Benefits Of Using Air Fryer
One fact is that air fried foods are still fried. Unless youve decided to eliminate the use of oils in cooking, you must still be cautious about the food you eat. Despite that, it clearly presents a better and healthier option than deep-frying. It helps you avoid unnecessary fats and oils, which makes it an ideal companion when you intend to lose weight. It offers a lot more benefits, which include the following:
It doesnt give off unwanted smells when cooking.
You can use it to prepare a variety of meals.
It can withstand heavy cooking.
It is durable and made of metal and high-grade plastic cup.
Cooking using this appliance is not as messy as frying in a traditional way. You dont have to worry about greasy spills and stains in the kitchen.
This novel technology has made it feasible to fry, roast, steam, bake, or grill any cuisine in one pot easily and without too much effort.
Another chief advantage of this wonderful advanced equipment is only needing to use a small quantity of cooking oil as compared to any other types of fryers.
This device is super easy to clean after using, and it saves a significant amount of time when making food.
Plus, this machine is super beneficial when it comes to health because it can help you prevent several cardiovascular diseases. Because of the tiny amount of oil required to fry, the results will contain less than 80% of Cholesterol than any other normal fryer. The fan and grill allow air to circulate into the fryer and fry the food.
The Specs Of The Sousvideart
The SousVide Art air fryer lid advertises seven different modes and allows you to grill, cook, fry, broil, and bake at ease.
The lid runs at 1000W power, has an IMD touch panel accompanied by an LED display.
You can set the air fryer lid up to 420 degrees Fahrenheit and up to 30 minutes of cook time .
The SousVide Art Air Fryer Lid is compatible with and can be used on the following Instant Pot models:
Instant Pot DUO 60
Whether you have a 6-quart or 8-quart Instant Pot, another electric pressure cooker from different brands, or even any metal pots with a diameter of 8 11/16 or 9 7/16 inch , all you have to do is place this lid on top, and you instantly have an air fryer.
I use the Instant Pot Ultra with the air fryer lid, it is 6 quarts, and you can set your manual times for each setting, and it will remember your last used settings.
Instant Pot Air Fryer Lid Pros & Cons
Pros
- You can use it on several 6 quart Instant Pot
- It has 6 different pre-set programs
- It is easy to use and clean
- You can store it away when not in use
- Its very popular, so you gonna find a wide range of recipes.
Cons
- It is a bit on the heavy side
- That beeping sound can be annoying
- You must handle it with extra care because of the extreme heat
- Does not fit 8-quart pressure cookers
- Does not fit 4-quart or pressure cookers
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I Found It To Be Useless
When I saw this lid, I thought, “What a great idea! I only have to have one appliance instead of two.” That seemed awesome since I don’t have storage space for a second appliance. However, it has a basket and base piece that go inside the regular Instant Pot pot, which is obviously smaller than the regular pot. So, number one, it is a very small cooking space. You can’t cook very much in it. Number two, you have to clean and wash three pieces plus the lid. For the small amount you can cook, it’s not worth the effort. Number three, you have to store the basket and lid which take up plenty of space. I think it’s probably better to get a separate appliance.
Salmon Fillets & Quinoa With Sweetcorn
Time to level it up a bit. How about using the Instant Pot twice – first for pressure cooking and then for air frying?
For dinner the next night, we decided to pressure cook some quinoa with sweetcorn, and serve it with a salmon fillet cooked with the air fryer.
Cooking the quinoa was simple enough – we put the dried quinoa and some frozen sweetcorn with some water in the Instant Pot using the normal lid, and cooked it on high pressure for 1 minute with 10 minutes of natural release, followed by quick release. I then portioned up the quinoa and rinsed out the stainless steel inner pot to reuse for the salmon.
I prepared the salmon fillets with a little oil, salt, pepper, smoked paprika and lemon juice, then placed them on the bottom of the air fryer basket inside the stainless steel inner pot.
I cooked the salmon for 14 minutes at 400°F on the Air Fry mode. I checked on them halfway through when prompted, but didn’t turn them.
After the 14 minutes were up, I removed the lid and was pleased to see the salmon looking nice and crispy on top. One challenge with this style of air fryer is getting the food out, and this was a good example.
The skin underneath the salmon had just lightly stuck to the basket, and although I was able to free it, lifting the salmon out without it falling apart was more challenging. I managed it with one fillet, but not the other.
