An enormous query this time of 12 months is whether or not you may prepare dinner your Christmas dinner in an air fryer. We’ve examined it out and also you completely can – however that doesn’t imply you must.
I’ll clarify why beneath, and counsel some higher methods to make use of your air fryer over Christmas.
The best way to prepare dinner Christmas dinner in an air fryer
To start with, it’s completely attainable to prepare dinner a Christmas dinner – or any roast – in an air fryer and get wonderful outcomes. An air fryer doesn’t really fry meals. It’s a mini convection oven, which suggests it cooks by circulating sizzling air across the meals, very like a fan-assisted oven. The distinction is that the smaller cooking house heats up sooner and provides crispier outcomes.
I cooked a Christmas dinner for 2 in a dual-drawer air fryer. In a single basket, I roasted a 0.5kg turkey breast joint (and there was house for no less than double the quantity), and within the different, a beneficiant quantity of potatoes and carrots – sufficient to feed three individuals, no less than.
I used the ten.4l Ninja Foodi FlexDrawer, which is a kitchen staple for me, and the most effective air fryers we’ve reviewed.
Emma Rowley / Foundry
To see the way it compares with different Ninja fashions, take a look at our round-up of the perfect Ninja air fryers and countertop cookers.
For those who’ve by no means roasted potatoes in an air fryer, it’s easy. Parboil them as regular, then roll them in oil, or spray them utilizing an oil spray bottle (£9.99, from Amazon), then prepare dinner them utilizing your air fryer’s roast setting for round 30-40 minutes. For finest outcomes, give them a shake halfway via cooking.
The turkey breast joint had cooking directions of 55 minutes at 180°C (or 160°C in a fan-assisted oven). As an air fryer has a smaller cooking cavity, you’ll have the ability to regulate the time and temperature downwards. I cooked it for 45 minutes at 150°C, and it was juicy and nicely achieved.
Emma Rowley / Foundry
If you’d like further assist with a roast, use a meat probe to check the interior temperature of a big joint and ensure it’s cooked via. You should buy one for as little as £10 from Amazon.
For even higher outcomes, you will get a wi-fi probe, such because the Meater Plus, which you’ll depart in throughout cooking. It is a pricier possibility nevertheless it’ll present significantly better outcomes because the accompanying app in your cellphone will provide you with a warning when the meat is cooked.
The opposite possibility is to decide on an air fryer with an integral meat probe. The superb Ninja Foodi Max Twin Zone (AF451) encompasses a probe – however earlier fashions of this air fryer don’t, so be sure you purchase the proper one if that’s the characteristic you’re after.
Lee Bell / Foundry
Why you shouldn’t prepare dinner your Christmas dinner in an air fryer
If there’s only one or two of you for Christmas dinner, a dual-drawer air fryer or an air fryer oven is a wonderful selection. It’s the quickest and most economical technique to prepare dinner and there can be loads of house for big parts and leftovers.
Take a look at the perfect dual-drawer air fryers and the perfect air fryer ovens we’ve examined for our high suggestions.
Cooking parts for 2 means you gained’t be tempted to overcrowd your air fryer, which can result in much less crispy and even outcomes as the new air gained’t have the ability to attain every little thing.
However should you solely have a single drawer air fryer, or when you’ve got a bigger group gathering for Christmas, it’ll be far more economical to make use of all of the house in your oven to prepare dinner. For those who’re operating your air fryer twice or extra, it’ll be cheaper to make use of an oven. Plus, you’ll get higher ends in the oven, as you gained’t be tempted to crowd meals into drawers.
However that doesn’t imply you may’t make use of your air fryer over Christmas.
The best way to use your air fryer over Christmas
You probably have a bigger gathering, or a smaller air fryer, right here’s tips on how to use it as an alternative:
- As a separate cooking zone for veggies, vegans or individuals with meals allergy symptoms
- To prepare dinner starters or warmth up canapés
- To warmth up rolls or pastries
- To prepare dinner your Christmas pudding
- As a hob substitute. As a substitute of boiling one in every of your Christmas vegetable sides, like Brussels sprouts or carrots, roast them within the air fryer as an alternative
For extra air fryer cooking concepts, take a look at our article: Air fryer cooking: 5 errors you’re making.