Summary: a good grill with quirks that get in the way of it being great. It's a huge improvement for cleaning, and it has a nicely-sized 4-burger grill plate. It doesn't get quite as hot as the "old-style" models, and if you don't learn its quirks you can ruin perfectly good meals.Overview
I had an "old style" Foreman grill, one of the smaller ones with permanently attached plates, for years. I loved it especially how you could get the grill scary hot and get some great crusts on grilled meats. But man, I hated cleaning it!
Eventually, it died, and I wanted something that answered my two biggest complaints: small size of the cooking service, and something that was easier to clean! This grill looked like the answer.
Bottom line: I *want* to love it, I really do! And it does answer my two biggest complaints, so I'm continuing to use it, but it has a couple of quirks that keep me from loving it. So close! But here's my experience.
HEATING: decent performance but can OVER-heat and ruin a meal
This grill has a "variable" temperature setting. I'm not sure how accurate it is, because I generally use it at the top temperatures to try to get the same performance as the "old" style grills, which got wicked hot.
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Here is one of the MAJOR cautions: this grill can OVERHEAT!
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When it gets "too hot" the brain seems to freeze, the grill shuts off, and the display blinks little dashes at you, and that's all it will do until the grill has cooled off for a 5-10 minutes. Unfortunately, this means it is impossible to grill for extended times at max temperature, and if it happens when you're in the middle of cooking, it can ruin a meal. I have talked to one other person with this same grill, and they had a similar experience. So, beware this MAY be a problem that they can/will fix, or it may be in the design and something you just have to live with.
I personally have found a workaround: I pre-heat to 400 degrees, one setting short of the "max" of 425. When it has pre-heated (5 minutes), just before I put on the food, I turn the grill up to 425. The result is that, within my normal cooking times, the grill comes on and stays on the whole time, but doesn't overheat. I don't get quite the satisfying crust I would like, but it's adequate. And if you DO lose the "brain" due to overheating, don't panic there's a lot of energy stored in those plates, so just leave the food on and let it cook a little longer than you planned, and you'll probably save your food (also, see my comments about the "coasting" cooking technique at the end of the review). But beware: if you pre-heat to the maximum setting, it may go brain-dead too soon for you to even finish cooking.
Some other observations: the heat isn't quite as uniform as the old sealed plate style, but it's not bad, and probably can't be much better, given the "removable" plate design. Once you learn the hot spots, there's always someone in the house that wants food either more well done or rarer anyway, so I've learned to put this to my advantage!
GRILL PLATES: Big and Removable and Cleanable (and a little finicky)!
YES, finally, the plates are removable! Yes, they are finicky! But, yes, you can learn to live with them. When I first got the grill, the top plate was especially hard for me to get attached properly. But if you look carefully, understand how the latches work, and learn the correct placement, this can become a non-issue. The only thing I do now is always double-check the plates after I attach them by tugging on them, but once they're connected properly, I've never once had one just "come off."
The size is a big improvement over other grills. They're wider than they are deep, so unlike some other Foreman models, opening the grill is pretty easy even with cabinets over the grill. The size and proportions makes putting 4 burgers on possible, and I've also cooked three good-sized steaks at the same time. You do need to know where your hot spots are, and depending on the food size/shape, you MAY want to open the grill halfway through and rotate the pieces, but this seems to affect browning more than the interior cooking, which has always seemed pretty even to me.
Cleaning them is a joy compared to the old "sealed" style plates. I can drop them both in a sink with hot soapy water and let them soak, and just brush them clean with a nylon brush. If you get to them quickly after cooking, probably all you need is some running water, soap and a sponge. It's a huge improvement for cleaning, and well worth the trade-off of somewhat uneven heating.
FOOD SIZE: beware the thickest steaks and the thinnest burgers
The "sliding hinge" on this grill seems to be a little limited. On thick steaks over 1", the grill doesn't seem to get quite "wide" enough to give even heat; on very thin items (somewhere around 1/4", the plates seem to far apart to heat properly. But for foods within than range of 1/4" to 1" (most burgers, chicken breasts, average steaks), it seems to work just as well as the old style grills.
OTHER: just a couple of things to mention
Time: it doesn't do anything except beep; it doesn't shut the grill off or anything. I use the default of "5 minutes" just to time my pre-heating.