Read Also: How Long To Cook Potatoes In Instant Pot
See Instant Pot Air Fryer Lid In Action
Dont take my word for it, heres a short video demonstration from Six Sisters Stuff.
The Instant Pot Air Fryer Lid is a fantastic accessory for your 6-quart pressure cooker. This attachment will unlock six more cooking functionsAir Fry, Broil, Bake, Roast, Dehydrate, and Reheat. Its a cheaper and space-saving alternative to buying an actual air fryer.
What Are Your Takeaways
If youre in the market for an air fryer and already have a compatible 6 quart Instant Pot, Id highly recommend considering the Instant Pot Air Fryer Lid instead of buying another machine.
I am very happy with mine and while I dont think Ill use it every day, it is definitely something I am happy to have in my cabinets for those days that I do want to use it.
I havent used all the functions on it but I can see the reheat function working well or the broiling option for crisping stuff up quickly. Everything else I feel like Id just use my regular oven or toaster oven.
I do appreciate that the basket is nonstick and for storage, its easy to store everything into the stainless steel insert.
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Air Fryer Lid Vs Ninja Foodi Vs Instant Pot Duo Crisp Vs Mealthy Crisplid
We already owned a 6qt Instant Pot Ultra which doesn’t seem to be all that popular any more, but is very similar to the 6qt Instant Pot Duo Plus.
We use our Instant Pot quite a lot – for everything from cooking dried beans to making hummus, homemade yogurt, soups, chili, sous-vide steak and even full meals like salmon with smashed potatoes. It works great!
We travel full time in our RV, and our small travel trailer has a tiny oven. It works great for a single tray of roast potatoes or a pizza on a pizza stone, but I wanted a countertop air fryer so we had a bit more flexibility.
Plus, I really wanted to try my hand at dehydrating garlic to make garlic powder, and some fruits to make some healthy snacks. Our propane oven just isn’t ideal for that.
With limited storage space, a big new appliance was out of the question, unless it could replace our existing Instant Pot altogether. And that’s how I started looking at the Instant Pot Duo Crisp and Ninja Foodi.
The Duo Crisp is Instant Pot’s answer to the Ninja Foodi – a great combination pressure-cooker / air fryer that’s been around for a little while now. I read several reviews online, and both seemed to have their advantages and disadvantages. But there were three main things that I didn’t like about either of them:
In A Nutshell: The Pros
Easy to use. It’s super simple to operate, and the interface is straightforward. It saves space. If youre like me and have several small appliances but not a huge kitchen, the Instant Pot Air Fryer Lid makes sense. My Instant Pot sits on my countertop, so I leave the Air Fryer Lid on it and keep the Instant Pots standard lid in my pantry where it hardly takes up any space. The air fryers basket and tray fit inside the Instant Pot and the protective pad fits underneath it, so no extra storage space is needed for those pieces.Its easy to clean. In my experience, food didn’t stick to the basket, so it’s easy to wash. Crumbs will often fall down into the inner pot, but thats also easy to empty and wash out.
Also Check: How To Make Hard Boiled Eggs In Instant Pot
It Cooks Quicker Than An Oven But Not As Fast As An Air Fryer
Ive found that when cooking air fryer recipes in the Duo Crisp, youll need to add a few minutes to the cook time. For example, the average air fryer recipe calls for cooking fries at 380°F for about 15 minutes, but I find that in the Instant Pot they need about 20 minutes. However, they still produce a crispier and faster result than the oven, which takes about 40 minutes!
The Instant Vortex Has More Space
The Instant Vortex holds about about 2/3 of a bag of steak fries compared to the lid, which holds about 1/3 of the bag. The air fryer basket for the lid is even smaller than the inner pot of a standard six-quart Instant Pot, which should give you an idea of the limited space you’re working with. If you’re using your air fryer to cook for a family, the Instant Vortex is the way to go.
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Instant Pot Air Fryer Lid Review
I have to be honest with you guys – my family loves fries! The kids love them, the wife loves them , and I would be lying if I didnt say I love them as well.
But we all know how fast-food fries are not the ideal treat, especially for young kids. Not to mention that, whenever I make fries the old-fashion way or order them when we eat out, my wife gives me the look .
So, being the inventive and resourceful guy that I am, I did a bit of research on how to have both the deliciousness and crispiness of the fries and keep them healthy. And I was lucky enough to find a fantastic solution right in the Instant Pot family!
