The Actifry & AirFryer Thread - Merged

Panrich

I have the tefal actifry and an air fryer (also tefal).

I find the airfryer to be better for most things. Sausages etc do more evenly in the actifry but that's balanced by the fact that they're swimming in their own grease.

Home made chips are nicer in the actifry too.

Of the rest, the airfryer is great but only if you're cooking individual portions. Chicken breasts come out really tender and even frozen fish and chips come out lovely.

Not sure how the Philips airfryer compares but I'm sure it's similar

masterboy123

Is the XL coming with accessories? And is it true XL is less sturdy & more plastic?

Cheshire Cat wrote: »

I have the Philips AF XL and it's not that big. The regular one is tiny. I would go for the XL again.
If you can have a look at the size of the baskets in a shop.

Cheshire Cat

masterboy123 wrote: »

Is the XL coming with accessories? And is it true XL is less sturdy & more plastic?

Mine didn't come with accessories, but so far I haven't needed any. I wouldn't buy the baking tin - completely overpriced! I have successfully used ramekins, small baking tins and aluminium trays in the AF.

As I never had a small AF I can't compare sturdyness. When I had a look at the models in a shop I thought they were much the same, except the size of course

masterboy123

Its available for 130e on Amazon. Do you think price can go lower than this?

EagererBeaver

masterboy123 wrote: »

Its available for 130e on Amazon. Do you think price can go lower than this?

You'll do well to get it any cheaper. Just buy it.

rubadub

masterboy123 wrote: »

Its available for 130e on Amazon. Do you think price can go lower than this?

In your other thread we mentioned camelcamelcamel, looks like it could dip to ?100-110

https://uk.camelcamelcamel.com/Philips-HD9220-20-Healthier-Airfryer/product/B0042EU3A2?context=search

Also that does not necessarily show the cheapest it was. In the last few months I saw it going pretty cheap for prime members. There are sometimes offers to sign up to prime for a trial run, so it could be bought during that time and then cancel the prime membership.

I still have camelcc alerts set up when it dips to a very low price, I can see in january it was ?69 for prime members. I only get alerts when it is ?72.45 or below.

If regularly cooking for 2+ I would get the big one. Though many might be cooking saw rice in a microwave or hob, or other things on the side, in which case you might well fit meat etc in the airfryer.

I see powercity have the white one for 140, that is cheap enough, especially for the white which is rare and usually full price. Some people were looking for the white to suit the kitchen.
https://www.powercity.ie/index.php?par=60-15-922050&action=moreinfo

On amazon the black is £122.32, this goes to £125.37 when irish VAT is applied. So about 150euro. A third party seller had it a little cheaper, but then you need parcel motel and I would rather have warranty etc with amazon.

Walter Sobchak III

Just wondering. Has anybody got a recipe for crispy onion rings for the tefal actifry or is it possible?

masterboy123

Ya i saw camel is showing a whopping low price of 66 pounds at one stage.
My friend got it for 120 euros from Argos 2 weeks ago. But now Argos selling for 200 euros.

On Amazon black is 116 pounds at the moment + free UK delivery. So say 120 pounds with parcel motel, which is like 140 euros.

We are only 2 people in the house. Only on weekends some friend will show up. So i think small one will be grand.

rubadub wrote: »

In your other thread we mentioned camelcamelcamel, looks like it could dip to ?100-110

https://uk.camelcamelcamel.com/Philips-HD9220-20-Healthier-Airfryer/product/B0042EU3A2?context=search

Also that does not necessarily show the cheapest it was. In the last few months I saw it going pretty cheap for prime members. There are sometimes offers to sign up to prime for a trial run, so it could be bought during that time and then cancel the prime membership.

I still have camelcc alerts set up when it dips to a very low price, I can see in january it was ?69 for prime members. I only get alerts when it is ?72.45 or below.

If regularly cooking for 2+ I would get the big one. Though many might be cooking saw rice in a microwave or hob, or other things on the side, in which case you might well fit meat etc in the airfryer.

I see powercity have the white one for 140, that is cheap enough, especially for the white which is rare and usually full price. Some people were looking for the white to suit the kitchen.
https://www.powercity.ie/index.php?par=60-15-922050&action=moreinfo

On amazon the black is £122.32, this goes to £125.37 when irish VAT is applied. So about 150euro. A third party seller had it a little cheaper, but then you need parcel motel and I would rather have warranty etc with amazon.

Mr.Wemmick

Anyone got the Duronic AF1 /B Healthy Oil Free 1500W Air Fryer Multicooker?

If so, would you recommend it?

The Philips is a lot more expensive than the Duronic. Both seem to have good reviews.

henke

Anyone any tips for stopping chicken fillets sticking to the basket in the Philips Airfryer. Anything to put on them? Cheers.

Thargor

Give them a shake every now and then.

Kat1170

henke wrote: »

Anyone any tips for stopping chicken fillets sticking to the basket in the Philips Airfryer. Anything to put on them? Cheers.

Put some tin foil under them.

rawn

I have to say I'm severely wasting my air fryer! All I ever use it for is chips and things like chicken nuggets. What's people's favorite recipe for the airfryer, i need to try something more adventurous!

Whispered

rawn wrote: »

I have to say I'm severely wasting my air fryer! All I ever use it for is chips and things like chicken nuggets. What's people's favorite recipe for the airfryer, i need to try something more adventurous!

