Philips Airfryer £69.99~€95 for the next 12 Hours

SimonMaher

Good to see other people enjoying the delights of the Airfryer! I got mine (the digital one) in the Power City sale back at the start of the year and it gets a lot of use! Mainly on potato products but I've started experimenting recently! Just on recommendations for chips - I have tried a load of different types but have found the McCain Home Fries (in the blue bag), straight cut to be particularly delicious. I generally do 6 mins, shake, 6 mins, shake and if they need to be extra crispy I give them an extra 2 mins. As someone mentioned earlier though, keep an eye because there is a fine line between crispy and charred in an Airfryer!

Mine comes with the little "shelf" that fits into the basket so you can have chips on the bottom and meat on top but I would also like to have the divider. They're online but costs about 30 quid. I've tried breaded chicken stuff (the Big Als Kitchen range is good - much more expensive than their normal stuff but seems to contain actual Chicken) but haven't tried "raw" chicken on the bone yet. How could I do chicken and chips together (given the required shaking!) without splashing out on the divider?

Also, try to keep the basket and grease collector clean. I was very good with my grease collector but not so good with my basket with the result that it's now quite clogged which really hurts the performance of the frying air!

Simon

stimpson

I have a divider but don't use it. If I'm doing chicken and chips I use a kitchen tongs to move the chips about a bit. They still come out perfect.

I'm a recent convert to steaks and burgers. I did half a rack of ribs in it last night and finished them in a wok with a honey/soy sauce. Not bad st all.

I Bing the basket and drip tray in the dishwasher every night. Never had an issue.

Satriale

Anyone ever try a round roast in this or would it be too big? I've a kilo thawing for tomorrow and I'd love to know would it turn out as juicy as the steak.

harr

Satriale wrote: »

Anyone ever try a round roast in this or would it be too big? I've a kilo thawing for tomorrow and I'd love to know would it turn out as juicy as the steak.

Never tried a roast in mine ,have done everything else,I would say a kilo joint would be fine ,have the temp at around 160 and I would say 40 minutes should do it...wrap in foil if she starts to brown to quickly ..
Let us know how it goes..😮

Masala

harr wrote: »

Never tried a roast in mine ,have done everything else,I would say a kilo joint would be fine ,have the temp at around 160 and I would say 40 minutes should do it...wrap in foil if she starts to brown to quickly ..
Let us know how it goes..😮

Can u put foil into this unit?? Is it safe??

bidiots

bidiots wrote: »

I'm sending mine back. Only got it yesterday but the basket is a lot smaller than I thought. Have already tried some chips in it(Aldi Maris Pipers) unbelievable result:eek:
But I had other plans for it other than chips:( I'll be sending it back on monday but if anyone wants it for the price I paid, tis all yours

I've gone through the returns process with Amazon on mine and am waiting for the postal strike to end to return it.
If anyone in the west wants it before then, get in touch, it makes no odds to me which way I get my money back.... Cheers

highly1111

Where are you based? I might be interested! How much did you pay for it? Thanks

Grayditch

Sausages really make a mess. I'd rather it in the tray than my gut, I guess.

mirrorwall14

According to the net anything that's safe in an oven is safe in the air fryer

anyone know about doing onion rings in the air fryer? Or things in a wet batter rather than dry? I did breadcrumbed cod gougons this week and they were fab

There's mention of the basket being small, what is the largest thing you could fit in it?

harr

Brooklynn Large Tear wrote: »

There's mention of the basket being small, what is the largest thing you could fit in it?

Small chicken in mine cooked fine...less than an hour

harr

Masala wrote: »

Can u put foil into this unit?? Is it safe??

Foil is fine, I cook salmon in foil in mine no problem ,takes a little longer that's all. I have used those silicon muffin cases to cook eggs in mine..Mix two eggs with ham and some veggies and pour into muffin case ,cooks in about 5 minutes.

south

Satriale wrote: »

Anyone ever try a round roast in this or would it be too big? I've a kilo thawing for tomorrow and I'd love to know would it turn out as juicy as the steak.

