Showing posts with label grill smokers. Show all posts
Showing posts with label grill smokers. Show all posts

Monday, April 21, 2014

Steven Raichlen Best of Barbecue Barbecue Sauce Mop with Removable Head

Steven Raichlen Best of Barbecue Barbecue Sauce Mop with Removable HeadAs mops go this is one of the better ones that I have used. Often when I am smoking a brisket I need something that I can just slop on the juices with, and this mop is great. The fibers are quite absorbant so the hold a lot of juices. The handle is long enough that I can reach through the small smoker door and mop my meats on the bottom rack. I love the fact that the head is detachable, this makes cleaning up simple.

You can't go wrong with this mop.

This is my first Barbecue Mop, so I cannot compare it to other mops, but I have been very happy with this product. The handle is sturdy and long enough to reach the ribs in the back of my smoker. The mop portion unscrews for easy soaking and cleaning.

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Does exactly what I was hoping it would do. Easy clean up as well. I did buy 2 extra mop head replacements as I didnt know how long the original would last as I use it pretty frequently on the weekends. After about a month the mop is still almost new so I dont anticipate needing to use one of the replacements anytime soon. I would recommend this to anyone looking for an item like this.

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These things are awesome! We bought 4 of them and gave 2 away as gifts. We have used ours and my husband loves it. I love the fact that you can detach the mop head and wash it and when it's past its prime, you buy a new mop head. Price was great and shipping was quick.

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We have a Breville Indoor Grill, and this mop cleans the grills like a charm! It would be perfect for cleaning the George Forman grills, too. I actually took off the handle because it was long and I'm short and it would have been awkward. I just use the plastic connector to hold it. I also used the mop head to wash my Caphalon non-stick skillet since it was dirty at the same time. The mop is wonderful and I'm pleased to recommend it!

Before, I used to clean the grill with with soap and paper towels since you are not supposed to use a brush. The George Forman cleaning sponges did not appeal. I figured the sponges would not last very long, would be hard to clean and were expensive for what you got.

Even though our manual says you can put the grills in the dishwasher, I don't because I wanted to keep the surface nice for as long as I can. When I wash them, I take one to our sink. I turn the water on very hot. I rinse the grill under the running water to get off a lot of the surface mess. I wet the mop and squeeze some dish soap on it. Then I take the mop, holding it by the connector, and run it up and down the channels of the grill until it looks pretty clean. Then I rinse the grill with hot water to see if I got everything. If I didn't, I just go to the area that needs further cleaning, and clean it. Rinse again. Then I dry it with a paper towel and slip it back into my Breville.

When I'm done, I rinse the mop under hot, running water, add some soap and lightly scrub it and squeeze it. The mop comes clean easily and quickly. The first time I went to rinse the mop head, I hesitated and wondered if I really wanted to get my hands in the dirty, greasy mop. I went ahead and did it, and it really wasn't as bad as I thought it might be. I also got the two refills of the mop head. If I want to get the mop cleaner, I could find a way to hang it in the dishwasher so it would be free of the spray arms. I also wouldn't hesitate to throw it in the washer after I have rinsed it out well. If you want to be sure to get rid of the bacteria, then I'd put it in the washer after you have hand washed and rinsed it well. When I'm done, I just hang it up to dry.

I'm so pleased with my purchases.

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Sunday, April 6, 2014

Sharp R-820JS 0.9-Cubic Foot Grill 2 Convection Microwave, Silver

Sharp R-820JS 0.9-Cubic Foot Grill 2 Convection Microwave, SilverI acquired this microwave when I was moving to a flat with limited kitchen space, and my primary reason for the choice was that the Sharp model was multi-functional. Since I've begun using it, I happily have ceased to sing a requiem for the toaster oven, separate grill, and other items I was 'consolidating' in this purchase.

I have used the Sharp microwave for grilling and roasting, as well as normal microwave functions, and the results are better than I could have expected. Grilled and roasted foods are extremely tender and juicy at least of the quality one could expect from a conventional oven. I have had similar success with cooking vegetables.

