The Actifry & AirFryer Thread - Merged

Tom Dunne

greasepalm wrote: »

did you give them a squirt of olive oil in a pump spray to coat them?what temp and for how long as my frozen ones are 200 for 15mins.or slightly less.

I've found over the years that olive oil is actually not the best to use - try a good quality vegetable oil.

Simply put the raw potatoes into a large bowl, pour 2-3 tablespoons of oil over them, mix well so all the spuds are coated and away you go at 180 degrees.

Here's a few more pointers:

• cut the potatoes as small as you can - I am almost using cubed potatoes at this stage (well, slightly elongated cubes). They cook a lot better
• don't overload the basket as it prevents the air from circulating
• shake them regularly to ensure even cooking
• In contradiction to the first point above, I found some great frozen chunky chips in Tesco (own brand, black bag). They come out amazingly well in the air fryer and go well with a steak dinner

Thargor

Perfect steak this evening on my first attempt, 5 minutes preheating at 200 then in for 10 minutes, didnt shake it or turn it or even open the drawer and it came out cooked to perfection, as in better than the frying pan, fat all crispy like crackling and the meat was lovely and moist even though I only added salt and pepper and there was a fairly deep layer of crap in the drip tray, probably the best steak Ive ever cooked not on a barbecue to be honest. Ill probably only give it 8-9 minutes next time though. Crappy pic:



Funny thing about the Airfryer is its been a bit of a disappointment when it comes to chips so far which is why I bought it, but any meat I've done in it has been absolutely spectacular. Steak, pork chops, cheeseburgers, chicken burgers, Donegal Catch etc all perfectly cooked in 10 minutes. You can lay a full Irish of sausage, bacon, pudding, hash browns and a tomato in the basket and pull it out in 10 minutes perfectly cooked with half a pint of grease in the tray instead of in your gut... its just so effortless, and it tastes 10X better than anything that comes out of our horrible dirty electric oven, Ill never be able to do without one again tbh, theres a George Foreman in everyones house and they dont come close to the speed or quality of the Airfryer.

greasepalm

chips i like are mc,cains or aunt bessie.

rubadub

Tom Dunne wrote: »

[*]In contradiction to the first point above, I found some great frozen chunky chips in Tesco (own brand, black bag). They come out amazingly well in the air fryer and go well with a steak dinner
[/LIST]

Almost all frozen chips or wedges will be partially cooked in oil already. This is why frozen wedges take a shorter time to cook than freshly cut ones.

I was saying before most negative reviews about the airfryer are due to chips, and I think they are doing themselves a disservice by calling it an airfryer and making out like the chips will magically be like deep fried ones.

I would even add extra oil to frozen oven chips, I do this in a regular oven too.

Thargor wrote: »

Perfect steak this evening on my first attempt,

I had a few very nice steaks too, I did not leave it out to get to room temp since I knew it would be in for longer than on a pan.

Thargor wrote: »

You can lay a full Irish of sausage, bacon, pudding, hash browns and a tomato in the basket

I do eggs too.

Similar to what this person did

But I use silicone fairy cake cases

Thargor

Yeah the best thing to do is just use oven chips, I find Dunnes version of Tesco Finest in the black bags come out tasting like they've been deep fat fried, especially the crinkle cut ones. Not a healthy option though.

For the eggs I just do the perfect poached egg microwave trick, with a splash of vinegar its just like the egg you get in a good hotel breakfast:

http://www.food.com/recipe/microwave-poached-eggs-bon-appetit-magazine-455672

marklazarcovic

have a tefal for 6 months or so, best kitchen item ive bought,and i was mainly using it for chips,roasties . throw in a bag of baby spuds for 30 cent from lidl,a knob of garlic butter and a sprinkling of salt n pepper, 25 mins later unreal garlic roasted baby spuds.

ive just recently seen curries and chillies made in them in youtube vids,as well as stews and the like,wings and stuff .. simple to use,simple to clean,superb device imo.


only sorry i didnt get the biggest one

edit. also ,for leftover roasties the next day, 5 -6 mins and they are even better than fresh ...if ya get a take away and chips are a bit cool whn ya get home, 3 mins in the actifry and crispy goodness

rubadub

I find the airfryer brilliant for reheating real chipper chips, and anything that was deep fried, like batter burgers, chinese chicken balls or wings, onion rings etc, pizza comes out good too. I now use it to reheat stuff just as much as a microwave, the mircowave is terrible at reheating some of the stuff I listed.

