Fish fingers can be cooked in the microwave if you don't want them crispy (about 2 minutes,but, this varies on wattage of your microwave)

Yuk,


done that once and it was horrid. the only things I used to cook in a microwave was a sponge and sausages.

i don't own one now.

microwaves were marketed as great for cooking bacon, meats, chickens...etc

never tried cooking a chicken, you d
prob need some kind of bowl in there !

Halogen ovens on the other hand , look like they have got it sussed.
Must be great watching the food cook too.

I still use the microwave though... maybe reheating coffee, making popcorn, heating a cup of milk to make a coffee flask.
I put a pasty in there for about 50 seconds, then into the oven for 10 mins
( without the heating by the microwave that pasty would need 20 mins in the gas oven )

I was given a Russell Hobbs halogen oven. Used it two or three times max. Found it to be a massive hassle compared to a regular oven, particularly if you're "stacking" food eg chicken on the rack with veg underneath - you have to dismantle everything to turn the veg and chicken and you do need to turn the chicken as it cooks quickest closest to the heat source up top.

I appreciate that some people swear by them. I just swore AT mine. I found balancing the lid on the extension ring to be hit or miss. A fraction of an inch out and the lid squeezed through the ring on to the food. Happened to me a couple of times.

The glass, obviously, gets very hot.. The self-cleaning function was next to useless and as I don't have a dishwasher I was washing everything by hand every time I used it. It takes up a LOT of counter space but is also fairly tall so it won't fit under most cupboards.

The Russell Hobbs doesn't have a replaceable bulb.

Made a decent cheese on toast and my one attempt at chicken was delicious, similar to rotisserie, but way too much hard work compared to bagging the chuck and sticking it in the oven.

Cheers for that review.

I think I'd find it very frustrating to use, as I hate all those fiddly bits that you describe, such as turning the meat or getting at the veg underneath.

Think I'll leave it.

quote
but is also fairly tall so it won't fit under most cupboards.
end quote,
I was thinking that, when I saw them open the lid...
my worktop has cupboards about 2.5 feet above, gonna be a prob !

Aldi are doing an Halogen oven next week as well as Lidl.

The one thing i miss my microwave for is porridge, making it in a saucepan is a pain.

Halogen ovens are not for everyone, but for me being a single person I find it far better than turning on my cooker. In fact I am going to make a self that goes over the cooker, but can be removed quickly, that I can put the halogen oven on as I use the cooker so little these days,

A friend of mine uses hers a lot and she have a teenage daughter.

No doubt if you have 3 or more people in the house a halogen oven may not be as useful.


For cooking chickens I found the crisp and bake is better than a normal halogen as the light is mainly covered and the heat is 90% done by air, where with a normal halogen oven the light is not as covered and can burn the top of the meat, that is why you need to use q extension ring and need to cover the top with foil.

Normal halogen is great for doing cheese on toast, the crisp and bake is not so great, going to get another halogen.

Can't speak for the Russell Hobbs one but the Andrew James one is not fiddly at all.

Finally took the plunge and got the basic halogen oven ....
total incl postage...... £54
Might have a go at a couple of burgers in there later this evening !

I guess with halogen we are cooking with light ......
must be a good option, no worries about having metal in there.................. as there is with microwave ovens.

Treat it as a normal oven, in other words if it can't go in a normal oven, it can't go in a Halogen one.

First thing I notice is the timer.... its in minute settings, whereas the microwave is in seconds .

That is because it is not a microwave and uses a different way to cook things.

A halogen oven works more or less like a normal oven, it uses heat, just like a normal oven, the only difference is it produces heat by a halogen light and fan instead of gas flame or electric element.
They are not as quick as microwaves, but they can be quicker than a normal oven, but the advantage is you don't need to heat up a whole oven and it uses a fraction of the power.

It might be handy to heat up a pie or
pasty... say in 10 mins instead of 20 mins in the regular oven.

But maybe to reheat a cup of coffee or
heat up milk.... the microwave will be best .

When doing a roast I put meat on low wire rack, add extention ring and cook at required temp.
With around 45 mins of cooking time left I then place potatoes around the meat for rosties (lightly coated in oil & paprika).
Last 15-20mins I put in some veggies amongst the potatoes.
When the meats cooked take out and rest, give veggies and potatoes a move around and cook a little longer while meat is resting.
No dismantling required and everything's cooked lovely .


Can't really comment on this as mines hinged.


Easiest thing to clean.
When glass bowl is slightly cooled down, squeeze a little washing up liquid into glass bowl, pour in some freshly boiled water from kettle and turn on oven for a few mins.
If needed use a washing up brush to swish around a bit. Give lid glass a wipe with soapy water. Pour out soapy water from glass bowl and either drain or wipe out with tea towel.
Easy peasy, nothing hard or fiddly about it.
Also they're only tall if you leave the extension ring on. When not in use put the ring in a cupboard and then the oven will fit nicely under most cupboards .


Most ovens don't appear to have a replaceable bulb, but can be replaced if you don't mind doing it yourself.
This can be a little fiddly, but well worth it if you'd rather just pay around £10 for a new bulb. Recently replaced my bulb after around 4 years of use.

I think ten mins is pushing it, maybe 15,

I don't think I would want to try and heat up coffee or milk in a halogen, i have put it on and soften some butter mind you. Not as quick as a Microwave, but then I don't have a microwave.

those 2 burgers seemed ok after about 10 mins
at 250 degrees.

maybe next Ill try doing a few oven chips in there

We've had 2 that caught fire . Both different makes . We won't buy another one .

Are they having a laugh ? they keep flashing this ...........Halogen Cook Book ................ on screen,
just a few glossy pages on a spiral ring........ price £9.99 !!!!

There must be somewhere on line that can give you some basic recipes and advice on settings.... ie times and temperature say for jacket potatoes etc.

I have a Haolgen oven just wondering if you can use those herb/sauce bags(maggi etc) that you put chicken in?
Also can you use tin foil in them?

Oh dear !

Search the web, loads of free recipes and advice if you look for it.

Im having 2nd thoughts about doing a chicken in there.

On TV they have the roast potatoes at the bottom of the bowl, a few veg too,

but do you really want potatoes and veg swimming around in 2 inches of chicken fat ?

In an oven at least you have a spare shelf to put in a tray of potatoes and maybe a sliced onion etc .

They're very good for basic cooking. I've found cakes always fail because they cook quickly around the outside but never in the middle.

Pork joints cook very well but chicken I find needs to be turned a couple of times.