Cooking Style: I have developed what I call the "coasting" style of cooking. It's a takeoff on "resting" that seems to work well. Basically, I cook a food at the hottest temperature I can get without the grill overheating (see above), and about 1/2 to 2/3 of the way through I shut off the grill (but leave the food cooking). For instance, with a 5 or 6 oz burger patty, I pre-heat the grill to 400, then put the burgers on and set it to 425, and cook them for about 3-4 minutes; then I turn off the grill completely, but leave the patties on for another 3-4 minutes. The result is a nicely browned burger, still juicy in the middle, with no need for additional "resting." Same technique works with steaks and chicken, too! This helps me work around with one real quirk of the grill the "overheating" but also gives very nice results on the cooked foods, too.
Well, that's about all I can think of to mention on this grill. I am really not happy about the overheating problem, which is to me a pretty major design flaw, but the joy of grill plates that are removable and easy to clean keep me from going back to the "old" style. I've learned to live with and work around the problem, and for me that makes it worthwhile. But it also keeps me from wholeheartedly recommending this grill, which would otherwise be a 5-star winner in my book.
This is the best indoor grill, bar none.
The timer is wonderful.
The heat control is very accurate.
I just made a grocery store standard porterhouse (.75 inch not a huge one) at 425 degrees and it came out with caremelized marks and perfect doneness. Follow the charts and subtract about half a minute at this temperature.
I am one happy camper...clean up is a breeze in the dishwasher.
Bravo to Salton.
Buy George Foreman GRP99 Next Generation Grill with Nonstick Removable Plates Now
I had an older model and used it from time to time, but always felt it never really got clean. This new version with the removable grilling plates was what I was waiting for. Both grill plates come off for easy cleaning in the sink. I washed mine in the dishwasher once too both ways works great.Also having the temperature settings and timer makes it easy to cook your food fast. I've done steaks, chicken, fish and hamburgers and all have come out great!
Read Best Reviews of George Foreman GRP99 Next Generation Grill with Nonstick Removable Plates Here
This is the 3rd George Foreman grill I've used and I'm elated that they've finally come out with one that has removable plates so it's easier to clean! Most everyone I've talked to that has a George Foreman grill never used it much because it was a pain to clean but this one is a breeze...simply pop off both the top and bottom grill plates and toss them in the dishwasher.One other thing about this grill is that is different than the older models are the settings. The previous grills are no brainers. Plug it in, it warms up, you toss the food in, that's it. This one however, requires a bit more work in that you have to set the temperature (which can be confusing), and let it preheat. It comes with a little guide that gives you suggestions on what temperature to set it at and cook time depending on what you're cooking. It's a bit more work, but in time, it'll become second nature. This is the only aspect about this grill that I'm not 100% thrilled about (I liked the no brainer ease of the newer models more) but food still turned out great! The surprising thing is it preheats VERY quickly, in under a minute for 350 degrees!
This one is well worth it even if you already have a George Foreman grill that still works, but an older model without the removable plates. The removable plates alone is worth the purchase!
Want George Foreman GRP99 Next Generation Grill with Nonstick Removable Plates Discount?
IF YOU READ NOTHING ELSE-PLEASE READ ABOUT AN ISSUE I FEEL IS UNSAFE.I rarely take time/have time to write reviews however, this item was an exception because of some very serious safety issues. I tried THREE (3) of the grills (because I thought I might have one bad grill) and after customer-NO-service at Salton acted like I was the first person to have this issue--I thought I was doing something wrong. After reading many reviews here and in other places I know this is a real issue for anyone who really puts a load on the grill for it to cook. It seems safe if you cook a hot dog or a little thin steak or chop but when you give it a real job, WATCH OUT! Again, when I read the postitive reviews I thought it was just me. Hamburgers, Hot Dogs, and a couple of Chops are not such a load. 1" cold steaks and Thick Boneless Chops are another story. So I guess you could say as long as you drive 60 you are fine but if you go 75 the wheels might come off and cause you to crash and burn----Please read on about my personal experence which might be unique, except, this happened to three (3) grills with the same unsafe results. While some might say it is my fault I overloaded it. The instructions were followed to the letter and the same dangerous results each time-yet-when Amazon so kindly replaced it with a CUISINART #GR-4, GRIDDLER it not only handled the load without a hitch, it did it in less time, beautiful even cooking and searing with no gray meat (like the Foreman and 6-7 min to cook a 1" steak not the 25 minutes on the Foreman (provided it doesn't overheat and burn out in the middle leaving you to cook it on the stove) with in my opinion awful results.
