Upon first look it’s clear the Smeg Dual Fuel Range (A3XU6) is styled differently than most other dual fuel ranges in its class. Its clean, post-modern styling should allow it to appeal to many who are designing a contemporary kitchen. From it’s looks then, cooking with the Opera Range should be as enjoyable as a performance of “Carmen”. Within the kitchen, the Smeg Dual Fuel Range sits nicely, with its finished stainless steel sides and 4” backsplash, making it suitable for placement between cabinets, at the end of cabinets or all alone by its beautiful self.
Thanks to the sealed gas burners and the two electric ovens, the user gets the best of gas cooking on top with the ease of electric cooking elements below. Some of the features that our home chefs particularly appreciate about the Smeg Dual Fuel Range is the triple-glazed oven doors that keep their exterior at ambient temperature while reflecting the heat inward for greater efficiency and performance.
A whopping eight cooking modes for the 3.2-cubic-foot main oven: top and bottom heat, convection with top and bottom heat and bottom heat alone, intensive and convection broil, European convection, European with top and bottom heat, and even defrost. Along with four cooking modes for the 1.48-cubic-foot secondary oven, including top and bottom heat, rotisserie with broil, intensive broil and bottom heat. These many modes for the smaller oven mean that you can have two intensive cooking projects going on simultaneously.
The unit features safety valves on all burners that block the gas, should the flame be extinguished by accident. Of interesting note, a dedicated “fish burner” has been attributed to the right rear to accommodate today’s healthy diets full of seafood, as well as a double inset “super” (15,000 BTU) burner to the far left.
The Smeg Dual Fuel Range comes with two baking trays, a wire rack, a rotisserie kit and a wok ring to make your ventures between rotisserie chicken and Chinese cuisine seamless. This range comes with a full one-year warranty that can be lengthened at a price by Smeg. A non-stick, Teflon-coated electric griddle on the rangetop is included in the 48” unit (standard unfortunately) and functions a bit poorly compared with some of the gas powered variants offered by some other manufacturers. Also keep in mind that this unit is built in Italy and Smeg is relatively new to the U.S.. Currently service and parts distribution are not very well tested.
If you want to replicate what you see on the most sophisticated cooking shows or have a habit of serving larger groups only the finest of foods, the Smeg Opera can give you years of solid performance and versatility to produce any item on your menu. The four varieties of burners on top and two ovens below provide an exponential number of ways to prepare food. It currently is selling for around $3,800 at your local Smeg dealer.
Pros: Beautiful contemporary design, price is hard to beat.
Cons: Comes from Italy so parts may be expensive and not easy to come by.