Our tester was able to roast a 4-pound chicken in 45 minutes and said “it tasted as good as those that are slow-roasted for an entire day.” Air fryers have gained popularity for producing crispy, evenly browned “fried” foods without the use of an actual deep fryer. They work by circulating hot air around food, similarly to a convection oven, and eliminate the need for much, if any, cooking oil, resulting in grocery savings and less cleanup. The chicken legs were moist on the inside and the skin was crisp, but not overdone. We air fried chips in one basket at the same time as roasting chicken legs in the other, and didn’t feel like the scent permeated across the baskets.
Before use or storing, make sure all surfaces are dry. Broiling cooks using direct top-down heating, perfect for melting cheese on French onion soup, and nachos. There is no need to turn the food partway through cooking. When the cooker passes the preheating phase, the display shows Add Food.
You may need to remove the rubber cushions from the tray as food debris can collect around them, and this can be a bit fiddly. Each cushion curls over the metal side and three rubber plugs hold it in place; it is a thumb pushing and poking job. The trays, rotisserie basket, and rotisserie spit are all dishwasher safe and it doesn’t get much easier than that. Even when washing by hand, the surfaces of the trays clean up quickly and easily.
I typically swap the pans when I turn the food about halfway through, which solves most of the issue. If I remember correctly mine had a small booklet with a few recipes included, as well as cook times for basic cuts of meat and some vegetables. In this review I’ll break down each of the functions and cover what I do and don’t like about them. The brushed matte exterior didn’t show any fingerprints and the touch control pad easily wiped clean with a damp cloth. We were pleasantly surprised, however, with how easy reheating things in this was. It helped to transform the sad story of a leftover slice of pizza into a lunch to be proud of.
The time and temperature are adjustable and the cooking time counts down on the digital display. A cooking progress bar from preheating to cooking is also a great addition. While this air fryer oven is not marketed as a toaster, the bake function does moosoo air fryer a decent job of it. Place your food on the rack, at the highest level and let it preheat to 400º with the food inside. It should take 1 – 3 minutes depending on how dark you like your toast. You can also remove the door, albeit not dishwasher safe.
A lack of pre-sets or guidance for cooking times and temperatures make the Plus Air Fryer tricky to use at first, but once you get it right, the results are tremendous. Many of the reviews I’ve read suggest that you should line the drip tray with aluminum foil to prevent messes and promote quick clean up. These trays are shallow enough that it isn’t awkward to remove a delicate piece of fish or a freshly baked cookie in one piece. I predict that the trays will be what I use most often in recipe development as I test through all of my homemade fried recipes. Lastly, we gave the roasting function a whirl with a handful of frozen roasties and because they already had a coating of oil on them they crisped up perfectly – really, really delicious .