Ninja

[ednaknittingknightnite]

AIBU to jump on the bandwagon and finally get a dual zone air frier? Or was it all a buzz for nothing and shall I stick with my normal oven?

I love my Ninja Crispi - the chicken thighs especially are so delicious and easy to cook. Love the glass bowls too as they go in the dishwasher and come out sparkling.

Only drawback is that even though there are two bowls, they have to be cooked separately, so it wouldn’t suit anyone who needs to cook larger quantities at the same time.

But 4 times the price of a brand that has been producing kitchen goods for 50+ years...they are overpriced

Be really careful with paper liners @WillieBanjo I’ve known a few people to have fires 🔥 Silicone ones are safer

The flexi drawer means you have to clean the entire large drawer if everything drips through.

I have the dual Ninja thing with a probe, I can fit a 1.7kg chicken in each side, shove the probe in and it decides when it is cooked.

At lunch DC will often have 1/2 garlic bread, the oval ones like pizzas so 160 for 6-7 minutes, job done. We were always heating an entire oven for 1 tray of food of 4 salmon fillets.

We love ours and probably use it every day.

I use the synch function and the probe (cooking meat/fish until it reaches correct temperature then automatically turns off) all the time. They take all the thinking out of food prep and I can get on with other things.

That said, I used the oven for baking. An air fryer is just a small convection oven and that's too drying for cakes.

I sold mine and bought a smaller one. I find an air fryer handy for single portions but prefer the hob and oven for family cooking.

I never use mine. I just prefer the oven. If you do get one you should definitely get a two drawer one or something that splits to allow you to cook more than one thing. I always found ours a bit pointless as id put something in the air fryer and then end up putting the oven on for the bits to accompany it.

do you have the 7kg or 9 kg one?

I have the double stack. Same capacity but takes up less room on the counter. Gets used most days

9.5-Litre Capacity or 7.6-Litre Capacity
I like the idea of sticking a whole chicken in but, equally, with teens in the house, they may prefer the smaller version for fries, biggest sausages hash browns etc? I'd like to put it away when not in use so again weight will matter.

This also looks good, is it easy/practical to check top drawer or more fiddly?

I have a Ninja 2 drawer, although can't recall the specific model. One of the bigger ones. While there are other makes that are probably just as good, I love it. I've had it just under a year and have barely used my oven since.

I roast potatoes in it, roast chicken, cook burgers, steak, sausages, basically anything you can cook in the oven can be cooked in the air fryer.

Essentially it is a mini oven. Much less electricity used than the main oven as it heats faster because it is smaller.

Cooking stuff from frozen is very handy.

I bought it in a sale along with the ice cream maker which is also fabulous.

I have no idea about brands, but we have a cheapy (cost under £50) no name one from Costco that's (guessing) 3-5 years old and has been used several times a week. We're currently considering upgrading to a microwave/air fryer combo, but haven't researched properly yet, also they seem to be the latest thing and the ones with good reviews, eg a John Lewis one for £150, are constantly out of stock.

I’ve had the my air dryer for around 5 years and have just upgraded to the ninja flexi drawer. I used it daily where are the oven gets used maybe 3/4 times a month. Been worth the money

We've got one of the older style Ninja ones that has a grill/air fryer and it's used daily. We've got a huge all electric range cooker so it's so much cheaper and more energy efficient to use the Ninja. I did order one of the stacking ones but it was horrifically slow in comparison so I ended up getting the other one back out of the garage and the new one is lurking in there for taking on holiday.

I often used both drawers at the same time and thought it a faff. But seeing what actual owners have said, perhaps I made the right choice after all. I got the bigger side-by-side dual drawer one.

I do love how fast you can do a jacket potato by microwaving for 7-8 mins first then crisp up in the air fryer.

I will say that I used mine loads at first and as soon as I wanted it off the worktop due to needing the space and it went in a cupboard, it now rarely sees the light of day. I should dig it back out really.

They are useful.

I will warn you, certain family members (side eye to DH) may suddenly want chips with every meal for about 10 weeks after you buy one.

It was mental.

This is mine which I can definitely squeeze in a 1.7kg chicken in the drawer. No larger than that. We started with a smaller chicken as weight does not always mean short in length.

https://www.sharkninja.co.uk/ninja-foodi-max-dual-zone-air-fryer-with-smart-cook-system-af451uk/AF451UK.html

I find it easy to clean the small drawers and I honestly wish I had a second full drawer one in addition to the 2 drawer. My friend had the same one I had with no probe so I asked her all about hers plus I watched some really good comparison videos of all makes and models of air fryers. For the 2 drawer ninja they tested how much temperature bleed there was between one side being on the lowest temp and one on the other being the highest temp.

When all is said and done it is just a small fan oven and you can turn off the fan. I have never been a fan of oven chips but have loved ones cooked in the air fryer. I got an oil sprayer from Amazon to help with cooking items. It does take some tweaking of times and I always preheat for 3 minutes at the temperature I am cooking at. Very easy to pull out the drawer to see than opening the oven and removing the baking tray.

I bought this one, I love it, had it two and a half years and have only used my normal oven about six times since getting it.

It is just me at home but it is quick to cook stuff and doesn't take up too much room in my not terribly big kitchen.

Really was a game changer fir me.

I honestly wish I had a second full drawer one in addition to the 2 drawer

Have you looked at the Crispi, @BowlingSunflowers - it’s smaller than other air fryers and easy to store in a cupboard when not in use. Dishwasher safe too, and it works really well.

@Enrichetta I will have a look at that.

I forgot to say that I bought my Ninja in early 2021 so it lasts well despite three teenagers doing their best to kill it.

Ninja are worth the extra money in my opinion (this from someone literally on the bones of her arse who was lucky enough to be given Ninja as gifts). I had cheaper brands and they were nowhere near as good but I was lucky to be given a 9 in 1 that pressure cooks/air fry/bakes etc and the difference was amazing. I scrimped and saved for a dual drawer and used vouchers for Black Friday on Amazon and then was given a Flex drawer for Christmas. Our oven broke over 2 years ago and we couldn’t afford to fix it but I don’t think I’d worry even if we could I do everything from full roasts and the trimmings to pavlova and casseroles no issues.

If you like different cooking styles then the ninja 15 in 1 is fab - has a slow cooker, pressure cooker as well as the air fryer - it also has steam airfry which we use a lot. It also has a probe

I have a Crispi, and love it. Theoretically it's portable but yes the glass bowls go in the wash