Air fryer- help, not quite as expected!!

[TheBeaTgoeson1]

Hi all! I bought an air fryer on a very good deal. It’s an instant pot plus, duel drawer. I paid around £40 reduced from ?!?!

It works, and I’ve cooked things but I’m struggling to get the amazing chips I was hoping for, and struggling to get the balance right, not incinerating things, and cooking them to perfection.

Can anyone give me some fail safe recipes to build my confidence?

Frozen chips 20 minutes at 200 degrees x can never get home made ones crispy enough!!
Bacon goes at 180 for 15 minutes

Im not sure you do get amazing chips. An air fryer is just a small fan oven. It cooks faster and uses less energy because its small but that's it.

Yes, I like my air fryer but I'm not sure if understand why others rave about them so much. They are just little ovens which use less electricity and cook things a bit faster. They do make things nice and crispy sometimes, but I don't think you can expect miracles.

The thing I like about mine most is that it's a lot easier to clean than the oven!!

I'm in the minority, but I don't like my air fryer.
It's a large dual drawer but if food lies on top of each other it doesn't cook properly, you can't fit much in, some things are left to go cold while you wait for something else. You can't see how it's progressing.

I don't get the appeal! So far I've only used again for sausages and bacon.

With my oven I just put everything in and it cooks together.

I think I’ve found my people. I use mine for sausages but on grill. Chicken on air fry is usually moist and it cooks slightly faster than in the oven but only about 10 minutes. Hardly life changing. I think it’ll be handy when my dc are home less but while I’m cooking for 5 it’s easier to use the oven.

I don't rate them at all. I just use it as overspill for my oven or when I just need something small.

It depends on the air fryer but a lot of things I cook a bit lower (170 -180) from 3 quarters of the time and then turn it up at the end to crisp up. Otherwise I find some things too overcooked.

We cook most things from scratch so I was sceptical to begin with. However we have had some success with chips, pitta pizza and finishing jacket potatoes off in it. It's very handy when we are all in and out at different times.

They’re just a powerful mini oven. Ideal for my student nephew because he’s cooking for 1, doing basic stuff, wants it to be quick and is on a tight budget so doesn’t want to put the oven on. I also liked it when I had toddlers who needed an early supper because it could do a couple of fish fingers in record time. But they’re hardly life changing and chips in any quantity are better in the oven where you can spread them out on a big tray.

Thanks! I feel Like I need to persevere 😣 There have been small successes!

My air fryer chips are amazing - chop potatoes, coat in oil and season in a bowl, 25 mins in the ninja. They're unbelievable 🤌🏼