Are air fryers worth it?

JackieChang · 19-09-2021 11:26AM #1

There's one in my local Lidl's now for €50. Tower brand. I might buy it.

I had a look at a few in curry's. I looked inside and there's a heating element at the top. So it's basically a grill? Is the food burnt black at the top and frozen on the bottom?

What are chips like out of them? Not home made chips but the ones you get from the freezer. I've seen a few photos of air fryer chips and it looks like the edges get burnt and the middle stays raw. They just look like bits of wood chippings. Very dry looking. Looks like they came out of a dessicator for drying herbs.

Also what are sausages like out of them? And black pudding?

Please tell us all about air fryers.

19-09-2021 11:35AM

Best kitchen appliance since teh rice-cooker.

If the basket is full you have to flip everything around midway but otherwise just think of it as a compact convention oven.

Texture of the food comes out better than any other cooking method (deep fryers not with-standing).

Super quick, super easy to clean, super healthy, tastes magic.

kirk. · 19-09-2021 11:35AM

Google was invented for people like you

Montage of Feck · 19-09-2021 04:36PM

Its basically a small fan oven.

ablelocks · 19-09-2021 05:14PM

air fryers, even the so called xxl versions, are only for 2-4 people.

a big fan oven, with the setting for grill and fan on at the same time, is a bigger version of an air fryer.

accensi0n · 19-09-2021 05:20PM

Best toasted sandwich I've ever had was from that tower air fryer recently. Chips from it are great as well.

paska · 19-09-2021 05:32PM

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/2058209484/are-air-fryers-worth-it

If you can stretch to a pressure cooker & air fryer combined you will be sorted. Best thing I ever bought

19-09-2021 05:58PM

Air fryers are just fan ovens, so if you have a fan oven, no need for air fryer

Xcellor · 19-09-2021 06:01PM

They are smaller, heat up quicker though food gets piping much faster so saves on electricity. I have fan oven but would nearly always prefer air fryer.

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/117912093#Comment_117912093

19-09-2021 06:16PM

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/117912099#Comment_117912099

I get where you are coming from, but for me, I can't be doing with extra equipment clogging up the kitchen if I don't need it!

19-09-2021 06:21PM

Air fryers are great for most types of frozen food, I use mine regularly, for breaded fish or chicken.

I also use mine for burgers and chops, (either pork or lamb) but I stopped using mine for sausages because I found it made the sausage skin tough and leathery.

I don't use mine for chips. I just don't think they come out right from an airfryer. If we're having chips I prefer to just go buy a bag of chips from the local chipper, as none of the frozen kind are as good.

I'm thinking of buying a single portion deep fat fryer just for homemade chips.

bogwalrus · 19-09-2021 08:30PM

Makes the best chips.

My chip recipe should really have iconic status on boards.

1. Any cleaned large spuds chopped with skin on to create really skinny maccy D's lenthgs but can be twice as wide tbh.

2. Soak in container of cold water for a few mins with some sugar. This activates the starches and makes fries fluffy in middle and crispy on outside.

3. Dry off with kitchen tissue or whatever. Needs to he nice and dry now.

4. Coat with a tiny bit of oil. Salt and pepper and some rosemary if you have it.

5. In a pre heated air fryer. (I use cosori which is best one on Amazon around 50 euro). Put chips in basket but don't overfill. Need to have the right quantity to get the crispiness.

6. 200c for 18 mins turning half way. You can experiment a bit with temp and times but this should to the trick.

You will never make chips any other way again.

Cienciano · 19-09-2021 08:47PM

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/117912093#Comment_117912093

Air fryer doesn't have to heat up and cooks quicker. If you do a lot of smaller stuff in the oven (as in one shelf of stuff, not pizzas obviously) then an air fryer is well worth it

19-09-2021 09:39PM

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/2058209484/are-air-fryers-worth-it

We got one about a year ago, and would definitely recommend. Got the Lidl Tower one first, but we quickly outgrew it (it's very small), so we spent a bit more money and bought a ProBreeze model with more capacity.

Thargor · 19-09-2021 09:46PM

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/117911922#Comment_117911922

Do not listen to this person as they are completely wrong.

Just get an airfryer OP, read the 5000 post thread over in the Food forum if you want but TLDR version its the best kitchen gadget you'll ever buy and your oven will probably end up gathering dust apart from the Sunday roast.

