Cheap Secura Infrared Convection Countertop TurboFry Oven 997MC

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List Price: $299.99
Sale Price: $139.99
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We ordered this a few weeks ago, so far we have tried potatoes fries, pizza, roasted chicken and we roasted some almonds as well. Everything came out excellent. This oven is indeed a multifunction appliance. It first is a convection oven similar to a Rotisserie oven, but with a turntable rack. So you are not limited to roasted chicken and ribs but can put smaller pieces on the turntable. The second function is to replace the turntable with a food tumbler or paddle, it then turns into an automatic stir fryer. We made some fries from fresh potato. Needless to say the fries are much less greasy with only one spoon of oil, but we are thrilled to see this actually works. It means this cooker can take the tedious labor work out of cooking.

With everything we have cooked in this turbofry oven so far well done, we are very pleased with this product.

Roasted chicken is second to none. The first chicken we cooked is perfect, golden crispy skin bottom and up, and juicy inside. Cut and squeeze the chicken breast with a knife yourself, you will see what I mean juicy. The second time we surround the chicken with lots of veggies carrots potatoes, seemed like the excessive veggies blocked the air flow to the bottom thus the underneath of the chicken was not crispy.

Potato fries, We have not used similar products so there is no way to compare the results. But the paddle does mix the oil and fries well in a gentle way. The tumbler aid on the inner side of the glass bowl helps the mixing better. The tumbler aid could make some noise when we roast almonds, we then removed the tumbler aid and it just worked as good.

Pizza, this oven is a perfect appliance to make pizza. Pizza finished with a crispy crust and the excessive moisture on the pizza top were carried away by strong hot air circulation. And we have never preheat the oven which is a plus. Using extender ring gives better results. Con: only bakes pizza up to 9" .

Extender ring is very useful. Good thing is it comes free with the purchase.

And again, it is one of the best kitchen appliances we ever invested. We have extensively used it for a few weeks, at least one use per day, multiple uses during weekends, so far there is not the slightest regret.

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I should have paid more attention to the negative reviews before purchasing this product. I wanted something that would be convenient for small dinners consisting of food items like chicken quarters. I tried it out on thawed chicken quarters and had it cranked all the way up to what is supposedly 482 degrees (I seriously doubt that the Secura reaches anything near that temperature) and I set the timer for 13 minutes. After the first 13 minutes I turned the quarters over for another 13 minutes. checking to see if they were done the internal temp was still only 145 degrees. I continued cooking for another 13 minutes on each side and they still weren't done. I wound up finishing them off in the microwave. Another reason I wish I hadn't bought the top of the line Secura is because it has the rotating bottom which means that there is a hole in the bottom of the glass bowl to accommodate the feature and this is annoying when you want to use a lower rack but can't because of the protruding mechanism. The recipe book that comes with the oven gives instructions like...cook for 45 minutes at 428 degrees and then turn the oven to 356 degrees for another 45 minutes...and that's for a medium chicken which is what?...2 1/2 or three lbs if that. And I guarantee you won't reach 428 degrees with the oven I bought.

Save your money.

As an update to my original review I have reduced my rating to one star. The latest incident was the cracking of the glass bowl. After making hamburger patties I allowed the oven to return to room temperature before placing it in a stainless steel sink I washed the bowl gently with a dish rag but when I went to dry it I found a crack. I went to Amazon to see if they had replacement parts....they don't. Secura's web site is nothing more than advertising...no parts lists no manuals no customer service number. This is the last Secura brand product I will ever buy.

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I just got it today. We'll see how long it lasts. I expect a minimum of 2-3 years of service for this price or I will update the review and drop it to one-star.

Toast is the one thing the user guide doesn't mention, and I could find nothing scouring the web. I was eager to find out if I would be missing anything by not having a toaster or toaster oven. So the first thing I did was try a split English muffin with a dab of margarine and a sprinkle of Parmesan cheese. It didn't toast like a toaster. Actually, it was better. It crisped and browned in a really desirable way. My now defunct (after one year) B&D toaster oven seemed to have two settings watch and wait, or burnt. You generally had to just stand there and watch. This infrared convection cooker browned it nice and slow (well, 10 minutes) but in a very nice golden brown way. The margarine and cheese melted perfectly. I love this thing so far.

The instructions aren't very clear. I had to pretty much guess how the parts fit together. I will update this review as I learn more.

