Summary: Maybe they should call it the BREADING Pro...
Comment: A previous reviewer wrote about an experience using the Batter Pro for batter, which I must admit, I have never done. Just because battering and deep-frying food is a luxury we very rarely indulge in. Now that I have read of all the problems, maybe I'll try it, just to see!

My husband got me this for a birthday present because I'm an As Seen on TV Junkie (mild case only). I thought it was cute. Tried the bonus slicer it came with the the spatula thingy and gave those away because they're useless. But this gadget is actually not bad for BREADING; again, I have never tried it for batter, despite its name.

Basically, you toss in whatever you want to coat your meat / fish /veggies in, like a mix of flour, corn meal, bread crumbs, etc., then add seasoning. Toss it all evenly to mix it up in the bowl, then put the fish / meat / veggies (pre-moistened) on top of the crumbs. Then, put the red "screen" layer in the middle, and finally, the other bowl right up on top.

Then, shimmy the pieces around in the breading for a bit, and finally, holding the two bowls closed, shake hard and then invert the whole assembly. And as we say en francais - waaaalah! Your pieces are sitting on the "screen" covered flawlessly in an even, lovely coat of breading - hopefully.

The catch is that this doesn't really hold very much. Maybe 2 chicken breasts or 3 thighs at the most. If you overload it, the pieces will touch and then they WON'T be evenly coated.

If you want to do more pieces, though, it's easy.... just take out the first set of pieces and repeat the procedure with the crumbs in the other bowl. Theoretically, you could do this until you ran out of crumbs, though the crumb mixture may get too moist over time.

I was VERY skeptical about this device. I wondered what could be easier than breading food on a plate or in a bag, a la Shake n' Bake. The truth is, though, it does a good job of breading when you don't overload the bowl. I was pleasantly surprised with how easy it made the task. It seems to do well at all the crevices that are hard to do on a plate or in a bag... and the breading doesn't get mushy like when you're doing it in a plastic bag, or go everywhere like with a plate.

Cleanup is okay, I guess, though the whole assembly is rather big and unwieldy in a standard dish basin; all it really needs is a little wipe with soapy water. And then you have to find storage space for the whole thing... it does take up a lot of cupboard space for a one-trick gadget, I'm afraid.

One thing: make sure it is completely dry before you put it away. My husband didn't, and because the two bowls nest very tightly, the damp inner bowl got infected with a horrible smell. Luckily, the smell washed right out again, but since then, we are more careful that they are dry before storing.

Again, ironically, I can't comment on the battering ability of the Batter Pro. I may try it, and let you know how it goes later!

However, that other reviewer also said you need three hands to shake and flip the BatterPro while holding it closed, I haven't found this motion particularly hard. I've found it simple enough to hold both bowls together with two hands - one hand on either side, with a gentle firm pressure to keep the bowls together. However, they might tend to come apart more with a watery mixture inside than with crumbs.

So. Buy this only...
- if you do a lot of breading (I do)
- you are perhaps mildly annoyed with your current breading method
- you have a lot of storage space to spare
- you feel like gambling about $16 to give this a try

Thanks for reading! Check out my other reviews!

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Editorial Reviews:

Batter up! With the Batter Pro, all of your battered foods will be a home run. It is the revolutionary way to batter all your favorite foods in less than 10 seconds. Perfect for chicken, pork, fish, vegetables, and more, it saves time and with less mess. Use with batter, breadcrumbs, cornmeal and marinades. Comes with an adjustable 18/0 quality stainless steel knife, professional whisk and recipe guide. Dishwasher safe. Imported. 7Hx10 dia.