Update Sept 2023
We purchased this item from Amazon a few weeks ago and can honestly say we are very very impressed with what you can do with it. The only negative thing is the noise but we can live with that.
My wife broached the subject of getting an Air Fryer because she had heard a lot about them. We have a Gas hob and Gas oven that we use daily and have to stoop down to get things in and out of. A counter top Air Fryer seemed to be something worth a look at.
We only have a small kitchen but decided to see if we could find an Air Fryer that could “potentially” replace our 4 slice toaster and use this space. We could then put the toaster away but not dispose of it (its a good toaster and fairly new).
We have used a “Halogen Oven” and had some success but it didn’t really do what we wanted and wasn’t easy to clean.
After reading many reviews about Air Fryers, I decided that we would need one with at least a 10 Litre capacity and it would need some method of turning the food e.g. fries / chips.
It seems that Air Fryers come in 2 guises. The popular ones seem to be those that are basically a “round” device that look similar to a large pan or Dutch oven, with or without some sort of rotating tray / “basket”.
The other option seems to be something like a counter top electric oven / grill with a fan, with a drop down door.
The Uten “Smart Oven and fryer” is basically a counter top “Fan assisted Grill / Oven”, it satisfied our requirements and gives us a lot of options. It includes a rotisserie and a rotating (horizontal) cylindrical basket for things like fries / chips. It has 2 “Aerated! Shelves and a drip tray. There are 3 positions for the shelves and shelves and drip tray are a “non stick” type finish so easy cleaning a good feature.
The foot print is not much bigger than a 4 slice toaster but it will certainly change the way we cook. It won’t replace the Gas oven completely but will replace some of the things that we use the “Combo” Microwave for. The beauty of the Air Fryer is that unlike Microwave ovens you can use metal cooking utensils but you can’t use plastic utensils. It won’t beat a Microwave for speed of cooking but for things with pastry, it beats the Microwave hands down and that includes a combo microwave, without a trivet to raise the food!
We’ve been cooking for over 50 years but this is a whole new way of cooking and using the “new cooker” is going to be a steep learning curve.
We are looking forward to experimenting with and using the “Smart Table top oven”. However, the Instruction manual and additional “recipe” book appear to lack the information that we need.
The basic info doesn’t seem to be included with the user manual e.g. which of the 3 shelf positions do you use for cooking certain foods and how long you need to cook stuff for. There are several “preset” options, which can be amended to suit but which shelf position to use seems to be a bit of a guesswork.
We anticipated that Toast would need to be placed at the higher position (nearer the heating element) and would need turning and this is correct. Depending on how you like your toast, it should be possible to achieve what you like by amending the time and / temperature. It might need a bit of experimenting but if you only want 2 slices of toast, it will do the job. Cooking 2 slices of toast takes a similar time to using a pop up toaster but the toast is “crispier” and more like the “slate” that I used to love in my younger days. You can play about with the time and temp to get the toast how you like and I don’t think you will be disappointed but it’s likely that a pop up toaster is easier!
Sausages cooked in the Air Fryer are awesome, you don’t need to keep turning them. A typical “fat” sausage will cook to perfection in about 15 Mins and you can turn them occasionally if you want.
Pork (loin) Steaks are just wonderful, nice and tender and the fat is crispy.
We have trawled the Web to find the info we need and most of what we find relate to “Air Fryers” in general. With the “Smart Oven” we need to know which tray position to use and what temperature use and the cooking time. We need to know how long to cook stuff using the rotisserie and / or the “horizontal” cylinder basket.
We have had to use our 50 years of experience along with tid bits we have found on the Web and have started a spreadsheet for notes and cooking times. It’s early days and the smart oven will not be a “put it in the cupboard job”
Bacon (thick cut) cooked on the “top” level @ 190c for 6 Mins is lovely but if you want it a little crisper, try 200c for 6 mins or 190c for a bit longer. You will need to experiment to get your food cooked to how you like it.