Reheating muffins and breads has amazing results they seem fresh baked and, unlike breads normally heated in a microwave, do not harden in a minute. I have used the convection feature for preparing breads, and had especially stunning results with preparing a frozen chicken pie. I suppose the surrounding air from the convection oven was the reason, but it seemed like a fresh-baked meat pie.

There are a few drawbacks, which would not compromise my five star rating because of the great versatility and high quality of the unit overall. The 'auto' roast, defrost, and grill features are very convenient, as is the prompting (telling one when to turn over the meat, for example), but they are very limited in the weight restrictions. For example, if one is defrosting ground meat, it has to be a certain weight significantly more than that of a single hamburger. Though grills and roasts would mostly fit in to the specifications, this is a drawback for defrosting, where one must estimate times and key them in manually.

Another difficulty I have experienced, when grilling on the rack, is that drippings which fall either on to the carousel tray or a pan placed under the meat can become badly burnt and baked on. This was slightly disappointing for my intentions of preparing gravies on the side. My single attempt to do so meant I had to soak the pan overnight and then scrape. The grilling results are wonderful, as far as the effect on the meats, but there is a great deal of smoke generated. Whenever I grill, it sets off the smoke alarm probably best to roast, then only grill at the end.

I would advise anyone purchasing this microwave to read the manual in full. The capabilities will not be realised otherwise. I actually use the unit less for 'standard microwaving' than for its other features.

One further comment: the Sharp microwave cookbook, which is advertised in the manual for the unit, is useful but not specific to the multi-functional machine. It contains only microwave recipes none for grilling, roasting, or convection.

Overall, and considering that it can replace several appliances, this microwave is an extraordinary value.

When my old (22 years) microwave died, I could've replaced it with another, especially since they'd gone 'way down in price/watt. But I'd used a convection oven (which went with my ex-wife), and I really wanted my own. I found the Sharp Grill-2 Convection, among others, but decided to purchase it mainly because of Sharp's overall good reputation. It offered a powerful microwave, a convection oven (cooking with super-heated air), and a grill to brown the outside of whatever I was cooking. I should've bought a lottery ticket that day! It has turned out to be the most useful, if not most often used, tool in my kitchen (and I have just about all of them!).

I wanted to write a glowing review the first week I had it, but knowning how first impressions can be misleading, I've waited until now, about a year later. The other reviews I've read here are accurate about the its uses and functions, so I won't bore you further. What I will say is that from warming a cooled cup of coffee to roasting a whole chicken to baking my famous cheescake, it's the best! Hands down, simply the best! A little pricey? Duh! Look at what you're getting: you can virtually cook ANYthing with this oven. And I have!

It looks great on my kitchen counter, it's instructions are comprehensive and easy to understand, it cleans up (from roasted chicken, for example) in about 5 minutes. It's quality, and IT WORKS! Oh, by the way, it uses a lot less energy than any conventional oven, electric or gas.

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First let me say that I got a killer deal right here on Amazon. I paid $204 with shipping included. The unit arrived in tact although the box was a little beat up. So much so that I had to unpack it outside. Now onto the review. The unit is very heavy and well constructed. The majority of the weight comes from what appears to be a commercial grade convection motor. I lugged the unit inside and put it on a utility cart with the back facing a window. I unpacked the contents, which were securely stowed inside the unit. Contents included a porcelain coated turntable, rotary mechanism for the turntable and a circular raised rack for grilling. I plugged it in and it immediately displayed instructions on how to set the clock. That was cake so now it was time to cook something! Despite what others may say, you do have to read the manual to do just about anything (except setting the clock) because the unit uses special codes for different foods, i.e 1 for pork, 2 for chicken, 3 for humans and so on. The manual is relatively easy to follow and the unit also comes with a quick reference card so you don't have to whip out the manual everytime you want to cook something. So far, I have cooked a stuffed pork chop, cinnamon rolls, chocolate chip cookies and a 10 inch frozen pizza. All came out near perfect to perfect. I would attribute this to the quality of the convection motor. I might even go as far as comparing the quality and effectiveness of this motor to that of a Hobart. If you're looking for a high quality and extrememly versatile convection/microwave/so much more, then you can stop looking. I would have paid a lot more if I knew it was going to be this good. Bon Appetit!

