Recommend an airfryer please

Wheety

Does anyone have an airfryer they'd recommend? Is the food good from them? I know Lidl an Aldi do have them and Lidl definitely have some now, Tower and Swan. Or is it better to stick to a more recognised brand?

Me, my wife and baby at home, so nothing massive needed, I don't think?

oLoonatic

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/2058207764/recommend-an-airfryer-please

There is 4 in our household and have the Ninja Dual which is fantastic. My father has the tower and lives alone and is ideal for him, plus much cheaper than model I have.

dmcg90

I have this, love it to bits - Ninja AG551UK Foodi MAX Health Grill + Air Fryer

bigar

I have the Philips XXL and could not praise it enough. It makes life so easy. I use it almost every other day for something.

Wheety

Thanks for the recommendations so far. I think the AG551UK and the Philips XXL might be out of our budget. Sorry, I should hacve stated one. I'd be hoping to keep it less than around €130 but could stretch to the Ninja Dual. The only thing I don't like is the 2 smaller baskets instead of a large one. It looks quite big too.

The Corsori seems to be getting good reviews. Anyone have one?

Air fryer are ok but they're not the be-all and end-all, they're good for some stuff and useless for others like home made chips, far better off with a deep fryer for this, we tried 2 of them and the results were the same.

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/117859056#Comment_117859056

It's a lot healthier than a deep fat fryer though.

That's a big reason for a lot of people.

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/117859068#Comment_117859068

For oven ships an air fryer is fine but for home made chips with spuds an air fryer is absolutely useless, I prefer home made chips as they taste a lot better lol.

Nothing wrong with a deep fryer if it's not used daily, I think if anyone is using an air fryer daily then this is equally not so good, So I would say if the deep fryer is not used frequently then it's the better way to cook. Or if the space is there for storage get the two lol.

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/117859407#Comment_117859407

an air fryer is an oven.

there is nothing that wrong with using that daily assuming you're not adding lots of oil.

a deep FAT fryer is an artery-clogging saturated fat kitchen machine.

Not to mention far far less cancer-causing compounds in your chips

There is also evidence that using an air fryer reduces a compound known as acrylamide by up to 90%, compared to deep fat frying. Acrylamide is a chemical substance that is formed when starchy foods, such as potatoes, are cooked at high temperatures (above 120C) and it is a known carcinogen.

dotsman

I have had a Tefal actifry for many years (maybe 8 at this stage?). Overall it is great, with it basically being somewhere between an oven and a deep-fat fryer in terms of taste/results, but not as unhealthy as a deep-fat fryer.

If one is going down the route or already has) of oven chips, then absolutely - this is much better. They taste better and are cooked uniformly (i.e. not still soggy in the middle while the ends are all black).

However, if looking to replace a deep-fat fryer, you might want to note a few things.

• Much slower cooking times (for me, 30 minutes typically gives the best results, maybe a bit longer if you are maxing out the size)
• It is loud, so you wouldn't want it cooking while you are trying to have pleasant conversation in the kitchen at the same time.
• Portion size - you might get enough for 3, maybe 4 portions in one go. However, if you are ever feeding more than that, you will have problems as, with the slow cooking time, you can't just put one lot on, and then serve them or leave them in the oven for a few minutes while you quickly cook another batch etc (which you can do with a deep-fat fryer).

For my own parents when they were thinking of getting one, I strongly urged them to buy one, but still keep the deep-fat fryer. Use this when it is just the two of them. But use the deep-fat fryer when there are lots of guests (adults + grandkids etc) as it would be useless for large numbers.

dotsman

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/117859429#Comment_117859429

While I agree that deep fat fryer chips are unhealthy, I wouldn't say oven chips are fine. More "not as bad". I certainly don't think eating them daily would be considered by doctors to be a healthy diet (unfortunately😯)

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/117859513#Comment_117859513

I certainly wasn't suggesting eating oven chips everyday. not at all.

What I was suggesting is that you could use the air fryer every day for sure and eat healthy. many people do.

it's very versatile for cooking stuff and much easier to clean than a conventional oven.

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/117859429#Comment_117859429

Artery clogging ? depends on the oil you use, some are much better than others and some People are far more prone to having high colesterol than others but To be honest, there's vastly worse than occassionally deep frying some chips, I think if anyone depends on an airfryer or deep fryer daily then they might perhaps need to alter their diet.

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/117859912#Comment_117859912

an air fryer is only a small convection oven - there is no actual frying happening.

it bakes the food in hot air.

What Is Convection Baking?

Convection baking introduces a fan to the interior of an oven, allowing hot air to be blown around and onto the food. The force of the air thus transfers more heat to the surface of the food, so that it produces more crispiness than an ordinary oven (but still far less than an actual deep-fryer)

So air fryers are, in essence, convection ovens.

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/2058207764/recommend-an-airfryer-please

for 2 people or more you'd want the xl sizes really imo - at least 5.5 litres size capacity, don't go smaller

the main advantages imo are - quicker than oven, makes food crispier, easy to clean (empty grease, into dishwasher)

Philips are the OG brand here but if you go with anything on amazon with at least a few hundred reviews and a score of 4.4 or over should be ok

you can get ones with fancier presets etc but all you need is a timer and temp selection

https://www.amazon.co.uk/Uten-Digital-Circulation-Adjustable-Temperature/dp/B07W4HGM61/ref=sr_1_8?dchild=1&keywords=airfryer+xl&qid=1631054871&refinements=p_72%3A419153031&rnid=419152031&sr=8-8

dotsman

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/117860071#Comment_117860071

To be fair, something like the actifry is a lot more than an oven (or even a fan-oven). It is the constant rotating that ensures a perfectly consistent cook as opposed to an oven (both the pictures and the author's reference in that article seem to be regarding cheap air fryers which probably aren't much different than a fan oven). Also, you would typically add a few ml of oil to the fries, whereas you typically wouldn't when cooking in an oven.

