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We compare products from their published specs and features; the verdicts below are our independent editorial opinions.
Updated: 2026-09-22 · 9 min read · Independent comparison
• Electrolux Frigidaire AIRFRYTRAY Ready — best for owners of a compatible Frigidaire Gallery range; pick this if you want a genuine OEM oven insert that turns the range you already own into an air fryer.
• Charbroil Char-Broil — best for Big Easy owners who want to cook wings and legs in bigger batches; pick this if you already own the cooker and want the accessory set built for it.
• OPENICE Air Fryer Basket — best for families cooking fried chicken in a regular oven; pick this if you want the largest usable basket area of the four plus a drip pan and parchment.
• cuomaop Deep Fryer Pot — best for anyone who wants real hot-oil frying with temperature control; pick this if you prefer a compact stovetop pot with a thermometer and oil drain rack.
This is not a countertop appliance. It is a genuine OEM oven insert from Electrolux, sold under the Frigidaire name, made of stainless steel. You get two pieces: an air fry basket measuring 18.4" x 15.3" x 0.8", and an oven rack at 24.1" x 15.3". You slide them into a compatible Frigidaire Gallery range and let the oven's air fry mode do the work. The whole thing weighs 15.2 ounces.
For fried chicken, the capacity number is the interesting part. The basket is rated to hold 2 lbs of chicken nuggets, 2.6 lbs of chicken wings, and over 3 lbs of tater tots. That is a genuinely family-sized batch — the kind of quantity that would take two or three rounds in a small countertop air fryer. Because the mesh lets air flow around the food, the design is meant to give you golden results without flipping halfway through. That matters when you are cooking a full tray of wings for a crowd and do not want to babysit it.
The trade-off is compatibility, and it is a hard limit. This insert is built for specific Frigidaire Gallery ranges with Air Fry: electric models FGEH3047VD and FGEH3047VF, gas models FGGH3047VD and FGGH3047VF, and induction models FGIH3047VD and FGIH3047VF. If your range is not on that list, this product is not for you at all — there is no adapter story here. It is also a single-purpose part in the sense that it only makes sense if you own the matching appliance.
In my opinion, this is the smartest choice for exactly one shopper: someone who already has a compatible Frigidaire Gallery range and wants air-fried chicken without buying another appliance to sit on the counter. If that is you, the capacity and the no-flip airflow design are real advantages. If it is not, skip straight to the next pick.
Charbroil Char-Broil
This one needs a clear framing before anything else: it is a 22-piece accessory kit for The Big Easy oil-less turkey fryer, not an air fryer and not an oven insert. What you get is a set of chrome-plated steel and wire steel tools — 4 boneless rib hooks, 2 leg racks, 6 easy-out rib hooks, 8 skewers, an easy-load kabob holder, and a basket lifter. The kit is designed around The Big Easy cooker (model 14101480) and is dishwasher safe.
For someone who already owns The Big Easy, this kit is the difference between cooking one chicken's worth of wings and cooking for a party. The accessories are built to let you cook more items at once, which is the whole game with any air-fryer-style cooking.
The honest trade-off: this is not a standalone product and it is not an air fryer. If you do not own a Big Easy, this kit does nothing for you. And if your goal is specifically "air fryer fried chicken" in the countertop sense, the Char-Broil is adjacent rather than direct — it is for the oil-less cooker crowd, not the basket-and-drawer crowd. I recommend it only to Big Easy owners.
My top pick, and here is the reasoning. The OPENICE basket is an oven air fryer basket measuring 18.6" x 11.9", which is a genuinely large cooking surface — the kind that lets you lay out a full batch of fried chicken pieces in one layer rather than stacking them and steaming the coating. The set is stainless steel with no coating, and it includes a tray underneath to catch grease and crumbs so your oven does not end up a mess.
The functional design is what sells it for chicken. The elevated mesh basket is built to promote 360-degree air circulation, which means you should not need to flip the food mid-cook to get an even, crispy exterior. The tray below lets excess oil and fat drip away from the food, so you are cooking with little to no added fat and still getting a texture closer to fried than baked. That combination — big flat area plus airflow plus drainage — is exactly what fried chicken needs.
