Air fryer bacon

[iveofione]

I tried this today and I won't ever be going back to a frying pan. No grease spattered over the stove or in the oven and the strips come out flat. You can dial in any amount of doneness you like from limp to crisp and really easy cleanup. I'm using 350 for a temp, keep the temp under about 360 as bacon grease will start to smoke above that. Too easy!

 

[Brian in OR.]

I’ve been using the crap out of our air fryer and I cook a lot of bacon but never thought of using it thanks for the tip

 

[Jim F.]

I'm going to have to try an air fryer.

 

[Mumbles]

Thanks Ive!

 

[Buzzy]

Ive - I've resisted buying an air fryer because countertop space is so limited (as is cabinet space). We recently replaced out toaster, the replacement unit has an air fryer setting which I have used only once for sliced russet spuds. They were great but cleanup was somewhat tedious. Please share what air fryer you're using.

Thanks/Pat

 

[Nick Clayton]

We've used our air fryer for bacon here and there, while it always came out perfectly fine, it wasn't quite the same for me and will never replace the tried and true frying pan method for me. At least as far as the pure joy of eating bacon goes.

Now breakfast sausage links on the other hand I absolutely love in the air fryer. So quick and easy, and I love the final product. They're not as....heavy in the grease/fried tasting department I guess I'd say. I dunno. I'm not great at describing flavors lol.

Only had our air fryer for a year and half, but its easily one of the best kitchen investments I've ever made. Hell, Brussel sprouts in the air fryer alone are worth the price of admission to me!

We also have a fancy toaster oven thing that has an air fryer setting. It works ok, but it's definitely NOT the same as the stand alone air fryer.

 

[iveofione]

Pat, I am on my 3rd air fryer by now. It is a Cosori model and I am quite pleased with it. It was available in white so I bought that as a relief to the gloomy black appliances that dominate kitchens these days. The previous 2 were a round shape and that didn't work near as well as the square configuration of the Cosori. There is a reason that 99% of the boxes delivered by UPS are rectilinear! Something like bacon doesn't fit very well in a round basket and for reheating pizzza air frying is the bomb since it doesn't make mush of it like the microwave does. The Cosori holds 4 slices for reheating, the round ones couldn't do that. It has digital controls rather than analog and the presets are reasonably accurate although some experimenting is necessary to dial them in.

Nick, I'll agree that air fried bacon is not the same as pan fried-it is a lot less greasy and that is a plus to me. At 83 I still weigh within 8# of what I weighed when I graduated from high school in 1955, I don't want that to change! Cholesterol has never been an issue and anything I can do to fend it off I will do.

As a guy living alone the air fryer is just invaluable, it is hard now to imagine life without it. And much the same can be said about the induction plate, Iwatani butane stove and the InstantPot. I hate the glass top stove so much that I covered it with Formica that matches the countertops and keep the induction plate and Iwatani on top for things that need a burner. Induction is fast, mine will boil a cup of water in 52 seconds and the Iwatani is both fast and very hot at about 12,000 btu's. Both are vastly superior to the stovetop.

While we are talking appliances I'll put in a plug for the inverter microwave. Inverter technology is giant improvement in microwaves and I can't understand why they are not all inverter models. The main difference that I see is that to cook or reheat something in a conventional microwave at a lower power-for instance 50%-the oven cooks at 100% power 50% of the time whereas the inverter will cook at 50% power the entire time. There are 10 levels of power which make it possible to thaw frozen stuff slowly and evenly with no over cooked edges. Your next microwave should be an inverter!

 

[Nick Clayton]

Pat, I am on my 3rd air fryer by now. It is a Cosori model and I am quite pleased with it. It was available in white so I bought that as a relief to the gloomy black appliances that dominate kitchens these days. The previous 2 were a round shape and that didn't work near as well as the square configuration of the Cosori. There is a reason that 99% of the boxes delivered by UPS are rectilinear! Something like bacon doesn't fit very well in a round basket and for reheating pizzza air frying is the bomb since it doesn't make mush of it like the microwave does. The Cosori holds 4 slices for reheating, the round ones couldn't do that. It has digital controls rather than analog and the presets are reasonably accurate although some experimenting is necessary to dial them in.

Nick, I'll agree that air fried bacon is not the same as pan fried-it is a lot less greasy and that is a plus to me. At 83 I still weigh within 8# of what I weighed when I graduated from high school in 1955, I don't want that to change! Cholesterol has never been an issue and anything I can do to fend it off I will do.

As a guy living alone the air fryer is just invaluable, it is hard now to imagine life without it. And much the same can be said about the induction plate, Iwatani butane stove and the InstantPot. I hate the glass top stove so much that I covered it with Formica that matches the countertops and keep the induction plate and Iwatani on top for things that need a burner. Induction is fast, mine will boil a cup of water in 52 seconds and the Iwatani is both fast and very hot at about 12,000 btu's. Both are vastly superior to the stovetop.

While we are talking appliances I'll put in a plug for the inverter microwave. Inverter technology is giant improvement in microwaves and I can't understand why they are not all inverter models. The main difference that I see is that to cook or reheat something in a conventional microwave at a lower power-for instance 50%-the oven cooks at 100% power 50% of the time whereas the inverter will cook at 50% power the entire time. There are 10 levels of power which make it possible to thaw frozen stuff slowly and evenly with no over cooked edges. Your next microwave should be an inverter!

