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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 · 10 min read · Independent comparison
Presto 05420 is my top pick if you're deciding between an air fryer and a deep fryer, because it nails the one thing a countertop fryer has to get right: it heats fast, recovers oil temperature quickly, and stores without a mess.
• Presto 05420 — best for couples and small kitchens that want real fried food without a vat of oil; pick this if you want a compact cast-aluminum fryer that makes about four servings from roughly four cups of oil and stores with a snap-on lid.
• Hamilton Beach Deep Fryer — best for feeding a crowd in one drop; pick this if you need a large oil capacity, a big chrome-plated basket, and a temperature dial you can actually set across a wide range.
• Elite Gourmet EDF-401T — best for cooking two different foods at once; pick this if you want three baskets, a timer knob, and an anti-odor filter in the lid.
• Charbroil Big Easy Oil-Less — best for backyard turkey and big roasts; pick this if you want oil-less "fried" results outdoors on propane with room for a whole bird.
• NATIONAL PRESTO 05461 — best for family-size batches and steaming; pick this if you want a big oblong basket, an 1800-watt immersion element, and a pot that also steams and boils.
This is the small, honest deep fryer. It's built around a heavy cast-aluminum body with a ceramic nonstick surface inside and out, and it's sized to make about four servings of french fries using roughly four cups of oil. That's the whole pitch, and it's a good one: you're not filling a gallon jug of oil to fry one batch of wings.
In daily use, the automatic temperature control does the thinking for you. You're not guessing at a dial before dropping shrimp, chicken, or onion rings — the fryer holds the proper frying temperature, and the specs call out both a quick preheat and good oil temperature recovery. That recovery matters more than people expect. When you drop cold food into hot oil, the temperature dips; a fryer that climbs back fast gives you crisp instead of greasy.
The included scoop is the detail I like most. It lifts, drains, and serves, which means you're not fishing around with tongs or a slotted spoon. The swing-up handle, snap-on lid, and breakaway magnetic plug round out the practical side: the lid lets you store the oil without spills or odors, and the cord detaches safely. The ceramic nonstick coating is PFAS-free and wipes clean.
Who is it for? Small households, apartment kitchens, and anyone who fries occasionally rather than nightly. The compact footprint and easy storage are the point.
The trade-off is capacity and control. This is a four-serving fryer with automatic temperature control rather than an adjustable dial, so if you're cooking for a big family or you like to fine-tune temperatures for different foods, it will feel limited. It's also a deep fryer, full stop — it is not an air fryer, so you're still working with hot oil.
Hamilton Beach Deep Fryer
The 1800-watt immersed heating element is the engine behind that. It fries quickly and evenly, and the adjustable temperature dial runs from 265°F to 375°F, with a ready light that tells you when the oil has hit your target. That range covers the useful spread: lower for things you want to cook through gently, higher for a fast, crisp finish.
The mess control is thoughtful. There's a vented lid you keep on while frying to cut splatter, plus a view window so you can watch the food without lifting anything. The large chrome-plated basket has hooks for draining, so it hangs over the oil instead of sitting in it. Cleaning is genuinely considered: the heating element lifts out, and the enamel-coated oil tank, lid, and basket are all dishwasher safe.
Safety details are here too — a breakaway cord that prevents the unit from tipping if someone snags it, which is a real concern in a busy kitchen with a big pot of hot oil.
The trade-off is size and oil volume. It's a large stainless-steel appliance that takes up real counter space and needs a substantial amount of oil to run properly. If you fry for one or two people, this is more machine and more oil than you need. But if you cook in volume, the capacity is the feature.
This one solves a specific problem: what if you want to fry two different things at the same time, at the same temperature, without them sharing a basket? The answer here is three baskets — one 4-quart and two 2-quart — so you can fry fish and chips simultaneously and keep them separate.
It's a 1700-watt immersion deep fryer with a removable stainless-steel lid, and the controls are knobs: one for adjustable temperature up to 375°F and one for a timer. The timer is the underrated part. Deep frying goes wrong when you walk away, and a timer knob gives you a defined end point instead of vibes.
The anti-odor filter built into the lid is aimed at the most common complaint about home frying — the smell that lingers after dinner. It's removable for cleaning. The 4.2-liter enamel oil tank also lifts out, and the immersible heating element comes out for hand washing, with power and ready indicator lights on it.
Practical touches: a see-through viewing window, cool-touch side and lid handles, non-skid rubber feet, a fully detachable magnetic cord, plus a safety switch and reset button. The body and lid are stainless steel with a black accent.
Who is it for? Someone who wants flexibility — multiple baskets for different foods, timer control, and odor management — on a countertop unit.
