Me, my Air Fryer and I… and You
Discussion
CharlesdeGaulle said:
Anyone tried it? What's the technique?
They came out okay, but I'm going to attempt them again.You'll need some glass ramekins though. Spray them with oil, put 3 tablespoons of water in the ramekin then crack the egg in.
Put in the preheated (190c) airfryer draw for 5-6 minutes, quickly check them after 5 minutes and decide if they could do with another minute or so, depending on how you like them. They sometimes slip out the ramekin or need a bit of encouragement with a spoon or rubber spatula.
Koyaanisqatsi said:
CharlesdeGaulle said:
Anyone tried it? What's the technique?
They came out okay, but I'm going to attempt them again.You'll need some glass ramekins though. Spray them with oil, put 3 tablespoons of water in the ramekin then crack the egg in.
Put in the preheated (190c) airfryer draw for 5-6 minutes, quickly check them after 5 minutes and decide if they could do with another minute or so, depending on how you like them. They sometimes slip out the ramekin or need a bit of encouragement with a spoon or rubber spatula.
lightningbolt said:
i've just discovered that you can do poached eggs in the air fryer you can do everything with that thing
You can also do them in the pressure cooker apparently, not tried it, but watched a YT vid earlier which looked pretty simple, i'll give a whirlMy sister bought me this for Xmas last year which is fab for eggs
https://bonnypack.com/products/quest-nutri-q-black...
Thinking of getting an air fryer, everyone tells me and the wife how great they are, however I just don't know if we'd benefit, I've made it this far in my life without one.
Doing a bit of research the general view is they seem to be a great and healthy alternative to frying, well we don't fry our food, so no benefit there, is this the only real benefit to one?
There is the energy saving element but a) our energy costs are minimal and b) using one 2-3 times a week does it really save a great deal over conventional cooking?
It's only me and the wife, I cook, if we did get one I'd like a 2 drawer one so I can do a main and a side at the same time, what's the thoughts on one, from people who have one, have you benefited or is it just something you use as you have it and it's not really as much as a game changer as it was sold to you? Is yours now just a big black and silver ornament in the kitchen taking up work top space?
Doing a bit of research the general view is they seem to be a great and healthy alternative to frying, well we don't fry our food, so no benefit there, is this the only real benefit to one?
There is the energy saving element but a) our energy costs are minimal and b) using one 2-3 times a week does it really save a great deal over conventional cooking?
It's only me and the wife, I cook, if we did get one I'd like a 2 drawer one so I can do a main and a side at the same time, what's the thoughts on one, from people who have one, have you benefited or is it just something you use as you have it and it's not really as much as a game changer as it was sold to you? Is yours now just a big black and silver ornament in the kitchen taking up work top space?
HTP99 said:
Thinking of getting an air fryer, everyone tells me and the wife how great they are, however I just don't know if we'd benefit, I've made it this far in my life without one.
Doing a bit of research the general view is they seem to be a great and healthy alternative to frying, well we don't fry our food, so no benefit there, is this the only real benefit to one?
There is the energy saving element but a) our energy costs are minimal and b) using one 2-3 times a week does it really save a great deal over conventional cooking?
It's only me and the wife, I cook, if we did get one I'd like a 2 drawer one so I can do a main and a side at the same time, what's the thoughts on one, from people who have one, have you benefited or is it just something you use as you have it and it's not really as much as a game changer as it was sold to you? Is yours now just a big black and silver ornament in the kitchen taking up work top space?
I use mine a lot, cooking for one or two. Calling them air fryers is a misnomer as they're really only small ovens, not fryers at all. Mine heats up much quicker than the oven (which I now only rarely use) and seems more reliably consistent. Doing a bit of research the general view is they seem to be a great and healthy alternative to frying, well we don't fry our food, so no benefit there, is this the only real benefit to one?
There is the energy saving element but a) our energy costs are minimal and b) using one 2-3 times a week does it really save a great deal over conventional cooking?
It's only me and the wife, I cook, if we did get one I'd like a 2 drawer one so I can do a main and a side at the same time, what's the thoughts on one, from people who have one, have you benefited or is it just something you use as you have it and it's not really as much as a game changer as it was sold to you? Is yours now just a big black and silver ornament in the kitchen taking up work top space?
The one I have is a large single drawer which I very much prefer. The only drawback I find with them in general is that you're limited in what you can cook only by the size, so I would guess that two small drawers might limit you more than one large one.
Overall, I'm a massive fan.
CharlesdeGaulle said:
HTP99 said:
Thinking of getting an air fryer, everyone tells me and the wife how great they are, however I just don't know if we'd benefit, I've made it this far in my life without one.
