Ninja’s Double Stack Restaurant shows off some new Air Fryer tricks

Earlier this week I visited Ninja’s pop-up Double Stack restaurant, which is shaped like a giant air fryer. What’s special about the restaurant is that everything on the menu is prepared in a Ninja Double Stack air fryer.

(Since I had to leave early and was sneaked out through the kitchen, I can confirm that the team of chefs was indeed cooking in a group of Double Stack air fryers.)

If that immediately sets off alarm bells and you’re imagining the menu consisting of breaded chicken goujons, fries and the like, coming out of the freezer icy and coming out golden brown and crispy, that’s probably a sign that you’re not making the most of your air fryer .

Air fryers aren’t actually deep fryers at all

The name ‘air fryer’ is actually a bit of a marketing gimmick. And it worked, because the countertop stove has become one of the most popular kitchen appliances in recent years.

But it has caused confusion about what they actually do. An air fryer is a mini convection oven, meaning it uses circulating hot air to cook food, much like the fan setting on your oven. But unlike your oven, an air fryer has a compact non-stick cooking space, making it easier to clean. And it’s much cheaper and faster to cook in, because you’re not heating up a giant cavern every time you want to eat.

Almost everything you can prepare in your built-in oven can also be prepared in an air fryer. Space is probably the main limiting factor. At the Ninja restaurant, the chef pointed out that you can even use your air fryer to bake your own bread. The device is useful for two stages: proofing the dough and then for baking itself.

Air fryer recipes that go beyond beige

Emma Rowley / Foundry

Emma Rowley / Foundry

Emma Rowley / Foundry

In an effort to broaden the appeal of the kitchen appliance, Ninja set the tone with Aperol cocktails garnished with a dried orange slice – dried in an air fryer, of course. In our review of the Ninja Foodi Max Dual Zone Air Fryer, Lee Bell used the cooker in the same way to dry orange slices for his Negronis.

Then there was the food. We’ve taken the key recipes from the menu below and you can cook them in whatever air fryer you have (even if they’re not Ninja air fryers), although they’re optimized for the Double Stack, which has two cooking zones stacked on top of each other. (vegetable plate and grill) in each drawer.

Canapes included stacked peels with sour cream, chives and chorizo ​​crumb, Mexican salmon on hash brown with smashed avocado and blackened corn and tofu karaage on crispy sushi rice with air-fried vegetables and sriracha mayonnaise.

The main course was air fried crispy tender broccoli and soba noodles with tahini satay sauce, chili rayu marinated crispy chicken or eggplant, and gyoza with tofu and cabbage.

Dessert was Double Stacked Brookies with sweet louche brittle and oats or traditional crème fraiche. And we can confirm that everything tasted as good as it looks.

In the UK the Ninja Double Stack XL is available from Ninja, John Lewis, Argos, Curries and Amazon, among other retailers, and it costs £269.99, except at Argos, where it costs a penny more.

In the US you can buy the DoubleStack XL from Ninja and Amazon for $229.99.

Would you like to know how much space the Double Stack will save you before you buy? We have the answer.