I have a fresh one roasting away at the moment

Thargor

mirrorwall14 wrote: »

According to the net anything that's safe in an oven is safe in the air fryer

anyone know about doing onion rings in the air fryer? Or things in a wet batter rather than dry? I did breadcrumbed cod gougons this week and they were fab

Onion rings absolutely perfect, keep an eye on them as they cook fast, watch your weight aswell from the temptation to put onion rings with everything! Wet batter is fine, just don't shake obviously, I do fresh fish dipped in egg and flour sometimes and apart from a load of smoke from the drips that go down underneath its perfect.

harr

harr wrote: »

Small chicken in mine cooked fine...less than an hour

Great thanks, if you can fit a small chicken in would do me fine.

Just have to wait for another deal on it now! Kicking myself I didn't get it on Amazon or when Harvey Norman had it for €109.

cal_chi

OMG thank you for the heads up about cooking steak in this. Have had airfryer for 3 years now, only really use it for cooking chips in, but just cooked a cheap steak in it, and it turned out amazing-SO much more tender than if I'd fried it! YUM!!!

danjo-xx

Is the results u get with this as good as or even better than a Hallogen oven.




Apart from chips of course.

Satriale

south wrote: »

I have a fresh one roasting away at the moment

How did it turn out? Mine was ok, not as tender as the steak but i had to burn it a bit pink for the kids.

rubadub

Grayditch wrote: »

Sausages really make a mess. I'd rather it in the tray than my gut, I guess.

Mine were all good, only 1 brand of large ones exploded. Some had minor splits, I find it does not pop if set at a lower temp, I use 170-180C, I put the sausages in without preheating for about 8-10mins. When you take them out when it has just finished you have to let them cool for a bit, otherwise they may appear underdone. This is because they are typically blown up like balloons and the skin looks paler than it really is, when it shrinks back down it gets browner looking.

Rashers are brilliant in it, as it cooks so evenly. I make cuts in the fat so it does not all shrink up, you get lovely crispy bits doing this too.

eggs can be done in it too. Someone had the same idea as me using silicone cup cake cases. These can be got in dealz, 6 for 1.49. Other pics I previously found were using ramekins and similar things. You can put cheese & butter on the eggs.

Thargor

Prick the sausage with a fork before you put it in and it cooks perfectly.

€6 for 2 ribeyes in Lidl, came out of mine amazing this evening.

One more question before I probably pull the trigger - I don't have a dishwasher so what would cleaning the tray manually be like, doable?

theteal

The basket and the tray come out and get washed with the dishes here. They clean easier if still warm.

savemejebus

rubadub wrote: »

What timings did you use for cooking that, it looks amazing?

mirrorwall14

How long does the steak take for medium rare? And a well done?

amber2

Brooklynn Large Tear wrote: »

One more question before I probably pull the trigger - I don't have a dishwasher so what would cleaning the tray manually be like, doable?

Lash of hot water and a dash of oven pride works a treat, no effort needed just give it a wipe out..... May be worth it to try to changing to Amazon.de or Amazon.fr with GBP conversion being so bad, haven't checked myself recently but has been worth it in the past.

mirrorwall14

Ok steaks yum. Home made chips = fail. Frozen chips were yummy though. Will have to keep trying

killbillvol2

mirrorwall14 wrote: »

How long does the steak take for medium rare? And a well done?

Well 8 minutes does a rare steak perfectly so I'd say 9 for medium rare.

Gulliver

mirrorwall14 wrote: »

Ok steaks yum. Home made chips = fail. Frozen chips were yummy though. Will have to keep trying

I used Rooster potatoes. Soak for 30 minutes (or overnight if you're really prepared) to remove starch. Pat them dry. Put them into a bowl with a half tablespoon of rapeseed oil, some salt and pepper. Make sure all the chips are coated in the oil.

Preheat the airfryer then pop them in for 15 minutes at 160, 10 minutes at 180. Stir/shake a few times. They came out really crispy and tasty. Can't wait to try steak in it.