Doing a bit of research the general view is they seem to be a great and healthy alternative to frying, well we don't fry our food, so no benefit there, is this the only real benefit to one?
There is the energy saving element but a) our energy costs are minimal and b) using one 2-3 times a week does it really save a great deal over conventional cooking?
It's only me and the wife, I cook, if we did get one I'd like a 2 drawer one so I can do a main and a side at the same time, what's the thoughts on one, from people who have one, have you benefited or is it just something you use as you have it and it's not really as much as a game changer as it was sold to you? Is yours now just a big black and silver ornament in the kitchen taking up work top space?
I use mine a lot, cooking for one or two. Calling them air fryers is a misnomer as they're really only small ovens, not fryers at all. Mine heats up much quicker than the oven (which I now only rarely use) and seems more reliably consistent. Doing a bit of research the general view is they seem to be a great and healthy alternative to frying, well we don't fry our food, so no benefit there, is this the only real benefit to one?
There is the energy saving element but a) our energy costs are minimal and b) using one 2-3 times a week does it really save a great deal over conventional cooking?
It's only me and the wife, I cook, if we did get one I'd like a 2 drawer one so I can do a main and a side at the same time, what's the thoughts on one, from people who have one, have you benefited or is it just something you use as you have it and it's not really as much as a game changer as it was sold to you? Is yours now just a big black and silver ornament in the kitchen taking up work top space?
The one I have is a large single drawer which I very much prefer. The only drawback I find with them in general is that you're limited in what you can cook only by the size, so I would guess that two small drawers might limit you more than one large one.
Overall, I'm a massive fan.
First try tonight will be parmesan chicken with Mediterranean veg and new potatoes.
It does seem a monumental waste of energy to heat an oven up, a quite big space then to cook a tray of whatever for 20 or so minutes.
HTP99 said:
CharlesdeGaulle said:
HTP99 said:
Thinking of getting an air fryer, everyone tells me and the wife how great they are, however I just don't know if we'd benefit, I've made it this far in my life without one.
Doing a bit of research the general view is they seem to be a great and healthy alternative to frying, well we don't fry our food, so no benefit there, is this the only real benefit to one?
There is the energy saving element but a) our energy costs are minimal and b) using one 2-3 times a week does it really save a great deal over conventional cooking?
It's only me and the wife, I cook, if we did get one I'd like a 2 drawer one so I can do a main and a side at the same time, what's the thoughts on one, from people who have one, have you benefited or is it just something you use as you have it and it's not really as much as a game changer as it was sold to you? Is yours now just a big black and silver ornament in the kitchen taking up work top space?
I use mine a lot, cooking for one or two. Calling them air fryers is a misnomer as they're really only small ovens, not fryers at all. Mine heats up much quicker than the oven (which I now only rarely use) and seems more reliably consistent. Doing a bit of research the general view is they seem to be a great and healthy alternative to frying, well we don't fry our food, so no benefit there, is this the only real benefit to one?
There is the energy saving element but a) our energy costs are minimal and b) using one 2-3 times a week does it really save a great deal over conventional cooking?
It's only me and the wife, I cook, if we did get one I'd like a 2 drawer one so I can do a main and a side at the same time, what's the thoughts on one, from people who have one, have you benefited or is it just something you use as you have it and it's not really as much as a game changer as it was sold to you? Is yours now just a big black and silver ornament in the kitchen taking up work top space?
The one I have is a large single drawer which I very much prefer. The only drawback I find with them in general is that you're limited in what you can cook only by the size, so I would guess that two small drawers might limit you more than one large one.
Overall, I'm a massive fan.
First try tonight will be parmesan chicken with Mediterranean veg and new potatoes.
It does seem a monumental waste of energy to heat an oven up, a quite big space then to cook a tray of whatever for 20 or so minutes.
We've recently bought the Devology Dual Tray air fryer available on Amazon, which is our second Air Fryer after many happy years with an ActiFry. Only used it a few times so still figuring out what it can do, but initial thoughts:
- Great for meat products I'd normally do under the grill - can do some tasty pork belly in 10-15 minutes without filling the kitchen with smoke and it does lovely crackling on chops.
- Not so great for chips. If you only want an air fryer for chips get the ActiFry as the end products is far nicer.
- We've used it a couple of times to "roast" meat, find it a bit drier than out of the oven so we'll keep using that - although we do have a gas oven so takes little time to heat up and puts a lovely finish on everything.
It's a decent tool and for the right meal can work wonders, not sure if I'm on the "Air Fry all the things" train just yet however.
- Great for meat products I'd normally do under the grill - can do some tasty pork belly in 10-15 minutes without filling the kitchen with smoke and it does lovely crackling on chops.
