George Foreman GRP99 Grill - Quick, Tasty, and Sometimes Healthy Meals!

My husband wanted a George Forman grill for quite some time, so I purchased him one for his birthday. I wanted to get him one of the larger ones, because he already had the small, $20 George Foreman grill at work.

After doing some research, I decided on the George Forman GRP99 Next Generation Grill. I purchased this item at Bed Bath & Beyond. I believe it was priced at $99, and I used a 20% off coupon and saved myself $20! You can also purchase this at Linen’s N Things, and both stores accept competitor’s coupons.

The grill has a silver metallic finish, and measures 7 x17 x14". This makes for a total of a 96” cooking surface. There are removable grill plates, which have a non-stick coating. The grill came with 2 drip trays and a small spatula, as well as a George Foreman recipe book.


Thoughts & Experiences

I wasn’t completely sold on having a big George Forman grill, but it was a great gift and my husband was excited to use it. The grill is very simple to set up and use. It is basically ready to go, out of the box. You plug it in, turn it on, and select a temperature. It has a LED readout, which makes it easy to operate the grill even without reading the instructions (as in my case).

This grill has three buttons for operation – power, temperature, and timer. These are incredibly easy to use and figure out. The grill will beep when it is preheated. It heats up quickly, so it usually beats me - I am generally preparing the food while it is preheating, and I’m usually not ready by the time it is preheated.

The grill plates are nice and large, and have a lip at the end, to prevent food from sliding off, since the grill is tilted. There is a 1-inch floating hinge, which allows you to put in thicker foods. This is perfect for when we cook things like sandwiches, and also allows for more even cooking. The size and hinge allow us to fit quite a bit of food on the grill. When we make things like sandwiches, it is nice to be able to cook both at the same time.

It is great to have the grill plates cooking the food from both sides. We don’t have to think about flipping the food periodically. The food gets cooked more evenly, and the consistency comes out nicely.

Cleanup is very simple, especially with the grill plates being removable. We let the grill cool down, which is not a problem, since we are eating what we cooked, while the grill is cooling down. The plates come off easily and it is a breeze to wash them anyway, since they are non-stick. The coating of the grill is supposed to be utensil safe, and is dishwashable. Although this is the case, I generally don’t wash any non-stick items in the dishwasher, because I would rather wash by hand.

We especially like to cook sandwiches on this grill. I will often buy small loaves of French bread (single serving size), spread butter on the bread, and pile tomatoes and smoked gouda cheese on it. Or, fresh mozzarella, basil, and tomatoes. I am a vegetarian, but my husband often makes Philly cheese steak sandwiches.

We have also grilled vegetables on the George Forman GRP99. It is very easy to slice up some zucchini, summer squash, and other veggies, and just throw them on the grill. And aside from meat, it is convenient for cooking “fake meats”, because I can be sure that the surface of the grill is clean (unlike outdoor grills).

Of course, my husband uses this for grilling meats, which I cannot personally attest to how they taste. However, he doesn’t cook a lot of meat at home, and using the George Foreman Grill is one of the simplest ways for him to cook up something quickly. It is also such a quick and easy cleanup.

The sloping surface of the grill is great for allowing food to drip. You can just watch the fats and oils drip away from the food – it’s great! This really helps when you’re trying to eat healthier and lose weight. The reason why my title of this review says "sometimes healthy" is because, although it is easy to make healthier meals, there are lots of temptations to make lots of sandwiches oozing with cheese and other high-calorie foods!

Not only has it been great to drain fat, but it comes in handy for other foods, like grilling watery vegetables. Things like zucchini can be too watery, and the grill gets rid of some of the excess.

The cookbook that comes with the grill is decent, although I don’t think we have looked through it more than once or twice. For once, it isn’t one of those cheapy “books” that consists of only a few pages. It is a real book, and has a substantial amount of info and recipes. There isn’t anything I found particularly exciting, but it is a good way of at least getting some ideas.


Overall

The George Forman GRP99 Next Generation Grill turned out to be very useful in our household. We both enjoy using the grill on a regular basis, and for a variety of foods. I often find myself making things I might not otherwise cook, because of the convenience of the grill. Operation and cleanup are a cinch, and I don’t have any complaints about this product.

5 stars!