Don't know how I lived without it!
Written: Jul 31 '01
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Product Rating:
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Pros: Enormous capacity! Great for large families.
Cons: Cooking times need to be adjusted.
The Bottom Line: I would really recommend the George Foreman Rotisserie to anyone who wants to cook their food healthier and in my opinion, more flavorful.
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| ellyd's Full Review: GEORGE FOREMAN Big George Rotisserie GR80S |
I was fortunate enough to be able to do a side by side comparison of the Big George Rotisserie and the Ronco Showtime Rotisserie. At first I had my heart set on getting the Ronco. I'd seen the commercial for the Showtime and was convinced it would be the only one for me. I must admit that I'd never seen a commercial for the Big George Rotisserie.
What first impressed me about the Big George was the size. This machine is enormous!! And it's heavy! You can tell it's very well made just from looking at it. If you should decide on buying this rotisserie, make sure you have plenty of room. The door rolls up out of the way and you have a lot of room inside. That makes it very easy for cleaning and inserting and removing food. The Showtime looked cramped inside and I'm surprised that it could really cook at 15 lb. turkey. The Showtime also felt flimsy compared to the Big George.
I really like the convenience of being able to set different temperatures in the rotisserie and also that I can choose which heating elements I want to use. There is one heating element on the top and three on the bottom. The default when you turn the machine on is the 2 bottom heating elements. One slight drawback is that the digital display is rather small making it slightly difficult to set the temperature. The temperature display is a series of "dots" and you have to look closely to see them.
The first thing I made in the rotisserie was a chicken. I'd read reviews on the Big George and noted that everyone complained about the timing it takes to cook the food. I tried it "by the book" and found that the chicken was slightly underdone. The next time I cooked a chicken, I set the temperature and timed it like my regular oven and it came out perfectly! I also set it to use all 4 heating elements. Because you can choose your own temperature and the number of heating elements, I find it just as easy to time my food in the rotisserie as I do in a regular conventional oven. Don't buy this rotisserie thinking it will speed up your cooking. Think of it as a "better" oven.
This machine also comes with a baking tray, so you can use this as a regular oven also. It's not a lightweight tray at all. There is a rack that comes with it and you can bake a pie or cake in it. I've not experienced baking anything without the spit, so I really can't comment on how it bakes. But I would guess it would be just as good as any toaster oven. The rack can be turned over and you can place skewers on the rack to make kabobs.
There are two baskets that are included also. One is a large drum that states you can "air fry" french fries. I've not used that basket. I've used the smaller basket for chicken thighs and pork chops. It does an excellent job for smaller cuts of meat that won't fit on the spit.
I found this machine very easy to clean. There's not much splatter from the food, and because of the large size, it's easy to get a sponge inside and wipe it down. They recommend putting aluminum foil on the drip tray and adding water to it prior to cooking. This is a very good idea. I had no real smoke coming from the dripping fat (of course you get a little when the fat drips on the heating elements, but that's to be expected, and it's not a lot of smoke. It disappears instantly.) and I haven't had to scrub the drip tray at all.
All in all, I find this to be one of the best appliances in my kitchen. I use it a lot more often then I expected and my family even asks me to make more meals in it.
Recommended:
Yes
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Epinions.com ID:
ellyd
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Reviews written: 1
Trusted by: 0 members
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