Air Fryer vs. Deep Fat Fryer: The Ultimate Food Showdown!
Hello, folks! Barry here, and today we’re diving into a kitchen gadget showdown for the ages: the air fryer versus the deep fat fryer. Both promise golden, crispy goodness, but which one truly delivers the goods? To find out, I put them head-to-head with four absolute classics: chips (fries), churros, buttermilk fried chicken, and mozzarella sticks. Let’s get stuck in and see who takes the crispy crown! In isolation these recipes are good, but side by side, I found this pretty fascinating.
The Contenders
- Air Fryer: The trendy health-conscious option that claims to deliver all the crunch with less oil. It’s small, modern, and makes you feel slightly virtuous when using it. I’m using my super budget one from the supermarket.
- Deep Fat Fryer: The OG fryer. No cutting corners, it’s all about deep, indulgent frying with that unmistakable crispy texture. Again, another super bargain appliance I picked up from the supermarket, that’s safer that frying in a pan too.
Recipe 1: Chips
Both chip recipes see the potatoes get sliced into chip shapes, put into a bowl of cold water to remove the starch, then dried with kitchen towel fully before cooking.
Air Fryer Chips
I tossed my dried spuds in just a drizzle of oil, then chucked them in the air fryer. Shaking them half way through at ten minutes at 180°C … after 20 minutes, out came golden chips with a crisp exterior and a lovely fluffy middle. They had that posh, gastro-pub feel. Lovely, but did they scratch that chip shop itch? Not quite, the colour wasn’t perfectly even or as deep.
Deep Fat Fryer Chips
Ah, this is what chips are all about. In just 8 minutes, I had golden, crunchy chips that took me straight to the seaside. They were crispy on the outside, soft on the inside, and had that unmistakable fried flavour. Sure, they absorbed a bit of oil, but honestly? No complaints here.
Recipe 2: Churros
Air Fryer Churros
After making the dough, piping it onto small baking parchment pieces, then chilling it to hold shape in the fridge for 30 minutes, I put it straight into the air fryer, feeling cautiously optimistic. After 12 minutes at 200°C, I had something that looked like churros but tasted more like baked pastry, carefully flipping and cooking a little longer did help the colour. Tossed in cinnamon sugar, they were decent but lacked that deep-fried crunch. More “yorkshire pudding stick” than churro.
Deep Fat Fryer Churros
Now we’re talking! The dough hit the hot oil and puffed up beautifully, crisping up in about 4 minutes. Tossed in cinnamon sugar, these were crunchy on the outside, soft on the inside, and utterly irresistible. Proper churros need oil, no two ways about it.
Winner: Deep Fat Fryer—nothing else delivers that classic churro texture.
Recipe 3: Buttermilk Fried Chicken
Air Fryer Chicken
After marinating the chicken in buttermilk and coating it in seasoned flour, I popped it in the air fryer for 25 minutes at 190°C. The result? Juicy chicken with a light, crispy coating. It was tasty, but the crust lacked that satisfying crunch you get from frying. A solid healthier option, though.
Deep Fat Fryer Chicken
Cue the sizzle! In just 10 minutes, the deep fat fryer delivered golden, crispy chicken with a thick, crunchy coating packed with flavour. The meat inside stayed juicy, and it was just as indulgent as you’d hope.
Winner: Deep Fat Fryer—Honestly they were both delicious, but the fat content next to the air fryer ones actually caught me out and put me off, the air fryer for me won this particular recipe, visually it wasn’t as good, but despite that gorgeous colour, the oil soaked breadcrumbs were quite off putting!
Recipe 4: Mozzarella Sticks
Air Fryer Mozzarella Sticks
These went into the air fryer frozen, coated in breadcrumbs. After 8 minutes at 200°C, they looked decent, but the cheese didn’t ooze like it should. The breadcrumb coating was crisp but slightly dry and much paler in colour. It still worked though!
Deep Fat Fryer Mozzarella Sticks
Oh, this was the dream. In just 3 minutes, the cheese was gooey and stretchy, and the breadcrumb coating was perfectly crispy with a lovely deep, even consistent colour. These felt like proper pub grub—absolutely lush!
Winner: Deep Fat Fryer—oozy cheese and a crunchy coating win every time, but i’m not picky if someone else is cooking it.
Final Verdict
Let’s face it: the air fryer is brilliant if you want a healthier alternative, and it’s particularly good for chips. However, when it comes to indulgent, comfort food classics like churros, fried chicken, and mozzarella sticks, the deep fat fryer still reigns supreme. Sometimes, a bit of oil is worth the extra calories, eh?
So, whether you’re all about balance or in full treat mode, you can’t really go wrong. Both gadgets have their place in the kitchen, but for that proper fried flavour, the deep fat fryer edges it for me.
Let me know what you reckon—team air fryer or team deep fat fryer? Cheers, folks!