When I’m not putting pen to paper, I’m exploring new cultures through travel and taking on home makeover projects, one room at a time. These units are basically small convection ovens, using super heated circulating air, and there is actually no frying or deep frying at all. One of the things I was most excited to try in the Vortex Air Fryer Oven was a rotisserie instant pot duo nova chicken. Most of the chickens at my grocery store were too big for the rotisserie spit (under 4 lbs.) The organic chickens at Costco were just barely small enough, so I bought a two-pack. The Manual has good instructions showing how to use the attachments. It’s important to read about the weight and size restrictions when using the rotisserie basket and spit.
Instant instructs you to clean the cooking basket by hand, which is a little disappointing as most air fryer baskets can go through the dishwasher. This is to prevent any water from fogging up the ClearCook window after prolonged use. The instant vortex Plus 6-in 1 Air Fryer with ClearCook and OdorErase has a roast setting, so we used this to roast a selection of vegetables for 15 minutes at 370°F. Across the range of air fryers we tested this one took a little longer to roast the vegetables how we liked, but we could not fault the even cooking.
Brussels sprouts, frozen French fries and breaded chicken cutlets came out just about perfect; all were browned, crisped, moist and tender. Homemade French fries came out reasonably browned and crispy without moosoo air fryer becoming dry or cardboard-like in just 18 minutes. This air fryer didn’t perform quite so well on chicken wings though, as these were cooked to doneness, but could have been better browned and crisped.
Having two baskets set at drastically different temperatures placed side-by-side could pose some accuracy issues. We tested this out by setting one basket to 400°F and the other to 200°F. We are pleased to report that neither one affected the other.
The combination of soy sauce and a few other pantry staples provides the perfect Asian-inspired flavor that’s both sweet, tangy, and savory. Another nice feature is that the Instant Vortex Plus 6 Quart 6-in 1 prompts you to shake your food halfway through cooking. While not essential, this does lead to more evenly-cooked food and it’s definitely a step worth following when making fries from scratch. I’ve spent more than a decade covering lifestyle, news, and policy.