Ronco Showtime Rotisserie Oven - Product Review

I bought a Showtime Rotisserie Oven about a month ago. I purchased the platinum edition, this one has digital controls with LCD readouts. It came with a number of extra accessories, including BBQ gloves, a flavor injector, elastic food ties, baskets for hamburgers or seafood, kabob sticks, a thermometer, and instructional DVD.

Suffering from insomnia from time to time, I find myself almost ready to grab the phone in the middle of the night. This isn't because I suddenly need to call a friend or 911; it is because I sometimes watch infomercials. As tempting as the urge is, I manage to resist ordering. Two of my friends were weaker and did make the call for this oven. They bought one each and raved about the Showtime Rotisserie Oven. I caved when I had a 20 percent discount at a local store that had them in stock. The retail price was 139.99.

I have used it for chicken four times, kabobs twice and a roast beef. The commercial claims you can "Set it and forget it!" but I did not find that to be entirely true. For some absurd reason, I found myself drawn to watching the food rotate through the clear glass door. It may have been on mentally slow days, I am not sure.

Here is my list of pros and cons for the Ronco Showtime Rotisserie Oven.

Cons: This oven is bulky and takes up a lot of counter space while not being terribly sparkly and attractive. It weighs 28 pounds, manageable but not light if you want to move it between a storage spot and the counter top.

You really do need to check on food while it is cooking, especially vegetable kabobs. They will shrink and fall off.

The first chicken I cooked took me four times to skewer centrally. With some practice I am now down to two attempts.

If you are not a fan of Teflon you may not like the drip tray since it is Teflon coated.

If you cook a small roast it may come out dry.

You cannot cook large food items, the instructions recommend nothing larger than a 12-pound turkey.

Pros: Meat cooked in the Showtime Oven comes out tender and delicious. The chickens are juicy and browned all around. There is no question this is a great oven for chicken. Roasts come out evenly cooked and tasty.

It is relatively easy to put together out of the box. Most of the parts are dishwasher safe so clean up is not a big chore. You can line the drip pan with foil for an even quicker clean up.

You use less electricity than heating up a conventional oven.

There is no doubt that food cooked in this manner is healthier, this may be a good point if you are watching your dietary intake.

All in all, a Showtime Rotisserie Oven is a very good buy for the money and your family will enjoy it. This product is 4.5 out of 5.0 ratings in my book.