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I love this machine. I am not a cook perse, just a single dad trying to do everything myself. My microwave was my life saver until one day when the lights went out and fried it. Searching for a replacement, I liked the many options for no brains cooking and decided that if I was going to replace my microwave, why not try something better than average.

I am really glad that I did. This thing seems to do a perfect job on just about everything that I put in it. The kids and I have made apple pies, pizza, bannana bread and just about everything that I throw at it comes out perfect.

There was one thing that I didn't like... I couldn't get popcorn to come out right with this unit. That was UNTIL I realized that I needed to put in the wire rack to center the popcorn. How many bags I have ruined before realizing that I needed the rack. Since then I haven't burnt one which is a great releif to my kids on movie night.

I rarely write product reviews, but since I have pretty much stopped using the normal oven in exchange for this unit, I thought it was worth mentioning. I don't know if it takes less energy, but it does cut down cooking time dramatically so I can spend more time with the kids.

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Can you believe a microwave that will brown chicken? I've cooked things in this that makes me seem like a gourmet chef, but I'm not even quite an average cook. Chicken breast that practically melt in your mouth, but the outside has a tantalizing crispiness that's sure to please the taste buds. Most recent to this review, I cooked several rounds of New York strip steak. A nice steak rub, a bit of non-stick spray for the rack and turntable tray (makes for an easy cleanup), and a steak-lover's dream was created. I do the typical hot-dog heating in the microwave...but you can't really place them directly on the metal tray if you want them to heat quickly. They are slightly below where the microwaves really concentrate and take a few seconds longer to heat. I place a microwave-safe plate on the turntable upside down to elevate it slightly and it works much better. This also works for microwave popcorn. I had trouble getting it to pop in the 3 minutes allocated to the popcorn button (large bag), it took more like 5. Put it on the upside down plate, it pops in 2 minutes and 45 seconds (yes, I've done enough of them to remember :-)

Buy this one, I doubt if you'll be sorry. I got it originally because I was a full-timer in an RV and was looking to replace a failed microwave oven. After owning this for about a month, I got rid of my toaster oven, my rotisserie, my jetstream oven, and I can't remember what else. It doesn't do toast that fast, so I kept my toaster. It is rather heavy and deep for a microwave, but it takes a lot less space than all of the other appliances it replaces.

Monday, March 3, 2014

Grill Friends Rub Shaker

Grill Friends Rub ShakerI use a lot of dry seasoning mixes (a/k/a rubs); most I make but there are some commercial rubs that I use as well. I store all of them in 8 oz bottles with shaker tops. All is well except when I have something big to season. Those "flapper tops" don't lend themselves to even distribution over large surfaces. Knowing that this clever shaker originated with Elizabeth Karmel, author of a couple of my favorite outdoor cookbooks, made product selection easy. And this thing really does the job! The user has a choice of three opening sizes to control the amount of rub being placed on the food, and the handle makes shaking it easy. It enabled me to get a good, even distribution of several rubs on different foods I was preparing. It's a cinch to clean as well.

Highly recommended!!

I have several commercial rubs which I like to use but never found a good container for them so I use them out of the package which made a terrible mess. I finally bought this shaker on Amazon and it's really wonderful. It has different size holes and can close completely so that the spices stay fresh. The handle is really helpful and the design and stainless steel exterior make it very attractive to keep out. It's so nice that I'm going to buy two more, one for my cinnamon and the other for the Cook's Vanilla, both of which I use daily for my morning cappuccino and oatmeal.

Great product!

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I love this product. I make my own rubs and spices and I use pepper spices in the mix. I needed a shaker that was flexible for small and large bore spice mixes. This fits both scenarios. The shaker has a opening that slides to accommodate all sized spice mixes. Great product, solid construction.

