Hamilton Beach 31127D Small Countertop Toaster Oven Review

The brushed stainless steel Hamilton Beach 31127D Countertop Toaster Oven is an inexpensive, medium-sized unit. It’s sturdy and made of durable material. Among its stand-out features are a neat roll-top door and a stay-on function. For only $75.99 (at the time of writing), you’ll also get the necessary accessories and cooking functions.

6.7 Performance: Needs More Power

The Hamilton Beach 31127D did a good job at making toast but struggled with french fries. We suspect its 1400 W power draw isn’t sufficient for its capacity, so it couldn’t quite maintain high temperatures. Of course, the lack of a convection system didn’t help either. A more preferable but still affordable choice could be the Toshiba AC25CEW-BS.

7.3 Toast

Scoring Components ↓

We initially set the toast knob to Medium—right at the Toast icon—for our Toast test. The bread came away very dark on the bottom but barely toasted on top. Then, the halfway point to Medium gave the toast no color.

Eventually, we settled on a point 3/4 the way to Medium—around 3 minutes 30 seconds on the timer—as the best option, and awarded it a score of 7.3/10.

At our optimal toasting setting, the Hamilton Beach produced 4 pieces with a great, slightly golden-brown color. Though the oven doesn’t have a convection fan, the color distribution was about 80% even so we gave the toast an 8/10.

The first batch of toast was crispy on the outside while still soft and moist on the inside, so we gave it an 8/10 for taste. Our head chef, Tuyet Pham, said it would go very well with everything including sandwiches, soup, omelets, and eggs benedict.

The second batch represented a significant decrease in performance, scoring only 5.5/10 for consecutive usability. The toast had an uneven, dark brown color plus a burnt flavor. If you want the second batch to be the same as the first, remember to only turn the knob halfway to Medium—around 1 minute 55 seconds on the timer.

6.6 Pizza

Scoring Components ↓

This oven left a bit to be desired when we tried baking a 9-inch thick-crust meat pizza. We gave it a score of 6.6/10.

It took 9 minutes and 10 seconds to bake a pizza which was slightly faster than the recommended 10 minutes on the label. It only garnered a score of 5.8/10 after being compared to other toaster ovens in our Pizza test, though.

The crust had a good golden brown color but was soft, so we could only give it a 7/10. The toppings were caramelized unevenly and some areas of cheese got darkened. On the bright side, the toppings weren’t dry, so they got a 7/10. After tasting, our chef gave it a 6.5/10.

6.3 Whole Roasted Chicken

Scoring Components ↓

Even though the Hamilton Beach could comfortably fit a 3 lb chicken for our Whole Roasted Chicken test, its performance was far from perfect, scoring only 6.3/10.

The oven took 1 hour—our standard for this test—to cook the chicken to a desirable color, so we gave it an 8/10.

After roasting, the skin took on an even golden color on top but only a very light caramelization on the bottom — although that was also even. Unfortunately, the skin was very soft, so we could only give it a 5.5/10.

The chicken reached an internal temperature of 165-176°F which was very close to the USDA recommendation. However, there were pink spots near the bone so we could only give it a 6/10.

The meat was acceptable in terms of texture and juiciness, but didn’t stand out as remarkable. Our chef gave the chicken a 6/10 for taste.

5.1 Baked French Fries

Scoring Components ↓

Baking 12 oz of french fries clearly wasn’t the Hamilton Beach oven’s forte, and it came away with a score of 5.1/10.

This oven took 27 minutes and 15 seconds to put some color into the french fries. That exceeded our time limit of 25 minutes, though, so it failed the cooking time criterion of our Baked French Fries test.

Even though the fries had some golden ends, most of them basically had no color. We gave them a 6.5/10.

Despite being spread out on the baking pan, the fries didn’t crisp up, so they got a 6/10. Our chef gave the fries a 6.5/10 for taste.

5.2 Design: No Lighting or Convection

The design of the Hamilton Beach 31127D is basic with a simple stainless steel exterior. The oven has a similar capacity as other medium-sized toaster ovens, with greater length and width but less height. Its roll-top door is a unique feature that we found useful.