My hope is this will help you make an informed decision of where to spend your hard earned money and save you much wasted time and stress and address what I consider to be some real safety issues and if you read the other reviews you will see I am NOT the only one.
The Pros:
1) The grill LOOKS nice.
2) It has a fair price for a countertop grill.
The Cons:
1) The quality is very poor. Feel the construction. Look at the quality of the parts and metal that is used. Feel how loose and flimsy it is when put side by side with others? The handles that are used as latches to remove the cooking surface (the grill plates) from the heating element are thin, cheap, and tend to fall apart after just a few washings in the dishwasher. (Note: why say it's dishwasher safe in big letters then say it is not recomended later after you own it) After the dishwasher the handles which hold the grill plates on the grill begin to "get crusty" and the springs after just a few washes become weaker to the feel. You might ask what would happen after a few months. I never got to find outread on-As the springs get weaker it becomes a greater task to get them to stay in place. If you fail to line it up just perfect the hot grills will "fall off" while you are cooking. You must be real careful to check that they are locked in a very specific position, or else...
2) The claim it is a floating 1" grill is a joke. If you grill two 1/4" steaks (yeah right) it might be fine. When you grill a "real" steak or chops the back (rear) cooks great while the front just gets touched and receives none of the searing most of us love. You then (to make it cook even) have to flip, move and check. (Not like the pretty ads)
3) After you preheat the grill it will not sear the meat (even if you max it out at 425-F) it has a great sizzle for ten or so seconds then it just goes so slow (this is on thick cuts of meat) and it just does not have an effecient means of heat transfer to keep the grill up to temp and when it attempts to BRING IT UP TO TEMP...... READ # 4 !!!!
4) When it attempts to bring it up to temp PLEASE READ CAREFULLY--the element stays on to bring it back to temp and because (my guess I am not a product designer) of a poor heat shield or lack of one, the top of the grill (the surface that is exposed) begin to buckle, melt, smoke, and in my case got so hot it burned the lettering off the top of the grill. After I cooled the top of the grill had a new shape! NOT VERY SAFE! I was told (by Salton no-customer-service) that it couldn't happen like that, the meat was too thick, the meat was too cold!! WHERE IN THE OWNERS GUIDE DOES IT SAY THAT? In fact, it mentions frozen hamburger patties and fish and brags about the speed of cooking from both sides. This happened not once but twice! (TWO GRILLS) I read on here where others said the grill stopped working or one reviewer said it popped. That was a safety final fuse. A fuse that can not be replaced by a consumer-it prevents the grill from overloading-overheating, perhaps close to fire? I do not know if there just happened to be three grills on the line that both happened to have the same defect, I doubt it. Looking at others reviews and the positive reviews might change if they were given a large amount of meat to cook. (Yeah, if you grill a few hot dogs or 21/8" hamburgers the grill will be fine UNTIL you load it up-try it then tell me I am wrong....
When you ask for service after the sale-forget it! EXCEPTION>>> AMAZON is the best! They will bend over backwards to help and in my opinion one of the best companies I have ever done business with. My issue is with a company where you share you safety issue concerns with and they can not even call you back or give a reply. Other then sharing here and informing the Consumer Product Safety Commison and UL I did my part.
As was mentioned, Amazon replaced the Foreman (for very little extra with the $25.00 kickback) with the CUISINART GR-4 Griddler. In my opinion and I am not a chef or expert. I found it to be the best product at this price point on the market. It starts with a rare 3 year warranty. Not many companies stand behind a product with coverage like that! High quality stainless steel, high quality latches, 1500w heating elements that can sear and cook salmon fillets in 3 minutes and a 1" fillet in less then 8, GREAT TEMP CONTROLS THAT WORK, a nice package that really shows sometimes you really do get what you pay for.
My hope is that anyone who read about my experences will at least, even if you disagree, will at least take the time to check it out. If the surface on the top of your grill had a bump or is anything but smooth on the top, dark colors on top, lettering burned off, a pop, pop, pop sound, THIS IS NOT NORMAL. Is it not worth you time to just make sure? Not a matter of which opinion is right or wrong, even if you disagree at least be safe and check it out.
This great review section provided by Amazon is a great place to share about your opinions. If you have concerns Amazon has been good enough to provide links to the Consumer Product Safety Commision as well as a great internal department at Amazon to voice your concerns. Thanks for reading!
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