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I bought it to help me get a more even coat of dry rub when I'm barbequeing especially when the recipe calls for coating it with oil first and then applying the rub. Putting the rub on with your hands results in a mess and an uneven coating of rub. This shaker is just what I needed and works real well. The product was delivered timely and efficiently.

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I got this for my husband because he likes to make his own seasoning & rubs for when he BBQs.This is definitely a high quality product and very easy to clean. Highly recommend!

Tuesday, February 11, 2014

Kingsford KRU20 St. Louis Tongs

Kingsford KRU20 St. Louis TongsVery useful tongs open wide enough, close easily enough, securely hold a large piece of food. The wood keeps them cool to use. The triangular hanger at the hinge locks the tongs closed when pulled out.

16" long not counting hanger, food grippers are 2" wide and 4"long.

The product started out working well. After a few months of use, one of the wooden grips fell off. The tongs themselves are a little flimsy and flex enough to drop food. Disappointing.

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These tongs fail to hold onto food and thus fail as BBQ tongs. They also have a very sharp edge as the slice in my finger proves. FAIL

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Tuesday, January 7, 2014

Weber 6423 12-Inch T-Brush

Weber 6423 12-Inch T-BrushGreat Item. The key is to know which one you need for your particular BBQ Grill. You DON"T want to use the steel brush on a cast Iron grill that has been coated to protect it from rust, like the Weber "Q" Series. You will ruin that coating in no time at all. The Brass works Great and the steel works great. I would Buy again.

This is a great grill brush -well made and reasonably priced. I've used mine for a full season of grilling and it doesn't show any signs of wear. Just a quick brush while the grill is still hot makes cleanup a breeze, and your BBQ is nice and clean when you're ready to use it again.

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I had a brush like this one in days gone by, NOT FROM WEBER tho, and it was somewhat better than the average but I have to say........This one from WEBER really is the best I've used............Weber has put the quality into this brush just as they do into their Grills (and the Restaurant) Thanks, Weber and Amazon. You'll have to try this to see the quality.

Read Best Reviews of Weber 6423 12-Inch T-Brush Here

I bought this brush because of the brass bristles and hoped that it wouldn't scrape my porcelain coated grill and thus far I don't see any scrape marks. However, I haven't been scraping too hard because it is a new grill and the gunk comes off pretty easily. One thing I have noticed is that, at least on my grill, the bristles don't work their way in-between the grates as advertised unless you press hard, which I haven't really done. It could be because my grates are pretty fat. So instead I have just turned it sideways to get in-between the grates. That seems to work fine.

Also, the brush I got in the mail is not the one in the picture. The brush I got, although 12 inches long, is the similar looking one on Amazon that looks shorter and fatter. It is the one titled " Grill T-brush" or the similarly looking "ACE D703-3046 "GRILL LIFE" GRILL BRUSH 6.5'' WIDE STAINLESS STEEL". I just noticed this while writing this review and feel somewhat ripped off although still satisfied with the brush so far. Any future purchasers might want to look into this before buying.

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This was purchased as a gift for a friend with a portable grill. My husband purchased the longer-handled version locally last summer, and he's been telling everyone that it's the best grill brush he's ever had! It does a great job of getting into all those hard to reach areas, and it is very durable.

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Saturday, November 2, 2013

Amcor AF8000E 8,000-BTU Portable Air Conditioner

Amcor AF8000E 8,000-BTU Portable Air ConditionerI can't say I've had as good an experience as others reported here...the main problem I've discovered is that the compressor only cycles on for about seven minutes at a time, followed by fifteen minutes during which the machine simply operates as a fan and blows in hot air from outside. Company info on their web site indicates that this is being done to prevent the compressor from overheating--unfortunately, this results in the compressor remaining cool while my small studio apartment (only 200 sq feet) remains too hot. I don't know if other units have similar limitations, but I would hesitate to recommend this product on the basis of my own experience. Hope this is helpful to anyone looking to make a buying decision...