19-09-2021 09:48PM

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/117912949#Comment_117912949

No they are not wrong.

Thargor · 19-09-2021 09:51PM

Yes they are, an airfryer and a fan oven are not the same. No more than a toaster and a toaster oven are the same. He is describing grilling, an Airfryer is not a grill.

rob316 · 19-09-2021 09:51PM

It's like best kitchen invention honestly OP. I buy so much shite gadgets for the kitchen and the air fryer is used more than anything in the kitchen. I even have a back up air fryer if my current one fails, couldn't be without it.

Suckit · 19-09-2021 10:01PM

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/117910525#Comment_117910525

Nope, Google was invented to plague my life with adverts.

19-09-2021 11:37PM

So, OP, if you want to get rid of your fan oven(if you have one) and have plenty of room in your kitchen, then an air fryer is your man!

Nermal · 20-09-2021 09:41AM

An airfyer and a fan oven are as alike as a Yaris and a Lamborghini.

leex · 20-09-2021 10:03AM

Have a Philips XXL model. Probably the best appliance we have ever purchased and we have a lot. Frozen oven chips are almost similar in quality/taste to deep fried version and a lot better than what is cooked on a tray in a fan oven. Cooking time is a lot lower (maybe 33%) than a fan oven. There is no pre-heat required either. Cleaning is a non event also as all of the key components can be placed in dishwasher.

Gregor Samsa · 20-09-2021 10:06AM

If you need to fry air, accept no substitute.

But seriously, we got one for our mobile home during the summer. Gas oved isn't working, and the site doesn't supply enough power to run an electric cooker, so we needed something to do the things we don't cook on the hob or BBQ. Got a cheap one in SuperValue.

It cooks stuff really well. Sausages and black pudding are amazing out of it - they're two of the things we use it for the most. Heats up in less than two minutes, and then takes about half the time to cook stuff as it would in a fan oven. Apart from a turn or quick shake half way though, it's set and forget. No oil needed, and it gathers any fat that drips from the food. It's not ideal for everything (you wouldn't cook a pizza in it, but we use a pizza oven on the BBQ for that), so it wouldn't replace an oven in a domestic situation, but it completely replaced the grill for us. Great for reheating stuff.

Only problem is the capacity. There's 5 of us in the family and for some dishes we'd have to use two runs. But the capacity is the reason that it's so efficient: it's only heating up a small space instead of the 50+ litres an oven has.

Now that the season is over, we'll be taking ours home, and I can see us using it a lot.

theteal · 20-09-2021 10:12AM

Our Philips one must be 7-8 years old, it's showing it's age but it has been well used. Where we had a deep fat fryer in the house growing up, my kids now have the much more neat/tidy/healthy air "fryer" so that can't be a bad thing. Yeah it takes a fair bit longer but the results are good.

Sgt Hartman · 20-09-2021 11:01AM

I have a Tower one and I think it's great, especially for doing sausages and black pudding. I usually get Tesco Finest chunky oven chips which turn out pretty good if cooked at 200 degrees for 20 minutes, turning half way.

GLaDOS · 20-09-2021 11:02AM

Is there much of an issue with smell?

My mam and sister both have one, but use them out in the utility room/garage as they say it stinks the place up a bit.

I don't have anywhere similar and am hesitant to stink the house up with chip smell.

Badly Drunk Boy · 20-09-2021 11:33AM

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/117914290#Comment_117914290

The only smell I get is the food cooking, which isn't a bad thing and it's definitely not strong. Unless maybe they don't clean theirs properly, and that's what's causing the smell. 🤷‍♂️

ablelocks · 20-09-2021 11:49AM

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/117912969#Comment_117912969

to clarify, i'm describing fan assisted grilling in an oven, an air fryer also does fan assisted grilling, in a smaller unit.

My post was mainly for people who want to achieve similar results for more people

Mollydog123 · 20-09-2021 07:10PM

Chicken wings and Chicken drumsticks are lovely out of it. Use the BBQ during the summer and the tower air fryer during the winter

archfi · 20-09-2021 07:33PM

Invested in one a short (that can rotisserie cook a chicken) while back and it is now indispensible.

JackieChang · 20-09-2021 08:19PM

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/117916900#Comment_117916900

Which model is that?

Are air fryers worth it?

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