Merry Christmas/Boxing Day! Any New Kitchen Toys?
 

Merry Christmas to me. I was planning on getting an air fryer, even though I have no space and would have to boot something else out of one of my cabinets. (Probably the cat food.) Lo and behold - and I'm a little slow on this - Instant Pot came out with air fryer lids for your pre-existing IP. This is cheaper than a decent fryer and will probably take up less space.

I'm looking forward to:
- pressure-cooking a chicken, then swapping the lids to crisp the skin rather than put it under the broiler.
- wings that don't take 2 hours in the oven (the baking powder method)
- sweet potato fries that might actually crisp

Did Santa bring you any kitchen toys or foods?

Not this year, but I do love my air fryer. Makes wonderful salmon, wings, chicken, loads of stuff!

I was sold on it when I realized it was basically like a mini version of the convection ovens we have at work. Everything cooks more quickly than it would in a household oven, and products that are supposed to be crispy are. I'm hoping to save on energy over running the oven, too.

My Instant Pot lid was a bust, though. I'm a little annoyed. They only make the lid for the 6-quart models. My model wasn't listed as one of the ones it would fit, because it turns out according to the label on the back, my model is an 8-quart. But... the inside of the pot is clearly labeled 6L. That's 6 qt. I emailed them to clarify, and although they explained that it's an issue with a difference in the sensors, they didn't explain how the heck they get 8 qt out of 6. :lol: :confused: There's no way in heck you could fit 8 qt of anything in that pot.

...so I'm trying a different company's model that got good reviews. Fingers crossed.

Any recommendations on a smallish air fryer model? Are they hard to clean?

I bought into the Insta-pot craze a few years ago. For me it was a waste of money and counter space. I only used it a few times, finally donating it to Goodwill this past fall. The air fryer that we bought last Christmas was a winner, though. We bought one that is the size and shape of an average toaster-oven. We use our main oven rarely now and considering that the air fryer gets used almost everyday it hasn't been too much of a pain to keep clean.

I hardly ever use more than one burner at a time since I cook simply and only for myself. I live in a rental apartment with an old crummy electric stove that I have never liked. I recently bought a Cuisinart electric hot plate and something called a noodle board, a tray that fits over the electric stove top and covers the burners creating more counter space. The hot plate works much better than the burners on the stove and I like having more counter space. Probably not what most people are looking to do but it works really well for me.

Just a warning. My friend's quartz countertop cracked due to his air fryer. I'm using mine on top of the range now. Maybe I'll get a large cutting board to set it on. Also, I've heard of Instant Pots doing that too.

Oh my, Nancy. I've been using my IP on the counter, but it's just an Ikea laminate (?) countertop. Maybe the solution is Jean's noodle board, which I had never heard of before. Then the IP would fit on my range. I googled some pictures and they look really nice! I also have very little counter space, and I'm constantly piling things on top of the range while I'm cooking and it gets dirty/crumby, so now I want one. Heh.

Reading Nancy's cautionary note, I checked my own IP as there's a batch of bone broth underway right now. Moved the pot aside and felt the counter top .. barely warm. Granted, the sides are hot, but not so hot I couldn't briefly touch with my bare hand. There are 4 "feet" on the bottom leaving a bit of space between the base of the pot and whatever surface it's on .. and I always ensure plenty of space around the pot while it's working. Mine is an actual Instant Pot; maybe there's a design issue with other brands like Ninja or Presto??

I *love* my IP .. use it at least once or twice a week, usually more. My 7+ yr old one died last summer and I quickly realized purchasing a new one was not optional!!

Like others have mentioned, space is an issue in my kitchen .. both countertop and also storage. The slow cooker and steamer functions of my 6qt IP work very well, so I've been able to get rid of those separate appliances, freeing up a lot of storage space. I recently bought the vented glass lid specifically for those functions.

Another recent IP accessory I'm loving is the steel mesh steamer basket (this one) .. it stores easily inside the IP, so doesn't take up extra space. Especially love using it to make bone broth .. just throw all the bones and veggie scraps into the basket, insert into the pot then cover with water/liquid and cook as usual. When it's done, simply lift out the basket full of hot yuckola, let it drain, then discard. No more big mess trying to pour scalding hot broth full of debris through a regular strainer over a bowl. Ugghh. Caveat: wash or soak it immediately after use in hot soapy water. Do not .. I repeat .. do NOT let it sit till the debris dries on because it's a b!tch to clean once that happens :o


Happy New Year everyone, and happy cooking in 2023 :wave: :heart:

Jean, most cooking shows I watch use a hotplate, rather than a range style. Hope it works out for you.

IP. We use a lot. Easy to make potatoes for the dogs, and rice for teens. Recently made pulled pork. Love it. In nearly constant use. We have laminate countertops. Might put a wooden cutting board under....

I've resisted the IP and air fryer crazes. And the sous vide. But Santa (aka my debit card) brought me an Anova Oven that is just larger than a toaster oven and: bakes, sous vide's, air fries, dehydrates, convections, broils, toasts, reheats, roasts, defrosts, steams, and proofs. I haven't yet unboxed it because I need counter space!

I adopting a friend's solution to the larger kitchen toys. I am going to rearrange my utility room and keep the larger items that I don't really use every day in there and bring them in for batch cooking. Even if I'm using it on a weekly basis, it does not need to sit on my counter (like my Ninja blender/food processor or my Dash 4-count mini waffle maker).

Oh, Santa ALSO brought me a:

• 5 cubic food deep chest freezer
• 7 quart slow cooker - because my 2.5 quart was just too small for. 5# Boston butt roast that sells for $1.99/#
• Foodsaver vacuum sealer and bag rolls to help me fill the new freezer

I think my kitchen is complete!

Any tips on using an air fryer. I got one a few days ago but have been hesitant to use it!

Hi Jean. I've only tried mine once so far - on a batch of potato wedges. They turned out much better than the oven. :thup: I'd like to try other veggie sides that don't crisp up well in the oven, like sweet potato fries, jicama fries, zucchini patties, etc. Wings will be my next project, and if I invest in some racks, I might see if I can use it to replace my rickety old Walmart dehydrator. Mine isn't the actual fryer, but a lid for my Instant Pot, so it probably works a lot different than yours. Were you just looking for ideas? That's pretty much all I can think of, although there are people who use it for all kind of things.

I was expecting a huge mess, based on my experience at work with our convection ovens, but this cleaned up with just a quick wipe. Even the pot itself didn't need scrubbing.

I was also impressed with how it didn't heat up the kitchen the way I would have expected, so it's obviously pretty energy-efficient. That will be welcome in summer (we don't have A/C.)

Gypsybyrd, nice haul. :thup: You've got me looking up vacuum sealers now. I'm the queen of hoarding and overstocking the freezer. 😏

I've done the same thing, relegating my rarely-used appliances out of the kitchen. I might give away my crock pot, since the IP works as one... and I haven't used it in years. I prefer just about everything that would be slow-cooked to be pressure-cooked now.

Thanks Kristine. Dos/dont's, anything that may be important.