Air fryers...anyone have anything positive to say?

[JohnM]

3 hours ago, unapologetic pedant said:

Firstly, I`ll admit that being domestically indolent is part of the explanation.

However, my breadmaker isn`t quite so non-stick, especially the kneading-blade. And I`m not sure "fill pan with... " does fully get the "job done". There still has to be a final clean in the washing-up bowl. Which means awkwardly manoeuvring the pan around, smashing into taps, slipping from rubber-gloved hands, and generally straying into Frank Spencer territory.

The item is still in it`s box in a corner of the kitchen, 20 years old, not been used for at least 19. I keep thinking to have another go, then the thought of the cleaning supersedes the first thought. It`s a pity, because the bread it made was excellent, particularly if you got the crust right.

ebay it. there's a premium on antiques. 

 

We were given a George Forman grill. it sits unused as cleaning that really IS a chore.

Philips liquidiser ditto.

Then there's my band-saw, pillar drill, glue gun,  bottle jack, car ramps...........

 

 

Edited March 15, 2021 by JohnM

[Bob8]

I use a proper deep fat fryer. Like a God fearing real man. 

[Bleep1673]

20 minutes ago, Bob8 said:

I use a proper deep fat fryer. Like a God fearing real man. 

I use a chip pan, like a God expecting man.

And a grill for my toast, until I am evicted.

[voteronniegibbs]

10 hours ago, unapologetic pedant said:

Initially the slow cooker seemed perfect for gammon and brisket joints. As you say, "works a treat".

However, I got fed up with disposing of all the liquid fat you`re left with. Almost a third of the way up the pot sometimes. I would worry about pouring it down the sink.

 

I find the gammon works a treat, we put thickly chopped onions in with it and use them for the gravy.

I do agree about the fat from some pieces of meat, we did a few pork shoulder joints, which were nice and tender but the amount of grease was just too much so we've stopped doing pork.

They do make a brilliant stew for when you come in from work of an evening, the smell is great when you walk in the front door.

[my missus]

whats an air fryer?

[voteronniegibbs]

talking of new kitchen gadgets, Mrs VRG bought one of these "oxo" brand veg peelers last week.

Being the new man that I am, I thought I'd earn a few smartie points by prepping some veg this morning, it only took 3 minutes for me to take a chunk out of me thumb with  it, they are sharp ( sharp with a capital F )

[Futtocks]

3 hours ago, unapologetic pedant said:

10 minutes !!!! - Really?

Since I`ve had an electric cooker, a couple of times in the brief interim between a kettle pegging out and my buying a new one, I`ve had to boil water a few times in a pan on the hob. Probably takes under 10 minutes on full-pelt. Unless you`re exaggerating that would be a month of Sundays on your equivalent.

Okay, the grill is a little quicker than getting the oven heated up. The latter takes 10-12 minutes to come up to 180 degrees. But the grill (basically the top element of the oven) still takes 6-7 minutes to hit a useable temperature. By that time, a toaster will have already finished the job and I'll have probably finished the toast too.

The stove-top hobs have a solid cover over the heating element. Easier to clean than the uncovered spiral types, but slower to heat up, and changing temperature takes ages. That's why I bought the induction hob.

[HawkMan]

1 hour ago, my missus said:

whats an air fryer?

This is an air fryer, I have one and it's a fine piece of kit. Don't use it all the time , but it's great for an alternative to oven cooking. I use it for stuff that I can't really get a nice crispy finish in the oven. Meat pies, fish fingers,  roast chicken pieces with skin on it. They come out amazingly crisp, and all the taste is locked in. Air fryers are also clean cooking and easy to clean the kit afterwards. Anything that can be oven cooked can be air fryer cooked, you just knock off 20 degrees from the suggested heat on the packet and 30% of the cooking time. 

Edited March 15, 2021 by HawkMan

[unapologetic pedant]

When any of the shopping channels feature air fryers, it`s usually a huge fat bloke demonstrating. Which is exactly how it should be. Huge fat blokes are more gastronomically authentic.

[Futtocks]

6 minutes ago, unapologetic pedant said:

Huge fat blokes are more gastronomically authentic.

 

[metallithrax]

45 minutes ago, Futtocks said:

 

Watch Guga a lot, really knows his stuff on steak.

 

We have an airfryer, really only used it for chips though.  Slow cooker we use for stew, curry, chilli and the meat just falls apart.

 

Never thought of doing pies in it though.  Might have to try it as in the oven they always spill their innards.

Edited March 15, 2021 by metallithrax

[HawkMan]

8 minutes ago, metallithrax said:

 

 

Never thought of doing pies in it though.  Might have to try it as in the oven they always spill their innards.

Pies work well, but it's trial and error to work out how long you leave it in. Knock 20 degrees off the oven temperature and 40% off cooking time. Also remove from foil containers. 

[Mumby Magic]

Well I'm collecting a slow cooker of which I've never used one for free today. They were also giving an air fryer away too 

[JohnM]

52 minutes ago, Mumby Magic said:

Well I'm collecting a slow cooker of which I've never used one for free today. They were also giving an air fryer away too 

Slow cookers really useful and work well. I should have added that to my list of electrically powered gadgets that we use  frequently. Also need to add our vegetable steamer, too.

No air-fryer, though, so can't comment.

[Futtocks]

2 hours ago, Mumby Magic said:

Well I'm collecting a slow cooker of which I've never used one for free today. They were also giving an air fryer away too 

Very useful things, as long as you use them for the right ingredients. I did pork ribs in mine on Sunday, albeit finished in a regular oven to make the glaze sticky.

