“Hey babe, what do you want for dinner?”
In our house it’s Luis Cooks (as opposed to Andy, or Paco, as the photos might suggest!), so when it comes to the kitchen—and all the gadgets we have littering the countertop—it’s his domain. Having invested in the Ninja Foodi 8-in-1 Flip Mini Oven about a year ago, and seeing just how often we used it (and how much its saved us energy-bill-wise by forgoing use of the larger, electricity-sucking, main oven), Luis had been keen on adding a stand-alone air fryer into the mix as well.
Since we’d been getting on so well with our existing Ninja appliance we decided to opt for the Foodi Dual Zone 7.6L Air Fryer and, since receiving it a few weeks ago, I don’t think there’s a day it hasn’t been in use.
Why we switched to an air fryer
I think a lot of people are overly sceptical of air fryers—especially since they became such a cult-buy during the multiple pandemic lockdowns—but honestly I wouldn’t hesitate to recommend buying one now. Anything that makes life quicker and easier when it comes to cooking—and cleaning up afterwards—is a winner in my book.
- Simple and easy to program. With two large independent cooking zones you can cook two different foods with different temperatures, times and settings in each—and have both ready to serve at exactly the same time using the ‘sync’ feature. This might sound like it would be difficult to figure out, but I managed to configure both drawers the first time round without looking at the instruction manual. The controls are clearly labelled and reasonably intuitive.
- Starts cooking straight away, which means no more waiting around for an oven to preheat. In practice, most dishes seem to cook significantly faster than they would in a standard fan oven.
- Reduces electricity bills as a result. We’d tracked our main oven on our smart meter before making the switch to a Ninja countertop oven last year, and the air fryer seems just as economical.
- It’s genuinely easy to clean. Slide out the drawers and internal trays and wash them in soapy water (or put them in the dishwasher). Far less grim than scrubbing down the inside of an oven—especially relevant if you’re renting and inherited someone else’s encrusted grease.
Crispy Air Fry Chicken Burgers
Ingredients:
- 2x chicken breasts, butterflied and cut in half
- Plain flour
- 2x eggs
- Panko breadcrumbs
- Garlic powder (1tsp)
- Cayenne (1tsp)
- Paprika (1tsp)
- Salt
- Black pepper
- 2 x burger buns (we used brioche)
- Desired condiments & garnishes
Utensils:
- Ninja Foodi Dual Zone Air Fryer* (or similar)
- 3 wide, shallow dishes
- 1 large plate, for resting chicken
- Spoon
- Tongs
- Cling film
Method:
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Take your 3 wide, shallow dishes – place the plain flour into one of them, crack the 2 eggs into the second and whisk, and add the panko breadcrumbs into the third dish. Season the flour with the spices (you can adjust to suit your own taste requirements), add a generous pinch of salt and black pepper and gently combine using a spoon.
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Using tongs, dip each butterflied chicken breast into the seasoned flour, then the egg, and then the breadcrumbs, turning several times to ensure they’re fully coated.
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Rest the coated chicken breasts on a large plate, cover with cling film and place in the fridge for at least 10 minutes, but ideally for 1-2 hours. This will help the coating to adhere.
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Once rested, use tongs to place the coated chicken breasts into the drawer compartment of your air fryer.
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Program using Air Fry mode for 15 minutes at 200°c. Press start.
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After 10 minutes, remove the drawer (the program will automatically stop) and turn the chicken breast to encourage even browning.
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Once the 15-minute program has ended start a new program using Max Crisp for 5 minutes (default, 240°c)*
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Et voìla. Assemble your cooked chicken breasts atop a toasted brioche bun, adding condiments and garnish as desired. I love mine with sriracha mayo, pickles and a good dollop of coleslaw. Serve with sweet potatoes fries on the side (these can be cooked alongside the chicken in the second drawer; just sync your programs so they finish cooking at the same time)
*nb. this method refers to the Ninja Foodi Dual Zone Air Fryer. Other air fryers may have different functions/require adjusted cooking times.
Given this was our first attempt using the air fryer, fresh out of the box (after washing the drawers first, of course!) I was so happy with how both the burgers and fries turned out. The chicken was deliciously tender with a nice even crispy coating and the sweet potato fries (frozen, out of a bag – sorry) were perfectly cooked throughout with minimal charring. I think the key to both was using the Air Fry mode (at 200°c) to cook through thoroughly first, then perfecting the crispiness with a 5-minute blast using the Max Crisp program. All in all, we were both thoroughly impressed and devoured our meals in minutes (mainly because we spent so much time documenting the process it was gone 3pm by the time we sat down to tuck in).