Pork loin steaks cook well in the Uten smart oven. The preset “Steak” option is a good start, 190c for 15 Mins is good but you might need to experiment to get your loin steaks to how you like them. Pork loin steaks are very lean and don’t need much cooking, pink is fine! Generally, 6 or 7 mins each side at 190c top shelf will be fine.
The one really impressive thing is the “Rotisserie”, you can spit roast a small chicken (1.3 to 1.5 KG) in about 65 Mins and it comes out nice and brown and succulent. You will need to learn how truss the chicken with butchers string to tie it on to the spit rod but it isn’t difficult. Have a look at Air Fryer Rotisserie for video. Other useful sites Air Fryer Roast Pork and Air Fryer Rotisserie Pork Loin.
Pork loin (Joint) spit roasted is also awesome. Just cut into the meat to enable the spit rod to be placed and then use butchers string to make sure the loin is secured on the spit. A loin of up to about 1.5 kg will cook in about an hour. If the skin is on and you want crackling, you will need to experiment.
The “spit roasting” facility should allow you to cook all sorts of meat and veg to make maybe kebabs, you are only limited by your imagination!
The horizontal “rotating basket” is good for things like Chips / Fries. “Oven Chips” seem to work fine as these are already “oiled” but IMO, deep fried chips take a lot of beating! If you like “Oven Chips”, you will probably like them done in the Air Fryer.
In conclusion
The “Smart Oven” “Air Fryer” combo is a new way of cooking and will need some experimenting. In principle, it will cook your food in a more healthy way and sometimes quicker. It won’t replace a standard Microwave but does offer some advantages over a Combo Microwave. In the main, it will replace a standard gas or electric oven for many things if you are only cooking small amounts.
Easy cleaning is a very big advantage, all of the trays can be put in the dishwasher!
The instruction book leaves a lot to be desired. Ideally it would include info about what shelf height to use along with the cooking temperature and time.
The Uten smart oven / Air fryer is a game changer but you will need to experiment.
Shelf position, temperature and cooking time are “suck it and see”. Better instructions that relate to the “Smart Oven” would help, instead of instructions related to “Air Fryers” in general.
I don’t regret buying the Smart Oven and would certainly recommend it as a bit of very useful kit. I anticipate that we will use it and learn to cook in a different way.
The 10 Litre capacity is probably ideal for 2 people but depends on what you are cooking. You can “spit roast” a 1.3 Kg chicken in about an hour and pork loin or similar (of similar size) will take about the same time.
Roast potatoes, Sweet Potatoes and Parsnips will cook to perfection on the bottom shelf in about 40 mins or so. Spit roasting the meat and having the “roots” on the bottom tray works quite well. I would recommend starting off with the meat on the spit and the “roots” on the bottom tray and then check after about 45 / 50 mins to see how the “roots” are doing and check the meat with a digital thermometer. If roots done remove and keep warm and then finish the meat for maybe a 10 or 15 mins.
If you like pies, these can be cooked from frozen but better results are achieved when thawed. Basically 10 / 15 mins on the middle shelf and you have a nice hot pie that isn’t soggy. Certainly saves having to warm up the “big oven” and gives similar results.
If you can cope with the noise, the Uten smart oven air fryer will be a very useful bit of kit in your kitchen. You will need to experiment and / or surf the web but I think most people will find this to be very useful and not something that you will buy and then stick in an cupboard.
The “star turn” is the rotisserie, small chickens (up to 1.5Kg) are awesome and cook in about an hour. Other meats give similar results. You can basically spit roast a “meat” and cook “roots” in the drip tray. The roots (Spuds, Parsnip, Sweet Spuds) take about 45 / 50 mins to cook.
The biggest challenge is which “shelf position” to use, generally we tend to use the Mid position and the default temp of 190 c. It’s a new way of cooking so you need to not be frightened of experimenting. Over time, you will find out how to cook the food to your liking but the chart below should help give you a leg up.
