I tried cooking a fry-up in an air-fryer – it cut my energy bills and I was shocked by the result
KNIFE and fork at the ready, I nervously tuck into my fry-up and wonder – will it taste as good?
Everyone loves a fry-up, so I’m testing to see how it fares being cooked in an air fryer – and if it will slash my energy bills.
Households are rushing to buy air fryers because experts say they are cheaper to run.
Research from Utilita shows households could save £263.80 a year by swapping their ovens for an air fryer instead.
With energy bills set to jump by £500 more a year from April, that’s a big saving you can make.
I’ve already tested out cooking a roast in an air fryer – and was impressed by the results.
I put it to use again to see how cooking the nation’s favourite brekkie would turn out.
Cooking the fry-up
I didn’t have a clue where to start cooking my fry-up.
Luckily, Iceland had a recipe on its website for how to cook one in an air fryer.
First, I started by cooking my sausages first – they took 14 minutes to cook.
Just over halfway through, I put my bacon in, which took six minutes to cook.
I then used my special air fryer cooking tray that I bought off Amazon for £7.99 to cook my beans, mushrooms and egg in.
I couldn’t put my beans straight into my air fryer – they would have fallen through the holes in the bottom of the container, making a big mess.
It took five minutes to cook all the remaining ingredients – bringing the total cooking time to 19 minutes.
The taste
My sausage and bacon came out of the air fryer sizzling and perfectly cooked.
The skin on the sausages was brown, and my bacon not too crispy – just how I like it.
It definitely wasn’t as greasy compared to cooking them in a frying pan like I usually do.
However, it all went downhill from there.
When I took the air fryer tray out – which I used to cook my beans, mushrooms and fried egg in – it looked a complete mess.
My beans were overcooked and my mushrooms had shrivelled up.
Some parts of my fried egg were raw, while the yolk remained very overdone – and it looked more like an omelette.
Assembling my breakfast on my plate, it didn’t look appetising at all, and I wasn’t excited to tuck in.
The sausage and bacon was cooked perfectly – but the same couldn’t be said for the rest.
My mushrooms tasted rubbery, and felt squeaky against my teeth as I chew – like eating the sole of a shoe.
The beans were dry and claggy, with the usually delicious tomato sauce nowhere in sight.
While my fried egg was the worst I have ever tasted – the yolk was so overcooked it was crumbly, while the egg white remained slimy.
The cost
My air fryer fry-up had been a bit hit and miss – but did the numbers stack up when it came to the cost of making it?
I have a Tower Family Size Air Fryer, which costs £62.99 on Amazon, and has a wattage of 1,500.
It cost 16.2p to make my fry-up in it.
It takes 25 minutes to cook my fry-up in a pan on my electric hob, which costs 21.3p.
That means it costs 5.1p less to cook a fry-up in an air fryer compared to in a pan on the hob.
If you have one fry-up a week, that would rack up to a saving of £26.52 over the year switching the hob for an air fryer.
However, the exact same savings you’ll make will vary depending on the model, how much you use it, and what you cook.
The verdict
I wouldn’t recommend cooking the full works in an air fryer.
I’ll definitely switch to using the air fryer for cooking my meat – it’s less fatty and I couldn’t tell the difference in taste.
But I’ll still be using the hob to cook my fried egg, mushrooms and beans.
Cooking a fry-up in an air fryer probably isn’t suitable for a family – unless you have a big air fryer.
I could only fit two portions in my air fryer.