A friend was interested in hearing my thoughts on this Air Fryer I recently purchased and started using. Well, I saved them up while making different things and until I decided if I was keeping it or not. I’m keeping it.
My first unit was defective, cooked good at first but then not. The first time I used it it smelled. I attributed that to something new heating up off gassing what ever. Had that happen with things in the past. But then when it appeared not to be heating and cooking properly after a week I got fed up with it. I grabbed it and went back to Bed Bath & Beyond and swapped it out. When I started using the replacement and there was no startup smell I realized that smell with the first one was the unit frying itself.
When I first started to suspect the fryer was defective I emailed Tristar support explaining what it was doing and asked if it was operating properly. Basically it was set to 400°F and after cooking a half hour a thermometer I had in it barely got up to 200°F. And it’s a high end accurate thermometer.
I waited 3 days for a response and then they did not address my concerns nor answer my questions. They asked me where I bought it and nothing more. WTF? So I answered and asked what that has to do with what I asked? Waited another 2 days and they replied to take it back to the store for a refund or replacement. They never addressed my question if it was operating properly or not. So again I asked them based on what I told them if it was operating properly or not? Waited another day and this time they started talking about recipes and such… Again WTF? So again I asked them to re-read my questions and tell me if the unit is operating properly or not. Waited another day and they tell that I can raise or lower the temperature by 5°F increments. That’s not what I asked. So again I asked if the unit is operating properly or not. Finally, finally, on the 8th day and 10 emails later they tell me no, based on what I described it is not operating as it should.
Bottom line: There definitely seemed to be some language barrier issue. It did not appear they understood what I was asking. Over and over again and again. So don’t expected much from their support and you won’t be disappointed. I was very, very disappointed and frustrated with the whole experience. I have the email transcript to backup what I outlined.
But, after that extremely frustrating experience I’ve really come to like the Air Fryer. It has a basket that rotates on the rotisserie that for one, is perfect for making french fries. They come out great. It also has 3 shelves with adjustable heights.
So far…
I made brats on the rotisserie, came out good.
Rack of lamb on the rotisserie, oh my God was that good!
Pork Butt (shoulder) on the rotisserie, something I haven’t had since my Mom & Dad made it on the Faberware rotisserie, it was as good as I remember it.
Buffalo wings from scratch, I’ll be doing that a lot.
A rotisserie chicken, as good as any I’ve had and took only 40 minutes.
An apple pie. From scratch. OMG delicious!
A grilled cheese sandwich, bread buttered inside and out, that too, delicious!
Frozen pizza’s, Screamin’ Sicilian & Lotzza Motzza, easy peasy, they taste great. But one caveat they cook fast. The Lotzza Motzza said 21-23 minutes @ 400F, it was done in 10. This has occurred with every single pizza I made so far. I’ve learned you really need to watch them.
Breakfast pizzas, with eggs and such, Red Barron and others. Fast and tastee.
The fryer I have is the Power Air Fryer Oven. What sold me on it was it’s versatility. The rotisserie basket, the rotisserie with end forks, the rotisserie with the 10 or 12 shish-kabob like skewers, and the 3 shelves. As opposed to other air fryers that just have a basket you put stuff in and slide it in. Below is the link for BB&B and with a 20% off coupon you can get it for $128, Which is on the low end of the range of $99 to $299 for decent (reputable) ones.
Also, do a search on YouTube for “Power Air Fryer Oven” and you can see all that it can do. As for the epic fried chicken fail video. If you read the comments, one thing that needs to be done on homemade breaded chicken is to spray the breaded chicken with oil. I didn’t the first time and that happened to me, the second time I sprayed using olive oil Pam and it worked great.