The trade-off is its footprint. At 22 inches deep, this is a long appliance, and the three-basket setup means more parts to wash. The baskets are also sized for smaller portions compared with a single large-basket fryer, so "three baskets" doesn't mean "more food at once" — it means "two foods at once."
Charbroil Big Easy Oil-Less
This is the outlier, and it's worth understanding why. It's not a countertop appliance and it's not an air fryer in the basket-and-fan sense. It's a propane-powered outdoor cooker that uses TRU-Infrared cooking technology to deliver fried-style results with no oil at all.
In use, the infrared design is about even heat and no flare-ups, giving you crispy outsides and juicy insides on large cuts. Cleanup runs through a front-access grease tray, and the package includes the cooking basket, basket lifter, lid, and a meat thermometer. Built-in handles make it movable despite the weight.
The safety angle is real and worth stating plainly: no hot oil means no vat of 350°F liquid to manage, and nothing to dispose of afterward. That's the strongest argument for this machine over any traditional fryer.
The trade-off is that it's not a fryer for fries. It's built for whole birds and large roasts, it needs outdoor space and a propane tank, and it won't do a quick basket of onion rings on a weeknight. It also isn't an air fryer you plug into a wall — it's an outdoor cooker. If your goal is turkey, ribs, or a pork shoulder with a fried-style crust, this is the tool. If your goal is a batch of fries, it isn't.
This is the family-batch fryer from Presto, and it's the most versatile of the oil-based options here. At its core it's a professional-style immersion deep fryer with an 1800-watt element that preheats quickly and recovers oil temperature fast — the same virtue as the smaller Presto, just in a bigger package.
The capacity is 8 cups of food, and the basket is oblong rather than round. That shape is deliberate: it fits large pieces of chicken or fish that a round basket would force you to cut down. For anyone who fries whole fillets or big pieces, this matters more than raw capacity numbers.
The genuinely unusual feature is that it steams and boils too. The large enameled pot and the fry/steam basket let you use it for vegetables and seafood as well as frying, which turns a single-purpose appliance into something you'll actually keep on the counter.
Cleaning is manageable: the heating element and the enameled pot both remove. There's a spatter-shield cover that reduces spattering when you lower food into hot oil, which is the moment most mess happens.
Who is it for? Families, and anyone who wants one appliance that fries, steams, and boils. The oblong basket and 8-cup capacity suit bigger meals.
The trade-off is that it's a full-size stainless-steel unit — nearly 14 inches deep — and it's still a deep fryer, so oil handling and disposal are part of the routine. The spatter shield helps, but it doesn't make the oil disappear.
How We Picked
We compared published specs and features — capacity, wattage, temperature control, basket design, cleaning, and safety details — and weighed them against realistic cooking situations rather than lab numbers. The ranking is our independent editorial opinion, based on how each machine's design fits a specific kind of cook. No brand paid for placement, and no product here was selected because of anything other than what its specifications say it does.
how long to air fry vs deep fryer
It depends on the food and the machine, not on a universal rule. Deep fryers with immersion elements and fast oil temperature recovery cook in minutes once the oil is at temperature — the Hamilton Beach 35035A and Presto 05461 both use 1800-watt elements for quick preheating and recovery. Air-fryer-style cooking generally takes longer because it's moving hot air rather than surrounding food with hot oil. The Charbroil Big Easy uses infrared heat and is designed to cook large cuts faster than a traditional oven.
what is better air fryer or deep fryer
Neither is universally better — they do different jobs. A deep fryer surrounds food in hot oil, which is why it produces the texture people associate with fried food; the Presto 05420, Hamilton Beach 35035A, Elite Gourmet EDF-401T, and Presto 05461 all work this way. An oil-less cooker like the Charbroil Big Easy gives you fried-style results on large cuts with no oil at all. In my opinion, pick based on what you cook most: batch frying favors a deep fryer, whole birds and roasts favor the oil-less route.
what is healthier air fryer or deep fryer
The oil-less design is the clear difference here. The Charbroil Big Easy is explicitly built around no hot oil, so food isn't cooked in or absorbing frying oil. Deep fryers like the Presto 05420, Hamilton Beach 35035A, Elite Gourmet EDF-401T, and Presto 05461 cook by immersing food in heated oil. If reducing oil is your goal, the oil-less cooker is the one designed for that.
what's better air fryer or deep fryer
Same answer as above, framed by your kitchen. If you want countertop convenience and the ability to steam and boil as well as fry, the Presto 05461 covers the most ground. If you want small-batch frying without a big oil commitment, the Presto 05420 is the compact choice. If you want volume, the Hamilton Beach 35035A holds 19 cups of oil and cooks up to 12 cups of food at once. If you want two foods at once, the Elite Gourmet EDF-401T gives you three baskets. And if you want oil-free cooking outdoors, the Charbroil Big Easy is in a class of its own.
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