I make croquettes out of leftover potato.
Mash, veggies, herbs, cheese sometimes salmon and a grating of lemon zest. Mashed together and shaped then rolled in a breadcrumb and oil mixture. Into the air fryer at 180 until heated through and browned.

rubadub

henke wrote: »

Anyone any tips for stopping chicken fillets sticking to the basket in the Philips Airfryer. Anything to put on them? Cheers.

foil as said, or baking paper or you can get thin silicone mats in lidl the odd time and can cut bits off them.

The weight & fleshiness of the chicken means it seeps through the mesh and cooks and grips onto the mesh. If you put it on foil the top will cook, you can then turn it and take off the foil and it should not stick (as easily anyway) since the cooked part will not seep into the mesh.

The_Conductor

Get the XL- its about the right size for two people- the regular one is just too small.

Also some things just don't air-fry particularly well (or more pertinently- in a manner similar how they look/taste when cooked by different methods- like sausages. Chicken comes out fine- sausages- my kids used them for a play fight rather than eat them........ Its a bit of trial and error........

The_Conductor

henke wrote: »

Anyone any tips for stopping chicken fillets sticking to the basket in the Philips Airfryer. Anything to put on them? Cheers.

1/4 Paprika, 3/4 Corn flour- use a baking/basting brush to paint a small quantity of olive oil on the fillets and then lightly dust the fillets in the flour/paprika combo- and turn during cooking. Use boiling water to clean your basting brush when finished (we don't want salmonella now......!!!!)

savemejebus

The_Conductor wrote: »

sausages- my kids used them for a play fight rather than eat them........ Its a bit of trial and error........

I get sausages to come out lovely, don't pre-heat, prick the sausages with a fork and put them in for 7-8 mins at 180. Delish....just don't be put off by the tray load of grease that will come off of them, it can be scary.

Whispered

savemejebus wrote: »

I get sausages to come out lovely, don't pre-heat, prick the sausages with a fork and put them in for 7-8 mins at 180. Delish....just don't be put off by the tray load of grease that will come off of them, it can be scary.

Yep the sausages here go down really well.

rubadub

I do sausages at lower temps, otherwise the skins can go tough.

Kat1170

rubadub wrote: »

I do sausages at lower temps, otherwise the skins can go tough.

Maybe try skinless ??

The_Conductor

Kat1170 wrote: »

Maybe try skinless ??

Don't- seriously, don't.
I've tried a few different skinless ones- they don't work (and the kids won't eat them).

rubadub

Another important thing is to shake them early on, and get the skins coated in oil. If left in the tops will be dry and go extra tough. If it is too high a temp they will explode (I do not like pricking them, but that would work too)

Thargor

Perfect sausages for me in mine aswell, indistinguishable from pan fried, maybe slightly drier but still plenty juicy. If you leave them in until they're dark brown like you would in a pan though then you'll be eating cardboard.

Whispered wrote: »

I make croquettes out of leftover potato.
Mash, veggies, herbs, cheese sometimes salmon and a grating of lemon zest. Mashed together and shaped then rolled in a breadcrumb and oil mixture. Into the air fryer at 180 until heated through and browned.

I never thought of this thanks, Ive been composting enough for a couple of croquettes after every meal...

Casey78

savemejebus wrote: »

I get sausages to come out lovely, don't pre-heat, prick the sausages with a fork and put them in for 7-8 mins at 180. Delish....just don't be put off by the tray load of grease that will come off of them, it can be scary.

I could never get sausages to come out right. I tried your method today and they came out perfect. Thanks!

savemejebus

Casey78 wrote: »

I could never get sausages to come out right. I tried your method today and they came out perfect. Thanks!

Glad it worked for you but I can't take credit for the method, I read it in this or a similar thread last year!

gerrybbadd

Anyone ever try making onion bhaji's in these? (mine is more of a halogen oven than airfryer - bought it in Aldi, marketed as an airfryer, got duped!)

B0jangles

One handy little tip I've discovered is that the airfryer is very good for toasting raw nuts. I usually cook a handful or so of raw peanuts in it for making something like kung po chicken and they always come out perfectly; it's so much easier and quicker than roasting them in the oven. Today I tried a handful of raw blanched almonds (they are supposed to be really good for you but I hate eating them raw ) and they were delicious.

Timing/temp is very important - for the small amounts I do it's 170c for 4 minutes from cold, then let rest in the heat for a minute or two for perfection.

Whispered

Anybody any tips on potato gratin? Going to attempt one today. I don't have deep ramekins, only shallow oven dishes. Also have no cream. Will it work if I slice potatoes thinly and mix into milk, chopped chives and garlic powder mix (no fresh garlic either), then layer up to the top of the oven dish, pour over leftover milk and herb mixture then par with butter?
Do I need to par cook the potatoes first?
Cover them with foil for the first half of cooking?
I'm thinking 160 would be hot enough in the airfryer - anything higher might crisp it before cooking it?

flangemeistro

Whispered wrote: »

Anybody any tips on potato gratin? Going to attempt one today. I don't have deep ramekins, only shallow oven dishes. Also have no cream. Will it work if I slice potatoes thinly and mix into milk, chopped chives and garlic powder mix (no fresh garlic either), then layer up to the top of the oven dish, pour over leftover milk and herb mixture then par with butter?
Do I need to par cook the potatoes first?
Cover them with foil for the first half of cooking?
I'm thinking 160 would be hot enough in the airfryer - anything higher might crisp it before cooking it?

Are you living on the Aran Islands or does your religion not allow you to go to your local supermarket on a Monday?