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/117861400#Comment_117861400

I never add any oil if was doing pre-bought oven chips.

obviously if making from raw potatoes you would have to dress them in oil to some extent or they would be pretty tasteless

having some rotating thingy may help but I have the philips that doesn't rotate and it cooks perfectly evenly because what's actually important is consistent airflow of the heated air.

dotsman

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/117861409#Comment_117861409

But if 2 chips are touching (which will happen quite a bit), how does the air get to the parts that are touching (with the same consistency as the parts that aren't touching) ?

bassy

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/117861573#Comment_117861573

you can take out the basket and shake the chips so the all get cooked evenly,i would do this 2-3 times during the cooking.

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/117861573#Comment_117861573

tbh I personally don't find it an issue with the Philips and get good even results

I might (but not always) give it a quick shake maybe after 5 minutes as other poster has suggested

once you're not piling lots of chips on top of each other

Ash.J.Williams

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/117858256#Comment_117858256

you are now officially an influencer as i'm about to buy a ninja duel

dotsman

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/117861582#Comment_117861582

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/117863476#Comment_117863476

Ah, ok. With the "wand" in the actifry, the chips are constantly being shaken (slowly) throughout the cook. That way, you can have enough chips for 3-4 decent portions in a single cook without having to worry about it.

ellejay

Hi would you fit a 2kg whole chicken in an air fryer and how does it compare to roasting a chicken in the oven please

dxhound2005

There is a big thread in Food and Drink.

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/2057063796/the-actifry-airfryer-thread-merged/p52

Wheety

The Cosori 5.5Ltr wifi is on a lightening deal at the moment. 25% off. £90 so a tenner cheaper than the non wifi one.

On Amazon

COSORI Smart WiFi Air Fryer 5.5L 100 Recipes, Chip Fryers for Home Use, Digital Touchscreen with 11 Cooking Presets ,Keep Warm, Preheat & Shake Remind, 1700W : AmazonSmile: Home & Kitchen

Pawwed Rig

Don't do it. We have one at home and all it seems to produce is dried out sausages and horrible chips. Ours is going to have a mysterious fault very soon that can't be fixed. Nothing tastes better from an air fryer imo

Wheety

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/117886750#Comment_117886750

But they're just a small fan oven. I know you're meant to reduce the time of the oven instructions as it cooks quicker.

Ozvaldo

Philips are the way to go the rest are rubbish

Pawwed Rig

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/117896735#Comment_117896735

I wouldn't cook sausages in an oven at all. Air fryer implies a replacement for frying pan which it definitely isn't

Mr.Crinklewood

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/117858374#Comment_117858374

Howdy.. sorry for bumping this.... just checking if you are still in love?

dmcg90

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/120393030#Comment_120393030

Still going strong!

Would I buy it again? Probably not, I don't use half the features. I'd go for a cheaper Cosori on Amazon.

apache

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/117886750#Comment_117886750

I've never had an airfryer. Some people swear by them. Am tempted to go to my local DID to purchase a Ninja. I think it's like €140.

Bit **** that you feel that way.

Edit - I see that's an old post.

whomitconcerns

I bought a ninja dual a few weeks ago. I have cooked chicken, sausages, chips and boiled eggs in it. Nothing was dry, nothing was horrible. Well I did overcook some chicken fingers, but that was all on me.

It's fast, no pre heating, no oil at all. Great

HeidiHeidi

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/120441395#Comment_120441395

I have a Philips one, and I'm only meh about it.

It's definitely handy if you want something small like a few sausages or fish fingers, or to heat/crisp up a bread roll. But it's really easy to dry stuff out in it, and if you put anything big in the outside winds up totally dried up by the time the middle is cooked. It makes unreal chips though!

So for the small stuff (frozen canapes at Christmas, sausage rolls, that sort of thing) it's fine - but I'd still prefer those things from a real oven.

I use it, it's handy - but would I buy one again if this one broke? Probably not. It's a big lump of an expensive thing for some guaranteed lovely chips every now and then.

apache

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/120441429#Comment_120441429

Ah the lovely chips would seal the deal for me. I'm used to oven chips.

greasepalm

I also have the Philips Air Fryer and find it great and use it for oven chips , onion rings , sausage rolls , fish fingers and other things.

apache

Bought a Ninja today and some rooster potatoes. Just have to get this out of my system. Chips later..

I have a Tefal air fryer and it is great for the likes of lamb or pork chops, any kind of burger or even a chicken breast on the bone, but I gave in recently and bought a small deep fat fryer for home made chips.

Air fried chips are just a poor imitation of chips.

apache

I haven't eaten all day and just made a plateful of freshly cut chips. Delicious, I'm sold. Looking forward to trying different things.

Pythagorean

My deep fat fryer broke so I decided to try an air fryer, but was not keen on spending a bucketload of cash. I found one in Tesco, 60 euros Clubcard price. I've used it for chips, and falafel. The verdict: it produces a reasonable imitation of deep fried chips, not bad, it does save a lot of time as there is not much preheating required. The convenience outweighs by a small margin, the loss of flavour/ texture of deep frying. As for the falafel, it turns out very crisp.Overall, I would say I prefer deep fried, but the air fryer is a reasonable substitute.