well as Kovinastroy and Eksi, are in the greatest demand.

Yulia Yunina, manager of Professional Kitchen Systems, explains that our restaurateurs are more in demand for table-top fryers.

- Stationary deep fryers are good for large establishments where there is a lot of traffic, Yulia clarifies. - In addition, deep fryers are electric and gas. It is no longer a rarity in our market and deep fryers with pressure inside the chambers - they have the best degree and speed of frying, and they are usually used in fast food establishments. When purchasing a deep fryer, the cook needs to remember about its weak points and stock up on accessories - it is advisable to have a heating element and a frying basket in stock. However, our customers have almost no such problems, because these components are always in stock.

Deep frying can also be carried out in such specialized equipment as chebureks and donut machines. But you need to keep in mind that they are designed for cooking dishes of the same name and differ in the location of heating elements, temperature, shape and size of the basket. Such equipment is in demand in restaurants and cafes with an increased demand for these products.

We have been working with deep-frying equipment for a long time, we have our own service department and have already been able to evaluate the functionality and quality of products from many manufacturers. Today we recommend to our clients the equipment of the Italian firms MODULAR and FIMAR. In our opinion, it has the best value for money.

Published in the journal Restaurant-Audit No. 5 of 2009

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