Hamilton Beach 31197 Countertop Oven with Convection and Rotisserie – A Review

If you think that a countertop oven is too small for your needs, take a look at the Hamilton Beach 31197 Countertop Oven with Convection and Rotisserie.

It’s big enough to roast a 5-pound chicken or two 12-inch pizzas at one go.  The oven’s convection method continuously circulates heated air for even heating and faster cooking.

You can bake, broil or toast anything in this countertop oven.

The oven exterior measures about 19.5” wide, 17” deep and 14” high.  Three knobs allow you to control the temperature, set the cooking time, and select the function (bake, broil, convection, and rotisserie).

The oven comes with two cooking racks, a broiler rack, two baking pans, rotisserie skewer and rotisserie lifter. The temperature can be set from 150 to 500 degrees Fahrenheit while the oven can be set to “continuous on” or 10 to 120 minutes cooking time.

Pros

The Hamilton Beach 31197 Countertop Oven is very easy to use and clean.  You can set the temperature and cooking time just the way you want.  With its no-frills design, the oven is very efficient and does its job well.

All the features work perfectly including the rotisserie.  You can roast chicken or pork, and bake meatloaf, pizza, cake, biscuits and bread.  The accessories are very handy, especially the two wire racks that allow you to bake two pizzas at a time.  You can really maximize the use of this oven.  With the Hamilton Beach countertop oven around, your regular oven won’t see much action.

The oven heats up to temperature very quickly and is an energy saver.  The convection function allows you to get your food wonderfully crisp and brown outside and moist inside.  Fries can be done in minutes with little or no fat.

Cons

Some people may consider the size of this oven a disadvantage.  After all, it is bigger than most countertop ovens.  Make sure you have enough counter space for this gadget.

Like all ovens, this one can get hot especially on the sides and top.  Don’t place anything flammable on or against the oven.  If you have little kids around, make sure they keep their hands off the oven.

One thing missing on this countertop oven is an interior light.

Bottom Line

If you are looking for a countertop oven with a bigger capacity than most, the Hamilton Beach 31197 oven is for you.  The convection function speeds up cooking by up to 33%.  The rotisserie is a nice bonus, not to mention the two wire racks, baking pans and other accessories.  For less than $100, you can’t get a better bargain.  Order it from Amazon.com and have it shipped for free.