Salter XL Dual View Air Fryer Oven review: big on everything except the price

T3’s Salter XL Air Fryer review in a sentence: The 15-litre model holds lots of food in twin compartments and there’s the bonus of a rotisserie feature too.

I’ve lost count of the number of air fryers I’ve reviewed over the last few years. So, it’s hardly surprising that people always ask me; which is the best one to buy? However, I’m of the opinion that it all depends on what you want to do with it. Buying one of the best air fryer models on the market might mean unnecessary expense if all you’re cooking is chips. Even the most basic low-budget model will do that job just as well.

Which brings me to this, the Salter XL Dual View Air Fryer Oven, which offers all the usual air fryer features and functions but comes with a bumper 15-litre capacity. There’s more though, because along with having twin viewing windows on the front, so you can marvel at how things like your chips and chops are doing, there’s also a rotisserie feature inside. It's as much a worktop oven, then, as it is an air fryer.

I like Salter as a brand. They’ve been around for many years and offer oodles of different models to suit all pockets. This model is a bit of a steal when you consider what it can do. For a family facing a stretched budget, both for buying appliances and getting the best from their food ingredients, the Salter XL Dual View Air Fryer Oven makes a lot of sense. Here’s what I think of it so far…

Salter XL Dual View Air Fryer Oven review: price and availability

This version of the Salter XL Dual View Air Fryer Oven comes with a RRP of £129.99 but it’s currently available from the Salter store within Amazon for just £109.99. That represents a saving of 21 percent. There seems to be a smaller variation on the theme too, which although slightly different is a snip at just £104.99 from Amazon instead of the £159.99 normal RRP. That model doesn’t have a rotisserie, mind, which might make more sense if you’re not in the habit of spit-roasting whole chickens on a regular basis.

Salter XL Dual View Air Fryer Oven review: is it any good?

If you’ve got a family, you're always super busy, or both then cooking can often be all about the convenience. That’s a big part of the appeal with the Salter XL Dual View Air Fryer Oven because thanks to the features and functions it’s pretty straightforward to concoct a whole meal using just this appliance.

Getting started is easy enough once you’ve lugged it’s 11.1kg weight out of the box and positioned those hefty ‎37.6 x 34 x 38 cm dimensions onto a suitable worktop or suitably safe area that can handle hot appliances.

I didn’t find the manual very enlightening though because it’s more of a leaflet affair than anything but there is a QR code route that offers more insight. Having used these things a lot over the years, I got on fine with the Salter XL Dual View Air Fryer Oven, but newbies might want to see what the internet has to offer in terms of better guidance.

The appliance comes with everything needed to get started, with the various trays and what not tucked inside. Cheaper machines are often less durable than premium models and, under close inspection, it’s easy to wonder just what the lifetime of the accessories will be like with this air fryer. However, the good news is that the main machine itself is nicely screwed together and features a design that incorporates all the best bits found in other Salter models.

Salter XL Dual View Air Fryer Oven review: performance

On powering it up, the Salter XL Dual View Air Fryer Oven features an illuminated panel above the double oven doors, which offer access to all of the controls. I found this to be very simple and straightforward to get my head around, with the usual offering of cooking functions. There are essentially six presets, which include Air Fry, Roast and Bake plus the option to set the time, up to 60-minutes and temperature manually.

I initially used the Salter XL Dual View Air Fryer Oven for my air fryer staples: burgers and frozen fries. What I did like about this model is the way it can be used as a non-divided oven with trays that reach from side to side on various different levels. Alternatively, I was able to use a supplied divider, which slots in the middle and allows the Salter XL Dual View Air Fryer Oven to double up as a twin section appliance with 7.5 litre capacity for each side. There are trays and grills to suit either occasion.

The visible doors on the front were very welcome as this makes keeping an eye on cooking progress so much easier than having to open up the appliance all the time. This model comes with 2300W of power, and I found it worked a treat. Salter also recommends moving the trays around in a rotation from time to time, which ensures more consistent heating and I’d agree with this.

The Salter XL Dual View Air Fryer Oven is reasonably quiet too, even when the rotisserie feature is called up. I found it was worth doing a dry run to get the rotating rod installed in the unit before adding in a chicken. There does tend to be some spitting from the chicken skin going on whilst cooking, but the rotisserie works as it should. The downside was this process involved more cleaning up time.

Salter XL Dual View Air Fryer Oven review: verdict

While the rotisserie feature with the Salter XL Dual View Air Fryer Oven is welcome, I’m personally not sure just how much I’d use it. This is especially so when it’s possible to buy rotisserie chicken in-store at many supermarkets for little money and there’s no clean-up to do.

Aside from that though, the Salter XL Dual View Air Fryer Oven is a very decent thing, and I like the way it’s as much of a desktop oven as it is a standard fare air fryer. Quite how well the divider and baskets with this model will fare over time remains to be seen as they feel a little flimsy. However, given the price, I’d say it’s good value if you can get a couple of years’ service out of it.

Salter XL Dual View Air Fryer Oven review: Alternatives to consider

There are, or course, oodles of variations on this theme, with air fryers being the main area of choice. Our selection of the best air fryers and the best multi-cookers will give you an overview.

Specific favourites of mine include the Tower 9 litre Dual Basket Digital Air Fryer, or the Tower T17076 Xpress Pro Combo 10-in-1 Air Fryer, which comes complete with a rotisserie that can handle a whole chicken. Similarly, the Ninja Foodi 11-in-1 SmartLid, or the Ninja Foodi 11-in-1, is a multi-faceted machine with brilliant air and steam-fry features.

However, if you only care for pizzas, which can also be cooked using the wider tray setup here, then the best pizza oven selection we have is as good a place to start as any.