I bought this same griddle from on sale and returned it immediately after opening the package. The unit is cheaply made (drawer and trim plastic is not substantial), the surface is not as large as most griddles, the surface was scratched, and the depth of the drawer might allow for a stack of one pancake. Great idea, poor product.
Having a large family, and owning several griddles in my lifetime, I know what is a good griddle and what is not and I would not recommend this griddle.
1. The design is poor the warming draw takes up the entire front, so the grease catcher has to be in the back, making it inaccessible if you would like to use some of the grease to cook in.
2. The warming drawer is a good idea, but if you pull it out enough to put something in, it comes off the tracks and is VERY difficult to put back on. Therefore, my warming drawer ends up sitting on the counter under the unit.
3. If I were designing a griddle, I would assume people would use it with the warming draw in the front where they can access it so why did they make this griddle with the cord facing the front so it is bending back on itself to plug it in??
4. All the edges are rounded, so there is not a place to break an egg.
If, after all these bad reviews, you choose to purchase this product, please do not follow the temperature guidelines in the owners manual all your food will burn! I can't have the dial any higher than 250 degrees, and then I have to watch it closely. I have burned whole batches of bacon, pancakes, and eggs.
This foods will burn before they are even cooked through!
I was given this item as a gift, and am slowly adjusting to it, but if you're looking to purchase a griddle, don't waste your money on this one!
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The warmer on this grill is a laugh. It is way too small for us. Even though there are only two of us, we prefer our old grill (without the broken greaser catcher). We are able to make enough so that we can sit down and eat together. The way we interpreted the advertising it was much larger,
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Get the Cuisinart, or some other better made griddle (with or without attached warmer) if you can afford and "heft" it, which I couldn't and can't.
Pros:
1) Price
2) Weight (I have autoimmune diseases, swollen hands, pain early, every day, so I can move the griddle and warmer without having to really "grasp" anything too tight or too heavy for me.)
3) Easy to wipe off if you're making pancakes (my husband is a vegetarian and I don't eat bacon, beef, sausage anytime but once a year, for my birthday, I like a prime rib, and I sure wouldn't fix it on this griddle).
I let it heat up really hot, wipe Country Crock on a paper towel, smear the griddle with it, being careful not to burn myself "too" much, and after I've got three 5-inch pancakes cooked completely and put in the warming drawer, I take the same piece of paper towel and sort of shove the little crispy pancake leftover pieces toward the back slot (my husband cleans up the griddle after it cools completely, and he says it's easy to do), make the next three 5-inch pancakes, and so on, until I've got 11-12--you can't completely control pancake batter spread, or at least I can't, so sometimes I get 11 and sometimes I get 12, but I never have more than three stacks across--the drawer won't hold any more than that.
4) This would be good for a dorm room--if the administration would let you have it in your room or for any single person just starting out. If you're eating something else, made in the microwave, on or in the stove--like the bacon or baked beans mentioned in an ad for this griddle--the warmer will hold (I counted) eleven 5-inch pancakes, stacked three to four high, and nothing else with them.
5) I'm not anxious making pancakes on this the way I was in a non-stick skillet when I had no way to stop the pancakes from getting dead cold in minutes, so I would serve my husband his first and eat after just like my mom used to do--and I felt left out, like a cook and waitress, not a wife and companion, while my husband relaxed over the newspaper and his breakfast.
OK, now for the cons:
1) The warmer, which was the second reason I bought this and not any other that I looked for--the first reason as noted above was the price--doesn't keep food "really warm" as the marketers imply, thought it does keep the pancakes from getting stone cold or even cool.
As my husband says, he can melt butter on his, so that's not "too" bad, but the warmer is made of thin plastic and set so low and loose under the griddle that when I touch it, it moved around, I can push in under further, which is a good thing, so the pancakes stay a little warmer than they would if I let the tray sit flush with the front of the griddle.
2) There is only enough "cooking area", as opposed to total area, for three 5-inch pancakes: one to the very left, one in the center, one to the very right. The manufacturers, based on engineer directions, I imagine, put an "inner frame" on top so you've got dead space, and with just the two of us, not being giant breakfast eaters, it takes me four batches--each batch kept in the iffy warmer below, to finish making our pancakes.
3) The temperature gauge is wonky. I have to put it up really high and then crack our front door (we live in Utah) to let the chemical smell dissipate. It does not wear off after the first use, and also to let the fumes from the non-stick surface mixed with very high heat, to not get trapped in our very small kitchen. Well, I do set it higher than indicated, pour the pancake batter carefully (left, right, center), and watch for the tops to bubble and the outside to dry "just enough" before flipping the pancakes over. (It shouldn't take so long to cook just 11-12 pancakes, and it didn't take me that long when I did them in a non-stick skillet, but as I said, I couldn't join my husband at the table to eat with him, so I prefer this griddle and it's luke-warmer to the alternative.
RECOMMENDATION:
If you can afford a Cuisinart or any other griddle that is made better, buy it. Then put one of those bread stones in a basket, stack your pancakes in the basket and cover them up with a heavy cloth. But if you're single, on a tight budget, have to handle the griddle yourself and can't lift heavy things as I cannot, and you're planning to make just pancakes, maybe some bacon, buy this until you can get the better, or best, on the market. This is definitely a make-do, stop-gap item; I wouldn't buy it for anyone else, but I'm grateful I can sit down with my husband to eat with him, and this particular griddle at this particular price allows me to do that.
~ Carolyn Elkins
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The aluminum is thinner than in my old griddle; this one heats up faster but the heat distribution is not uniform, To get any kind of uniformity you can only cook 3-4 pancakes at a time placed down the middle of the heating surface (between the heating element) even then, the middle of the pancakes are lighter in color (because the center is farthest away from the heating element). For some reason the griddle is "not submergible" so cleaning between the griddle and the plastic heat guard surrounding the entire heating surface is tedious and time consuming.
You get what you pay for. In hindsight I would have been much happier spending the extra money and getting a better designed, heavier duty griddle--I do not recommend this griddle; actually, I'm generous in giving it two stars.
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I originally purchased just the "Sittin' Chicken" steamer, but after using it the first time I immediately ordered the chicken and turkey combo so I would never be without this option for roasting poultry. If you're going to feed more than two or three hungry people, you will need to roast more than one chicken anyway, so this gives me two chicken and one turkey steamer. The popular method has always been to use a can of beer for this type of cooking, but I like using fruit juices. Apple juice is my favorite. The meat comes out with a moist and sweet flavor, unattainable by other methods. For Easter this year I did a turkey on the grill (we have a wood pellet grill) with pineapple juice and beer in the Sittin' Turkey, and quickly discovered that I will need to make more turkey next year for this crowd. They loved it.
