Ronco ST4000WHGEN Showtime Standard Rotisserie and Barbeque Oven Review

Cooking can be an arduous task if one doesn't have the right equipment. Some foods are easy to prepare by simply placing them on a flat cookie sheet and popping them in the oven. But other foods are best prepared by heating in a different fashion, with the heat source placed at a different angle than that provided by an ordinary oven. This is where my Ronco ST4000 Showtime Standard Rotisserie & BBQ comes into play. It helps cook meats and other foods more evenly with its rotisserie action.

Appliance Commentary:

Ronco is a company whose name is synonymous with television infomercials. The sales pitch on this commercials is direct and simple: That Ronco products are just the thing that has always been missing from your kitchen and that they can perform tasks you never before thought possible, transforming your kitchen and elevating your cooking skills to a new level of expertise.

I used this appliance several times during the two years I owned it. The cooking results during that time were pretty good and I liked having an oven like this one in addition to my traditional oven because it provided a good alternative to regular oven cooking. The food slowly turns as the heat source warms it, ensuring that food is cooked more evenly than it would be cooked in a regular oven. The heat source in this oven is in the rear, so this is where the heat is most concentrated and this is where it cooks the food as it turns on the rotisserie.

Another nice feature of this oven is the steaming option. The top of this oven gets very hot and to take advantage of this heat source, Ronco provides a dual- sided tray (with cover) where you can place vegetables and other foods for steam cooking. You just put the food in the tray, cover it, and sit the tray on top of the oven. It warms up quickly, providing an additional cooking source that produces nicely steamed foods without having to resort to using your stove top.

If you're the type who likes to season your meats, Ronco will make you happy with its included injection syringe. With this device, you can place different spices, fruit juices, and other seasonings deep inside the meat. All you do is load the syringe, find a soft spot on the meat, poke it through, and squeeze it out. I recommend doing this to several spots in the meat to make sure the seasoning doesn't concentrate itself in one place.  

This rotisserie is a good one and I like what it has to offer, but there are still some shortcomings that need to be addressed. First of all, you need to know that this unit gets very hot on the outside. You have to be careful where you touch because almost every part of the exterior surface will be red hot to the touch. The fact that the top of the unit doubles as a steam cooker should give you an idea what I'm talking about. About the only areas that don't get hot are the knob controls and switch located to the right side. You can safely touch these without risk of a burn. But you need to stay clear of the rest of the oven when it's in operation. It is surprising how hot it gets.

One other thing about this oven that should be improved is the oven door. What I don't like is the way it rests in place against the front when closed- with no latch or anything else to hold it securely in place. When you open it all the way, the glass door can be pushed underneath the oven to get it out of your way, which is helpful. But the fact that there is no latch to keep it closed worried me a little. If someone accidentally bumps the front of the unit the wrong way during operation, the door will fall open. If this happens, there is a good chance the door will break.

Bottom Line Viewpoint:

Overall, I liked my Ronco Showtime ST4000 Rotisserie and BBQ oven during the time I owned it (I sold it due to lack of use- we were usually in a hurry to eat and didn't have time to utilize it). I liked the way it cooks large pieces of meats and I liked the fact that I can utilize some of the excess heat by using the steamer on top of the oven to prepare fresh vegetables. The oven door could be improved and the excessive heat could be cause for concern if one has children. But other than these minor flaws, this rotisserie is a good one. It may not be the "wonder oven" that the infomercials make it out to be but it is still a handy device for any kitchen.