Anyone got a George Foreman grill?

[learntojive]

I'm thinking of buying one but have read quite a few reviews that the newer style with removable plates doesn't get as hot.
Has anyone found this, and is the original style difficult to clean?
Thanks

[KARL]

We have a small one that we use when in our motorhome and find it very good - effective in cooking and easy to clean.

[wolf63]

I can't cook - well not without welding food onto a pot or setting fire to something.

The Foreman grill is idiot proof and will even cook, safely, frozen chicken breasts.

If I can use one anybdy can.

[ethandron]

recently gave ours to the charity shop. it didn't have removeable plates and it's not difficult to clean but i really dislike the way it cooks food. makes meat come out like cardboard, tough and kind of grey not browned. and all the so-called fat which drains off is actually the juices and what you need to keep the meat tender and tasty. it's an expensive piece of kit just for cooking sausages or burgers on - and in my opinion, doesn't do a good job with them either.
my advice to you is don't waste your money.

[slinky.kate]

as soon as you have used it just clean it with kitcken roll while it is still warm,i could'nt do without mine ,i use it 2 or 3 times a week,i cook chops,steak ,sausages,bacon and toasties,loads of uses?

[KARL]

I get the impression that with their GF grill some people achieve things we never have because our food from it has been very good - including steaks. Allow it to warm properly first and it works like any other griddle/grill - don't over-cook either. The paper towel trick is correctly described.

[ethandron]

perhaps it also depends on how you like your food cooked :)
i never found it got hot enough, even when thoroughly pre-heated, to cook a piece of meat like a steak or a chop properly. i found it steamed all the moisture out and left it grey, dry and overcooked without browning it at all - not the way to cook meat.
each to their own.

[funnygirl]

It does make the meat/fish dry and I always have to make a sauce or gravy.

Cooks the food well though, just that I cannot eat dry food.

[learntojive]

Thanks everyone for the tips, has anyone got the one with the removable plates as I really wanted to know about the temperature issue, wonder if thats why some of you are not getting good results? If not I'll go with the regular one if it's not too bad to clean

[Quizmonster]

A better bet by far is to buy a simple cast-iron griddle...the sort that fits across the two front hobs on your oven. Granted, it doesn't cook from both sides simultaneously, but turning your food is hardly a major inconvenience, is it? When cooking is over, just lob it into some hot water in the sink, where it will be easy to clean when you're READY rather than having to do that just when you want to eat! They cost about £15.00 and there is absolutely nothing that can go 'wrong' with them. (I have owned a George Foreman, but the cleaning-hassle just isn't worth it.)

[pastafreak]

My Foreman is sitting in the back of the cupboard...has been for over a year. I had the same issues with it as ethandron.
If you want opinions / reviews of products, take a look at this site....it gives user reviews of everything from appliances to holidays.

http://www.ciao.co.uk/

[bushbaby_de]

I really don't understand the problems some people have described... my food, including steak, always comes out wonderful. Things won't get as brown and crispy because that's what the fat does... and the whole point of it is to get rid of the fat. The main things to remember are to oil the plates lightly before use, and not to prick food as this lets out the juices, which you need to keep if you are losing the fat.

[annie0000]

I have an older style one - this is my third over the last 7 years - I find that eventually they don't get as hot as they did. I know this for a fact as I time toasties when i cook them - when new, 2 and a half minutes has them perfect - now I am at 3 and half minutes and not so crispy as before - time for a new one! I don't do a lot of meat on mine - mainly because we don't eat a lot of meat, but I do use it when we do and I also use it to grill veggies, tomatoes, peppers etc and also for fish fingers for the kids and it is great for doing giant prawns and tuna steaks. I find the bottom plate easy to clean - top plate not quite so.

[Old_Geezer]

I have one somewhere. Not a removable plate one though. It seemed to work well when I tried it, but like most of these items, who can be bothered with something taking up valuable kitchen work surface when one has a perfectly good cooker waiting to be used. Never owned a kitchen that large that I could afford the space for such things. I can see how those without a cooker might find it useful though.

[dinkydoo]

I have one with removable plates, easy, cook then stick them in the dishwasher, couldnt be easier.