It is also the most practical of the four for everyday use. The package includes 60 pieces of pre-cut parchment paper (the listing text references 30 pieces in one bullet, so treat the count as approximate), which speeds up cleanup considerably on messy cooks. The basket and tray are dishwasher safe, or you can hand wash them. And the set is not single-purpose: the same tray works for baking, roasting, and cooking en papillote, so it earns counter space beyond fried chicken night — crispy fries, hash browns, roasted vegetables, steaks.
The trade-off is that this is an oven accessory, not a self-contained air fryer. It needs a full-size oven, it needs you to set your own temperature and time, and it takes up a fair amount of cabinet space at roughly 18.6" long. It also has no temperature control of its own — your oven does that job. For a household already cooking in a standard oven, though, that is a feature rather than a bug, because you are not buying a second appliance to do what your oven can already do.
A different philosophy entirely, and worth including because plenty of people searching for fried chicken genuinely want oil involved. The cuomaop is a compact Japanese-style deep fryer pot in 304 stainless steel, 9.4" in diameter and about 3.3" tall, weighing 2.6 pounds. It comes with a lid, an oil drip drainer rack, and a thermometer.
The thermometer is the headline feature. It lets you monitor oil temperature precisely instead of guessing, which is the single biggest variable in whether fried chicken comes out greasy or crisp. There is also an oil level indicator on the pot body to help you avoid wasting oil, and a removable drip rack so finished pieces drain instead of sitting in grease. The pot works on gas, electric, and induction cooktops, and it is meant for frying, boiling, stewing, and simmering — so it is not a one-trick item. The mirror-polished finish is designed to clean up easily and resist residue, and a beak spout plus a cold-touch handle make pouring out used oil safer.
Who is this for? Someone with limited kitchen space who wants real fried chicken — nuggets, tempura, shrimp, fish, the works — without a bulky dedicated fryer. The compact diameter is the point: it stores in a cabinet and comes out when you need it.
The trade-offs are real and worth stating plainly. This is deep frying, so you are working with hot oil, and the manufacturer explicitly warns not to wash the thermometer with water — let it cool and wipe it with a paper towel. The listing also notes that small dents on the pot sides are normal, since that area is shaped to let the oil drain rack sit on the lid. And if your goal is specifically air frying with minimal oil, this is the wrong tool by definition. In my opinion, it is the right pick for the shopper who wants authentic fried texture and is comfortable managing oil.
We compared the published specs and features of each product — basket dimensions, materials, capacity figures, included accessories, and cooktop or appliance compatibility — and matched them to what air-fryer fried chicken actually requires: enough surface area, good air or oil circulation, and easy cleanup. The ranking is our independent editorial opinion, and no brand paid for placement. Where a product only works with specific appliances, we said so rather than quietly ranking it anyway.
how to air fryer fried chicken
Coat your chicken, then cook it in a single layer on a mesh basket so air can circulate on all sides. With the OPENICE basket, the elevated mesh is designed for 360-degree circulation without flipping, and the tray underneath catches drippings. With the Frigidaire insert, the basket holds up to 2.6 lbs of chicken wings.
how to air fryer fried chicken breast
Breasts are thicker than wings, so give them room — do not crowd the basket. The Electrolux Frigidaire insert is rated for 2 lbs of nuggets and over 3 lbs of tater tots, which tells you it handles a full family-sized batch of pieces at once. Set your temperature and time, then let the airflow do the work.
how to make air fryer fried chicken without buttermilk
You do not need buttermilk for a crispy result — the coating and the airflow matter more. A stainless mesh basket like the OPENICE one is built to eliminate added butter or fats, and its tray lets excess oil drip away from the food so you cook healthier with less oil. Season your coating well and keep pieces in one layer.
how to make air fryer fried chicken tenders
Tenders cook fast and benefit from a flat, open basket so they crisp rather than steam. The OPENICE basket measures 18.6" x 11.9", which is plenty of room to lay tenders out without stacking. If you prefer traditional frying, the cuomaop pot's thermometer lets you hold the oil temperature steady, and its drip rack drains the finished tenders.
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See also: VertiGrille ® Chicken Wing vs HONYAO Air Fryer Rack, Charbroil Char-Broil vs Sweetcrispy 6QT: Air Fryer Fried, air fryer chicken legs