Have been considering getting one of these. That is, one of the newer models that have removable grill plates and drip trays. Seems like they'd do a dandy job with salmon, chicken and such. Anyone here have any experience with them? Opinions? Suggestions? :scratch2:

They make a damn decent piece of chicken in about 8 minutes.:yes: I have one of the little tiny ones. I havent seen removable grilles. It cleans up with hot water and a sponge. Dont use anything harsher. I havent tried salmon on it. Sounds good, though.

John

I have an old one piece unit, and I found that it's hard to keep the electrical stuff dry while getting the cooking clamshells clean, unless I'm doing something wrong.

I have always worried about the cooking temp being too low on mine, I haven't used it for several years after I got a nasty G.I. bug from one of my well done burgers. It always dried out whatever I was cooking.

But who knows, that was MANY years ago.... they may have made improvements or I got one that was on the low end of a passing grade on inspection.

p.s. I know about the separation of uncooked from cooked (utensels, plates etc..) to avoid cross contamination. and the same batch of burgers done on an outside charcoal grill were fine.

Yup, Salmon. When it's too wet outside to grill, anyhow. They always worked pretty good for me.

Well, with one exception. The non-stick coating on them tends to wear off rather quickly. Once it's worn in a couple spots, absolutley anything you cook on there will find a way to stick to it. No matter what you do.

You'd probably be fine if you were a little more careful than I whilst cleaning it.

Oh. My. God. Are you telling me that YOU DON'T HAVE ONE??? :jawdrop:

The last I heard over 55,000,000 had been sold. I'm not kidding.

I'd put mine right up with ATM cards and cell phones as one of the greatest labor-saving inventions ever. For anything boneless, like chicken breasts, boneless chicken thighs (one of my favorites), pork steaks, fish filets, etc., it's absolutely amazing. Just a couple of minutes, no need to turn anything over, and whatever you're cooking comes out juicy and delicious. And, easy to clean. I have the "standard" one, and I love it.

Get one. Now. You won't regret it. :yes:

My father sang its praises (George Foreman + TV commercial... it must be great). He got us one for Christmas quite a few years ago... and it IS great. We use it to grille all kinds of meat: pork, lamburgers, hamburger, chicken. It works best with moderately thick cuts (not too thick). We use it in the deep dark winter to grille and occasionally in the summer if we don't want to grille outside AND we don't want to heat the house too much. We usually marinate chicken that we grille on ours.

I make fun of many of the things my father likes, but he was right about this grille.

It appears they have made several improvements and there are several models now. Here are two that I'm considering:
http://www.esalton.com/control/product/~category_id=C20009/~product_id=GRP99;jsessionid=BF2EB2328FD4D704694FE 655347D96BE.sprod1
http://www.esalton.com/control/product/~category_id=C20009/~product_id=GRP4;jsessionid=BF2EB2328FD4D704694FE6 55347D96BE.sprod1

I have an old one piece unit, and I found that it's hard to keep the electrical stuff dry while getting the cooking clamshells clean, unless I'm doing something wrong.
.

I'll admit it makes me a little nervous, though I dont think the electrical stuff really gets wet. I just put it in the sink with the lid open, and let the hot water run down the upper part onto the lower. I scrub it with a soft sponge. I put it back up on the counter and heat it back up to make sure it's dry.

The day I bought it, a couple was there buying their second one because they had used something too harsh to clean it and had damaged the coating. Mine came with a plastic fork thing to scrape off the bigger stuff. I assume this wouldnt hurt it, but I have never felt the need to use it.

John

It's a fire hazard and impossible to clean because of the power cord. It's really the BOSE of kitchen appliances.

It's really the BOSE of kitchen appliances.
Well now, that's scary! :yikes:

That smallest one is too small. On those occasions where you want to do three pieces instead of two, it is just too small. And, I agree with the complaints about the one-piece design. The newer ones with the removeable heating plates will be a major improvement. We will probably donate ours to Goodwill and get the newer one. But, they are very handy and do an excellent job on the aforementioned foods. And, well built, to boot.

I don't own one and don't want one. I use cast iron. Cleans easily and no finish to wear off. Not too small either, just use the bigger skillet. Works well on the camp stove too.

