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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 · 6 min read · Independent comparison
• Louisiana Fish Fry Products Air Fry Variety — biggest strength: six boxes of coating mix (2 chicken, 2 pork, 2 fish) formulated specifically for air fryers, each coating roughly 2 lbs of food. It's a seasoning-and-crunch solution for the appliance you already own.
• Louisiana Fish Fry Products Air Fry Variety — biggest trade-off: it's a consumable. Once the boxes are used up, so is the product, and it does nothing for anyone who wants to fry in oil.
• MENDED Stainless Steel Deep — biggest strength: a reusable stainless steel pot, basket and lid set for small-batch stovetop frying, sized for compact kitchens and small portions.
• MENDED Stainless Steel Deep — biggest trade-off: it requires hot oil and a stovetop, and it's deliberately small, so it won't feed a crowd in one go.
• Buy the Louisiana Fish Fry pack if you cook buffalo chicken in an air fryer and want the coating handled for you.
• Buy the MENDED pot if you want a reusable fryer vessel for fries, shrimp, tempura and other small-batch fried food.
This is a six-box variety pack of seasoned coating mix — two chicken, two pork, two fish — and the whole point is that it was formulated with air fryers in mind rather than adapted from a traditional fry mix. Each box coats about 2 lbs of chicken, pork or fish, so the math is simple: if you're doing a couple of pounds of wings or tenders for buffalo chicken, one box does the job. The brand also notes it works in a conventional oven, which matters if you air fry some nights and roast on others.
The strongest use case is buffalo chicken in an air fryer. Toss wings, tenders or breast pieces in the coating, air fry them, then sauce them. The coating is designed to hold crunch under that kind of treatment, and because air frying uses very little oil, the messy part of the process — a pot of hot oil — disappears entirely. It's also genuinely convenient for anyone feeding one or two people who doesn't want to buy five separate boxes of a single flavor. The mixed pack lets you rotate chicken, pork and fish without committing to one.
Who should skip it? Anyone who wants to deep fry in oil. This is a coating, not equipment, and it can't help you if your cooking method is a stovetop pot. It's also a poor fit if you already have a favorite breading or a homemade buffalo chicken routine you're happy with — you'd be buying redundancy. And if you cook for a large household regularly, a six-box pack is going to move fast; you'll be restocking, which is worth factoring in before you commit.
The MENDED set is a compact stovetop deep fryer: a stainless steel pot, a lift-out frying basket, and a lid. The dimensions tell the story — roughly 10.3 x 5.1 x 5.5 inches and about 1.1 lb — so it's small enough to live in a cabinet and light enough to pull out without thinking twice. That's the design intent: small-batch frying for kitchens that don't have room for a dedicated countertop fryer or a big stockpot rig.
The basket is the part that earns its keep. You fry in the pot, lift the basket, and excess oil drains back into the pot rather than pooling around your food or your counter. The lid is a simple but sensible addition — cover the pot between uses so the oil and the vessel stay clean and dust-free. Stainless steel construction means the whole set is designed for everyday stovetop wear rather than a single season of use, and the three pieces separate for cleaning and nest together for storage.
Recipes it's built for: French fries, fried chicken, shrimp, fish, tempura, fried vegetables and similar small portions. It is not a buffalo chicken air fryer solution. If you want crispy buffalo chicken without a pot of oil, this isn't the tool — the coating pack is. And because it's explicitly small-batch, it's the wrong pick for anyone frying for a family of five in one pass. You'd be cooking in rounds. It's also a stovetop item, so it assumes you have a burner free, which is exactly what air fryer owners are often trying to avoid.
• Best for air fryer buffalo chicken → Louisiana Fish Fry Products Air Fry Variety. The chicken coating is formulated for air fryers, and each box handles about 2 lbs.
• Best for stovetop deep frying in oil → MENDED Stainless Steel Deep. Pot, basket and lid in one compact stainless steel set.
• Best for variety without buying five boxes → Louisiana Fish Fry Products Air Fry Variety. Two chicken, two pork, two fish.
• Best for small kitchens and small portions → MENDED Stainless Steel Deep. About 10.3 x 5.1 x 5.5 inches and 1.1 lb, sized for cabinet storage.
• Best for reusable, one-time-buy cookware → MENDED Stainless Steel Deep. A consumable coating runs out; a steel pot doesn't.
• Best for less mess and less oil → Louisiana Fish Fry Products Air Fry Variety. Air frying sidesteps the hot oil entirely.
• Best for fries, shrimp, fish and tempura → MENDED Stainless Steel Deep. These are the recipes the set is designed around.
• Best if you already own an air fryer and just need the coating → Louisiana Fish Fry Products Air Fry Variety. It slots into equipment you already have.
If buffalo chicken is the goal and you already own an air fryer, I'd buy the Louisiana Fish Fry Products Air Fry Variety. In my opinion it solves the actual problem — a coating built for the air fryer that keeps its crunch on wings, tenders and breast pieces — and the mixed six-box pack means you're not locked into one protein. I'd only steer you to the MENDED Stainless Steel Deep if you specifically want to fry in oil on the stovetop and cook in small batches. The two aren't really competitors. One is what you put on the chicken; the other is what you'd fry it in — and for air fryer buffalo chicken, you only need the first.
FAQ
how to air fry buffalo chicken bites
how to air fry buffalo chicken dip
Buffalo chicken dip isn't coated or fried, so neither product is used for the dip itself. The Louisiana Fish Fry chicken coating is for the shredded or diced chicken you'd fold in if you want a crispier texture, but a standard dip doesn't call for it.
how to air fry buffalo chicken breast
Coat breast pieces in the Louisiana Fish Fry chicken coating and air fry, then sauce. The mix is formulated for air fryers and each box coats about 2 lbs of chicken, which is a reasonable amount of breast for two or three servings.
how to air fry buffalo chicken tenders
Toss tenders in the coating, air fry, then sauce — this is the most natural fit for the Louisiana Fish Fry pack, since the chicken coating and the air fryer are designed to work together. If you'd rather deep fry them in oil, the MENDED pot and basket set is the alternative route.
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See also: Vexon 6-IN-1 vs Grano Care Stainless Steel Air, stainless steel air fryer tray, DOITOOL Stainless Steel Air vs NUEAYMS Rotating Rotisserie Grills