So, before I start babbling, would I recommend this air fryer? Absolutely. Isn't it pricey? Yes. But it isn't the priciest on the market, offers excellent functionality and provides a large single basket as opposed to 2 reasonably sized baskets that many others provide. Your personal requirements determine what sort of basket you need but for me, I wanted to be able to cook the joints of meat I would normally cook in the oven and that required a large, single basket. Isn't Cosori an unknown brand? In the UK, largely, yes. In the USA, they have won a number of awards. We have owned an air fryer for a number of years but it was bought when the kids were smaller and wasn't really big enough for us anymore. We kept persevering until parts started to wear and finally took the plunge into a bigger model. Granted, this cost a lot more than our original and isn't a brand you'll find many of in High Street stores but for the size we needed, the price was reasonable. There are air fryers on the market that boast a similar capacity but this is generally split between 2 baskets and I wanted to be able to cook whole joints of meat. This air fryer has proven to do the job fantastically. The chicken in the pics was an X Large, weighing around 2.6kg. This went in fine having removed the tray (this is recommended in Cosori recipes for a whole chicken anyway). I have cooked a large chicken with the tray still inserted and got similar results. I have also managed to cook a pork joint as well as things like fries, chicken dippers, potatoes and even homemade samosas (don't be put off by pics of air fried samosas online that look anaemic. Make them with filo pastry as they should be made, brush lightly with oil/butter/or maybe egg prior to cooking and line the basket with samosas. 10-14 minutes turning about midway through, gave wonderfully crispy samosas, just like the restaurants). There is little information by Cosori on the use of the air fryer but a quick search on social media and the internet provides information that is of use. Other than that, it is a case of trial and error. The XL chicken cooked in around an hour. The large chicken took a little less (always check the internal temp before eating regardless of how you cook). The pork was very big and took a lot longer to cook through but still took less time than a conventional oven. The crackling came out lovely (much to my partners delight who doesn't particularly like pork but loves crackling). The meat came out with that dark brown sort of crust around the ends and was juicy inside. The chickens have cooked perfectly, not drying out. The functionality of the air fryer is simple. Choose a setting such as roast or air fry, set a temperature and set a time. The timer is limited but anything that needs cooking beyond an hour will likely need turning anyway, at which point the timer is reset. The app for your phone shows how much time is left and provides a notification when the timer has ended. There is more that can be achieved with the app but I have not yet ventured into all of that. I believe you can record your own cooking times for particular foods to help you the next time. As already mentioned, there are a lot of recipes on the Cosori website but for your basic cooking instructions, it is best to look elsewhere for a guide and also use trial and error. A general rule of thumb seems to be to take the oven cooking instructions, reduce the temp by 20c and the time by 20%. This gives you a ball park to work with even if not exact. In short, this is a fantastic piece of equipment and I'm sure I'm already on my way to recouping my costs by saving money not using the oven (to cook an XL large chicken in much less time, and with no pre-heating the oven, and in an appliance that uses less power is an instant saving). I would definitely recommend it. Some people have little patience for learning to use a new appliance and/or have little desire to look online for some helpful advice and tips. That will give you a negative attitude towards the air fryer but putting a small amount of time in, joining some groups and looking online will get you cooking in no time.
