krus54's Full Review: George Foreman GRP99 Sandwich Maker
My only previous experience with George Foreman grills was the small GF "Champ" which was the smallest GF grill. I got it for $1.00 by joining Netmarket.com (and then canceled before the 90 day trial was up to keep the grill).
I wanted to try the small grill before going on to something bigger. We loved that little grill. It lived up to its name: A real CHAMP! After about a year and a half the non-stick surface lost its non-stick qualities and although the only thing I ever used was a wet paper towel to clean it, and no metal utensils, it still became a pain because the grates would no longer clean easily.
How THRILLED I was when I saw the next Grilleration: Removable grill plates to make it much easier to clean in the sink or which could be placed in the dishwasher! I read some reviews on Amazon.com and there were a variety of ratings. Some people loved the grill and some said it just never got hot enough to really give a grilled taste. But I decided to order it.
Well, we are EXTREMELY disappointed with this grill. The people that complained about this on Amazon.com were right. The grill doesn't get nearly as hot as the smaller Champ, so foods appear to get a cooked/broiled taste rather than the grilled taste I had gotten accustomed to on the older model. This is very disappointing and why I will rate this below average since the purpose of this unit is to be a way to GRILL indoors with less fat.
I have noticed that one side (I think it was the bottom) gets much hotter than the other so on some foods you will notice one side is browned while the other is not. I called Salton, Inc. about this. They said I could send the unit back under warranty, but they believe that is the way it cooks and nothing can be done about it. I saw the same comments in some of the Amazon.com reviews as well, so I suspect that's just the way this is made.
One of the things that is different about this grill from the other models is that this grill has a temperature control and timer. I tried grilling at the highest temperature (425 degrees) and it does a better job, but I still have to turn the food to get it browned properly.
How easily does this clean?
Hey! I'm glad you asked! This is another thing I'm disappointed with! Again, some reviews I've read on this grill state how easily this grill cleans. Well, I guess they didn't have the Champ model to compare to because the food just cleaned off so easily that it was a breeze (before the non-stick coating starting wearing off). These removable grates come clean very well in the dishwasher, but they are so much more difficult to clean than the older model if you clean by hand with a wet sponge or cloth.
What's in the box
This grill comes with 2 removable grates, TWO drip trays to catch the grease/juices, 2 plastic spatulas, instructions and a cookbook.
Want detailed instructions on how to use this?
Then buy the grill and read them! I will not waste your time giving you all the detailed instructions. But, briefly the instructions tell you to preheat the grill. Set the cooking temperature for the food you are going to cook (there's a suggested Cooking Chart in the instructions), and the unit will let you know with 'beep' when it's heated to the proper temperature. There's also a timer to set which beeps after the timer goes back to zero to let you know when your food is done.
The recipe book has some pretty decent recipes and I have used a few which fit in very well with the South Beach Diet (they may need a tad of modification, for example, using Splenda or other sweetener rather than sugar).
You can use this grill to cook frozen foods by cooking than the suggested cooking times, and also use it to cook kebabs (with wooden skewers), grilled cheese sandwiches, and hash browns. You can also use this to grill bell peppers for skinning.
Final Thoughts
I don't use this grill nearly as much as I had hoped because it doesn't brown well, and if I don't want to stick the grates in the dishwasher, I find it a pain to clean. It also has a large 'footprint' so it takes a lot of counter space. It's heavy to drag out all the time.
One other comment. Several reviewers on Amazon.com noted that their grills were delivered and the top was cracked. They were not happy. But I figured that Amazon.com is shipping out SO many of these that occasionally one is damaged. Well, I found out WHY the units were getting damaged. Mine was too when it arrived. Amazon.com ships the unit in the original packaging and it's not enough to protect the unit. They were excellent about replacing it, though, and the next unit was packed correctly in a second box with plenty of packing material to protect it.
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