George Foreman grill. Should it stay or should it go?

[scoots]

I have inherited many, many kitchen gadgets, most of which I really have no use for so I intend on selling most of them. One item that's giving me problems is the George Foreman Grill that were so popular a few years ago.

 

I haven't used it, but would like to see if there's a consensus if this is worth keeping? Does it cook well, easy to clean etc.

 

The non-vintage electric rice cooker, vegetable steamer, citrus juicer, pressure cookers (yes, plural), deep fryer, pannini machine, tart maker, etc.,  are all being shown the door since I specifically have either stove top or vintage equipment that I prefer.

 

Thanks.

 

[iowabear]

Some people love them, I did not.  I had one with permanent racks and one that had removable racks that could go in the dishwasher.  Both of them still required external cleaning and the cracks and crevices in them were hard to clean.  Despite the drip trays grease still seemed to find its way on to the countertop.

 

A simple dishwasher safe frying pan is the simplest route for me.

 

 

 

[rp2813]

I'm with Jim.  I used a Foreman grill once and was disgusted with the unappetizing gray results it rendered.  Never again. 

 

Clean-up is not so easy as claimed either.  Toss it.  There are reasons these things are still littering thrift store shelves from coast to coast.

 

[tolivac]

I used to have a George Foreman cooker,too-Problem was the juices that has the meats flavor and nutrients drained out into the fat tray! So you ended up with a tasteless piece of shoe leather-and HATED cleaning the thing.A pan or regular grill is MUCH better-You could use the George Foreman machine to make grilled cheese sandwiches-worked good for that.

 

[launderess]

Teflon coated cooking surfaces - Strike one

Not enough heat to properly sear a steak - Strike two

Pain to clean cooking surfaces to make sanitary - Strike three

It's out!

There is a reason besides bread machines the next most often seen kitchen gadget at thrift stores are George Foreman grills.

Do not eat red meat often, but when urge strikes always go with a nice prime cut. Am not going to spend dear for good steak only to ruin it attempting to cook it on a toy.

 

[askolover]

I had one, gave it away because I couldn't stick it in the dishwasher.  Bought a different one with removable plates that was much easier to clean.

 

[tomturbomatic]

If all of those juices are running out of it, it must not sear the meat properly.

 

[de409]

They are great for cooking scrapple to perfection.

 

[combo52]

Get Rid Of It For All Of The Above Mentioned Reasons

I use the broiler in my electric Self-Cleaning-Oven,Or my built-in Jenn-Air electric Grill or even a good skillet on the range top.

John

 

[maytagbear]

Put on

your heaviest boots, and stomp the hell out of it, and laugh at the gullibility of the people who fell for thse things.

Lawrence/Maytagbear

 

[wayupnorth]

I have the Black and Decker equivalent and when I move, it definitely will be donated, really a piece of crap.

 

[petek]

we had the Hamilton Beach version years ago.. I think it's gone now,, never got used much so I agree,, sell or donate it.

 

[scoots]

I guess it's unanimous...

Thanks for the frank input. I'll escort the "Lean, Mean Grilling Machine" to the dumpster since it seems like just another piece of incompetent kitchen clutter.

 

I just checked what they're selling for on Facebook Marketplace. $5 to $17.  Mostly hovering around the 9 dollar range. Honestly not worth the trouble of opening the door and taking the money.

 

[combo52]

Counter Top Grill

Hi Bill, Don't throw it in the trash, it is partly aluminum and has a copper cord, it should be recycled.

 

It can be mixed in with other general recycling such as major appliances.

 

John

 

[launderess]

Only foods that should be squashed whilst cooking

Are things like bacon, grilled cheese sandwiches, those sort of things.

You do not weigh down hamburgers, steaks and other meats while cooking; it simply pushes juices out.

 

[yogitunes]

never understood why people bought these....or a panini press

a Waffle iron will do just about the same thing...just improvise....kids love a grilled cheese, that looks like a waffle....

how many times in college did you make a grilled cheese with your iron?

steam iron = steam veggies

why do you think an iron had the same shape as a slice of pizza?

 

[superocd]

My wife and I were given one for a housewarming gift

It's the thought that counts, but I knew by prior visual inspection from one of my aisle-browsing expeditions that this was not something I'd want because it looked so darned hard to clean. My wife didn't want it either. Needless to say, somebody who wasn't as picky as us got a real nice score as I dropped it off at a Goodwill, new-in-box, and never opened.

One of the biggest criteria of whether I buy a kitchen gadget or not is whether it is easy to clean or not. I've put things back where I find them on the shelf when shopping because i'd find that there were hard-to-reach recesses, unnecessary crevices, etc. My wife does the same thing.

I take an electric skillet or Fry Daddy outside for any frying (which we rarely do) or if I do any odorous cooking (like bulgogi, a Korean dish which does smell good but not exactly what I want my house to smell like). Mother Nature whisks away the smell, steam and spatters. I have a 600 CFM range hood, but with my OCD, I don't want to "put it through its paces". I actually installed it so my wife was able to prepare Thanksgiving turkey without the aroma (I don't like turkey), as I was concerned that our Whirlpool OTR micro (with who knows what CFM rating it was) was not capable of whisking away the smell. The funny thing was that I installed the WP OTR micro a year and a half before taking it down, so I wasted $300 on it when I should have just bought the 600 CFM range hood from the beginning. Oh well, somebody shopping at the ReStore it was donated to got probably one of the cleanest used OTRs for cheap.

 

[tolivac]

On the Classic Refuse Trucks website one disgruntled truck operator found a Foreman cooker in a trash can he was emptying into his truck.He saved the Foreman cooker and put it right under the packer blade!!The grill EXPLODED into its basic parts!The truck guy did that instead of the stomp boots.The truck compactor can exert up to 20 tons of pressure!!!He also did that with a really DEAD,NASTY Amana microwave oven!He salvaged the magnetron using the packer as a press to break away the other parts!Don't know if the magnetron really survived.

 

[fan-of-fans]

My grandmother had one of those, she liked to make pressed cuban sandwiches with it. I don't know if she still has it.

Now, I had a Rival electric grille. Ceramic crock with a metal drip pan, element and grate. I only used it once for grilling hot dogs. It seemed like it would be a pain to clean. There was a round area in the bottom of the reflector pan where the juices would drain.