Russell Hobbs Satisfry Snappi Dual Basket Air Fryer review

When you’re looking at buying a new version of one of the best air fryers, it can be hard to know whether you’ll be better off with one larger basket or two smaller ones. So when a model comes along that offers the best of both worlds, we’re sitting up and paying attention.

The Russell Hobbs Satisfry can be used as a generously sized 8.5 litre air fryer. Or, with the help of a couple of dividers, it can be split into two separate baskets, just like one of the best dual zone air fryers. So the question is, is this a game changing feature or simply a gimmick?

I’ve reviewed my fair share of air fryers and have personally agonised over whether I should upgrade my own single zone air fryer to a dual zone model. So I was looking forward to seeing whether the Russell Hobbs Satisfry could tick all the boxes and solve my dilemma. Unfortunately I wasn’t convinced, but there are good aspects here too.

Russell Hobbs Satisfry Snappi Air Fryer product specs

• Capacity: 8.5 litres or 2 x 4.25 litres
• Presets: Fries, fish, egg, chicken, bake, steak, dehydrate and vegetable 
• Power: 1800W
• Dishwasher safe: yes
• Size: 38.5 x 31 x 36cm (h x w x d)

Unboxing, setting up and first impressions

When I unboxed the Russell Hobbs Satisfry I was pleased to see a limited amount of plastic and no polystyrene in the box. The air fryer itself was bigger than I expected with two chunky handles on the front.

The curvy black plastic exterior is super shiny and reflective. But the backlit touch control panel means that no controls are visible when it’s switched off, so it has a streamlined appearance.

In addition to the usual perforated crisping plates that sit in the bottom of the baskets, there are dividers and a basket connector. Handily, the chunky U shaped connector can be stored at the back of the air fryer when not in use.

When you want one large cooking zone, the two baskets are connected by sliding the connector down the middle to join them together. Then for two separate baskets, instead of the connector you use the basket dividers. By sliding one onto each basket they become fully formed individual cooking zones. 

It didn’t take me long to get my head around the connector and dividers. But I do think the connector is a bit clunky to install - it took me several attempts to get it correctly positioned. And I was surprised that the dividers are perforated, it means air can travel between the baskets, so the zones aren’t completely separate.

Given that air can move between the two zones, it didn’t come as a surprise when I discovered that unlike most dual zone air fryers, it isn’t capable of cooking at two different temperatures simultaneously. Both sides must be set at the same temperature and it’s only the time that can be different.

In fact, on further inspection I discovered that it only has one cooking element - so you don’t even save power by using one small zone instead of the bigger zone. Immediately this has me thinking it’s not as versatile as a lot of other dual zone air fryers on the market.

The control panel is relatively straightforward to use, there’s a sync button that you can select if you want the baskets to finish cooking at the same time. You can also mute the sound, or select the shake reminder, if you need it. 

The time is adjusted via up and down arrows on the left, and the temperature has similar controls on the right. Once you’ve set these for basket 1 on the left, you simply press 2 and adjust the time for the basket on the right. But when you’re setting the timer for basket 2, the time is displayed next to the temperature controls which is super confusing the first couple of times until you get used to it. 

Another feature I found frustrating is that if you set your time and temperature and then pull out the baskets before you’ve pressed start, the display switches off and you lose your settings. Which means you have to remember to put the food in first and then adjust the settings - so that you can immediately press start.

Additionally, on the control panel there are eight different food presets illustrated by corresponding symbols. These give a preset time and temperature for foods like chips, vegetables and chicken. Although there’s absolutely no mention of these presets in the instruction manual, so it’s hard to know exactly what quantity or size of food they’re designed for. This puts me off using them. Because selecting the fish preset for two fish fingers for example,  is very different to selecting the same preset for four salmon salmon fillets.

There are a couple of cooking charts in the instruction manual and they offer suggested time and temperature settings for a variety of basic foods. But generally speaking, it’s quite a basic set of instructions. I should say that because the manual says preheating is optional, I didn’t preheat the air fryer for any of the foods I cooked in it. 

What's it like to use?

First up I set it up as two cooking zones in preparation to heat up some chilled fishcakes alongside roasting some cherry tomatoes. I added around 500g cherry tomatoes that I’d coated in olive oil, balsamic vinegar and seasonings. But before I put them in, I removed the perforated tray so that they were sitting on the solid base. 

Then in the second side I put two chunky fish cakes. I set the tomatoes to air fry at 190C for 20 minutes and the fishcakes for 15 minutes but with a sync finish. This was all total guesswork since there’s very limited advice in the manual for timings.

My first mistake was putting the fishcakes in the basket  at the same time as the tomatoes, despite having programmed a shorter cook time. I hadn’t realised that when cooking two separate foods with a sync finish, the air fryer stops at the appropriate time and alerts you to add your food to the second side. 

The reason this is significant for this particular model is because the dividers between the two sides are perforated. Plus there’s only one heating element at the top, so any food in the air fryer will start cooking even if the timer isn’t counting down for that side.

My second mistake was more a near miss than a mistake. Roasted tomatoes break down and release lots of tomato juice into the bottom of the pan, which is usually not a problem in most air fryers. But because of the perforated side, if I’d have tried cooking any more than I did, there would have been tomato juice spilling out of the holes in the side divider.

Luckily, despite these two issues, the tomatoes roasted nicely in the time and the fishcakes crisped up and cooked really well. Although arguably they were cooking for 20 minutes, not 15, but lesson learnt.