- Not so great for chips. If you only want an air fryer for chips get the ActiFry as the end products is far nicer.
- We've used it a couple of times to "roast" meat, find it a bit drier than out of the oven so we'll keep using that - although we do have a gas oven so takes little time to heat up and puts a lovely finish on everything.
It's a decent tool and for the right meal can work wonders, not sure if I'm on the "Air Fry all the things" train just yet however.
HTP99 said:
Thinking of getting an air fryer, everyone tells me and the wife how great they are, however I just don't know if we'd benefit, I've made it this far in my life without one.
Doing a bit of research the general view is they seem to be a great and healthy alternative to frying, well we don't fry our food, so no benefit there, is this the only real benefit to one?
There is the energy saving element but a) our energy costs are minimal and b) using one 2-3 times a week does it really save a great deal over conventional cooking?
It's only me and the wife, I cook, if we did get one I'd like a 2 drawer one so I can do a main and a side at the same time, what's the thoughts on one, from people who have one, have you benefited or is it just something you use as you have it and it's not really as much as a game changer as it was sold to you? Is yours now just a big black and silver ornament in the kitchen taking up work top space?
I was in the same boat a few weeks ago, and couldn't see the point. I didn't want to spend a lot to try one, but the cheaper ones were small. However, on my last trip to Costco, they had a 7 litre one on offer for about 40 quid, so a relatively cheap gamble. I figured that a large single drawer was better, as you could put big things in, like a chicken, or small pizza, and stack stuff on racks for main and sides.Doing a bit of research the general view is they seem to be a great and healthy alternative to frying, well we don't fry our food, so no benefit there, is this the only real benefit to one?
There is the energy saving element but a) our energy costs are minimal and b) using one 2-3 times a week does it really save a great deal over conventional cooking?
It's only me and the wife, I cook, if we did get one I'd like a 2 drawer one so I can do a main and a side at the same time, what's the thoughts on one, from people who have one, have you benefited or is it just something you use as you have it and it's not really as much as a game changer as it was sold to you? Is yours now just a big black and silver ornament in the kitchen taking up work top space?
Since then I've cooked everything in it, from fried stuff (mainly chicken and fish), to whole roast chicken and a small pork joint. Main benefits I've found is that it's much quicker (whole chicken was less than an hour), more predictable on the timings, and the food seems to come out better.
I don't know if it saves me anything on running costs over my gas oven, but at the moment I prefer it.
I'm struggling to find reliable guides on how to cook stuff (program, temp, time).
I don't mean 'recipes' because there are loads of those, but if I just want to roast a chicken, or do some fish fingers.
Also, guides for 'simple' stuff like cottage or fish pie, or lasagne or even just bolognese (can I even?)
I can do 'proper' cooking, and I do, but nobody seems to want to help me just simply cook a thing without turning it into a creation.
I don't mean 'recipes' because there are loads of those, but if I just want to roast a chicken, or do some fish fingers.
Also, guides for 'simple' stuff like cottage or fish pie, or lasagne or even just bolognese (can I even?)
I can do 'proper' cooking, and I do, but nobody seems to want to help me just simply cook a thing without turning it into a creation.
Doofus said:
I'm struggling to find reliable guides on how to cook stuff (program, temp, time).
I’ve just bunged stuff in and learnt by the results.The rule of thumb for Air Fryers is temperature 10% down and time 20-25% less than a fan oven. I use ‘Air Fry’ mode for 95% of cooking.
Anything new now I can usually adapt the method of a similar recipe. Most things are similar to something I’ve already done now.
With regards to ready meals (cottage pies / lasagne etc), I wouldn’t put them straight into an Air Fryer as it takes too long. I’ve found microwaving them for 5-10 mins (depending on size / type), then finishing them in the air fryer to finish and to crisp / caramelise the topping. It works much better and more effectively. Just be careful that the packaging is suitable.
Ham_and_Jam said:
Doofus said:
I'm struggling to find reliable guides on how to cook stuff (program, temp, time).
I’ve just bunged stuff in and learnt by the results.The rule of thumb for Air Fryers is temperature 10% down and time 20-25% less than a fan oven. I use ‘Air Fry’ mode for 95% of cooking.
Anything new now I can usually adapt the method of a similar recipe. Most things are similar to something I’ve already done now.
With regards to ready meals (cottage pies / lasagne etc), I wouldn’t put them straight into an Air Fryer as it takes too long. I’ve found microwaving them for 5-10 mins (depending on size / type), then finishing them in the air fryer to finish and to crisp / caramelise the topping. It works much better and more effectively. Just be careful that the packaging is suitable.
