Air fryers are a versatile kitchen appliance that can cook anything, from proteins like chicken to superfoods like zucchini, and even desserts like jelly donuts. They can air fry, roast, crisp, broil, dehydrate, bake, and reheat foods in a jiffy. Typically, there are two types of air fryers: basket air fryers and air fryer ovens. At JCPenney, we carry all the different styles of air fryers from top brands like Cooks, Ninja, and Hamilton Beach. These countertop appliances are easy to use, and once you get the hang of how to use air fryers, you’ll be hooked!
What Can You Cook in an Air Fryer?
Though air fryers can be used to cook everything, they are especially suited for cooking foods that you would prefer to be crispy and crunchy, such as French fries, sweet potatoes, and fried chicken. You can also use it to cook juicy and flavorful chicken and steak or scrumptious stir vegetables like zucchini, green beans, broccoli, etc.
How Does an Air Fryer Cook Your Food?
Every air fryer features a heating element and a fan. While the heating element radiates heat, the fan circulates hot air around the food in the air fryer basket. This hot air circulation lets you cook with significantly less oil than you might on the stovetop or in the oven. In addition to the extra crunch, air fryers also give foods a nice brown color and a delicious flavor.
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What are Some of the Best Air Fryers?
There are so many air fryers at JCPenney, that it can be hard to know which air fryer is best for you. After lots of research, we have listed our top three favorites.
Cooks 2.7-Quartz Digital Air Fryer
The powerful Cooks 2.7-Quartz Digital Air Fryer lets you fry, bake, broil, roast, and reheat food with its 1000-watt heating system. It allows temperature adjustment from 175 to 400°F and has a 60-minute auto-shutoff timer with an audible tone.
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What we love the most:
- A 1000-watt heating system to deliver fast, crispy, and evenly cooked food.
- Features a PFOA-free nonstick pan and crisping tray.
- No preheat is required as it preheats up to 50 percent faster than a conventional oven.
- Easy clean-up as its removable parts are dishwasher safe.
Ninja Foodi 6-in-1 8 Quart 2-Basket Air Fryer with DualZone Technology
Since the Ninja Foodi 6-in-1, 8 Quart Air Fryer is designed with two independent baskets, you can cook two foods at once. It has 6 programmable cooking functions that work in each zone – air fry, air boil, roast, bake, reheat, and dehydrate.
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What we love the most:
- Two baskets let you cook two foods.
- Each independent cooking zone has its own heater and fan.
- DualZone Technology uses Smart Finish and Match Cook.
- Also included are 15 chef-inspired recipes and additional meal options and cooking charts.
Kalorik 26-Quart Digital MAXX Air Fryer Oven
The Kalorik 26-Quart Digital MAXX Air Fryer Oven reaches up to 500°F to help you sear meat and vegetables to caramelized perfection. It uses special Turbo MAXX technology to cook food fast, and upper and lower heating elements for even heat distribution for perfectly cooked results. You can utilize it as an air fryer, roaster, broiler, grill, rotisserie, dehydrator, oven, toaster, pizza oven, and warmer.
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What we love the most:
- Utilizes special Turbo MAXX technology to cook food quickly.
- Upper and lower heating elements provide even heat distribution.
- Optimized airflow system and high-performance turbo fan for maximum circulation to achieve crispy texture and rich flavor of deep-fried food, with little to no oil.
- Built-in auto-shutoff safety feature that automatically stops operation when doors are open.
- The easy-to-use digital LED display contains 21 presets for foolproof cooking.
How to Use an Air Fryer?
- Place food in a single layer in the air fryer basket. Do not stack or layer, instead cook in batches. Overcrowding will prevent your food to get extra crispy and may lead to uneven cooking.
- Your air fryer manual will include recommended temperatures for different foods. Likewise, you can follow recipes from trusted sources. Below we have listed two of our favorite air fryer recipes for beginners.
- You can pull the basket out during the cooking cycle to check on the progress of your food.
- When you pull out the tray to check on the food, you can also shake or flip the food. Doing so for small food pieces, like Brussels sprouts, sausages, or potato wedges, promotes even cooking and browning.
- To get dry foods crunchy and crispy, pat them dry with a clean kitchen towel or paper towel before adding oil and seasonings, and only then place them in the air fryer.
- Almost all air fryers have preset programs with cook times and temperatures for common foods. Rather than the presets, you can also use the manual air fry function to set the cook time and temperature yourself.
How to Clean an Air Fryer?
Since most air fryers have a nonstick coating, cleaning them up is easy. And some air fryers have dishwasher-safe parts, so cleaning is never an issue with such appliances. You can even handwash the removable parts of the air fryer in warm, soapy water with a non-abrasive cloth or sponge. Wipe the surface of the air fryer base unit a clean with a soft, damp cloth.
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Expert Tip: Put aluminum foil or parchment paper in an air fryer to make cleaning up easier. You can also use perforated parchment paper designed for air fryer use. The perforation allows air to flow through when cooking. However, do not run the air fryer with foil or parchment paper in it without food on top, as the paper may lift and touch the heating element.
What are the Best Air Fryer Recipes for Beginners?
We’ve got two amazing recipes for you to try this weekend. In addition to air fryers, we even carry all the kitchen tools you will need to prep and serve these dishes.
Boneless Chicken Thighs
A quick and healthy recipe to enjoy with your family at the dinner table.
INGREDIENTS
6 boneless skinless chicken thighs
1 teaspoon smoked paprika
1 teaspoon garlic powder
½ teaspoon oregano
½ teaspoon salt
¼ teaspoon black pepper
INSTRUCTIONS
Step 1: Combine all the seasonings in a mixing bowl (except the boneless skinless chicken thighs) to create a spice blend.
Step 2: Pat chicken thighs dry with a paper towel and place them in the spice blend bowl.
Step 3: Cover the bowl with cling film and let the chicken marinate for 30 minutes to 24 hours in the refrigerator. If you are in a pinch with time, then let it sit for at least 10 minutes.
Step 4: Place the marinated chicken thighs in the air fryer at 400°F / 200°C for 20 minutes (flipping halfway through). It is fully cooked when the instant-read meat thermometer reads 165°F / 74°C when inserted into the thickest part of the chicken.
Step 5: Let the chicken rest for a minute or two and serve on a platter.
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Chocolate Banana Muffins
The perfect conclusion to a cheat day.
INGREDIENTS
About 3 ripe bananas
1 cup all-purpose flour
¾ to 1 cup chocolate chips
6 tablespoons unsalted, melted butter
1 large egg
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
½ cup cocoa powder
¾ cup dark brown sugar
1 teaspoon cinnamon powder
INSTRUCTIONS
Step 1: Mash bananas in a bowl and add the other ingredients.
Step 2: Give it a good mix with a whisk.
Step 3: Scoop the batter into silicone muffin cups and bake at 330°F in a non-preheated air fryer for over 14 minutes (till the toothpick comes out clean). If you have preheated the air fryer, it will cook faster by a couple of minutes.
Step 4: Let the muffins rest on a cooling rack for a couple of minutes. Then serve as a dessert.
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If you have more questions about air fryers before buying one, let us know by tagging #AllAtJCP and we will answer them. Also, follow us on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram to see if you are featured.