I actually sometimes prefer the chipper chips when they are redone as sometimes they are just barely cooked in some chippers, you can get them really golden brown & crispy if that is what you like. The various supermarket "finest" chips or more expensive branded ones can be more expensive than a chipper per gram of chips. Many chippers give stupidly big portions.

BofaDeezNuhtz

rubadub wrote: »

I find the airfryer brilliant for reheating real chipper chips, and anything that was deep fried,
like batter burgers, chinese chicken balls or wings, onion rings etc, pizza comes out good too

rubadub
Mod: Nutrition & Diet :eek::eek:

:D:D;)

galljga1

05:00 in the morning: I wake up and cannot get back to sleep. I grab laptop and read; full Irish, poached eggs, perfect steak, crispy goodness........ I'm bloody starving.
You have almost convinced me to get one. Bigger is better, I presume.

holdmybeer

Philips Airfryer on sale.

Just bought the Philips Airfryer HD9220/20 for €110 with a 2 year warranty up in D.I.D Electrical in Galway. Cant wait to try it out with some of those recipes but anything is better than my crap oven cooking soggy chips.:D

http://www.did.ie/philips-airfryer-hd9220-20-prd?referer=heystaks_search_results&position=2

I hope it lives up to the hype.

holdmybeer

DID Electrical got a sale on the Philips Airfryer for €110, was €200 about a year ago.
This comes highly recommended as the best Airfryer on the market by multiple reviews on boards, amazon, ebay etc

Add a €5 for delivery if they're not near.

http://www.did.ie/philips-airfryer-hd9220-20-prd?referer=heystaks_search_results&position=2

firestarter51

thats the older model, keep an eye on currys they had the digital one a few months back for around 125, bound to come up again
thread on it already here somewhere

firestarter51

http://www.boards.ie/vbulletin/showthread.php?t=2057431218&page=6

amber2

Use pricespy handy to keep an eye on prices, basic model still €109 at Harvey Normans and Digital model €149 in Currys.

anto9

I paid the equivalent of E180 for one here in Thailand about 4 months ago (digital model ). Great invention.Throw pre -cut chips in without any oil ,and done in around 25 minutes .Also does meat and chicken etc with a far better taste than using a microwave .They say to use a tea spoon of oil ,but i find its best in most cases without any .The long term durability though i would question ,as its all plastic parts under great heat .

greasepalm

no hype its great and comes in white or black,black is cheaper,doing chicken breasts for my salad friday evening .

Peig Sayers

anto9 wrote: »

I paid the equivalent of E180 for one here in Thailand about 4 months ago (digital model ). Great invention.Throw pre -cut chips in without any oil ,and done in around 25 minutes .Also does meat and chicken etc with a far better taste than using a microwave .They say to use a tea spoon of oil ,but i find its best in most cases without any .The long term durability though i would question ,as its all plastic parts under great heat .

Are you sure you have the airfryer? There aren't any plastic parts in it. Sounds like it's the actifry you have?

anto9

^You are right .Yes i have the Tefal ,Actifry.

the_pod

Got one in DID today, haven't tried it yet but hope to later. Harvey Norman in Nutgorve seemed to be sold out yesterday but I didn't want to give my money to a shouty Ozzie anyway.

holdmybeer

Got some jumbo bbq sauce sausages down at the local butchers and it cooked them perfectly. Chips turned out nice as well but I will experiment with a few brands to find the perfect chip. Might try making my own over the weekend to see how it goes.

Extremely happy with it the cooking results, its as noisy as an open oven but it barely used €0.20 of electricity after more than an hour. Would definitely recommend this.

