AirFryer: Making Fried Foods Healthy?

Over the past few weekends, I have had the opportunity to play with a Phillips AirFryer. For those who are unfamiliar with this product, it's pretty cool. The AirFryer is a contraption, a little bit bigger than a coffee maker, which allows you to make fried foods, but without oil. Theoretically this machine allows one to make "healthier" fried foods.

I first learned about the AirFryer back in December, when my boyfriend informed me that he bought one for his dad. (His dad had requested the item). I had never heard of this device, so I took to google. I was intrigued by the concept of frying foods without oil and was astounded to learn how the machine works. Essentially, like a convection oven, the AirFryer circulates heat in such a way that it cooks food evenly, whilst also crisping it. Very cool. Beyond frying foods, one can use the AirFryer to cook a whole assortment of things including: pork chops, chicken, and much more. (The machine comes with a cookbook and a chart telling your how long to cook different foods and at what temperature.) 

(image taken from: http://www.usa.philips.com/c-m-ho/cooking#technology) 

For the past two weeks, my boyfriend was apartment sitting for his dad, which allowed me the perfect opportunity to play with the AirFryer. I know that my boyfriend and his dad frequently make french fries, but considering the versatility of the AirFryer, I wanted to be bold and try to make different foods.  For this I decided to introduce my boyfriend to tonkatsu and Scotch Eggs. I chose these dishes for a couple of reasons: (1) I really like tonkatsu and Scotch Eggs, (2) I don't usually make these dishes because I don't want to deal with oil, and (3) I do my best to eat healthy, so I try to avoid deep fried foods. That said, I thought these two dishes would be ideal candidates in my AirFryer experiments.

Tonkatsu is a Japanese dish and it is usually a pork cutlet that is breaded and fried. It is absolutely delicious and when my mom makes it, it's an absolute treat. I have never made tonkatsu before, let alone in an AirFryer, so I was excited for the challenge. Also, my boyfriend, who isn't well versed in Japanese cuisine, had never had tonkatsu before, so I thought this would be a good introduction. 

Preparing the tonkatsu was fun, easy, and messy. My boyfriend doesn't cook, but I got him involved with the preparation process. Together, we formed an assembly line, where we coated the boneless pork chops in flour, egg, and panko. Once ready, I set the AirFryer temperature and timer to whatever the cookbook recommend for pork chops. Nearly 25 minutes later, my tonkatsu were golden brown and so succulent! I was pleasantly surprised. They did not acquire the deep golden color that you see when deep frying, however, the meat was juicy and tender, while the outside was nicely crispy. I was delighted with the results (and so was my boyfriend!)

Homemade tonkatsu with shredded cabbage, kabocha with cinnamon and maple syrup, and white rice

One a separate evening, I introduced my boyfriend to a great British invention: the Scotch Egg. Although the name may have you thinking that this is a Scottish creation, it's not! In fact, the Scotch Egg was invented by Fortnum & Mason as a picnic treat. Essentially, it's a hard boiled egg wrapped in ground meat (I used a meatloaf mix of veal-pork-beef), which is then breaded and fried. They are so delicious and quite easy to make.

Scotch Eggs are, in my opinion, super easy to make and they are very satisfying. With the different components and flavors, it's pleasing for the palate, but due to their immense size, they are also quite filling. That said, I don't make these often, for the same reasons as the tonkatsu. With my new-found access to the AirFryer, I was very excited to make these Scotch Eggs.

I wasn't quite sure how to cook these (temp and time), so I did some research online. Wanting to be cautious, I let the eggs cook for about 30 minutes at 375F. The perfect setting!

The Scotch Eggs came out beautifully! I succeeded in seasoning my meat, which I was most pleased about, and the panko crisped up perfectly. A winning dish! My eggs, which in the UK are served on the runny side, were cooked exactly as I wanted them. I'm always paranoid about food poisoning, so I opted for a center that was cooked, but still soft -- and I nailed it! The meat was also fully cooked, which was a relief. All in all, I was pleased by how well my Scotch Eggs came out and so was my boyfriend. He devoured his egg.

My Scotch Eggs, fresh out of the AirFryer

Perfectly cooked

I have to say, I really enjoyed playing around with the AirFryer. It's a really neat contraption and it certainly makes cooking fried foods easier and guilt-free! If you are like me and enjoy fried foods, but don't want to deal with oil and/or want to eat healthy, I'd recommend looking into this product. It's very cool!