Breville Halo Rotisserie Air Fryer: first look review

Unboxing the Breville Halo Rotisserie Air Fryer

Inside the box is 3.2-litre mesh basket for tossing chips during 'frying'. There are three air flow racks, perfect for dehydrating, baking steaks and cooking fish. A drip tray catches grease and crumbs that fall during cooking. Then, for rotisserie chicken and roasting meats, a spit fork is included along with a loading fork for popping it into the preheated oven and removing while hot.

All are metal and are dishwasher-safe for easy cleaning. We gave the removable elements a wash in soapy water and wiped the interior with a damp cloth prior to its first use. This all but eliminated its 'new product' smell.

Design, features and use

There are four recipes in the manual and a small cooking chart outlining how to cook potatoes, meat, poultry and fish, and veggies including onion rings and roasting vegetables, then apples, strawberries, beetroots and beef for dehydrating to make jerky. These would get you started if you were new to air fryer recipes.

The control panel is touchscreen and simple to use, with recognisable icons to donate the presets for different ingredients. The door pulls down to open and offers plenty of room for popping ingredients in and taking them out.

We went straight in with a 1.3kg whole chicken, loading it on to the spit, having trussed it to hold in its legs and wings. The instructions would benefit from giving a guide to this because, without being trussed, you can find the legs flop down as they spin and will fall off when cooked. The function is manual start.

How did the Breville Halo Rotisserie Air Fryer perform?

We cooked it for 55 minutes at 200C, which produced a neatly browned, moist and evenly cooked chicken that had great flavour. A little longer would have crisped up its skin. Removing the rotisserie arm is made relatively simple thanks to the detachable arm. We left it to rest before digging in and found it to be packed with flavour, and without a soggy underside.

Following the pre-set function, we made chips that were wonderfully pillowy inside with crisp outsides. The chunkier cut ones were a little floppy, which indicated that the smaller you can cut your fries, the better the result.

We loved the interior light which, combined with the glass-fronted panel, enables you to check the progress of what's cooking without repeatedly opening the door and releasing the heat. The machine also beeps to indicate when it is fully warmed or at the end of a cooking function.

Ease of cleaning?

All the removable attachments are dishwasher-safe which makes getting stubborn grease off a much simpler task. The drip tray does have a non-stick coating though, which we were able to clean easily in a bowl of hot soapy water.

What didn't we like about the Breville Halo Rotisserie Air Fryer?

Like many touchscreens, there was some difficulty using the controls with damp or oily fingers, so we had to make sure everything was wiped.

When you set the rotisserie function to start cooking, there's a separate button to start the rotisserie spinning, which can be easily missed in the instruction manual and would result in unevenly cooked ingredients. It's an easy one to solve though, as the great reward for loading its rotisserie attachments is seeing them spin, so users like us will be instantly checking for gratification.

How sustainable is this air fryer?

Although there was some cardboard padding within the box, there was also some protective plastic packaging.

Summary

The 10-litre capacity of this model makes it an incredibly practical choice for families. But the novelty of its rotisserie functions and easy-to-use touchscreen interface makes it a real winner on the innovation front. This is the ultimate kitchen gadget for anyone who wants the versatility of making rotisserie chicken in their own kitchen, with crisp fries and sides, and all while using less oil.

Breville Halo Rotisserie Air Fryer specifications

Wattage: 2000W

Weight: 9.58 kg

Size: 44.2 x 41.6 x 39.4cm

Functions: 4

Food capacity: 10-litres

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