****** - Verified Buyer
4.5
It might help you to evaluate my assessment of this "toaster oven" if you know a bit more about who and why I'm writing this. When I was in my 20s, I had "Haute Ciisine" level chef training but found little attracition to "food as a business." But I DO love food, innovative ways to present it, and REALLY creative ways to minimize the work while maximizing the results. And my kitchen was in need of updates because "Time waits for no one," and it certainly has not waited for me *OR* my kitchen! My 10 year old Hamilton Beach toaster oven with rotisserie still workef, but it was abused by time and by me. So I searched Amazon for "convection countertop ovens with rotisserie." WOW!!! LOOK WHAT I'VE BEENMISSING! So after much deliberation, I bought a $200 00+ upgrade with tons of Bells and Whistles that even included ab Add-On pizza stone! It was damaged in shipping but worked well enough to malfunction and totally cremate A pizza! I cherfully got my money back. Yay, Amazon! My quest continued. A SUPER oven with French doors, a rotisserie, AND a bonafidie charcoal air filter to carry away the smoke from the GRILL that actually sears in grill marks! The hell with price! THIS is my dream oven! Delivered the next morning! And so began a REAL nightmare! It took nearly an hour to unpack and "prep" it for first use, which required burning out the manufacturer's chemical residue by running it for 20 minutes at 400F!!! The stench took another 20 minutes to die! But hey, let's PLAY! In anticipation of this magic oven, I bought a New Zealand organic grassfed WAGYU BEEF chuck roast for the super bargain price of $80.00US! The rotiserrie will turn it into the world's most succulant faux prime rib you've ever tasted! I prepped it with Himalayan sea salt flakes, threaded it on the rotisserie and... The rottisedie would not turn! I hurriedly searched the owners manual. NOTHING! With bitter disappointment, I rewrapped the roast, logged onto Amazon Shopping, and asked for a refund. So began a TRUE nightmare, but that's another story. But NOW comes the TRUE MAGIC! It took a trip to the garage to remember the brand of my tired old oven. HAMILTON BEACH! And for a "measely" $90.00US! Is this for real? YES! And with a bit of ingenuity, it does a better job than ALL the rest. Here's how:1. Large oven capacity accepts all traditional bakewear from two 9" cakepans to yeast bread loaves to pizzas!2. Fabulous rotisserie results! From a flock of quails loaded shoulder to shoulder to a succulent roast checken, perfection every time!3. Perfect broiling! The day it arrived I broiled perfect Turkish " Adana Kabab" using ground lamb and traditional spices (ask Google for the scratch recipe.)4. Drop dead deliscious pizza on my pizza stone! Crispy crust with lots of toppings!5. I even found a cast iron frying pan on Amazon with a removable grate that can be preheated in this oven to produce "real" grill marks on burgers or steaks, but if you own a REAL charcoal grill, why bother?6. PERFECT "Air Fryer" results with an air fryer basket!So my happy point here is that whether you're an advanced cook or a beginner, this Hamilton Beach convection oven CAN and WILL do anything the bells and whistle ovens can do for a REASONABLE price.I will recieve no compensation for writing this I share it because I feel consumers have a right to FULL DISCLOSURE before they buy. I hope this helps. Enjoy!
