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Bryanna, indoor grill question (Hamilton Beach)

Debbie 952 posts Dec 12, 2005 10:12 AM	Hi Bryanna, Does your Hamilton Beach Indoor Grill has a flat surface grill plate too? I mean a flat surface to cook pancakes on it. Or both of them have the BBQ grids on the plates? Thanks, PS: I may get this as a gift for Christmas! ---------- Debbie Cooking is like love. It should be entered into with abandon or not at all. ~ Harriet Van Horne
Bryanna Owner/Moderator 1323 posts Dec 12, 2005 11:32 AM	It only has the ridged grill plates. I'm thinking of getting one of these Cuisinart griddlers sometime-- it has both types of plates and gets hotter; http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0001XASWQ/qid=1134415857/ref=br_lf_k_1/002-1617926-0523203?n=12955031&s=kitchen&v=glance ---------- "To look like a goddess, eat like a peasant." Karen Andres
Debbie 953 posts Dec 12, 2005 12:46 PM	Oh, ok. Hhhmm, I am thinking of buying the Breville grill now. It has the flat surface for pancake on 1 side and the ridged grill on the other side. It is also a panini griddle. The griddle can be tilted and can be open flat as indoor BBQ grill. We saw it in William Sonoma. But it is expensive $180US. Amazon has it with the same price but no picture on it. Here is the picture in different sites: http://ww1.williams-sonoma.com/cat/pip.cfm?skus=7117047&pkey=xsrd0m1%7C15%7C0%7C%7C%7C%7C%7C%7Cbreville&gids=sku7117047&cmsrc=sch http://www.shop.com/op/aprod-p26225519-k12-g-~breville+bbq+grill-nover I wonder which one is better Cuisinart or Breville? ---------- Debbie Cooking is like love. It should be entered into with abandon or not at all. ~ Harriet Van Horne
Debbie 954 posts Dec 12, 2005 1:00 PM	Bryanna, It seems that Cuisinart is better because the plates can be removed and clean. It also has rave reviews. Thanks, ---------- Debbie Cooking is like love. It should be entered into with abandon or not at all. ~ Harriet Van Horne
Brenda W. 30 posts Dec 13, 2005 5:24 AM	Cook's Illustrated, the only non vegetarian cooking magazine I get, recently updated their reviews of indoor grills. I love their magazine since it goes into the science of cooking, and I get alot of info that helps me veganize recipes successfully. I find their equipment reviews very accurate. Curiously their grill review did not include the Cuisinart .. they reviewed Krups, George Foreman, Villaware, Black and Decker, and Hamilton Beach. Here's their comments (note ... this is not a vegetarian magazine as you'll see with what they tested the grills with!) ...................... Thanks largely to George Foreman's Lean Mean Fat Reducing Grilling Machine (55 million Foreman grills have been sold since 1995), indoor electric grills have become common kitchen appliances. But the champ now has plenty of competition, so we brought seven models, all priced under $80, into the test kitchen for some culinary sparring. We grilled hamburgers, salmon, zucchini, grilled cheese sandwiches, and thick Cubano panini (roast pork, ham, and cheese on sub rolls). FAT RESERVOIRS ARE OVERRATED: Fat drainage is one of the popular selling points for many indoor grills, but in our tests the removable reservoirs on four models never filled with much, if any, fat. The moats surrounding the other three grills never overflowed, even after two batches of hamburgers. FIXED GRILL PLATES ARE BEST: Removable grill plates are easy to clean, but we noticed a tradeoff in performance. The grills with removable plates (the George Foreman Next Generation, both Hamilton Beach models, and the Black & Decker) had noticeable hot spots or a top plate that ran hotter than the bottom. The grills with fixed plates (Krups, George Foreman Hot Metals, and Villaware) produced even heat across their grilling surfaces. FASTER BUT NOT ALWAYS BETTER: With both a top and bottom heat source, an indoor grill will take roughly half the time of conventional stovetop cooking. However, aside from the speed, hamburgers and salmon didn't gain anything other than some attractive grill marks. With a few extra minutes, a skillet could have done just as well and offers more possibilities (like deglazing the pan to make a sauce). On the other hand, indoor grills made shatteringly crisp sandwiches and panini. THINK BIG: The size of the cooking surfaces ranged from 62 square inches on both Hamilton Beach grills to 110 square inches on the Krups. While the Krups grill could accommodate five burgers or two large panini, the smaller grills could handle just two burgers or one panini at a time. LOOK AT THE RIDGES: We used an infrared thermometer to measure the temperature of the cooking surfaces when fully preheated and found slight variations that didn't correlate with performance. A better gauge