I never thought I’d happily eat a steak out of an air fryer. But the Dreo Chefmaker is also not just an air fryer.
It is instead a meat machine. It’s one of the most compelling cooking devices I tested last year, able to cook a ribeye steak to whatever temperature you set, then brown (though not really sear) its outside at around 500 degrees Fahrenheit while keeping the moisture locked within. The same goes for a roast chicken. Or for a pork chop.
It’s not just an air fryer, you see, though it will totally crisp you up some wings or tots or french fries. It’s also a combi cooker, which aerates the oven with steam to lock in moisture on large cuts of meat. And it’s also an app-controlled probe cooker, which you can set to slowly bring meat up to temp before finishing with a blast of heat.
Anyway, it’s nearly half off right now—or at least, 44 percent off—on Dreo’s website during the brand’s spring sale. This is the lowest price I’ve ever seen on this device.
Photograph: Matthew Korfhage
Dreo
Chefmaker Combi Fryer
To get access to a $200 Chefmaker, you’ll have to enter the code SPCHEFMAKER on Dreo’s website after placing the device in your shopping cart.
Likely this low price isn’t just spring fever. Dreo has long signaled that it soon plans to release a somewhat simplified, AI-guided successor called the Chefmaker 2. This steep price cut is a good sign that the second-generation device will likely be released soon. But if you like steak and chops that are easy to cook deliciously to temp, and you’re not worried about AI recipes, just take the good price on this one.
Just note that while the probe-assisted cook is very well regulated on the temperature front, the thermostat on the “classic” non-probe air fry or toaster oven cooks can swing off target by 20 degrees or so. This is true of lots of ovens, and it’s true here.
More Dreo Spring Deals
There are a couple other deals of note on Dreo’s spring sale. Dreo also makes a number of WIRED’s favorite space heaters and fans. Notably, my favorite smart bathroom heater, the Dreo Wall-Mounted Heater 517S, is on sale, which you can turn on from the safety of your bed before braving a cold bathroom in the morning. Editor Kat Merck recommends the 519 tower fan, which sports a brushless motor for longevity. For this deal, it comes in a bundle with the 511S table fan.