Mueller 4 Slice Toaster Oven vs Black and Decker 4 Slice Toaster Oven Side-by-Side Comparison

For our Toast test, we started off by trying the Medium Toast setting which was around 3 minutes 5 seconds on the timer. The four pieces of bread on the upper tray level came out only lightly toasted on top except for one golden brown piece. We then cranked it up to the Dark Toast setting—around 4 minutes 50 seconds on the timer—which, unfortunately, burnt the toast a bit.

Finally, we opted for the middle ground which was 4 minutes on the timer—⅓ of the rotation from Medium to Dark. This setting was tricky to get right on the time dial, so we used an external timer. It gave us the best possible toast results from this oven scoring a 7.5/10 in total.

After 4 minutes of toasting, the four pieces of toast had pretty good surface color. However, the colors varied from light golden to golden brown on both the top and the bottom, so we could only give a 7/10.

Luckily, the varied colors partially meant varied textures which were all good and deserving an 8/10. The golden brown areas had a more crispy outside while the light golden areas had a softer inside. Our head chef Tuyet Pham determined that it would go great with omelets, eggs benedict, and sandwiches but not so much with soup.

After taking out the first batch, we immediately put four more pieces inside to test the oven’s consecutive usability which ended up at 7/10. Also under the identical toasting time, the four pieces of bread became brown with an increased evenness from the first batch. While the color was a bit darker than ideal, the extra crispiness made the second batch more suitable for soups.

At the beginning of our Toast test, we turned the toast knob to the Medium Toast icon/setting—around 4 minutes 10 seconds on the timer—which resulted in four slightly burnt pieces of bread. We then chose the setting between Medium and Light, which was around 3 minutes 25 seconds on the timer, but that wasn’t enough time to get an even surface color.

Finally, we figured that around 4 minutes on the timer would yield the best possible result, with a total score of 7.1/10. Since it used an analog control knob, it was quite tricky to precisely choose 4 minutes, and we had to use an external timer.

On this setting, the Black+Decker produced four pieces of toast with a brown-colored top. However, the bottom was slightly charred in some areas and lacked color in others, so we gave the toast a 6.5/10 for even surface color.

Fortunately, the toast was crispy on the outside while still soft and moist on the inside, deserving a 7.5/10 for taste. Our head chef Tuyet Pham concluded that it would go great with omelets and eggs benedict, but not so much with soups or sandwiches.

For some reason, despite the identical toasting time, the second batch had a more uneven surface color than the first. The toast had a slightly darker color and crispier texture, which is more suitable for soups, and scored a 6.8/10 for consecutive usability.

For its low power draw, the Mueller did pretty well in our Pizza test with a score of 7.6/10.

The oven took 9 minutes to bake a 9-inch thick-crust meat pizza which was slightly faster than the label’s recommended 10 minutes. However, compared to our tested toaster ovens, it could only be a 6/10.

The crust had a golden color all the way through and the inside was still moist. If only the crust was a bit more crispy, it would’ve gotten higher than an 8/10.

The toppings were also caramelized quite evenly from the meat and veggies to the cheese, worthy of another 8/10. The cheese was nicely melted but the areas closer to the back of the cooking chamber were more caramelized compared to the rest.

With both the crust and the toppings being 8/10, our chef had no reason to give the pizza one final 8/10 for taste.

The low power output of the Black+Decker held it back in our Pizza test, where a high temperature of 450 °F was required; it scored a 5.6/10. The oven took 13 minutes to bake a 9-inch thick-crust meat pizza, which was longer than our time limit of 10 minutes, resulting in a 0/10.

Fortunately, the other aspects were quite solid, even though the oven’s internal temperature couldn’t be maintained at 450 °F. The crust had a nice golden color but it was a bit soft, so it got a 7/10.

The toppings had reasonably even caramelization throughout and the cheese was slightly melted—enough to score another 7/10. Taking the crust and toppings into account, our chef gave the pizza one last 7/10 for taste.

The Mueller could barely fit a 3 lb chicken for our Whole Roasted Chicken test. Nonetheless, the result was quite decent at 7/10 in total. If you were to purchase this oven and use it to roast a whole chicken, we recommend cutting it open or chopping it into pieces beforehand.

We first placed the chicken backside down on the baking pan. When we slid the pan in, the top of the chicken breast grazed the upper heating element’s guard and was seared.

After the first 40 minutes, we flipped the chicken to find out that parts of the skin on the back got stuck to the baking pan. Then, when we reinsert the pan, the same problem with the breast happened to the back. Luckily, they weren’t burnt.

However, even after 1 hour and 20 minutes, most of the chicken skin still hasn’t reached a desirable color. The chicken, for the most part, looked like it was steamed and not roasted, so we gave the skin a 5.5/10.

Nonetheless, our chef decided to stop the roasting as the color wouldn’t improve anyway and to avoid overcooking the meat. This cooking time was the equivalent of a 6/10 according to our data.

With such a long cooking time, the meat had no pink spots. However, the chicken’s internal temperature was 185°F-192°F, higher than the USDA recommended 165°F-180°F. Thus, we gave it an 8.7/ for doneness.

While not the most appetizing looking, the meat was very juicy. That, combined with the slight caramelization on the skin, was enough for a 7.5/10 for taste from our chef.

During our Whole Roasted Chicken test, the 3 lb chicken touched the upper heating element’s guard. This heavily seared the middle part of the chicken and made a mess inside the cooking chamber. If you were to roast a chicken in this oven, we recommend cutting open the chicken or chopping it into pieces beforehand.

The final test score of 6/10 made us speculate that the oven’s lower output also hindered its performance, even though the required temperature was only 350°F. The Black+Decker took 1 hour 20 minutes to roast the chicken, compared to the standard one hour, so it got a 6/10.

The skin had almost no color, except for the areas near the upper heating element, and was still very soft; we could give it just a 5/10. That being said, increasing the cooking time further would reduce the score for the skin and risk overcooking the chicken.

The only upside to the long cooking time and low oven temperature was the doneness of the chicken. The meat had no pink areas and the chicken’s internal temperature was 185°F–187°F, which was very close to the USDA recommended 165°F–180°F.

This partially helped maintain the juiciness of the meat, but the unappetizing skin gave our chef no choice but to give the chicken a 5/10 for taste.

Our Baked French Fries test brought out the Mueller’s weakness of not being able to maintain a high temperature due to its low power draw. Its even heat distribution couldn’t help much if the temperature wasn’t high enough, so the final score was 3.6/10.

We stopped the baking after 27 minutes as the fries weren’t getting any more colors. This, nonetheless, was over our time limit of 25 minutes, so it was a 0/10.

The fries had no significant color change and barely enough for a 4.5/10. We ended up with 12 oz of frozen fries that were more similar to being dried in an oven than being baked, so we gave them another 4.5/10 for texture.

Fortunately, the fries were cooked through and not soggy, so our chef could give them a 4.5/10 for taste and not a zero.

While conducting our Baked French Fries test, the Black+Decker’s weakness in maintaining a high temperature became more apparent, and it scored a 3.2/10.

To start with, it took 30 minutes to bake 12 oz of frozen fries; this was way longer than our limit of 25 minutes and resulted in a score of 0/10. Despite the long time duration, the fries had almost no color, so we could only give it a 4/10.

The same can be said for the texture of the fries which was not crispy, earning it another 4/10. Overall, the fries appeared more boiled than oven-baked, so our chef had to give it one last 4/10 for taste.