Ya the lack of grease is a big part of why I love sausage links in the air fryer so much, so I totally get it.

And I'm totally with you on the glass top stove. I hate ours with a passion. We are due for a new model, and my wife still insists on the glass top. Unfortunately when she had this house built, before we started dating, she had ultra high counter tops installed. That limits our choices on ranges that will fit level. The price of those that will fit is astronomical so we are trying to stretch the life of this one as much as we can. But really we don't use it much at all anymore. Between the air fryer, the fancy toaster oven thing she picked up, crock pot and BBQ, we don't use the range for any of our cooking anymore really. I use it to boil water for my coffee, and other than a few other things the oven sits pretty much unused.

When I move to Westport for the season I go right back to bachelor life. Last year I brought a cheapo air fryer that the casino gave my wife and my God that thing was a God send. There's just so much that can be done in those things and without fail they're all super simple, and most importantly for me down there, quick. I can't imagine life without one at this point!

 

[Wareagle]

My wife likes air fry bacon, but I still love cooking my eggs in the bacon fat.

 

[Salmo_g]

My wife likes air fry bacon, but I still love cooking my eggs in the bacon fat.

Good point! I don't eat fried eggs unless they're fried in bacon fat. Almost had me ready to go buy an air fryer for a moment.

 

[iveofione]

It sounds like you guys have little interest in a healthy diet but should you decide it might be worth it to live a little longer you might try cooking your eggs with ghee rather than bacon grease. Ghee has a higher smoke point than bacon grease and it's smoke point is over 100 degrees higher than butter. It is simply butter with the milk solids removed-the stuff that always turns brown when overheated. With nothing to go rancid it doesn't require refrigeration either.

I'll buy that bacon grease taste damned good! A guilty pleasure as it were. Strain through a coffee filter to remove any solids that tend to spoil then keep it in the fridge for freshness. Use sparingly.

 

[SurfnFish]

make our bacon in a cast iron pan in the gas bbq outside, comes out perfect.

 

[Driftless Dan]

My son, who still lives at home, got an air fryer for Christmas. I estimate that we've used that air fryer every day since was removed from the box. My son's company says that he will soon have to go to his office a couple times a week, so since that office is in Cincinnati, he is moving there soon.

I guess we will have to buy another one for ourselves.

Another Christmas present that I was not sure we needed but have loved it since we got it is a bread proofer. We use it not only for bread, but also making yogurt and some sort of alcoholic rice gruel that my Chinese wife loves. She calls it Rice Wine, but it doesn't look like that to me. Anyway, it's been so popular that she is thinking about actually selling jars of it to her friends and acquaintances.

 

[TicTokCroc]

Technically a convection oven is just a big air fryer... So I had to cook up some bacon at work today.

 

[Jerry Daschofsky]

I've been a firm believer in eat what you want. I go by my Dad's theory. Life is a train station where you already have your destination. When your train gets there is when the ticket says. Nothing you can do to change it.

After seeing what happened with my 2 grandfather's and my Dad I'll say he was right.

Mom's dad ate healthy. Smoked occasional cigar and the occasional whiskey while in the field. Died of a massive coronary at 65. Dad's dad ate farmers breakfasts his whole life. Smoked unfiltered cigarettes for over 70 years. Died of post surgery complications at 98. He was youngest of 13 kids and had 4, yes FOUR, siblings drive themselves from Nebraska for his funeral. I think Gus was oldest at time and he was 110.

My Dad and his cancer. He lost 100 pounds and got in really good shape after his first round of cancer. Doctor suggested it because he would most likely be dead in 7 years if he didn't. Got cancer 2 more times. Died exactly 7 years to the day the doctor said that to him.

 

[Jerry Daschofsky]

I should add. I was given an air fryer. I have so many cooking appliances it's still new in the box 2 years later.

 

[Roper]

I got one of those egg shaped ones and saw the mistake right away. I’ll gift it to someone…

 

[bennysbuddy]

I got one of those egg shaped ones and saw the mistake right away. I’ll gift it to someone…

I use mine a whole bunch it’s a ninja brand & I love it

 

[bennysbuddy]

It sounds like you guys have little interest in a healthy diet but should you decide it might be worth it to live a little longer you might try cooking your eggs with ghee rather than bacon grease. Ghee has a higher smoke point than bacon grease and it's smoke point is over 100 degrees higher than butter. It is simply butter with the milk solids removed-the stuff that always turns brown when overheated. With nothing to go rancid it doesn't require refrigeration either.

I'll buy that bacon grease taste damned good! A guilty pleasure as it were. Strain through a coffee filter to remove any solids that tend to spoil then keep it in the fridge for freshness. Use sparingly.

What’s your opinion on coconut oil ?

 

[gKris]

Great thread. I am out a bread toaster at the moment so I was looking to upgrade my life to a fancy toaster convection oven but reading this thread has me exploring an air fryer.

Do you guys use the air fryer more than you would a toaster oven? Counterspace unfortunately limits me only having one. Thanks!