Big Boss Oil-Less Fryer

I don’t have this particular one, but I have another model of it with digital controls instead of knobs. It’s not exactly a fryer, as such, it’s a halogen oven kind of like the hotdog roasters you see sometimes with really bright lights and a fan to move the air around. It works more like a toaster oven than anything else.

That being said, french fries made in it are better than fries made in my normal convection toaster oven. at least partially due to better air circulation. They still come out more cooked on top unless you flip them over, but otherwise more evenly cooked in general, probably because of the little wire mesh basket. Toss them with a little oil first, and they come out even better. It also makes things like corn dogs at the same time as fries, which my toaster oven can’t do. Pizza reheated in this tends to be a little overdone on top but crispyish on the bottom.

All in all, I’m glad I bought it. And this one comes with the accessory kit, which mine did not. (I didn’t get the lifting tongs or the wire basket, had to buy a separate thing). Just don’t expect it to be exactly like a deep fryer, watch a few videos on it or read some recipes to get an idea of how it’s different and you’ll be happy.

I bought two of these a go before (one for me one for gift) and both were a waste of time and energy. They would never get up to temp, would leave plugged in for 30 mins and still wouldn’t preheat in the manner the instructions provided. That’s great that its a 4/5 star on amazon, but with 20% of the ratings being a 1 star, 1/5, that’s just not a good number for a manufacturer.

Bought one 6mos or so ago and have used more than I thought I would. Overall have been very happy with it once I learned a few of the tricks to using it. Even devised a way to bake biscuits in it. Burgers, fries, dogs, wings, ribs, roasted veggies, etc all work great. BBQ chicken breasts were killer good.

Reccomended it to a couple of other folks who have liked using theirs too.

It does generate more heat in the kitchen that it clains though but not a much as my reg wall oven.

Check out you tube vids for halogen ovens.

A number of previous owners have reported that the halogen bulb may become a hazard. If a bit of oil or grease gets on the halogen bulb, it will explode quite spectacularly, covering your food in glass dust and shards while pouring out unbelievable smoke. When that happens, your only saving grace is that the heavy glass bowl will contain the mess. Replacement halogen bulbs will become a necessary after-purchase for this unit.

Attn: Piping hot pizza rolls in 8 minutes!

Ok, now that I have that out of the way, the details:

Had mine for just under two years, and am still satisfied with it. I use it mainly for tater tots and french fries, but occasionally for fish sticks, chicken nuggets, and pizza rolls (in only 8 minutes!) Because it’s essentially an Easy Bake convection oven, foods tend to cook more quickly than in a conventional or toaster oven.

Bonus: the taller wire rack fit perfectly over my 9" springform pan, allowing me to stack a lemon meringue pie over a pumpkin cheesecake for transporting in my pie carrier for Thanksgiving. Not the intended function, but a handy one nonetheless.

Did I mention pizza rolls in only 8 minutes?

I have only two complaints about it:

  • the size: sucker’s huge, and takes up a lot of real estate on my kitchen counter, but I use it too often to store it elsewhere when NOT in use
  • the knobs: digital temperature and timer controls would be SOOOOO much more useful than the knobs, which remind me of the old Tappan microwave my parents had from the 70s

BRB, putting some pizza rolls in…

So it’s mainly for instant foods? I really never eat prepared foods & have a convection toaster oven already…

I’ve never tried it for anything else: usually if I’m baking something from scratch, it’s too large for this oven anyway.

The short rack that comes with it is better for things which need to cook longer, as it increases the distance between the heat source and the food while still allowing air circulation.

Its just a convection oven. I tried to make fried chicken in it using a tempura buttermilk batter and it all just dripped to the bottom of the dish. I ended up with nicely baked (browned) chicken and a bunch of batter on the bottom to clean up.

Its misleading that they put fried chicken in the advertising. That being said, for premade items (fries, tots, pizza bites, etc.) this does work like a charm but don’t expect any delicious fried goodness out of this thing.

I googled and found some videos of making fried chicken with different air fryers (ex. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cISCWl-m2n0 … again, this is a different air fryer, not the one on sale here)

They seem to all be using flour instead of a batter. I would imagine that your batter wouldn’t stay in place long enough to cook nicely, but flour would. Of course, you could do flour-coated chicken in your oven and it would cook - it just wouldn’t brown very nicely because your oven isn’t going to be hot enough. As you and others have said - these things are really just fancy baking ovens - it’s not actually frying anything.

These suckers make the most amazing chicken wings. And it melts all the subcutaneous fat so they’re all crispy and delicious with MUCH less fat than deep frying and you can eat all the skin whereas I normally hate the fatty bits on the skin. BEST WINGS EVAR