Air fryer

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So I took the leap and bought an air fryer after people on here rave about them. We've used it for the first time today and after waiting the required time, opened it up, super excited, and our chips were... hard.
What am I doing wrong? What should I do next time? I'm gutted, and the air fryer was £120 so not something I'm willing to give up on after the first failure. Any advice? Please!

Following with interest. Got one for my birthday bit so far everything I've tried, I think it would be just as easy to do in the oven. I need ideas too as it was expensive?

Well yes they will be a bit crunchy… did you par boil them first and toss in oil?

So hard as in not cooked? Or hard as in burned?
Do you fresh chips or frozen?
Did you over fill?

Try halloumi or tofu. Also good for fish, steak and chicken or roasted veggies.

Hard as in not cooked. I didn't parboil first, none of the recipes I've looked at told me to although we will be next time.
We usually make healthy chips in the oven and parboil them first. I was hoping this was a magic appliance that cut out that step but I guess not.

Also, didn't overfill. There was loads of room left.

My AF came with instructions, which always work for me.
Soak chips in cold water for a while - as you would do if deep-frying.
Pre-heat AF to 160.
Rinse a few times, dry off. Put in a bowl, add oil (1tsp is about right for 1-2 people), toss & transfer to AF for 18 mins @160, then 12 mins @180.
Shake or toss a few times during cooking.

I make oven chips and don't par boil , maybe you didn't cook them for long enough!

Cross-posted. No need to parboil

I have an instant pot air fryer. For home made chips it takes 20 minutes on the hottest setting, then they come out perfect without any prep, just oil and salt. Oven chips take far less time.

@KittenKong

Well yes they will be a bit crunchy… did you par boil them first and toss in oil?

No you don't parboil them

Put them in for longer

With the parboil - literally shove them in a pan of boiling water for 2 mins (maybe it’s to take off the starch?) then roll in oil. Don’t overfill the basket and give them a rattle half way through cooking.

I want chips now…

I never parboil. I use fresh and frozen chips with oil. Never had an issue.
I use an air fryer. Love the actifryer I bought.

How long did you cook them for? I made some yesterday, 20 minutes on 195c and they came out perfect. No soaking or parboiling.

Preheated the air fryer (because it was its first time out so it told us to run it for 10 mins with nothing in), then had chips on for 23 mins on 200°, then probably another 20 mins altogether with some shaking in between. They weren't even particularly thick, probably skinnier than oven chips.

Add a couple of tbsp of water halfway though, that works for me, anyway. Also remember that oven chips don't take as long as the oven cook time; more like 2/3 in my experience

@ThePontiacBandit

I have an instant pot air fryer. For home made chips it takes 20 minutes on the hottest setting, then they come out perfect without any prep, just oil and salt. Oven chips take far less time.

I just bought one of these as well

How long do oven chips take from frozen please?

Mine is a cheapo from QVC but at least it can go back.

I put our actifry for fresh chips on 45 mins. They are fab.

EmmaH2022 I do them for about 10 minutes, give or take depending on thickness. Did 10
Minutes skinny fries yesterday and they came out great.

I have been think of one, but it seems like ( from posts here) that they are no quicker than in a fan oven . Are they more energy efficient than a fan oven though?

@ThePontiacBandit

EmmaH2022 I do them for about 10 minutes, give or take depending on thickness. Did 10 Minutes skinny fries yesterday and they came out great.

Ooh sounds good.

Hoping also it will do nice crispy tofu.

I wouldn't say it's loads faster than an oven but I do prefer it

I do sausages in it with just a spray of oil they're always good as high fat content, frozen chips in 20 mins at 200 which a quick toss in the middle, chicken breast with chilli and grated cheese stuffed in a little cut down the middle is great! 20 mins.

I did trial and error and the first ones weren't good of anything.

Therefore I mastered frozen chips before sort of thinking I have a feel for the rest, same temp as oven, slightly less cook time, I like cleaning it compared to oven trays - and cleaning the oven less often which is a big bonus ;)

I've even done fried eggs in ramekins and boiled eggs both good!

Another that is getting sucked into the hype but still just now sure about the quick and easiness compared to a normal oven?

Things I have used air fryer for in the last week:

Chicken nuggets and fries for dd
Quick breakfast banana muffins
Roasted tomatoes and onion
Chinese rib ready meal
Mini pork roast
Jacket potatoes

As a rule, I don't use it for whole meals but it is a quick and convenient way to cook certain foods or small amounts. Other things we use it for regukarly:

Crumbed chicken breasts/fish cakes/chicken kievs (from freezer)
Breakfast croissants
Sausages

Overall, not a lot of things but it's all super useful. Often quicker and/or easier and/or more efficient.

I've had my airfryer for about 6 months and I'm totally converted.

With chips I don't particularly like to make my own, and prefer frozen chips which take about 20-25 mins on 190 and come out perfect. If I do make my own chips then I soak them in cold water for an hour or so first, drain them, pat them as dry as possible, and then cover in oil and salt and cook for about 30 minutes on 190.

I challenged myself to only use my airfryer instead of my oven because it was fairly expensive and I didn't want it to be an unused gadget taking up space on the counter. Since having it, I've used my oven once. I'd recommend getting small oven dishes to go in it, and a wire rack so you can stack different items and cook them at the same time.

Keep going with it, just try different things and practice