Update (8/13/12)

They cut the price in half two weeks after I bought this thing. That really rankles my feathers. But for whatever reason they did, I still like this thing. Just sorry I paid over a hundred more just two weeks ago. Makes really perfect golden brown toasted bread, english muffins and bagels, cookies, roasted chicken quarters, pork ribs, fried rice (using the food blade that moves around). This thing is far more versatile than a regular toaster oven. By comparison, the glowing red elements on a toaster oven tend to burn food too quickly compared to the infrared heat of this turbo cooker, which although fast-cooking, does not go from nicely done to burnt in the blink of an eye. Why'd they drop the fracking price over a hundred dollars though. Sorry that I bought this thing too soon. But of course my old toaster over just dies and I needed something. I recommend it so far.

Update (9/19/12)

Perfect french toast: crispy golden brown on the outside, thoroughly cooked inside, not dried out nor soggy. Potato pancakes turned out nicely too. For these types of dishes, it beats frying pan, toaster oven or microwave. The fired potato wedges without the oil are pretty darn good too. I season them up thoroughly with black pepper, garlic and onion powder, and paprika.

Update (10/25/12)

I'm now pretty much using this to the exclusion of microwave and big oven except when absolutely necessary. Cookies, grilled cheese sandwiches, veggie burgers, French toast, and even an egg scramble using the stirring contraption. Easy to clean, pre-heats quickly, and doesn't take an enormous amount of counter space. I really don't have any negatives to report.

Update (11/8/12)

I wanted to respond to the negative reviews since it seems the few reviews were either love it or hate it. First off, I am a vegetarian and cannot respond to how long it takes to cook a huge hunk of meat. My wife is not a vegetarian but has only cooked chicken quarters not whole chickens and it worked for her. It does seem to me to get hot enough for my needs and at least as hot as my old toaster oven. I have allowed the bowl to cool and washed it with soapy water and a steel wool numerous times. The removable glass bowl is one of the ways you are able to keep this thing super clean (as opposed to a toaster oven where there are always crumbs hidden inside it. I suspect either the other poster's bowl was cracked at the factory or else inadvertently smacked against something. These bowls are heavy and solid. I agree that the manufacturer's website is just a marketing page, but I haven't needed any help so far. I did finally figure out on my own how to place the little gizmo that stirs the potato wedges. The turntable feature does really help cook the food throroughly. It is fairly loud, the fan really blows the air around with some force (loose grated chefs will blow off french bread unless you add it to butter). The short cord is no problem since I keep it on a counter near an outlet. I think the trend toward shorter cords in general was probably spawned by lawyers by appliances being knocked off counters. Since this is my first turbo convection oven, I cannot compare it to the digital model. I stayed away from that because digital appliances often seem to malfunction ahead of their time. Having two dials (timer and temperature) is fine with me. I will test the max temperature out and post an update. The locking lid I see that as a safety feature and applaud it. One thing I will say is that if you add the expansion rings, it probably does not have a tight seal anymore and hot air might well escape. I have not cooked a whole chicken so I cannot comment on how well it does that, but as I mentioned, my non-vegetarian wife has cooked chicken quarters with no problem. I'm still using this thing just about every day and happy with it.

Honest reviews on Secura Infrared Convection Countertop TurboFry Oven 997MC

Cons:

First thing I noticed was that the temperature didn't get above 350 (checked with digital infrared thermometer).

Then I saw that the timer was not moving so it would not shut off the unit when cooking was finished.

The wheels on the rotating rack don't roll; they just drag around on the glass bowl (seems like glass would soon be scratched).

After one use, the heating unit in the lid was a splattered mess and wouldn't clean up.

Fills the air with cooking fumes to the point my eyes were severely irritated and I needed to open the doors to ventilate (and it was a cold winter day).

Pros:

Doesn't take up a lot of counter space (but wastes the space it does take up).

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Secura Infrared Convection Countertop TurboFry Oven 997MC, Rotisserie Oven Low-Fat Fryer with Carbon Heat

As a single working mom, I love this product. I way to frequently, forget to take meat for dinner out of the freezer in the morning, and love that it no longer matters!

Last night, I took a frozen 3 pound roast out of the freezer, put the rock hard piece of beef in this oven with the extender ring. I mixed steak seasoning and course garlic powder with a 1/2 tsp of olive oil and 1/2 tsp of maple syrup and spread the mixture over the frozen meat, set the timer & temp and voila. It cooked as fast as it would have if I had remembered to take it out of the freezer and cooked it in my regular oven, and it was perfectly cooked outside and in...yummy.