In my recent obsession with the Instant Pot I've been hearing a lot of good things about air fryers. When we found one a few nights ago at the store we picked it up for about 1400 pesos and it's been an interesting purchase. From what I can tell it's a heating element with fans to make what I can only deem as the adult easy bake oven. I made these loaded potatoes in it to really test its capabilities and was fairly impressed.
It was this recipe that helped me determine the range of it's functions. Sure, it can fry stuff with very little oil, but it can also bake potatoes and other things so long as they fit in the basket. I've got a two liter version myself, although most enthusiasts will tell you to get a bigger size. From what I can tell there are no brands to stay away from so far, so my Black and Decker version has been working nicely for me.
Here's a shot of my fryer, it's pretty simple as far as controls are concerned. You get temperature controls and time controls.
So I realistically started by lightly coating potatoes in oil and cooking them in the fryer for 40 minutes for super firm Mexican potatoes, although it'd probably only take 20-30 minutes for just about any American variety. They come out soft and crispy. Cut them in half and spoon out the insides. Season to taste with salt, pepper and garlic powder.
Fill the bottom of each potato cup with a little cheese. I used colby jack but cheddar would work well too.
Add butter, bacon and shredded cheese to the potatoes and stir to combine. Fill the cups and set them in the air fryer basket. Add cheese on top and put in the airfryer for 17 minutes to account for the heatup.
I've made this recipe and variations of it for years in the oven and honestly, these tasted like they were made in the oven. They even look like it and I could probably make them in the fryer and tell people they were made in the oven and they wouldn't notice. I've been looking into it and this is one appliance that can be used for all sorts of things, including desserts.
Check out some of my other recent posts!
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