We all know that our deep fried foods are ultimately the major cause of death and suffering in our modern society since they lead to a high cholesterol that then leads to all types of heart attacks, cardiac arrests, brain strokes and many other somewhat less ailments. However, we also know just as well or even better that deep fried foods, or simply fried foods taste so good that, when the time comes to choose between a bag of French fries and a tuna sandwich, we will instantly feel that life may not be worth leaving if we have to always choose the latter. But the good news is that you can now have the cake and eat it too, because of the multitude of oil less fryers that have been delivered to the market. With these machines you have the option of not using oil at all, or of using just the smallest quantity of oil, just enough to give the food that familiar flavor. The truth, of course, is that for many cuts of meat you do not actually need to add any oil at all, while other do, and that is why the best oil less fryers also come with their own recipe book. In our search for the best we have take into account not only their size, speed and power, but also the quality of their recipes and the way they handled our base recipe which we kept unchanged for the sake of an equal, base comparison.
1. T-fal FZ7002 ActiFry Low-Fat Multi-Cooker
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T-fal chooses to call their oil less fryers a multi-cooker so we need to stick with their choice of name, particularly since, we believe, theirs is the best product on the market. It is not really the most affordable, and we are in fact going to look into a cheaper alternative, but nor is it the most expensive. At 2.2 pounds the T-fal FZ7002 is big enough to handle even a large family dinner, although you will have to use it several times to get all the dishes out. However, the really good news is that all air fryers are actually much faster than conventional cooking because the cooking process starts almost immediately, so you do not need to wait for the oil or oven to heat up. The T-fal FZ7002 ActiFry Low-Fat Multi-Cooker also has the best cook book we have seen with any of the oil less fryers on the market, and both our base recipe of French fries and chicken wings as well as the recipe in the book came out perfectly. The other great feature is a automatic stirring paddle that not only helps the cooking process along, but expands greatly on the types of meals you can prepare.
2. Big Boss 1300-Watt Oil-Less Fryer
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Although oil less fryers are a great kitchen technical innovation, their biggest problem is the fact that they tend to be too expensive for the average home cook to want to invest into a technology that he or she has never tried. That is why we were very happy to find the Big Boss 1300-Watt Oil-Less Fryer, which is a perfectly functioning, full size oil less fryer, that costs about half the price of all the other products on the market. Since it costs so little we actually focused our most rigorous tests on it and we were very happy with the way the French fries and the wings came out. Taking a hint from the T-Fal recipe book we sprayed a little oil on top of the potatoes and they came out just as crisp and delicious as they would from a deep fryer. So if you choose to go with the Big Boss 1300-Watt Oil-Less Fryer our only recommendation would be to focus on the recipes you will be using because the machine is of excellent quality.
3. Char-Broil The Big Easy TRU-Infrared Oil-less Turkey Fryer
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So far we have been looking at electric oil less fryers because they tend to be easier to use and to maintain. However there is nothing like the heat generated by a true fire and sometimes you can end up cooking in a place where you do not have easy access to electricity like during a camping trip. For those situations the Char-Broil The Big Easy TRU-Infrared Oil-less Turkey Fryer is an excellent choice because it is powered by a propane tank. It also has a drip tray that will collect all the juices that you can then use to base the meat, or to create all sorts of sauces. The one big disadvantage this oil less fryer has is that it is almost impossible to cook anything but large pieces of meat in it.
4. Philips HD9220/26 AirFryer
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There is a somewhat smaller oil less fryer on the market that we really need to talk about and it is the Philips HD9220/26 AirFryer. It is the perfect choice for a modern family that enjoys home cooked meals but that does not have a huge kitchen. At a 1.8 pound capacity the Philips HD9220/26 AirFryer is big enough to cook a whole chicken or even a small turkey, it can get the fries ready in record time, and it can be easily stored away when not in active use. We also love the fact that it is powerful enough to cook any type of food you may want in less than half an hour and you can put your potatoes in with the meat so they cook at the same time and the fries can benefit from the juices dripping from the meat.
5. Homeleader® Oil – less Air Fryer
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The thing we like the most about the Homeleader® Oil – less Air Fryer and the reason why it is on our list is the fact that it was designed in such a way that you do not even need to consult a recipe book to use it. There are advantages to using a cook book like getting to know the best seasonings and quantities, but if you are in a hurry you can just dump in some potatoes, fish, chicken, or any type of meat, and you can just check the lid of the Homeleader® Oil – less Air Fryer for the correct time and temperature. It is important to note here that even when cooking meat, dinner can be ready in less than half an hour because of how powerful and well put together this machine is.
