Air fryers

[robfosters]

The question to ask is can I poach an egg in the oven? Google it, yes you can.

There is no such thing as an ‘air fryer’ it’s simply a marketing term. These little boxes we all have which people think ‘fry air’ are in fact just small convection ovens. The small size comes with benefits such as being able to heat up quickly and too a higher temperature.

These little ovens have been around for decades - what do you think melts the cheese on your subway?

So the next time anyone wonders if their little oven can cook a potato or a cake ask yourself could I cook it in a big oven? If the answers yes and it fits in your little oven then bingo .

So if you buy a cold subway for later, can you whack the wrapped sub in the air fryer to toast it and melt the cheese?

 

[Reuben klang]

I do mine in the Speedi and use the steam function.
Not tried air fry, but notice plenty on a quick search.

Air Fryer Poached Eggs | ProCook

Serve up perfectly cooked eggs every time with our easy poached egg in air fryer recipe. Our air fryer poached eggs make brunch simple yet tasty.

www.procook.co.uk

Nice, I’ll have to give it a go. I wasn’t too sure how well they worked out. I’ve tried a couple of those daft things you buy but they never seem to work.

The question to ask is can I poach an egg in the oven? Google it, yes you can.

There is no such thing as an ‘air fryer’ it’s simply a marketing term. These little boxes we all have which people think ‘fry air’ are in fact just small convection ovens. The small size comes with benefits such as being able to heat up quickly and too a higher temperature.

These little ovens have been around for decades - what do you think melts the cheese on your subway?

So the next time anyone wonders if their little oven can cook a potato or a cake ask yourself could I cook it in a big oven? If the answers yes and it fits in your little oven then bingo .

FWIW there’s water in the sea.

Yes. Although to be honest if I'm looking for a quick poached egg then I tend to do it in the microwave. Crack an egg into a mug half filled with boiled water, pierce the yolk to stop it exploding, one minute on full power (your settings may vary) and it's ready.

Does the yolk stay together? I want to try this but I don't want to be wiping egg out of my microwave on a Saturday night lol

I’m going to try this tomorrow morning, I’m going to be a nervous reck incase it does explode!

 

[Mr Badger]

Does the yolk stay together? I want to try this but I don't want to be wiping egg out of my microwave on a Saturday night lol

Yes it stays together. You can stick a saucer on top of the mug to be on the safe side. Also, if your microwave is a more powerful model you might want to start with 40 seconds and then check the egg, especially if you like the yolk to stay runny.

 

[Reuben klang]

Right. I attempted this this morning.

Some nice free range eggs from the local farm, used one of the white ones.

Poked yoke, poured boiling water and mixed it so it was creating the vortex. Poured egg in and quickly placed it in the micro.

Photo isn’t that great due to the steam

Then within 20 seconds, while watching it went BANG

Back to a pan for me.

 

[bazzabear]

How are people getting on with the Life span of these units? if they need replacing every few years, then they become less cost effictve than using your oven

We have a Cosori 5.5l air fryer, and it just broke. The connection from handle to basket snapped (I think my shaking is too vigorous). Checked how long we'd owned it though and was amazed to find 5.5 years, so I'm not terribly upset about that. Besides which, we could buy a replacement basket for £20. (Although as it happened the whole unit was on sale for £66, and the basket is on back order and we'd have to wait 1-2 months for it. So we've actually just bought a new one.

So the next time anyone wonders if their little oven can cook a potato or a cake ask yourself could I cook it in a big oven? If the answers yes and it fits in your little oven then bingo .

Generally true, but there are exceptions I have found. I think because the heat is from the top, it can make some things go a bit wrong if a crispy top would be an issue.

For instance, they're actually pretty good at cooking ready meals. But if the ready meal is one that has rice as half of it - even though you can happily do that in an oven - if you do it in the air fryer you end up with crunchy rice.

There's the odd other thing I've found them not great at. Linda McCartney veggie sausages go a bit weirdly brittle (but then they're like cardboard at the best of times in my opinion!)

