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Best handy electric cooking device

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  • 23-11-2011 6:30pm
    #1
    MungBean
    Closed Accounts Posts: 3,915 ✭✭✭


    Whats the best thing you can get for cooking frozen foods (chips, burgers,sausages,fishfingers etc) ?

    Are there any handy ovens or fryers or new fangled things that people would recommend ?

    Need to buy something handy but dont know whether to go with a dirty old fryer or one of those shopping channel type gadgets that could be brilliant or could be crap.

    Anyone any ideas ?


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    #2
    sillysocks
    Registered Users Posts: 2,641 ✭✭✭sillysocks


    Don't know if they're any good but might be worth checking out the new type of fryer that only uses tiny bits of oil. Think it might be called air fryer.


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    #3
    babaduck
    Registered Users Posts: 488 ✭✭babaduck


    I have a Tefal ActiFry - it's great because of the teeny amount of oil but it's bulky & cooking in it does take a lot longer. Why not use your oven???


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    #4
    phormium
    Registered Users Posts: 3,343 ✭✭✭phormium


    Halogen oven, ideal for small amounts of any of foods you mentioned. Particularly good for oven chips, frozen fish in breadcrumbs, anything like that, cooks it faster than normal oven and browns it unlike microwave. Approx €50, saw original kind in B&Q last week for that and a different version in Dunnes yesterday for same price. Can bake lovely scones in it too, 15mins from start to finish, half a dozen fresh scones baked. I love it, it is one of the most useful things I have ever bought. You can roast a chicken in too, great for the roast potatoes at Christmas too as it really browns things well.

    I bought one for my 80 yr old father and he makes great use of it rather than turning on main oven for small things. Might not suit family size portions if that is what you want but excellent for one or two people.

    Bit bulky but no worse than deep fat fryer I imagine, I keep it in utility room.


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    #5
    MungBean
    Closed Accounts Posts: 3,915 ✭✭✭MungBean


    babaduck wrote: »
    I have a Tefal ActiFry - it's great because of the teeny amount of oil but it's bulky & cooking in it does take a lot longer. Why not use your oven???

    Oven runs on oil and it takes ages to heat, the thermostat is broken, I have to switch panels over with screwdriver type things and its just a general pain in the hole. Plus if I did most of the cooking in something else I'd save on oil over the winter. Would you say the ActiFry thing was a good buy or disappointing ?

    @phormium I'll look into those halogen things. I'd basically be throwing some chips, bit of fish or few nuggets into in in the evenings so it sounds like the job.


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    #6
    phormium
    Registered Users Posts: 3,343 ✭✭✭phormium


    Would be perfect for you so, mind you not the best diet to eat every evening


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    #7
    MungBean
    Closed Accounts Posts: 3,915 ✭✭✭MungBean


    phormium wrote: »
    Would be perfect for you so, mind you not the best diet to eat every evening!

    There might be an odd evening I'd be too lazy to cook at all so it'll all even out. :pac:


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    #8
    phormium
    Registered Users Posts: 3,343 ✭✭✭phormium


    http://www.jmldirect.com/invt/h01wc20100000001?gclid=CIjljOf3zawCFUtC4Qodhh5PrA

    This is the one I have and the one available in B&Q, but basically I think they all work the same. There is a kit of extra bits you can buy like cooking tray & lid holder but you can manage without them. Before I got the tray I used to use a large tinfoil plate or that mesh you can get in Lidl sometimes for cooking pizza or chips on.


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    #9
    MungBean
    Closed Accounts Posts: 3,915 ✭✭✭MungBean


    phormium wrote: »
    http://www.jmldirect.com/invt/h01wc20100000001?gclid=CIjljOf3zawCFUtC4Qodhh5PrA

    This is the one I have and the one available in B&Q, but basically I think they all work the same. There is a kit of extra bits you can buy like cooking tray & lid holder but you can manage without them. Before I got the tray I used to use a large tinfoil plate or that mesh you can get in Lidl sometimes for cooking pizza or chips on.

    How big is it ? Can ya fit a normal sized chicken into it ? Or is that a pigeon in the pic ?


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    #10
    MungBean
    Closed Accounts Posts: 3,915 ✭✭✭MungBean


    I'm buying it on your recommendation phormium, and just so ya know I dont have house insurance so if I'm burnt out your liable for the full cost of rehousing me and replacing my priceless collection of bits n bobs. And a new non house burning oven of some kind.


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    #11
    phormium
    Registered Users Posts: 3,343 ✭✭✭phormium


    It can hold a fine size chicken, in fact I have an extender ring on mine and can fit a small turkey in it.

    I just measured it for you, the bowl is 13" across and 6" deep.

    Ha! You burn down your house that's your problem! I can't be blamed if you can't cook!!!


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    #12
    MungBean
    Closed Accounts Posts: 3,915 ✭✭✭MungBean


    Is yours the same thing Mr T is sellin ?

    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WbzIefRJ0N8


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    #13
    phormium
    Registered Users Posts: 3,343 ✭✭✭phormium


    Pretty much the same thing. All the ads for these things exaggerate what they can do, they are great for the frozen stuff that you want, they will roast a chicken but not in 20 minutes. It is faster than an oven but I would not say 3 times as fast. They do not bake cakes as the heat does not get under the tin correctly so base is pale and uncooked. They do scones very well though, I turn them upside down for last few minutes to brown the bottom. They wont fry steak as good as a pan, salmon they will do, sausages fine but rashers can be overcooked easily. Never tried pork chops, dont see why they wouldnt work, its handy too that you can see exactly whats happening without having to open it and look.

    And they DO NOT wash themselves, most rubbish claim ever, yes you can put hot water in and it will kind of swirl around the bottom few inches but that doesnt clean it. I don't clean it after every use unless I did roast a chicken or something, nuggets and chips etc will only get a few crumbs around it and the odd wash will do.


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    #14
    UrbanSea
    Closed Accounts Posts: 18,335 ✭✭✭✭UrbanSea


    The Philips Airfryer is good. Doesn't require oil,apart from home made chips which require a minimal amount


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    #15
    dvpower
    Closed Accounts Posts: 9,183 ✭✭✭dvpower


    UrbanSea wrote: »
    The Philips Airfryer is good. Doesn't require oil,apart from home made chips which require a minimal amount
    What's the capacity like - would it cook enough chips for a family of four?


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    #16
    sillysocks
    Registered Users Posts: 2,641 ✭✭✭sillysocks


    Just noticed this on Argos and thought of this thread....

    http://www.argos.ie/static/Product/partNumber/4237415.htm

    Philips Airfryer half price at the moment.


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    #17
    curly from cork
    Registered Users Posts: 1,550 ✭✭✭curly from cork


    Thanks for that sillysocks. I am in the market for deep fat fryer but would seriously consider this airfryer. We would use it once a week for chips; Does anyone know what the chips taste like out of it ?? Its expensive enough even on offer compared to a regular DFF so if the chips arent great I ll stick with the greasy, hard to clean DFF !


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