Should you clear the counter for this grill and fryer?
Decluttering your kitchen countertops sounds great until you discover yet another new countertop appliance that’s faster, better, or turns out tastier or healthier food. Consumer Reports tested the Philips Digital Airfryer and the Ronco Ready Grill. Are they worth clearing space on your counters? Take a look.
Ronco Ready Grill RG1005BLGEN
What we paid: $120
What Ronco claims: Delicious, grilled meals in just 20 minutes! This new indoor, smokeless grill offers all of the delicious grilled flavor. It even cooks frozen foods straight from the freezer. The removable grill basket and drip tray make cleanup a snap.
The look: Like a toaster but taller (17Wx7Dx12H). It comes in silver with black, red, or blue trim. It can fit enough food for a single course for four, or a mix of foods for fewer.
How it works: It’s a vertical broiler that uses two sets of heating rods to cook food in a basket from two sides. There’s no temperature control—the heating elements are on the whole time and the 30-minute manual timer will turn off the grill when time’s up. The basket can be adjusted to accommodate thick or thin foods, and the removable drip tray collects juices and fats.
Our tests found: We tested the Ronco by cooking chicken wings, frozen French fries, sweet potato fries, steak, Tater Tots, potato wedges, chicken tenders, sausage, bacon, toasted cheese sandwiches, and burgers and found the Ronco grill preheated fast and cooks much faster than a regular oven and was even faster than a convection oven. Foods were nicely browned and tasty but not smokey, if that's what Ronco means by grilled flavor. Thicker steaks and burgers cooked more evenly than thinner foods like bacon. There’s no temperature control so you have to keep an eye on your toasted cheese sandwiches.
Need to know: It was easy to use and clean.The recipe book includes fewer recipes than the Airfryer’s so you have to try foods out to get a feel for the Ronco grill.
Philips HD9230/26 Digital Airfryer
What we paid: $349
What Philips claims: Fries, bakes, roasts, and grills with a tablespoon of oil or less. Faster cooking and perfect results. Easy to use.
The look: Bulky plastic, black or white. Capacity holds enough food for two hungry people, but a slightly larger model is also available.
How it works: There’s a digital touchscreen, electric heater, fan, and a compartment that holds the basket of food. The heater can be set from 150° to 390° F in 30° increments and the fan rapidly circulates the hot air. There’s a 60-minute timer that automatically shuts off the Airfryer and a ready signal that alerts you when time is up.
Our tests found: It quickly preheats and cooks much faster than a regular oven—the instructions suggest halving cooking times and reducing conventional oven temperatures by 70° F for pre-made packaged foods, so you’ll have to experiment. We cooked many of the same foods as we did in the Ronco. Using little or no oil, the sweet potato fries were very crispy and the frozen fries were better than those cooked in a regular or convection oven. The other foods were nicely browned and more evenly cooked than from a conventional oven. Testers were sad to see the Airfryer leave our labs.
Need to know: Recipes are included. We could smell the food cooking but didn’t see any smoke, a possible problem when cooking fattier foods. Cleaning can be a little tricky, especially the screen at the bottom of the basket, but the removable nonstick coated drawer and food basket are dishwasher safe.
—Kimberly Janeway
More from Consumer Reports:
Best tiles for floors, counters and backsplashes
The right vacuum for pets, bare floors and carpets
5 secrets to a long lasting kitchen
Consumer Reports has no relationship with any advertisers on this website. Copyright © 2006-2015 Consumers Union of U.S.
