A recent convert to air fryers has declared that she will never cook roast chicken in an oven again, after being impressed by the appliance's performance. The writer, who initially resisted buying an air fryer due to limited kitchen space, eventually tried one and found the results life-changing.
According to MoneySavingExpert.com, air fryers can be quicker and cheaper to run than standard ovens because they cook food faster in a smaller space. Research suggests that using an air fryer costs about half the price of cooking with an oven. However, Dr Jakub Radzikowski, Culinary Education Designer at Imperial College London, notes that for larger quantities or multiple dishes, an oven may be more practical.
The writer cooked a 2.25kg chicken from Aldi in a Ninja Foodi air fryer, which first pressure-cooks the meat before using an air crisp function to brown it. The result was described as the most succulent roast chicken ever tasted, remaining tender even after sitting out for 45 minutes. In contrast, oven-cooked chicken was deemed drier in texture.
Despite initial doubts, the writer now uses the oven only about once a week, mainly for storage, and wishes she had started using an air fryer sooner. While acknowledging that batch cooking for larger groups may still require an oven, she is convinced of the air fryer's superiority for roast chicken.