Thargor

Ive started making fried chicken in my Airfryer and it is coming out perfect, big packs of thighs and drumsticks or wings in Aldi for nothing, dump 2 eggs, a dash of milk, good amount of whatever hot sauce you like (BBQ and other sauces would work here aswell Id say), whip it up like omelet mix, I don't really bother with measurements, throw the chicken in and give it a good shake and/or let it marinate for a while then toss it in a couple of spoons of flour and whatever herbs you like (garlic grinder is nice here), into the Airfryer for 20 minutes on high. Its restaurant quality chicken for 10 minutes work.

The last couple of Aldi Super 6's have had Spatchcock garlic and herb chicken and theres currently lemon and honey thighs for €2 and these are perfect for the Airfryer aswell Ive found.

rubadub

holdmybeer wrote: »

Got some jumbo bbq sauce sausages down at the local butchers and it cooked them perfectly.

I do sausages at about 180 or 190, at 200 they often explode. I sometimes prick the skin.

If not pricked they can balloon up. I do mine for about 8-10mins with no preheating. When you pull them out the moment they are done they can look really odd, as the skin can be expanded out like a balloon, depending on brand. It can be tempting to put them back in again as you think they are not brown/done enough -but it is just like a long balloon, which goes a paler colour when blown up, when they cool down the skin contracts and they can look far browner.

Its ideal for people fussy about sausages who do not like any white/pale looking bits.

harr

Just tried this today...some mashed spud cooled down,roll into small balls and roll in what ever spices or seasoning you want. Then 10 minutes in the air fryer it's a gorgeous take on croquettes...

Lissavane

rubadub wrote: »

I find the airfryer brilliant for reheating real chipper chips, and anything that was deep fried, like batter burgers, chinese chicken balls or wings, onion rings etc, pizza comes out good too. I now use it to reheat stuff just as much as a microwave, the mircowave is terrible at reheating some of the stuff I listed.

I actually sometimes prefer the chipper chips when they are redone as sometimes they are just barely cooked in some chippers, you can get them really golden brown & crispy if that is what you like. The various supermarket "finest" chips or more expensive branded ones can be more expensive than a chipper per gram of chips. Many chippers give stupidly big portions.

Just wondered if anyone has tried shop-bought sausage rolls (from the chiller cabinet rather than frozen) in the airfryer. I imagine they should come out well. Don't have an airfryer myself yet but will soon.

rubadub

Lissavane wrote: »

Just wondered if anyone has tried shop-bought sausage rolls (from the chiller cabinet rather than frozen) in the airfryer. .

I have not done them but imagine they would be OK, I have done various pastry pies from the chiller section like mince beef & onion pies and they come out fine.


this is someone elses photos of the eggs I described before being done in silicone bun cases, 6 for 1.49 in dealz


and cakes which I have also done
http://www.mumseword.com/2013/12/baking-philips-airfryer/

Thargor

Sausage rolls are perfect I do Aldi ones all the time, just make sure they're not cold in the middle.

holdmybeer

Lissavane wrote: »

Just wondered if anyone has tried shop-bought sausage rolls (from the chiller cabinet rather than frozen) in the airfryer. I imagine they should come out well. Don't have an airfryer myself yet but will soon.

Yeah, I tried sausage rolls from the Aldi chilled section. Cooks them fast and they taste the same as when cooked in the oven.

podgeandrodge

Thargor wrote: »

any meat I've done in it has been absolutely spectacular. Steak, pork chops, cheeseburgers, chicken burgers, Donegal Catch etc all perfectly cooked in 10 minutes.

are we talking frozen burgers here or fresh meat burgers?
Thanks

Thargor

Both, just changes the cooking time. Obviously if you whack it on max temp and throw in a frozen cod or something it will be done on the outside and raw in the middle, you have to give it longer for things like that at 170-180 C. Google cook x in airfryer for anything and you'll find people discussing it.

holdmybeer

I tried the frozen burgers and find them easier with a frying pan as they can cause a mess and get very smokey. Fresh burgers are better suited to the Actifryer I reckon, its makes quick work of them.