Microwave Combi Recommendations?

Chloe_G

I am limited on kitchen counter space, and, as my old microwave has recently broken, I wondered if I could replace it plus my air fryer and my George Foreman health grill with one machine?  I currently use a small Tower air fryer to cook chips once or twice a week and I use the grill for cooking bacon mainly. 

Any recommendations/advice gratefully received!  Thanks.

ThisIsWeird

What capacity should it have?

ka7e

I have a 15+ year-old Panasonic slimline combi (27l) 1000w and it's big enough to roast a whole chicken. It's good for pizzas and proper jacket potatoes, but oven chips are a pain - you have to keep turning them and the oven gets very hot! I think an air fryer is quicker than the convection and grill modes of the microwave as they have quite a long preheat time. I would keep the airfryer and use in conjunction with a combi. The Panasonic models usually come with a comprehensive cooking guide and recipe book and retail around £250-270.

Longwalker

Why not use the air fryer to cook the bacon? I use my air fryer for all "grilled" foods, chops, steaks, tomatoes - the works 

I use a Ninja 15 in 1. Its a beast of a machine , I have it on a trolley, but its used every day for at least part of the meal prep. Only time I use the oven now is if Im cooking for more then 4 and the hob is only used to make a sauce or boil/fry and egg

Chloe_G

ThisIsWeird said:

What capacity should it have?

Normally just used to use the microwave for bowls of porridge, and heating up baked beans but feel I could expand my range!  Make a full roast dinner for three on Sundays and use the main oven for this.  Use the top oven of my cooker throughout the week for shepherds pie, frozen pies, warming up things and warming up crumbles/pies etc.  Use main oven for making cakes/pies etc every couple of weeks.
Use the George Foreman a couple of times a week for bacon or sausages.
Use the air fryer for chips for two people.

Chloe_G

Longwalker said:

Why not use the air fryer to cook the bacon? I use my air fryer for all "grilled" foods, chops, steaks, tomatoes - the works 

I use a Ninja 15 in 1. Its a beast of a machine , I have it on a trolley, but its used every day for at least part of the meal prep. Only time I use the oven now is if Im cooking for more then 4 and the hob is only used to make a sauce or boil/fry and egg

Thanks @Longwalker .  I will try the bacon in it.  For some reason that had never occurred to me!  Once tried to cook a sausage roll from frozen in it, but it wasn't a success!

Longwalker

Chloe_G said:

ThisIsWeird said:

What capacity should it have?

Normally just used to use the microwave for bowls of porridge, and heating up baked beans but feel I could expand my range!  Make a full roast dinner for three on Sundays and use the main oven for this.  Use the top oven of my cooker throughout the week for shepherds pie, frozen pies, warming up things and warming up crumbles/pies etc.  Use main oven for making cakes/pies etc every couple of weeks.
Use the George Foreman a couple of times a week for bacon or sausages.
Use the air fryer for chips for two people.

I think you would be better off with an air fryer. I have two, the 15 in 1 and the Ninja dual drawer - there are cheaper options

I tonight cooked a roast chicken dinner in the 15, just using one pan on the stove for the Brussel sprouts. Cut my roasties and lined the rack with those, placed the chicken on top, drop of water at the bottom of the pot, stuck in the probe, turned to steam roast,  pressed chicken and away it went - 35 mins later Ive a succulent chicken and part roasted spuds. Took the chicken out to rest and put the roasties aside, tipped out the water to use in the gravy, threw in the carrots and parsnips with fresh water and set to pressure cook for 7 mins, when they were done, drained those and put the spuds back in to roast whilst I mashed the carrots and parsnips, carved the chicken and plated up - lovely succulent chicken, crispy roasties and good veggies 

In the dual drawer I put a chicken on one side and roasting veg the other - you cant do boiled veg in that. But for cooking frozen pies and sausage rolls etc, its a breeze. I make the odd cake in it as well. Oven only gets used if the kids and grandkids are down for the weekend, but Id still cook the joint in the 15 in one 

Cisco001

Chloe_G said:

Longwalker said:

Why not use the air fryer to cook the bacon? I use my air fryer for all "grilled" foods, chops, steaks, tomatoes - the works 

I use a Ninja 15 in 1. Its a beast of a machine , I have it on a trolley, but its used every day for at least part of the meal prep. Only time I use the oven now is if Im cooking for more then 4 and the hob is only used to make a sauce or boil/fry and egg

Thanks @Longwalker .  I will try the bacon in it.  For some reason that had never occurred to me!  Once tried to cook a sausage roll from frozen in it, but it wasn't a success!

stick  the sausage roll in microwave oven full power for 1 to 1.5 min (depends on the power of your microwave).
Then dump it to air fryer to crisp.