In the Box

• Model: 31127D
• Warranty: 1-year limited in the US and 5-year limited in Canada
• User Manual
• Baking Rack
• Baking Pan
• Removable Crumb Tray

Aside from the Hamilton Beach oven itself, the box also contained a baking pan, a baking rack, a removable crumb tray, and a basic user manual.

7.0 Exterior

The Hamilton Beach has a stainless steel exterior. Our measurements of the oven’s footprint were 18.5" x 15.56" x 9.41"—marginally different from the manufacturer’s provided 18.74" x 15.24" x 9.41".

What stands out most is the roll-top door with a cool-touch handle. It moves up and out of the way, giving you safe and easy access to your food before, during, and after cooking.

The oven has a back buffer to prevent it from being pushed too close to the wall. Unlike many other toaster ovens, though, you can’t wrap the power cord around the buffer.

Control Panel

The Hamilton beach has three contoured control knobs labeled Temperature, Function, and Timer which are durable and easy to grip. While the timer only runs from 1 minute to 30 minutes, the knob has a stay-on position as well.

Cooking Functions

• Toast
• Bake
• Broil

The bake and broil functions will be all you need if you know your way around the kitchen. The temperature knob also includes a Min setting which, at 100°F, can act as a ‘keep warm’ option.

1.0 Interior

Unfortunately, the 31127D doesn’t have any interior features worth mentioning, not even internal lighting or a convection system like the Cuisinart TOA-60. The only thing it has is four nichrome heating elements.

Capacity

The Hamilton Beach has enough capacity for 6 slices of toast, a 3 lb chicken, or a 12-inch pizza.

We measured the cooking chamber’s volume to be around 19.92 liters which was vastly different from the manufacturer’s stated capacity of 10 liters. However, this could be because we measured from the cooking chamber’s walls to walls whereas the manufacturer stopped before reaching the heating elements.

Power Cord

The power cord protrudes from the bottom of the oven which can create some inconvenient bends. Nonetheless, roughly 35" is plenty of cord length for household use. However, the oven doesn’t have a storage place for the cord.

Accessories: Baking Rack

The rack fits perfectly into the guide rails, reducing the chance of an accident when placing your food in the oven.

Accessories: Baking Pan

The baking pan is correctly sized to keep messy food from dripping directly onto the heating elements. It slides into the brackets on the baking rack’s underside, so it’s a perfect fit. Unfortunately, though it has a coating, it isn’t completely non-stick so it can accumulate some stains after a tough roasting mission.

Accessories: Removable Crumb Tray

The removable crumb tray makes it easier to remove crumbs and other debris from the oven’s floor. However, some may still fall to the bottom of the oven as you take out the tray.

7.0 Build Quality

The Hamilton Beach is well-constructed out of durable stainless steel. Its contoured knobs turn smoothly and are a nice simple touch.

6.4 Usability: No Noticable Problems

Although the Hamilton Beach 31127D doesn’t invest much in convenience, it also doesn't pose any problems. You may not be able to select an exact time and temperature with the analog control knobs, but realistically, you don’t lose much precision.

6.0 User Control

The Hamilton Beach only has three simple control knobs but there are a few things to pay attention to. If you wish to set the timer knob for less than 10 minutes, you must first turn it beyond the 10-minute mark (to start the heating) and then roll it back to the setting you want.

Precisely adjusting time and temperature can be a bit difficult but it’s not a major problem. If you’re concerned, use an external timer and an oven thermometer for more accurate measurements.

6.0 Ease of Use

The simple analog control panel makes it very easy to adjust settings on the fly. Once the timer counts down to the Off position, you’ll hear a chime and the oven will shut itself off. Since there’s no digital display, the oven won’t draw any more power even if you leave it plugged in.

The oven’s exterior only gets hot to the touch after a long cooking time at a high temperature. The door can be kept partially open at many degrees but keep in mind that it doesn’t switch the oven off.

8.0 Cleanability

We cleaned the Hamilton Beach in accordance with our toaster oven cleaning guide. The oven was easy to clean thanks to its surface coatings and the fact that it has no tricky nooks and crannies.

The removable crumb tray made it easy to clean up the crumbs, though we still had to tilt the oven to get the last of them. Unfortunately, after our Whole Roasted Chicken test, the baking pan accumulated some discoloration that we weren’t able to remove even with a paste of baking soda and water.

Hamilton Beach 31127D FAQs

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