Cooking In A Halogen Oven ...advice Please .

[beezaneez]

hi, just bought wifey new halogen oven ( shef ) it did not come with recipe book or an extender ring which it states as in ebay description, anyway, i am trying some chicken wings here in it now , put them on for 20 mins at 220. will update you after they cook. i just seasoned them with salt and ground pepper.

do any of you have any nice recipes and details of cooking instructions for halogen oven, any good links at all ? i have looked on youtube but very little advice on recipes there. will try amazon for books / manuals.

reason why i bought it was because my wifes oven allways smokes and stinks the whole house out after she cooks in oven, even though she scrubs it 3-4 times per week, we have an open plan living area and kitchen so we need to keep the smell and smoke out.

also what is youe opinions on these ovens ?

thanks

[EcclesCake]

Why don't you Google the manufacturer and se if they have a recipe book or instruction manual that you can download.

[gingejbee]

If you have a The Works cheapo bookshop handy, they do a fantastic range of books for halogen ovens (and slow cookers, microwaves etc), which have methods, tips, recipes etc. From 99p.

[gingejbee]

....an example...

http://www.theworks.co.uk/p/family-cook-books/halogen-one-pot-cooking/9781905862641

[wendilla]

I have had a halogen now for 3 years and would not be without it . I only use my large oven when family come . There is no need for a special cook book . I do everything same as oven temps maybe just a couple of degree less for some things. I do a whole roast dinner for myself just adding the lesser cooking times towards the end. I even bake cakes in it.

[beezaneez]

update, i have found the 200 page cook book down the side of the box. ok i defrosted some chicken wings and seasoned them, bunged them in at 220 though this seemed to be too slow, i then put temp up to 400 !!!!! and the wings took 40 minutes ? and didnt turn out nice and crispy skin as in my built in oven. 40 mins at full whack seems a long time to cook a few chicken wings .

any one know why this can be ?

[beezaneez]

youtube videos and cook book say wings, legs and chicken breast should take 15 minutes ? hmmmmm

[ladybirder]

Love my Halogen oven and wouldn't be without it.
And beez I think your main oven needs a proper clean if it is smoking. It'll probably be spattered fat on the ceiling and elements that's causing the smoke.

[wendilla]

Something wrong there . I can do a chicken breast in approx. 20 mins minutes .

[wendilla]

Which halogen do you have ? I have the JML one.

[pastafreak]

I have a halogen,and while its nice,I do not use it as much as I thought I would. It does not seem to cook any quicker than my gan oven,and cleaning the huge bowl always seems risky at best. I did a medium stuffed chicken for Christmas...took an hour and a half....and that was without the roasties in the oven also.

[pastafreak]

Gan...?...gas

[ladybirder]

I find the main advantage pasta is not having to wait for your oven to heat up. Instant heat is brilliant.

[wendilla]

Pasta it is not made to cook any quicker than an ordinary oven A medium chicken takes 40 mins . But not really suitable for a big family dinner .

[gingejbee]

beez: temp up to 400 degrees?? Surely this is Fahrenheit....205 Celcius.

[pastafreak]

Ah...but a lot of the promotional literature for halogens will say they cook quicker,and they will do a full roast dinner. That is promoted as one of the plus points for them.
I don't mind that they take the same time,its just that new users expectations will mean they may be disappointed.

[wendilla]

That is true but they will do a full roast dinner but not for a large family . If you have a good one they are ok but if you buy one of those cheap ones they will not last . It goes back to the same old saying you get what you pay for .

[gingejbee]

We don't have one....but surely (I repeat) the 400 degrees the OP mentions must be Fahrenheit (205C). No domestic cooking appliance would go to 400C?? This could well be why results are not as expected by OP.

[wendilla]

That's right gingejbee 190 C for chicken breast for 20 mins .

[beezaneez]

the halogen oven i bought was a ( shef 12 litre ) with digital controls , temp goes up to 440 wether that is farenheit or celcius, dont know why it just does not give it in celcius , made barbeque chicken skewers last night with peppers, onions, mushrooms, pinapple, they took a full 30 mins on full heat . mushrooms etc were very dry, maybe i will combat this by adding water to bottle of bowl to steam them more rather than a dry heat ? what do you think ? on hindsight it was an ok buy £35.00 from ebay though i dont for 1 minute think the food is any better taste wise or even cooks faster ( lies ) on this product anyway. at least it doesnt smell and stink house out as in using our built in oven, wife has had major headaches cleaning our oven and we have used every oven cleaner imaginable !!