Overall I am very satisfied with this portable air conditioner.

The Good:

-Shipping was extremely fast (2 days for standard shipping).

-Installation was a breeze.

-The air that comes out is actually cold, and powerful. The fan produces a terrific draft of cool air.

-It cools the room quickly.

-The evaporative draining system is great... no emptying buckets of water constantly!

The Bad:

-It does make some noise (no more than a normal window air conditioner would). But I would say the relief from a hot, humid day is well worth the buzzing noise.

-The exhaust hose was larger than I expected. Which means if you don't place the air conditioner strategically, it can be a huge eye sore in the room.

However, it does do its job well and I would recommend this unit to anyone needing to cool a room/dorm/small apartment. Enjoy!

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I purchased this unit out of desperation in the midst of a heat-wave. I read a lot of reviews and settled on this guy, and I'm not disappointed. My living room isn't huge (approx. 12'x16'), but it cools it down effectively.

The Pros:

My girlfriend loves the remote. You can change the mode, target temperature, fan speed, and turn it on and off without moving off the couch.

I like that it shows you the temperature. I also like that it automatically kicks the compressor on and off as needed.

No buckets to empty.

The Cons:

When the other reviews talk about the exhaust tube being big, they're lying. It's FREAKIN' HUGE. Think dryer hose.

There's no way (that I've found, at least) to set it to turn off when it hits the target temperature. I still panic over high energy bills, so it's scary to leave it running all the time. I'd like it a lot more if it would not only kill the compressor, but shut down the whole unit when the room becomes cool enough.

It's fairly noisy. I don't have a lot of experience with air conditioners, but it's louder than the few units I've been around before. It's not terrible, though, so this is only a half-con. More of a concern, I guess.

It's not an Energy Star appliance. That was my biggest hesitation point before I ultimately bought this unit.

Overall, I'm pretty happy with my purchase. I might come back and change my tune after I've seen a couple months of energy bills, but last month's only went up marginally. I'll keep my fingers crossed.

Read Best Reviews of Amcor AF8000E 8,000-BTU Portable Air Conditioner Here

Much better than my old window units. Because of the portability you can make the most of the 8000 BTUs by directing the air at the right location and level. I also live in the Northeast so there are many days I can just roll it into a closet until the next heat wave. No ugly window unit just sitting there all summer. You may have to cut a piece of plastic if you want a custom window fit but I simply make up the gap of several inches with a small white rag that blends right in -easy to move to windows of different sizes. Highly recommend this Amcor model!!! Be careful if you select other units as this is a newer technology at these price points so a brand name may not mean much. I never heard of Amcor but the great reviews on this unit swayed me and it has been rock solid. No water to drain. I suspect as you go to higher BTUs with any brand you run the risk of it being more unreliable.

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Portability is definitely an advantage of this AC. And it does cool down the room for a good night's sleep.

Monday, September 16, 2013

Cuisinart WAF-100 4-Slice Belgian Waffle Maker

Cuisinart WAF-100 4-Slice Belgian Waffle MakerWe love waffles and used a Black and Decker "American" waffle maker (smaller pockets than a Belgian waffle-maker) for years, but the plates got too hard to clean and the waffles started to stick. We decided to switch to a Belgian waffle maker and this is the model we decided on.

First the good. This waffle maker holds a lot of batter nearly two cups. In one batch, I can make a pretty filling waffle for each member of my family. No more arguing over who gets the first batch. It is also very well built and has a great non-stick coating on the irons. I also like the audible alert telling you when it's done and the fact that the cord wraps around the base and the unit can be stored vertically.

Now for the bad. I have yet to get this to make evenly cooked waffles. It always produces a waffle with a dark over-cooked circle on the bottom with the corners and entire top side completely under-cooked. I resorted to cooking it half way, opening it, flipping the half cooked waffle over and closing the lid again. This helped, but resulted in a few burned fingertips. I would be very hesitant to recommend this model.