A friend got one, and was underwhelmed at first. Turns out she was doing things like chicken breast and other lean meat in it.

One tip for slow cookers is if you're cooking something relatively small, or don't want to end up with lots of liquid, you can put it in a roasting bag, or in a smaller pot within the cooker, maybe using some water around it for a bain-marie effect.

An ox cheek, in a roasting bag with onions and herbs and a little stock, doesn't need to be covered with liquid you may not want, and it the juices that are in the bag at the end are very intensely-flavoured. If using the slow cooker normally, it'd need at least a pint of liquid to cover the meat, which would then need reducing in a saucepan. Using a roasting bag also means less washing-up.

[Copa]

23 hours ago, Mumby Magic said:

Well I'm collecting a slow cooker of which I've never used one for free today. They were also giving an air fryer away too 

A simple slow cooker meal that I’ve always had great success with:

4 Tbsp red curry paste (it’s a Thai curry paste)
4 Tbsp fish sauce
4 Tbsp brown sugar
4 Tbsp peanut butter
2 cans coconut cream/milk (either seems to work)
1kg chicken thigh fillet
1kg sweet potato

Combine the first 5 ingredients and place in slow cooker with diced chicken.  Cook on slow for 7 to 8 hours. Dice sweet potato and add to curry for last 1 hour or so (switch cooker to high once its been added).

It’s sweeter and less spicy than most red curries which means even the fussy will probably like it.

Edited March 17, 2021 by Copa

[Oldbear]

Recently got one, so still figuring it out. We also got an air fryer cookbook as part of the package (my wife had some Amazon gift vouchers that she wanted to spend, so got a Ninja air fryer plus this cook book), have to say the cook book (not supplied by Ninja, just an independent food writer), is not very helpful since the cooking times posted seem wildly inaccurate. 
 

I think we just need to keep figuring out by trial and error, maybe I should report back in a couple of months.

[Bearman]

A year ago we bought an ordinary deep fryer. We hadn't had fried chips cooked at home for years and years, just oven chips.

We followed the instructions using Maris Piper, the chips were ok.. just chips.

Then as it was during lockdown and we couldn't get to the shops we pulled some oven chips out of the freezer and wondered would happen if if we put them into the deep fat fryer. The results were amazing, really crispy chips cooked to puffy perfection in the middle.

Now whenever the Grandsons come round they must have Mama's chips for tea.

[Futtocks]

4 hours ago, Bearman said:

A year ago we bought an ordinary deep fryer. We hadn't had fried chips cooked at home for years and years, just oven chips.

We followed the instructions using Maris Piper, the chips were ok.. just chips.

Then as it was during lockdown and we couldn't get to the shops we pulled some oven chips out of the freezer and wondered would happen if if we put them into the deep fat fryer. The results were amazing, really crispy chips cooked to puffy perfection in the middle.

Now whenever the Grandsons come round they must have Mama's chips for tea.

Oven chips will be part-cooked already, so using the deep fat fryer to finish them would be a bit like making twice-cooked chips from scratch.

With that method, you get the raw chips cooked all the way through at a lower heat, then take the chips out, raise the oil temperature and put the chips back in again to get the colour and crispiness.

[unapologetic pedant]

1 hour ago, Futtocks said:

Oven chips will be part-cooked already, so using the deep fat fryer to finish them would be a bit like making twice-cooked chips from scratch.

With that method, you get the raw chips cooked all the way through at a lower heat, then take the chips out, raise the oil temperature and put the chips back in again to get the colour and crispiness.

Long time back we had a spell buying frozen chips that were specifically for the old-style chip pan not the oven.

I remember them turning out like larger versions of chip shop scraps. Hardly any white potato evident. No doubt unhealthy, but very tasty with a tonne of salt and vinegar.

[Old Frightful]

Bit the bullet after seeing a 6month old Cosori 5.5 litre air fryer available on fb market place locally for £60. It's gonna be a bit hit and miss getting used to it but, my word, it doesn't half cook fast and is very easy to clean.

I'm using my lad as a guinea pig until I'm confident...

[DI Keith Fowler]

Got a Ninja Foodi a few months back, the air fryer mode is decent but not the best. I've seen a Tefal one in action that gets a much better crisp, which I suspect is because it moves the chips around slowly whereas the Foodi doesn't move at all.

I would say the pressure cooker function on the Foodi has been a revelation though, especially for weeknight cooking if you want something a bit more elaborate but in half the time. 

[Bob8]

On 18/03/2021 at 10:32, Bearman said:

A year ago we bought an ordinary deep fryer. We hadn't had fried chips cooked at home for years and years, just oven chips.

We followed the instructions using Maris Piper, the chips were ok.. just chips.

Then as it was during lockdown and we couldn't get to the shops we pulled some oven chips out of the freezer and wondered would happen if if we put them into the deep fat fryer. The results were amazing, really crispy chips cooked to puffy perfection in the middle.

Now whenever the Grandsons come round they must have Mama's chips for tea.

We are the two decent men here. 

[HawkMan]

Just this morning tried fish fingers in fryer. Amazing,  crisp  and really tasty. 200 degrees for 9 minutes. 

[Gerrumonside ref]

7 minutes ago, HawkMan said:

Just this morning tried fish fingers in fryer. Amazing,  crisp  and really tasty. 200 degrees for 9 minutes. 

Fish fingers for breakfast!  You animal!  Haha