I swear by cast iron as well, sir. (thank you Boy Scouts)

Of course there are those of us who now have to worry about that extra gram of fat in a small skinless chicken breast... :sigh:

And they really are quick!

george foreman is worth a bout 200 million dollars and he has his food cooked to order by full time chefs on a kitchen grill you couldnt think about being able to afford This guy is a meathead lug with the intelligence of a crayfish. I used george Foreman grills alot, cause in concept they are fantastic... Do NOT geta new one. Mine burned out after a few uses.The old ones are more dependable, but i caution one major thing about those grills. The end part loses its teflon and what do ypou think about Teflon flaoting around in your liver, kidneys and stomach? Myself?, i think teflon from cheap pots pans grills and anything is a contributing factor to the statistic that half of us-thats 50%, or 1 out of 2, will get cancer...let me be a bit blunt here ..half of you WILL get cancer! I wish i would have never ever used any teflon thing ever, but now its too late. If i would have known better, I would have soaked my greasy pots like they usedto do. P.S., when you accidentally leave that Teflon pan on the burner and it fills your room with Teflon fumes, do you think thats a good thing??

Got one of the old ones (hand-me-down from my mother in-law) and it's handy to have if you need something quick. But do yourselves a favor: It'll make your electric meter spin like Clark Griswold's in "National Lampoons Christmas Vacation". Definately not for every day use.

Mike Koste
Gobs of Knobs
Ambler, PA

Well, I went a bit sideways on this deal. I also asked the opinions of a few friends who own the GF grills. Seems to be a love/hate thing going on with them. I received a CHEF's catalog in todays mail and saw one made by Villaware that appears to be well made. I've ordered it and will report back when it comes in. I have some salmon fillets that are just aching to be bathed with a teriyaki glaze!

I've owned one for twelve years now. While I stick to my cast iron for the most part, the Foreman Grill does a nice job on burgers, fish, boneless steaks and chops. Cleanup isn't bad, just put it at the edge of the sink and run a wet, soapy sponge over it, then follow with a wet, non-soapy one. Dunno about the new ones, mine's still in good shape.

I've always cleaned mine by 'soaking' with a damp paper towel (one on top, one on the bottom) for a few minutes (while doing dishes) then wiping clean.

I've always cleaned mine by 'soaking' with a damp paper towel (one on top, one on the bottom) for a few minutes (while doing dishes) then wiping clean.
That seems to be my friends favorite way of cleaning them too. :yes:

I got one on my back deck. It says Webber on it.

I've got the older model....the one that looks a bit like a toilet-seat-lid :D

It's a cool item. I have'nt used it in a long time though.


Russ

My little guy does an OK job, but if I were to get one of my own accord (this one was a present), I'd definitely get one that's a) bigger, b) detachable on top, and c) got a thermostat. Saw one a couple days ago with a bun warmer which'd be great for burgers.

And yes, a longer, detachable cord would be oh so nice.

My Villaware showed up this past week. It has a 8 x 11" teflon coated cooking area. A variable thermostat, "on" and "ready" lamps and is made out of cast aluminum and bakelite. The front cooking area has a trough that routes any drips to a supplied metal tray that's coated for easy clean up. The top lid is articulated to adjust to odd thicknesses and shapes. It came supplied with a plastic clean-up tool and excerpts from a popular cookbook. So far I'm pretty happy. I've grilled chicken strips, salmon and Black Angus New York Strip steaks and am happy to say, all came out perfect. The N.Y. Strip was prepared by rubbing it with black pepper and a trace amount of peanut oil on both sides. I've found that doing this promotes a nice marbled finish seals in the juices. The chicken strips were cooked with a bit of red pepper, garlic spices and onion with a bed of yellow saffron rice cooked with sliced baby carrots. Tonight, I steamed fresh broccolli along with baby carrots and grilled some "Wild Pacific Salmon" with a teryiaki glaze. The grill area is large enough to accomodate three 5 oz fish fillets or two average size N.Y. Strips. Clean up can be a bit of a chore depending on what you have prepared. The chicken and salmon didn't make much mess and that translated to an easy cleaning. The steaks on the other hand, contained more grease than the chicken or fish and I spent more time cleaning the grill than I did heating or cooking. BTW: The above mentioned paper-towel trick goes a long way in making the cleaning process a lot easier!