Finally, a tip: If you've never tried a true Belgian waffle made with yeast, do yourself a favor, search for a yeast-based waffle recipe and make some. They're not much harder to make and you'll never go back to baking powder ones again!

I was skeptical about purchasing this waffle maker from other reviews online but I am glad I did. This is the best waffle maker!! I used a box of Krusteaz waffle mix and followed the directions on the box, set the waffle maker on 3, sprayed some PAM on the waffle maker, pour 1/2 cup of waffle batter in each slot and when it beeped I opened to find a big Belgian waffle slices cooked to perfection! There was no issue with spill overs, the color was a nice golden brown and it was fluffy, had a nice crisp but still soft, topped with fresh strawberries, syrup and whipped cream and we've got the best Belgian waffles right at home! It came right off the machine with no sticking or mess and the clean up was nothing as I only had to wipe it down with a paper towel after it cooled down. I absolutely love this waffle maker and would recommend to anyone. The unit did not get too hot to handle and the handle stayed nice and cool. It was so fun cooking up the waffles that before I knew it I went through a whole box! The great thing is you can make these ahead, freeze them and when you want a waffle just heat up in a toaster. No more frozen Eggo Waffles for me as I now have fresh homemade waffles right at my fingers anytime I feel like it. And the money I am saving because Eggo Waffles can get pretty expensive!

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I love this waffle iron! I have had no problems with run-overs when following the recipe. I do spray it with Pam the first waffle each time I use it. It is nice that it has the beeper to let you know when they are done. I found it accurate -we use it on 3 and it works great. Although it will store on end, it is much too tall for my cupboard. It locks closed for cooking and storage and opens easily. It takes too long to cook up a batch to feed my crew to use daily but we really broke it in over the holidays and had no problems or complaints. The recipes that come with it are great but are not "light & fluffy" recipes. I used it for my regular Belgian waffle recipe that comes out "light & fluffy" and it worked great with none of the usual spill overs. I highly recommend it!

Read Best Reviews of Cuisinart WAF-100 4-Slice Belgian Waffle Maker Here

I hate this waffle iron. And, yes, I've tried several recipes in it. First, it's true that the waffles cook unevely. The bottoms brown nicely, but the tops are pale in places and nearly burnt in others, even if the batter spills out the sides. A setting of 3 is too pale, and 3.5 burns the edges. Second, it's almost impossible to fill the iron evenly. The batter may spill out in spots, while the waffles have "holes" in others. Third, the waffles are much too dense to classify as Belgian waffles. They also lack outer crispiness. They are simply thicker regular waffles. Belgian waffles should be light and airy, yet crisp on the outside. Fourth, these waffles don't have the loft (thick pockets) of a Belgian waffle. They are thicker than a regular waffle, but not nearly as thick as a Belgian waffle. I am sooo disappointed and wish I had kept the packaging and my receipt. I've only had it four months and can't justify buying a new one yet, but I will buy a new one before the year is out and donate this one. I can't wait to enjoy waffles again.

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11/8/10 My husband has been nostalgic about when his mother used to make him waffles as a boy. So after searching and reading reviews for days, I decided to buy him this waffle maker for his birthday. The options that I like (some options I like in theory....if they worked) that it can stand upright when being stored to take up less space, cool-touch handle, the ready light/audible beep, and the ability to make 4 waffles at once.

We used it twice and are sending it back for a replacement....I'm hoping this first one was defective and the next one we get will work fine. Even after reading the instruction booklet first, here're the problems we had:

The plates are supposed to be non-stick, but they aren't.

The ready light/audible beep was not accurate.

There was spill-over even when using the recommended amount of batter.