Glenbhoy

Just to add my tuppence worth, I bought an tefal actifry about 6 months ago on adverts (used onceish), and I bought this last week thanks to the OP's alert, I'm giving this on to my parents in the very near future.
To be honest, I talked my parents into wanting one, so that I could compare the two!!
We have been using the actifry very regularly and it's definitely an item, which if it broke, we'd be purchasing again asap. We find it great for chips, roast veg, sausages etc, haven't been too adventurous yet. The main plus is the capacity, we can cook for ourselves and the three kids in the one sitting (they're small kids!). Aside from ease, taste is excellent, maintenance is incredibly easy, it is tefal and there's never been an easier item to clean. The main con is that the paddle stirring around makes breaded items break up (we just take out the paddle though and give the thing a wee shake every now and then).
Now, on to the airfryer, again, excellent results with frozen chips, also tried a ribeye, very easy and great results too. But capacity is just way too small for our needs, it's also more awkward to use and clean. I'm passing it on to my parents and it'll meet their needs, but for me, capacity and maintenance are huge drawbacks when compared to the actifry. I'd also say that the airfryer gets hotter and therefore it's easier to give things too long (or burn them if you will), the actifry definitely takes longer, so there's more give and take (although of course capacity is at least 50% more).
I have it for another week, so I plan on doing the full fry this weekend!!

Got an Airfryer today and cooked some chicken on it. The chicken came out really well but man it was tough to clean afterwards, which has me fairly concerned (I don't have a dishwasher). Skin and fat and what-have-you all got caught in the mesh of the basket and it took an age to get off.

Thargor

Buy a brush in Dealz or somewhere, I have the whole thing cleaned and back on the shelf while Im letting a steak rest. It doesnt have to be factory spotless every time, I find any grease I leave on it burns off the next time I heat it anyway

Thargor

Thargor wrote: »

Buy a brush in Dealz or somewhere, I have the whole thing cleaned and back on the shelf while Im letting a steak rest. It doesnt have to be factory spotless every time, I find any grease I leave on it burns off the next time I heat it anyway

Yeah good idea will give that a go, thanks.

tonto24

Is this thing actually healthy? I can see its a replacement for deep fat fryer but that is possibly 1 of the worst things in the world health wise!

statto25

tonto24 wrote: »

Is this thing actually healthy? I can see its a replacement for deep fat fryer but that is possibly 1 of the worst things in the world health wise!

There is little or no oil involved at all so it is a lot more healthy. The food is cooked by circulating hot air rather than immersing the food in oil.

Casey78

Brooklynn Large Tear wrote: »

Got an Airfryer today and cooked some chicken on it. The chicken came out really well but man it was tough to clean afterwards, which has me fairly concerned (I don't have a dishwasher). Skin and fat and what-have-you all got caught in the mesh of the basket and it took an age to get off.

Get a can of the low calorie spray oil and give it a few sprays into the Air fryer before you put the chicken in.

holdmybeer

After trying a few different brands of chips, in the Philips Acitfry 800g model, from Tesco and Aldi I found that the best ones that compare to that take away taste is the straight cut ones from Aldi in the green bag.

I trieds McCains, Aldis and Dunness and thought these were the best after the rest.

tonto24

tonto24 wrote: »

Is this thing actually healthy? I can see its a replacement for deep fat fryer but that is possibly 1 of the worst things in the world health wise!

If you use no or little oil it should be even healthier than oven roasting (which requires a fair bit of oil) never mind deep fat frying.

I bought it to replace doing home made chips and roasted veg in the oven mostly. That will be its main use for me, hopefully will give it its first try this evening.

tglynn

Anyone buy the divider? link?

alias no.9

I trimmed all the leftovers off a leg of lamb, diced it up and popped it into the air fryer to reheat for 5 minutes, the results were pretty fantastic, nice moist chunks of lamb.