The other discovery I made on this first cook was that when you open one of the drawers during cooking, the whole display switches off. And even though it carries on as if nothing happened when you replace the drawer, I found this really disconcerting. The first time it happened I looked around the room to check if we’d had a power cut! It takes a bit of getting used to.

My next meal was some sea salt and rosemary roast potatoes in one side and in the other side I put some chopped red onion, red pepper and halloumi cubes. I consulted the manual which said 200C for potato wedges but 180C for roast potatoes, so I split the difference and cooked the potatoes at 190C.

I set the timer to 25 minutes for the potatoes and 10 minutes for the veg and halloumi. And this time around, I knew not to put the veg and halloumi into the basket until prompted. In the end, I added a further 15 minutes, which is quite a lengthy total cook time for an air fryer.

The potatoes were cooked within the initial 25 minutes but not crisp enough and although I believe that this was in part due to the type of potatoes I used. I also suspect something else was going on. The veg and halloumi mix was producing a lot of steam and I think this was passing through the holes in the divider and stopping the potatoes crisping as well as they might otherwise have done. 

Another frustration was that when I attempted to shake the veg and halloumi, loads of liquid sprayed out of the holes in the side divider. So I had to use a spoon to stir the mixture up instead. Putting that to one side, the final result was tasty and everything had the texture I was hoping for, it just took a little longer than I expected.

In contrast to the above roast potatoes, it cooked excellent chips. The manual doesn’t say to soak the chips before cooking, but just to rinse, dry, and toss in oil, salt and pepper. I made enough for two portions and set the basket up with the connector for single zone cooking. 

It’s got a generous capacity so my chips had lots of space. I used the chips preset, which sets it to 200C for 22 minutes. This turned out to be the perfect setting and after a couple of shakes during cooking, my chips were golden and nicely crisped on the outside, yet beautifully fluffy on the inside.

Staying in single zone mode, I managed to fit in five slices of bacon. I set the temperature to 190C and the bacon took 9 minutes to cook, which is a few minutes longer than it takes in my usual air fryer. Nevertheless, the bacon fat rendered well and it was a good result.

Broccoli is one of my favourite vegetables to cook in an air fryer. I chop it into florets and coat lightly in oil and salt and pepper. This time I chopped up two medium size broccoli heads so there was quite a lot, hence I left the basket in the larger, single zone mode. 

I chose the vegetable preset, which automatically set it to cook at 190 for 10 minutes. I checked on it a couple of times, giving the basket a shake. After 8 minutes I stopped the timer. The broccoli was cooked and lightly crisped just how I like it.

While the broccoli was cooking I noticed that in addition to the steam that’s vented out of the back, there was also steam coming out of the join between the two baskets at the front. Which was just another thing that made me think the clunky and tricky-to-install connector isn’t the best design.

Lastly I cut up two chicken breasts and coated the chunks in peri peri sauce before threading onto four metal skewers. I chose the chicken preset, which set the temperature at 190C and the time at 40 minutes. Luckily you can adjust the time even in the preset mode.

I gave the skewers a turn after 6 minutes and they were cooked after 12 minutes. The meat was tender and succulent. All-in-all I’d say I prefer using this air fryer as a single cooking zone, the results are more predictable and there’s plenty of space.

How does it compare to similar models on the market?

For a similar price you can buy the Instant Vortex Plus Dual Basket Air Fryer, which has a slightly reduced capacity at 7.6 litres. But it’s got a lot going for it. In addition to air frying, you can use it to roast, bake, dehydrate, grill and reheat. What’s more, it allows you to cook using a different mode and temperature in each basket. And the viewing windows allow you to see your food while it cooks. But, unlike the Russell Hobbs Satisfry you can’t combine the two zones into one larger single zone.

If you’ve got your heart set on a flexible air fryer that can convert from one zone to two, you should definitely consider the Ninja FlexDrawer - a whopper of an air fryer offering a 10.4 capacity. Yes, it is a tad more expensive, but it converts from one to two zones and offers several cooking modes including bake, roast, and max crisp. On top of that it trumps the Russell Hobbs by allowing you to cook at different temperatures and even use different cooking modes simultaneously.

Cleaning

All the removable parts can go in the dishwasher. It does take up a fair bit of space in the dishwasher, but when it’s split into two, there’s a bit more scope to squeeze it in amongst the other things. Overall I found it easy and convenient to clean.

I did notice that after being in the dishwasher, water would drip from the handles onto my worktop. I think water gets trapped inside the handle and takes a while to get out again. So if you’ve got wooden worktops or you’re super fussy about pristine worktops, this little puddle will get on your nerves and you’d be better off hand washing the baskets.

The super shiny plastic exterior marks with fingerprints very easily, so ideally you’ll want a microfibre cloth to wipe it over and keep it smear-free.

Should you buy the Russell Hobbs Satisfry Snappi Dual Basket Air Fryer?

The main reason to buy this air fryer is the flexibility that comes with being able to split the basket into two zones. But having to cook at the same temperature on both sides, combined with the frustrations I experienced with the perforated dividers, leaves me thinking you’d be better off foregoing the flexible zones. And instead plumping for either a decent size single zone or a good dual zone air fryer.

I found it cooked much better when in the single zone mode. That said, if you have a specific reason that means the flexibility to split it into two zones would suit your needs better than other air fryers, then it’ll get the job done. But you’ll just have to accept some of its quirks along the way.