We made two batches, trying one with cooking spray and one without. We poured the recommended amount of batter in and it spilled over probably a third cup while it was baking. We put the browning gauge on level 3 (right in the middle) for starters, but it took about 8 minutes for the ready light/beep to signal (when the booklet says up to 6 minutes on level 5). When it signaled it was ready, we went to open the lid and we could not get it to open. It was shut solid. When we were finally able to get it open, the batter had hardened on both the top and bottom plates that it wasn't even edible, in fact we didn't have the ability to remove it from the plates because it stuck so badly. We spent 2 hours trying to remove the hardened, stuck batter. This was also made difficult because the plates aren't removable and you don't want to use anything but cloths or paper towels so to not damage it. Once it was cleaned out, we tried a second batch on level 2 and still got a similar result. Although we used less batter and did not have the overflow again, we still could not remove the hardened batter from the plates.

We'll try it again once we receive the replacement, and I'll update the review.

12/17/10 Update

Tried out the replacement and still very disappointed. Returned the item and we will not buy a Cuisinart waffle maker again.

To try to eliminate the sticking issue, we "seasoned" the griddle plates first. To season we very generously greased (with canola oil) every nook of the heating plates, let sit for 10 or so minutes, greased again, and then shut the lid and turned the maker on (level 1) until it heated up and beeped (acted as though it was cooking a waffle even though we were just seasoning). After the plates had cooled, we wiped out the browned oil, and re-greased with fresh oil. After the maker was heated and beeped when ready, we used less batter (made from scratch) than what the booklet suggested so to not get spill-over and set it on level 1. We did not have spill over or sticking. But the waffles were not fully cooked when the beep went off. We left them in a little longer to cook, but they were not cooking evenly and came out very soft. We tried a second batch on level 2 and got the same result. Level 3 made the waffles too brown, but still soft. This maker does not produce an evenly cooked waffle that is crisp on outside, chewy/soft on inside. Was a waste of time for us with way too much effort involved.

Tuesday, September 3, 2013

Presto 85697 griddle and frypan handle set.

Presto 85697 griddle and frypan handle set.Happy with handle set, exactly the perfect fit. Ordered for parent, fry pan was fine. A lot cheaper than buying a new pan.

Bought these to replace the handles on our griddle. I had dropped our griddle one day and the original handle shattered. These fit perfectly and look nice.

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These replace the handles on my grill perfectly. I do wish I had the option for a smaller size, but otherwise, nothing to complain about.

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These fit our griddle well and saved a good pan from the recycler. Easy to install using the existing screws. Please be careful not to overtighten the screws.

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The skillet handles were attached with minimum difficulty.

I have very good cotrol of my skillet.I have used

this skillet for 28 years.

Thursday, July 25, 2013

Replacement Probe for Grill Alert

Replacement Probe for Grill AlertBefore giving up on your wireless thermometer, try replacing the probe! I'm on my third probe now, which is frustrating, but these things are only $15 bucks. A new 'Grill Alert' is $70! Each probe that I've had seems to last a few years before I start getting screwy readings. When I replace the probe, the unit works fine again. I think the probes are only rated to 400 degrees, so that's definitely the weak link in this otherwise excellent system. Now I'm ordering two probes, just so that I can have a spare ready to go.

The probe has a braided metal outer jacket on the cable that causes any flexing of the cable to strain the cable where it exits the probe. This condition causes failure (shorting of the sensor wires to the jacket) at that point. I have had 2 other probes with this type of cable that failed in that mode. The best type of cable is a thick silicone jacket like used on microwave temp probes.

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My original probe lasted about 10 uses( stopped indicating current temperature ) . Replacement probe also failed to indicate currentt temperature . Other reviews also indicate repeated failure of the probe.

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My thermometer kept losing the signal during cooking. After replacing the batteries several times, I started shopping for a new one. That's when I stumbled onto this replacement probe. It works perfectly and seems to be a little sturdier and better built than the original. The cord is a couple of inches shorter than the original which is why I didn't give it 5 stars. Delivery was lightning fast. I needed this for my Thanksgiving turkey but forgot to order until the Sunday before. It was delivered on Tuesday!

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I have had it 4 years. It is reliable, the range is a couple hundred feet(at least), convenient, durable, and accurate!

Jeff A.