Thargor

holdmybeer wrote: »

After trying a few different brands of chips, in the Philips Acitfry 800g model, from Tesco and Aldi I found that the best ones that compare to that take away taste is the straight cut ones from Aldi in the green bag.

I trieds McCains, Aldis and Dunness and thought these were the best after the rest.

Yes exact same for me, perfect chips:

danjo-xx

Thargor wrote: »

Yes exact same for me, perfect chips:

Are they by any chance, potato chips and therefore Gluten Free.

Thargor

Well they're definitely potato, they do have a kind of seasoning on them so not sure tbh:

https://www.aldi.co.uk/en/product-range/frozen/chips/chips-product-detail-page/ps/p/homestyle-fries/

Glenbhoy

Dunnes black bag crinkle cut or Aunt Bessies Crinkle cuts are my favourites, but it doesn't matter as much when airfrying as it does in the oven. For me, the vast majority of oven chips were barely worthy of the name, but each to their own etc...

The one thing about these devices (actifry or air fryer), they're the only way I can get thin cut french fry things edible.

Tinder Surprise

is this a good price and good alternative?


http://www.argos.ie/static/Product/partNumber/9066650.htm?cmpid=COJUN&storeId=10152&_%24ja=tsid%3A30390|prd%3A7623798&referredURL=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.argos.ie%2Fstatic%2FProduct%2FpartNumber%2F9066650.htm&referrer=COJUN

padair

Tinder Surprise wrote:

is this a good price and good alternative?

My folks had that model and it burned out after a year of use.

Thargor

The Actifrys get good reviews for the food and bigger sizes than the Airfryer but its weird when you actually read the reviews you see people talking about them like they're some cheap disposeable gadget not a >€100 purchase, they're all saying things like "Im on my third one now after the first 2 gave up, great chips!", every single review seems to mention the paddle snapping off aswell.

The Actifrys also are more of a low oil fryer than a no oil (if you chose) fryer than the airfryer so are not as healthy. Wasn't there stories of them going on fire too?

Lemlin

Bought an Actifryer in Argos today. Just had 1.2kg of chips from it with the wife and two kids and they were lovely.

Just a spoonful of oil is all that was needed.

Caovyn Lineah

Casey78 wrote: »

Boil some baby potatoes until they are just done.
Let them cool a little and chop them in half. Put them in a bowl and mix in a little oil and salt and pepper. Throw them in the Airfyer for about 10-15 mins.
Serve and enjoy. Come back onto boards to thank Casey78!!

Just had this with fillet steak from the butcher, incredible.

Glenbhoy

Porter Grumpy Morning wrote: »

The Actifrys also are more of a low oil fryer than a no oil (if you chose) fryer than the airfryer so are not as healthy. Wasn't there stories of them going on fire too?

You can put a spoon of oil into the airfryer, but personally I never have. I think like everything else, it depends on taste and what you're cooking. I'll often spray a little of the low cal oil spray on frozen chips, but really, there's no need (force of habit).
If I'm making roasted veg, I'll normally give them a quick dip in olive oil too.

The drawbacks of the actifryer are that it's pretty big to store and takes much longer to cook (although capacity is 50% higher). It's also not as versatile, in that it would be difficult to cook steaks and larger items such as cakes or a chicken in it, there are newer versions out which have a tray above the paddle which addresses this issue (maybe not for cakes and chickens though!).

The main plus is that it is incredibly easy to use and maintain, foodwise results are excellent and the fact that you can check on progress without opening it up is another advantage.

I have also read about the issues with the paddle, but, again, the paddle isn't essential and frequently we'll just take it out (when cooking breaded foods).

All I can say is that my wife and I are very happy with it thusfar (6 months in) and that the argos price is excellent.

If you're going to purchase in Argos and you're a tesco clubcard fan, it's worth thinking of buying 2 €50 argos vouchers in tesco as you get 150 points per €50, which if used on a clubcard deal could be worth up to €12 - it does take a day from purchase before the card can be used in Argos, so it could be more hassle than it's worth.