I wasn't talking about ready meals. If I make a cottage pie (from ingredients), it ultimately goes in the oven for 30-40 minutes. Can I do that bit in the air fryer? Likewise bolognese etc. I suspect ready meals can be microwaved.
Doofus said:
I'm struggling to find reliable guides on how to cook stuff (program, temp, time).
I don't mean 'recipes' because there are loads of those, but if I just want to roast a chicken, or do some fish fingers.
Also, guides for 'simple' stuff like cottage or fish pie, or lasagne or even just bolognese (can I even?)
I can do 'proper' cooking, and I do, but nobody seems to want to help me just simply cook a thing without turning it into a creation.
I find that it's more or less the same as fan oven settings. Err on the side of caution initally by doing a few minutes less, until you get the hang of it. For reference, a medium chicken took me 50 minutes at 180 (I think). Cook it upside down for the first half hour, then turn over.I don't mean 'recipes' because there are loads of those, but if I just want to roast a chicken, or do some fish fingers.
Also, guides for 'simple' stuff like cottage or fish pie, or lasagne or even just bolognese (can I even?)
I can do 'proper' cooking, and I do, but nobody seems to want to help me just simply cook a thing without turning it into a creation.
Frozen fish fingers would take about 10 mins, at a guess.
What confused me at first was the different settings, such as roast, bake, air fry etc, until I discovered that they all do the same thing, and are just preset times and temps for convenience. So just use whichever, and adjust the time and temp manually to suit.
QJumper said:
What confused me at first was the different settings, such as roast, bake, air fry etc, until I discovered that they all do the same thing, and are just preset times and temps for convenience. So just use whichever, and adjust the time and temp manually to suit.
That makes sense. I've used Fry and Bake, but couldn't really see what the difference was. You've explained that. 
Doofus said:
That makes sense. I've used Fry and Bake, but couldn't really see what the difference was. You've explained that.
Depends on the make of Air Fryer you have.On Ninja Air Fryers it changes the fan speed.
Air Fry has the fastest fan speed / quickest cook time
Roast - Middle fan speed
Bake - Lowest (gentle) fan speed
Ham_and_Jam said:
Doofus said:
That makes sense. I've used Fry and Bake, but couldn't really see what the difference was. You've explained that.
Depends on the make of Air Fryer you have.On Ninja Air Fryers it changes the fan speed.
Air Fry has the fastest fan speed / quickest cook time
Roast - Middle fan speed
Bake - Lowest (gentle) fan speed
OK, first go tonight:
Mediterranean veg and new potatoes with parmesan chicken.
This took 25 minutes in total, the veg 25, the chicken 15, I love that I could just chuck the veg and potatoes in together, no par boiling just bung em in and give it a shake half way through, I think in future I'll cut the potatoes a bit smaller to take the cooking time down to 20 mins and put the courgette in at 10 minutes in, as I did with the cherry tomatoes.
Chicken was great, very flavoursome but I'd probably knock a couple of minutes off the cooking time as it was very close to being a tad over cooked, tasted fine though and the wife loved it, also used zero oil with the chicken, in the past with panko covered chicken it had to be shallow fried, thus causing splatter all over the hob and that horrible oily cooking smell which is still there in the morning.
So far, so good also minimal cleaning up, very quick to do whilst the food is cooling.
Thursday is teriyake salmon with rice and air fried broccoli.
Oh, cooked off 4 sausages to try it out, they were done in 8 minutes, nicely browned all over too, of course under a grille they would have been 15 minutes, needed turning and then I've a grille and pan to clean!
So far, I'm very happy with my purchase.
Mediterranean veg and new potatoes with parmesan chicken.
This took 25 minutes in total, the veg 25, the chicken 15, I love that I could just chuck the veg and potatoes in together, no par boiling just bung em in and give it a shake half way through, I think in future I'll cut the potatoes a bit smaller to take the cooking time down to 20 mins and put the courgette in at 10 minutes in, as I did with the cherry tomatoes.
Chicken was great, very flavoursome but I'd probably knock a couple of minutes off the cooking time as it was very close to being a tad over cooked, tasted fine though and the wife loved it, also used zero oil with the chicken, in the past with panko covered chicken it had to be shallow fried, thus causing splatter all over the hob and that horrible oily cooking smell which is still there in the morning.
So far, so good also minimal cleaning up, very quick to do whilst the food is cooling.
Thursday is teriyake salmon with rice and air fried broccoli.
Oh, cooked off 4 sausages to try it out, they were done in 8 minutes, nicely browned all over too, of course under a grille they would have been 15 minutes, needed turning and then I've a grille and pan to clean!
So far, I'm very happy with my purchase.
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