George Foreman grill- do you have one and do you use it?

[wildeyed]

I adore kitchen gadgets, but I have never been interested in this one. But it is so popular, maybe I am missing something. Does anyone have one, and if so, what do you think of it?

[wryter2000]

1. I have one

It's okay. Unfortunately, the non-stick surface becomes very sticky after a while, which makes clean up a pain. I generally find that heat destroys the non-stick ability of teflon pans.

[chefgirl]

2. Don't have one

My Mom bought one after my Dad died, and she loved it. It was the perfect size to cook dinner for one person, without messing up any pans or heating up the whole kitchen by turning the oven on.

The way I cook (and my son eats) it would never be practical for me, but, from what I've seen, it does have its advantages.

-chef-

[The empressof all]

3. I love the George Foreman

I just upgraded to the new one that has the removable grill plates. They pop right into the Dishwasher and make cleanup very easy. I found the ones with the fixed plates a pain to clean up.

Even with the annoying cleanup they are well worth having though I would recommend the one I just got.

I cook almost any kind of meat on mine. Great for boneless chicken breasts, pork chops, hamburgers, sausage and bacon. I make grilled cheese and paninni's. I even grill vegetables.

One of my favorite things to make is garlic bread. I slice a baguette into small toasts, brush with olive oil and garlic and grill. Add you favorite toppings for brushetta.

My model cost $99. at Target before the holiday. I keep it out on my counter as I use it several times a week.

[NashVegas]

4. I Have One But

Haven't used it in a long, long time.

I like my burgers juicy, thanks, and can't imagine squishing the life out of the poor dears.

[tjdee]

5. Love. Oh lordy, love.

I don't have it anymore (I had the first or second generation, and cleanup was terrible) but I loved it.

We put everything on that thing. As empressofall says, you can do grilled cheese to hot dogs to chicken... and it cooks pretty quickly too.

It was fun finding new stuff to put on it, used it all the time.

I've been wanting one of the newer ones but haven't gotten around to it yet.

[n2mark]

6. I have one

don't like it, the meat is too dry.

[molly]

12. Me too and I agree

mine is upstairs - somewhere.

[politicat]

7. Have one, hate it.

Nothing tastes right coming out of it.... strange to say. We've got a griddle pan for our stove that works far better without steaming the food.

If anyone would like ours, it's yours for the shipping costs.

Pcat

[cmf]

8. I have one and I use it every now and then

My grandparents gave me one of the first generation ones when I was in college, and I've had it nearly 10 years. It's kind of a witch to clean, but I heard that the newer ones have removable plates. The other beef I have is that it doesn't get hot enough to cook meat the way I like it. But it's good for making panini, veggie burgers and for cooking chicken breasts to put atop salads.

[bearfan454]

9. We have one.

It is a miniature one. You can fit 2 chicken breasts on it. It came free with a $29.00 microwave we bought so what to heck.

[lakemonster11]

10. I like mine okay.

I think I would use it a lot more often if I ever cooked meat. I think I'm going to try it with some veggie beer brats tomorrow and see how that works. It's great for sandwiches---I spray it with olive oil spray, then put together a sandwich with wheat bread, pesto, fresh mozzerella cheese (the thick, somewhat soft kind), onion, and basil, and grill it. It's amazingly good, especially with minestrone soup.

My brother and his roommates have a big one and they're always using it to grill chicken, steak, and hamburgers.

[Love Bug]

11. Yes, and yes!

I have one of the little ones and use it all the time. The non-stick coating is getting pretty wrecked, so I'm going to replace it soon for one with the removable plates. The clean up is the only thing that's a pain, so the new one should take care of that!

[Neecy]

13. nope

I asked for a panini maker this Christmas, though, and it makes fantastic Cuban sandwiches. It's a similar principle, except the slats on the grill are much more narrow. If you're hankering for another kitchen gee-gaw, it's a good one to have.

[Dora]

14. Would you like to have ours?

Friends of ours gave us a large GF grill that was a duplicate wedding gift they couldn't return or exchange.

I cooked some burgers on it. Eh, they were dry and tasteless (and I buy good meat). The house smelled bad. The grill dripped a lot of icky grease into the special grease collecting containers. It didn't clean as easily as I thought it should have.

I'm also biased because I have limited storage and counter space. I can see where some families might love these babies, but it won't be my family.

[imenja]

16. you overcooked them

They make very juicy burgers, but it cooks fast. You simply overcooked yours. If you get used to the timing, I'm sure you'll like it.

[Dora]

17. If I had more room for it, I'd probably give it another chance

But I'm a kitchen luddite in my own weird way, and I don't want it taking up space in my cabinets or on my counter... there's enough crap in my kitchen already.

Do you want the grill? I'll extend the offer to you too.

[imenja]

20. sure!

Mine is getting old. I'd be happy to pay for postage. How do we work it?

[The empressof all]

19. They make great burgers!

It is easy to over cook burgers on the GF. The only thing I have found that it doesn't do as well on is steak. It doesn't get hot enough to get a good crust on the meat and leave it rare enough inside for me. I stick to the broiler most of the time for steaks. Everything else on the George. It's great for chicken breasts.

[imenja]

15. it's the best--tips for cleaning it

make sure you get a big enough one, bigger than you think you need.

Some people complain about cleaning them, but I have a great method. I clean it hot, fully heated up. I pour water over the grill several times, wipe it with a paper towel, and then pour some more water. It comes out clean as a whistle and it's super easy. You can't scrub it or you'll ruin the non-stick finish.

[stanwyck]

18. I gave up on the George Foremans and

bought the Hamilton Beech version. The Hamilton Beech had the first with removable grids for cleaning. The GFs used to be impossible to clean. Horrible. Now, they have removable grids. But I bought the larger version Hamilton Beech since I'd had bad luck with the GFs. I know people say they clean them when they're hot, but my kids and husband used the GF all the time...and never cleaned while hot. So I'd be stuck with a cold, very hard-to-clean grill.

[imenja]

21. Read post 15 on cleaning

Mine cleans up like a breeze. I've found the perfect method.