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Great Indoor Grill
After doing a lot of research, I settled on purchasing this indoor grill for use in my apartment. I've used it thus far to make chicken, burgers, and pork chops. Here's my rundown:
Pros
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- Gets HOT--the manual says the temperature range goes up to 410°F, but my infrared thermometer shows my grill surface reaching 550°F and above. This is good, of course, since it gets closer to imitating the high temperatures a real grill.
- Grill surface is really nonsticky--nothing I've cooked so far has been able to stick to it. Of course, you can't use any metal utensils/spatulas/tongs on it (it will scratch the nonstick coating) so make sure you have nonstick-safe cooking tools before grilling.
- Grill surface is heavy and dense--this means it's going to hold its heat better which is important when grilling.
Cons
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- No lid--to me, this is one of the main reasons I knocked it down a star. No included lid means your only method of heat transfer into the food is going to be conduction, which is fine for thin foods, but for thick foods the outside is going to burn before you can cook the inside fully. On a real grill, you can put the lid on so that it acts as an oven in addition to a grill. Since there's no included lid, you'll have to stick to thinner foods (or I suppose you could sear the outside on the grill and finish the thick meat in an oven, but that kind of defeats the point of having a grill).
- Tedious to clean--despite the nonstick cooking surface being extremely nonsticky, it's still a pain to clean because of all the small slats and the burnt fat that can buildup in between the slats. The manufacturer should have included a shaped cleanup tool like the George Foreman grills have, but I find using one of those handheld dishwands (with the scrubber that's safe for nonstick pans) is the easiest tool to cleanup the grill.
- Still not "smokeless"--despite what the manufacturer or anyone says, this grill is definitely not smokeless. This isn't so much a fault of this grill in particular, but rather a consequence of extremely high heats plus oil/fat. It's just going to happen. The drip tray does help some, but if you have a rub or a lot of seasoning on your meat, that's also going to add to the smoke as some of the spices blacken. It's still not too bad though, and nothing an open window and a box fan can't alleviate.
Overall
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This grill is an acceptable substitution for a real grill for those who are unable or unwilling to own a real grill. No, you're not going to get that charcoal taste (but you can get a smoked taste by marinating/brining your meat with a liquid smoke product), but your meat is still going to get nice grill marks and taste pretty good. I do recommend this grill!
Extra tip: If you're like me and prone to under/overcook your meat, take a tip from Alton Brown and brine your poultry/pork! I brined my boneless/skinless chicken breasts and after grilling them on this grill, they were so unbelievably juice and tender I had to double check their temperature to make sure they were fully cooked. The texture and juiciness can't be beaten, even if you overcook!
[Sunday, January 04, 2009]
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Very pleased
The grill came a few days ago. We first tried it with a very expensive Porterhouse steak, and it was beautiful. We like our meat rare and it was easy to monitor.
This morning we tried frozen waffles (I know, but I'm lazy) and bacon. Both were better than those cooked in my toaster oven and old skillet.
We were afraid it might set off a smoke alarm which is mounted on a 14 ft ceiling and a real pain to get it to stop. I have a gas range with a fan mounted in the hood. The grill sits solidly across the burners and the fan vents any smoke up the hood and outside. Of course I can't cook side dishes until I'm through grilling, but isn't that what microwaves are for?
We haven't had it very long, but I'm so pleased I might try a vegetable.
[Saturday, December 27, 2008]
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A very good indoor grill.
It is a very good indoor grill to have and it is easy to clean.
Always grill on medium heat if you go higher, you will get a smoky room
and the smell from whatever you're cooking will stay around for a couple
of days.
[Monday, December 01, 2008]
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