The Instant Pot Air Fryer lid is a great product for fans of the brand and today Im going to tell you all about it, so make sure to keep reading.
Contents
The Air Fryer Basket Wore Out Quickly
After a few uses, I started having trouble with the air fryer basket that is included with the pot. The non-stick coating started to wear down quickly, leaving me with fries and chicken that were sticking to the bottom. To work around this, I purchased some perforated parchment paper inserts, and theyve made ALL the difference!
Also Check: How To Cook Chicken And Veggies In Instant Pot
How To Use The Instant Pot Air Fryer Lid
Instant Pot Air Fryer Quick Start Guide
Instant Pot Duo Crisp Vs Crock
My third contender is the Crock-Pot Express Crisp. With a long history in slow cookers, Crock-Pot is a familiar brand to many home cooks. This model is similar to the Instant Pot Duo Crisp in that it also has two removable lids one for pressure cooking, the other for air frying. The Crock-Pot inner pot is made of aluminum with a non-stick ceramic coating which some may love, though I do not. It also has a detachable cord that is 24 inches long, giving a bit more flexibility in regards to kitchen placement and storage.
The biggest difference in these two multi-cookers has to do with the preset functions. As I mentioned, the Instant Pot version has 11 functions, each with its own button. The Crock-Pot model is equipped with 14 separate cooking functions, including settings for meat, poultry, beans, and rice. The benefit to this machine is that it is more adapted to the less-experienced home cook, who may want to try their hand at this type of cooking, but needs a bit more guidance to get started. These machines are quite comparable in terms of price and size, so the real question here is how much knowledge of this type of cooking are you bringing to the table.
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The Instant Pot Air Fryer Lid Wins Out For Design
While we did like that the Mealthy CrispLid is designed with a glass lid so you can see into the pot, the surface got too hot to touch, where the Instant Pot Air Fryer Lid gets warm, but not too hot to touch. The Mealthy CrispLid comes with an elevated trivet and basket that allows the food to sit higher in the pot, which is nice because you don’t have to reach into a hot basket to remove the food. That said, this problem is resolved in the deeper Instant Pot air fryer basket by using a set of tongs.
Harder To Clean Than Most Air Fryers
One major setback of this model for me is how difficult the air frying rack was to clean. When I finished cooking the chicken thighs with dredged flour and egg coating, the fine mesh wire rack was inundated with gunk. While trying to flip them midway through cooking, much of the coating and skin also stuck to the rack.
The wire air frying rack was no fun to clean.
Most air fryer baskets have a nonstick coating and take seconds to clean after use. For the Duo Crisp with Ultimate Lid, I had to give it a good 10-minute soak to get it clean, but it did all eventually come off with a scrubber, soap and elbow grease. I found it much more difficult to clean than the original Duo Crisp’s nonstick basket and rack, which is completely flat with larger holes that don’t trap as much food.
Other foods including sweet potatoes and frozen snacks didn’t stick to the wire rack. If you’re planning on cooking mostly those foods versus battered foods, you may not have the same issues I did.
The original Duo Crisp requires a separate basket insert for air frying which diminishes the overall capacity. On the upside, it was far easier to clean.
Recommended Reading: Which Is Better An Instant Pot Or Air Fryer
Reasons Im Loving The Ip Air
It may sound like to early a time to be heavily hooked a new device, and I dont despise that. However, when an invention works so well for its first release, it is always the right place to talk about its goodies. From my side, having used the air-fryer lid these past weeks, I can share a handful of benefits that the equipment has brought to my culinary life. Although I am still exploring and taking notes on its other, not so great elements, lets introduce ourselves to it on the goodness. Shall we begin?
Buy a lid and be good to go!
If you already own an instant pot model that accommodates the air-fryer lid, then that is all you need to have both worlds. You do not need to purchase another device to air-fry, bake, roast, dehydrate, or broil. With a single instant pot and both lids, pressure-cooking and air-frying, cooking for yourself, the family, and everyone else just got seamless.
It is super easy to work with
Like the instant pot, the air-fryer lid only requires a few buttons pushes here and there, and you are set to make some scrumptious dishes.
It is a thoughtful guide
While cooking with the lid, it will signal you halfway with a beep, and the screen will tell you to flip the food. Now, that is a thoughtful addition to its make to remind you to shake the basket or flip the food just in case your mind wandered off a bit.
It signals you when the lid is placed on correctly
It allows a good worth of food
