The life-changing powers of an air fryer…
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I’ve avoided the Thermomix craze, given away my bread and icecream maker, and generally avoid kitchen gadgets because I have not one inch of space in which to store them.
And believe me, after the initial excitement wears off, they more often than not get consigned to a cupboard.
But dear Lord, I have become a certifiable air fryer maniac.
Here, let me convert you in one small and succinct article.
Air fryers are life-changing.
They take humble ingredients, to wit, a potato, and within less than 15 minutes create crunchy golden chippy goodness.
Need a protein hit to go with your chips? Here, let me just place that piece of chicken/steak/fish in this non-stick tray and look! It comes out golden and crispy on the outside and beautifully moist on the inside. Did I mention it’s twice as fast as a conventional oven? And creates little to no mess. All you do is rinse out the container and the inside tray rather than wrestle a full-sized oven pan in the sink. No scrubbing.
I love my air fryer so much that I have not moved it off the kitchen bench since I first got it a couple of months ago. In fact, apart from a roast chook which I cooked a few weeks ago in the old-school style because there were too many vegetables to cook around the chicken, I have not used my oven at all.
My air fryer lives here now, vying for love with the coffee machine. I’d grab both if there was a housefire…
Air fryers work by concentrating very hot air in and around food contained in a small basin. The food rests on a perforated shelf which lets oil drip through. Much of the hype around air fryers is based on how little oil is required to get a crispy finish. I don’t mind oil so much, and still slather it on my food liberally. Instead, I am in it for the convenience. No need to preheat the oven, just whack whatever you have on hand into the basin, turn it on to 200 and fry away (checking every few minutes for the desired level of colour, crispiness and crunch). Yes it’s that easy. Also, just a word on temperatures, I was using the standard 180 degree setting until the air fryer brigade on Instagram told me to just whack it up to 200 every time, and just check it regularly to make sure it doesn’t burn. And on that point, nothing really burns in the sense that it’s an all over cooking process, so you won’t get a burnt side or bottom. But you can overcook until everything is shrunken and brown, so beware.
Cauliflower and chick peas air fried with some chilli oil make the best salad. Recipe coming on the weekend!
The most magic thing about air fryers is watching that glorious golden caramelisation develop on your food literally in front of your eyes. It is that quick.
My air-fried cauliflower recipe is a great one to try for vego air fryer novices, and try some slices of pumpkin for a quick side dish. Of course, air fryers are brilliant for cooking any sort of meat. Chicken works particularly well with skin on and bones in, while salmon also comes out with a golden crust and crackly skin. We have tried steak too, and while it gets some colour on the outside, it’s not quite as good as searing it on a high flame with oil and salt. That it my one concession to my enormous steel Ilve stove and its primitive gas flame. Steaks still come out better in a fry pan. You can’t win them all. Meanwhile, marinated pork spare ribs just scream to be thrown in the air fryer.
I had never cooked a pork rib in my life until this guy ended up in the air fryer.
As with all kitchen devices, you need to work out your own timing and be prepared to experiment. But as a very rough guide, chicken Marylands take around 8 minutes each side, salmon takes around 10 minutes and the cauliflower takes 15. Toasting pine nuts? They glow golden brown within a minute.
Earlier this week I chopped up an eggplant and within 12 minutes it was golden and glorious—ready to throw into a vegetarian lasagne.
Winging it is relatively easy as all you need to do to check on your frying is grab the handle, pull it out, and give it a shake. Then it’s back under serious heat to continue cooking. The machine automatically resumes when the tray is back in position so you don’t need to touch any of the buttons. When you are all done, soak the basin in hot soapy water and let it air dry and you’re good to go again.
There is something effortless and efficient about the whole process. Why crank up an enormous oven for a tray of potatoes? Honestly the novelty has not worn off for me one bit. In fact, my repertoire of recipes is expanding as I consider what else could be thrown in for a quick turn-around. I have plans to char some Brussels Sprouts with bacon. And next time the family asks for roast chicken, I think I can squeeze one in.
This eggplant took 12 minutes with a slurp of olive oil and some salt. My chef cousin suggested I whack some miso paste in there next time, so I will!
I have but one word of warning. New air fryers have a very strong chemical scent at first. I was so put off I packaged it up to return to the shop. But my more pragmatic husband suggested we run it out in the garage to burn off the chemicals. Thank heavens cooler heads than mine prevailed. After frying up some old sprouted potatoes and manky pieces of fruit which were consigned to the bin, the air fryer was finally allowed indoors. Now I quite simply cannot imagine life without it. And when our kitchen gets renovated early next year I have create a special little corner of kitchen bench especially for it. In fact, I’m left wondering if we really need to install an oven at all…
