We received this George Foreman Next Grilleration Lean Mean Fat Reducing Grilling Machine almost a year ago as a Christmas gift. At the time, we thought it was something we would never want to use, so we put it in the attic the next day.
Usually when we want to grill food, we either use our outdoor grill, or our Lodge Cast Iron Grill Pan
http://www.epinions.com/content_189750742660 . However, recently I have been busier than usual, and for a lot of recipes that require cooked chicken that you chop up and add to a bunch of other ingredients, I just started microwaving the chicken breasts for the sake of saving time. It occurred to me one day that maybe the George Foreman grill might be just as fast as the microwave since it grills on both sides at the same time. I also remembered reading that the grill plates were dishwasher safe. So this inspired me to get it out of the attic and start using it a couple of weeks ago.
The grill is small enough to fit easily on a shelf for storage and on the counter for use, but it is large enough for 4 burgers or chicken breasts. It has non-stick grill plates which can be removed and washed in the dishwasher (I love this feature!!!!!). To use it you simply plug it in and push the power button, which starts a 5 minute warm up timer. You can adjust the temperature from 300-425 degrees in 25 degree increments. Once it has warmed up it beeps, and you just put your food on, close it, and then set the timer on it from 1-20 minutes. It beeps when it is done, and it also has a safety shut off after an hour.
It also comes with 2 trays which you just place under it to catch the fat drippings and 2 plastic spatula type things to remove the food. The lid is adjustable to where the hinge area is larger than the hinge pin so that when you put something thick on the grill, it will still close over it evenly. It is hard to explain but it is a nice feature because it cooks thick or thin foods easily.
It comes with an instruction manual that has a handy chart of various types of foods and their suggested cooking temperatures and times. It also came with an over 200 page recipe book! There are recipes for marinades and rubs, fish, poultry, pork, meat, veggies, desserts, you name it. I was surprised at all the kinds of food you can grill on it.
So far I have used it for chicken breasts 3 times and each time they only took 6-7 minutes to cook. They turned out juicy and wonderful, I was very impressed. I thought that because the top cover was sort of heavy it would squish them too much and they would be dry, but this wasn't the case at all. I also tried some frozen burgers on it yesterday, and I put them on still frozen and it only took 15 minutes before they were ready to eat. The drip pan really was full of fat so it definitely does what it says and reduces the fat in your food, but the burgers still tasted juicy and moist. I also have not had any problems with food sticking to the plates, I just wipe them with a paper towel and stick them in the dishwasher.
The only complaint I have about this grilling machine is the smell. When I first used it I expected that weird sort of electric smell that you get when you turn on a brand new crock pot or curling iron or whatever. It was pretty strong though, but I don't think it affected the flavor of the food. But I have used it 4 times now and even the last time I used it there was still that weird electrical odor, although I don't think it was as strong. So I am hoping that it will eventually just fade away.
All in all I am very pleased with this machine and I'm glad I finally pulled it down from the attic. It is faster than the microwave when I want to cook something in a hurry, but with better tasting (and looking) results. We still plan to use our outdoor grill when it is convenient, but when I need pre-cooked meat of some type for a recipe, this grilling machine is my first choice. I also plan to try some of the recipes in the book, like some of the grilled veggies since they are sometimes difficult to grill outdoors.
UPDATE:
I just wanted to add that after a couple more uses the smell I had mentioned above, went away completely. I don't notice any smell when I use it now.