 

[aVdub]

For instance, they're actually pretty good at cooking ready meals. But if the ready meal is one that has rice as half of it - even though you can happily do that in an oven - if you do it in the air fryer you end up with crunchy rice.

As long as correct measures are used, we've had good results with rice meals in the Ninja Speedi and the one occasion it was crispy, was due to not washing the rice and adding an incorrect amount of water.

 

[Brazo]

So if you buy a cold subway for later, can you whack the wrapped sub in the air fryer to toast it and melt the cheese?

I suppose in theory. Subway and many other catering companies have been using these small powerful ovens for years under brand names such as merry chef or turbo chef the term air fry is misleading, my wife genuinely thought they were like a healthier ‘fryer’.

Of course the Convection ovens Subway use are powerful in comparison to the little ones we have so it may need longer than 30 seconds!

 

[Mr Badger]

Right. I attempted this this morning.

Some nice free range eggs from the local farm, used one of the white ones.

Poked yoke, poured boiling water and mixed it so it was creating the vortex. Poured egg in and quickly placed it in the micro.

Photo isn’t that great due to the steam

Then within 20 seconds, while watching it went BANG

Back to a pan for me.

Strange. After seeing your post I made two poached eggs for lunch using this method and as usual they came out fine with no explosions. Do you perhaps have a high power microwave or could there have been a yolk piercing failure?

As previously mentioned I use a half filled mug and stick a saucer over the top whilst microwaving.

 

[Reuben klang]

Strange. After seeing your post I made two poached eggs for lunch using this method and as usual they came out fine with no explosions. Do you perhaps have a high power microwave or could there have been a yolk piercing failure?

As previously mentioned I use a half filled mug and stick a saucer over the top whilst microwaving.

I’ve got a 1400w micro it’s a beast. I stabbed it with a fork a couple of times. I stuck a plastic lid on the top and that blew off

I won’t be trying it again.

 

[Mr Badger]

I’ve got a 1400w micro it’s a beast. I stabbed it with a fork a couple of times. I stuck a plastic lid on the top and that blew off

I won’t be trying it again.

If curiousity ever does get the better of you, I suggest you try running your beast at half power.

 

[cheesefest]

The other day, I had a Higgidy pie (yellow sticker bargain at work) and had AF instructions on it. Put into my Speedi and it was lovely and pastry nice, golden and crispy. It was the same as the oven but 5 mins less. Will try that formula for future pie cooking.

 

[robfosters]

The other day, I had a Higgidy pie (yellow sticker bargain at work) and had AF instructions on it. Put into my Speedi and it was lovely and pastry nice, golden and crispy. It was the same as the oven but 5 mins less. Will try that formula for future pie cooking.

Air fryer instructions are starting to get very widespread now. It’s about time too.

 

[ddoubleep]

M&S have started putting Air fryer instructions on their bits. Timings differ a lot to the oven so they all must have done their market research.

 

[China Man]

Basically use lower temperature than the oven and shorten the time. I had burnt a fair share of food to gain the experience of oven time to air fry time

 

[ddoubleep]

Basically use lower temperature than the oven and shorten the time. I had burnt a fair share of food to gain the experience of oven time to air fry time

Yup! Rule of thumb I found is lower by 20c and just check a bit more as easier to pull the drawer out.

 

[aVdub]

Food thermometer is a well worthy investment, especially when trying new things in the AF

 

[ddoubleep]

Food thermometer is a well worthy investment, especially when trying new things in the AF

Which one do you use?

 

[arknor]

Which one do you use?

just get a normal in oven thermometer but wipe it clean every use.

unless your talking the ones you stab meat with, just get a cheap digital one off amazon/ebay

 

[ddoubleep]

Yeah I use a cheap one from eBay that folds away and does the job for those duties. Was just seeing hadn't missed anything. I just check based on time and more or less correct. I found the ones left in didn't always work and food was still raw as temp readings were wrong.

 

[aVdub]

Which one do you use?

I have one left over from my days doing QC work on fruit, but any half decent with good reviews will do. As long at is food safe.