Salter EK4549 AeroGrill 5-in-1 air fryer review

Multifunctional all-in-one kitchen appliances are top of many people’s wishlists, and for a good reason – they save both space and money!

Combining your favourite gadgets into one machine saves you from having numerous appliances on your kitchen counter, which we all know can be a pain, especially if you have limited space.

It also saves you from buying multiple machines, saving your cash – especially during the cost-of-living crisis.

With this in mind, kitchen gadget brand Salter has launched its tabletop multicooker that can air fry, bake, roast, and even grill. With 5-in-1 cooking functions, the AeroGrill has a large 5.2L capacity and a price tag of just £118.

In a bid to find the best air fryer, we put the Salter EK4549 AeroGrill to the test to find out if this machine is as impressive as it sounds.

Order today at Amazon’s best price (£118)

Technical details:

• Dimensions: 30D x 25W x 80H centimetres
• Capacity: 5.2L
• Functions: Grill, air fry, roast, bake, dehydrate
• Temperature range: 40°C – 265°C
• Where to buy: Amazon

Pros:

• Compact size
• Large capacity cooking area
• Quite when cooking
• Auto switch off
• Responsive LED display
• Great value for money
• Easy-to-follow instructions
• Sleek design

Cons:

• Can’t cook multiple things at once
• Awkward to open lid if you’ve got low kitchen cupboards

Ease of setting up

After testing numerous air fryers of all different shapes and sizes, I was expecting this 5-in-1 5.2L air fryer to be big.

However, I was pleasantly surprised to find that it is in fact rather compact, I’d even dare say it’s one of the smaller air fryers that we’ve tested despite its large cooking capacity.

This was the first time I’d used a multifunctional appliance, so I took my time to follow the instructions and study the buttons so that I fully understand its capabilities. Thankfully, the instructions are easy to follow and include an in-depth guide to using each of the air fryer functions, as well as a cooking chart and air fryer recipe booklet to get you started.

As well as the main appliance, the air fryer comes with a removable cooking pot, grill plate, detachable splash guard, and a temperature probe. There is no assembling required, meaning you can pretty much get cooking straight away.

Like all air fryers, the instructions advise washing the removable components of the machine in hot soapy water and turning the air fryer on for 10-15 minutes with nothing inside to remove any smells or residue that could be left over from production. There is often a slight odour that quickly disappears after a few minutes.

Unlike most air fryers which have drawers, this machine has a lid that you open up to access the cooking pot inside. While this certainly looks very sleek, I did find it quite awkward as the lid couldn’t open up properly without hitting my kitchen cupboards, meaning I had to turn the air fryer to the side whenever I used it so that I could fully open the lid. It’s not the end of the world, but definitely worth noting.

Cooking functions

The machine includes four preset cooking functions which are bake, roast, air crisp, and dehydrate. Additionally, there are four separate settings for grilling which range from low to max temp. Impressively, this little machine can reach 265°C using the max grill function.

You can also manually set the machine, adjusting the cooking time and temperature to whatever you desire.

What’s particularly useful about the instructions is the lengthy 7-page cooking chart that covers virtually all foods that can be cooked in the machine. Ranging from different types of veg, fresh or frozen foods, and meat – which of course we won’t be testing.

The chart gives you a guide as to what temperature you should cook certain foods, the recommended amount, cooking time, which function to use, and whether you need to use oil or not.

So far, I’m impressed with the Salter AeroGrill and how informative the instructions are.

Cooking chips in the Salter AeroGrill

Like all of our air fryer reviews, our first food test is always homemade chips. I chopped two potatoes into chips and soaked them in hot water for 10 minutes to remove the excess starch.

Meanwhile, I preheated the air fryer as instructed. I was expecting this to take roughly 10 minutes, however, it was ready to go within a couple of minutes.

Once the chips had soaked, I drained and patted them dry with a tea towel before coating them in a few sprays of olive oil and adding them to the preheating air fryer.

Using the ‘air crisp’ function, I set the chips to cook at 215°C for 20 minutes. I checked on the chips after 10 minutes to give them a shake, they had already started to catch and the edges were turning golden. The centre of the chips was still pretty hard so I turned the temperature down to 190°C.

After just 5 minutes the chips were crunchy and golden with a soft fluffy centre. There were still 5 minutes left on the timer, meaning I had delicious homemade chips in just 15 minutes.

It’s worth noting how quiet the cooking fan is compared to other air fryers. There is a slight hum, but nothing is overtly offensive to your ears.

Baking results

Every morning I treat myself to a bowl of blueberry baked oats, I often cook these in my gas oven but I thought this would be the perfect recipe to test the baking function of AeroGrill.

I decanted the oat batter into a small ovenproof ramekin and placed it in the preheated cooking pot. I used the baking function and set it to 180°C for 15 minutes. Usually, baked oats take roughly 20-25 minutes to cook in the oven, so I was hoping that the AeroGrill would cook them faster.

After 10 minutes, I lifted the lid to peek at the oats, to my surprise they had risen and had already started to turn golden. I let them cook for the remaining 5 minutes, after which time the air fryer automatically turned off and alerted me to the fact that my breakfast was ready.

The oats had a golden crunchy outside and a soft pudding-like centre – delicious!

I was impressed that the air fryer had baked the oats quicker than my gas oven, helping me save precious time in the morning and reduce my gas usage.

Grilling in the Salter AeroGrill

I was keen to try the grill function on Salter’s air fryer. I used a delicious tofu halloumi recipe which required a grill to create the classic char.

Once the tofu was marinated, I preheated the grill using the high grill preset function which set the machine to 260°C with a cooking time of 10 minutes. Once preheated, I placed the tofu on the grill plate and instantly the tofu began to sizzle.

After 5 minutes, I flipped the tofu and could see some slight char marks. I would have preferred to see deep char marks that were darker in colour, but perhaps I’m being picky.

Once the timer went off, my tofu had charred nicely with a slightly crispy coating.

Overall verdict of the Salter EK4549 AeroGrill

From the get-go, I knew this air fryer was going to be a treat. From the in-depth, easy-to-follow instructions to the speedy cooking time and high-temperature range.

Its compact size means it can fit in most kitchens, big or small. There was a slight awkwardness when lifting the lid, but simply rotating the air fryer 90 degrees before use will resolve that issue – problem solved!

Although the AeroGrill is compact, its large 5.2L capacity cooking space means you can cook food for the whole family or a large group of friends easily.

What’s more, it costs just £118! It’s pretty hard to find a multifunctional air fryer with a large capacity cooking area for under £150, so this is certainly a bargain.

How we test air fryers

We thoroughly test each air fryer in order to write an informed, useful review that you can trust.

To do this, we follow the same process for every air fryer that we review.

First we unpack the box, look at what you get with the air fryer, and then follow the instructions that come with each specific air fryer to set it up.

The important thing for any air fryer is how it cooks food though, so we test each one at least three times. Firstly to cook homemade chips, then to cook a mock meat, and thirdly to either cook a baked item, or to test the frying ability, depending on the capabilities.

We judge the air fryers on how well they cook the food, how crisp the finish is, how long food takes to cook, how easy the machine is to use, how easy is it to clean, and how many extra capabilities/functions it has.

Each air fryer is then given a score out of 5, and rated on what purpose it is best suited to.

Looking for another multifunctional air fryer? Check out our Karaca Air Pro Cook 2-in-1 air fryer review