halogen oven

[mrsmurphey]

have just ordered a halogen oven as we can not stand the heat in our tiny kitchen without a window(sheltered accommodation).Can anyone give us some tried and tested tips. Thanks in advance

[Quizmonster]

I just hope you have better luck with it than I did!
I bought one and it came with part of the plastic base weighing about three ounces broken through. Did I just have to send that back for replacement? Oh, no! I had to repack the entire thing and send it all.
Fair enough, I got a replacement and was just getting used to cooking with it, when the bulb/element blew up in my face. Of course, you cannot just buy a new one and fit it yourself, so I decided to return it and ask for my money back.
Clearly, these things are of poor quality for one reason or another, so I now have a Remoska...quite a bit more expensive, but a solid and dependable piece of kit.

Of course, you will almost certainly get someone else here replying that they are the finest thing since sliced bread and that theirs has been functioning well for years. My advice is...make a note of how the packaging goes together and don't throw it away!

[sadielady]

Hello mrsmurphey Had my Halogen Oven for about a year, use it every day and havent had any problems at all. I do line the bottom with foil, saves alot of cleaning but so saying at the end of cooking I just tip some hot water in the bottom with a little washing up liquid and set it for 10 minutes on 100 and it cleans as good as new. I cook everything in it that I would normally cook in the oven, roast potatoes are lovely, I am not that keen on dry roasted so I just spray with a little oil before cooking. I have cooked a joint of boiled bacon today, just wrap it in foil, cooked for 45 mins, it was lovely. You should get an introduction booklet with it which includes recipes, but basically just use it as you would your oven.
Good luck and if I can help further just ask.
Barb

[Quizmonster]

I'm delighted that you had a better experience than I did, Barb.
I was really beginning to enjoy my (second) one, baking bread, roasting joints and - as you say - doing just about anything I would normally have done in the oven. However, the fact remains...I had two in the space of a couple of weeks and BOTH broke.
Let's hope you have a Barb experience with yours rather than a Quizmonster one, MrsM!

[wendilla]

I had the JML one from Argos a year ago so if anything went wrong it was easy to replace them. I have hardly used my large oven only when the family come .I use my halogen every day just use it as an ordinary oven.Just be careful if you top anything with foil make sure it is secure as it could rise up to the element.I would not tackle extra large joints in them as you would have to do it for an hour then reset the timer.It's like anything treat them with care and they will last but it's just like everything you may still get the odd faulty one. Chicken breasts cook lovely .I do mine in various sauces sometimes.Good luck with yours as I am sure you will love it .I could not be without mine.

[lorri24601]

I have had mine for a couple of years now and use it a lot.The general rule i apply is cook things about 10-20 degrees lower and knock about a third of the cooking time. hope your as happy with yours as i am with mine :-)

[mrsmurphey]

thanks everyone for your input, Any further tips much appreciated.