of performance was the width of the ridges (the portion of the cooking surface that actually touches the food) and the distance between those ridges. The Krups (with wide, closely spaced ridges) has nearly half its cooking surface in contact with the food. The narrow, widely spaced ridges on both Hamilton Beach grills meant that just a fraction of the cooking space was in contact with the food. This means less heat applied to the food, less browning, and sandwiches that are less crisp. SUMMING UP: In the end, our testing revealed one clear winner. The Krups is a must-have if you like grilled sandwiches, but for burgers and fish a heavy pan is just as good. Highly Recommended KRUPS Universal Grill and Panini Maker FDE312 $79.95 Comments: The largest grill and the only one to pass all our tests with flying colors. Burgers and salmon were deeply browned, zucchini was absolutely even, and sandwiches were golden and crisp. Spaciousness and performance makes the extra cleanup associated with the fixed grill plates worth the bother. Recommended GEORGE FOREMAN Hot Metals Family Size Grill GR26SBTMR $58.88 Comments: Second only to the Krups in size. Tops of burgers and salmon browned a little more than the bottoms. Top plate floated above thin pieces of zucchini, which colored only on the bottom. Cool-touch exterior is a plus. Recommended with Reservations VILLAWARE Uno Two-Way Grill 2030 $68.99 Comments: Reservoir cup takes away from the grilling surface area, so even two burgers were crowded. Salmon and sandwiches turned out fine. Good for a one- or two-person household. BLACK & DECKER Grill and Wafflebaker G48TD $49.88 Comments: Reversible plates transform this grill into an able waffle iron. The other side is a flat griddle (not grill), so forget about grill marks. Large items, if not relatively flat, kept the lightweight "lid" off kilter, resulting in lopsided sandwiches. Not Recommended GEORGE FOREMAN Next Generation with Removable Plates GRP4 $59.99 Comments: Removable plates make cleanup easy, but performance pales, literally, in comparison to the top-rated grills. Browning was faint in all of our tests, especially at the front half of the narrow, elongated grill. The grill's front-heavy "lid" made for asymmetric sandwiches. HAMILTON BEACH Grill/Griddle with Removable Grids 25295 $49.99 Comments: We had better luck with the griddle, or flat, grates, but that isn't saying much. Sandwiches ended up soggy and burgers and salmon looked more steamed than grilled. The second set of grill grids showed even more lackluster performance. HAMILTON BEACH Grill with Removable Grids 25285 $39.99 Comments: The tall, sharp ridges on the cooking surface cut into both grilled cheese sandwiches and sturdy hamburgers. Browning was pale, and the sandwiches weren't as crisp as they should have been.
Bryanna Owner/Moderator 1324 posts Dec 13, 2005 6:41 AM	Brenda, I used the Cuisinart at a cooking class I gave at a cookware shop-- they provided it. It was exceptional and the temperature was hotter than the Hamilton Beach when using it as an open grill for seitan kebabs-- they really sizzled! ---------- "To look like a goddess, eat like a peasant." Karen Andres
Debbie 955 posts Dec 13, 2005 7:28 AM	Brenda, I think Cuisinart is not included because the price is higher than $80. It cost $129 (including shipping). My husband bought the Cuisinart GR-4 for a Christmas gift for me from Amazon.com Yeepee! ---------- Debbie Cooking is like love. It should be entered into with abandon or not at all. ~ Harriet Van Horne
Bryanna Owner/Moderator 1325 posts Dec 13, 2005 9:02 AM	Lucky you! Let me know how you like it! ---------- "To look like a goddess, eat like a peasant." Karen Andres
Debbie 956 posts Dec 13, 2005 9:33 AM	Hi Bryanna, Mitchell has always bought me appliances (cooking appliances mostly) for my birthday or Christmas. He bought expensive and good quality appliances like my first Zojirushi rice cooker, Kitchen Aid stand mixer, Kitchen Aid food processor, Wusthoff knives, and this year Cuisinart grill. He always asked first which brand and style before he bought it. It is a win-win situation because he got great meals from them and I am happy using them. People might laught about this, but hey, that's what makes me happy. I don't need diamond rings or necklaces. I am just very happy to receive appliances. :-) Yes, I will let you know. I will try the Korean Potato pancakes on it. P.S.: The Spanish rice turned great with the brown rice. I re-cooked it in my rice cooker. ---------- Debbie Cooking is like love. It should be entered into with abandon or not at all. ~ Harriet Van Horne
Brenda W. 31 posts Dec 13, 2005 10:07 AM	Debbie, You sound like me ... the only jewelry I own is my wedding ring!! I'd rather have kitchen equipment anytime (or computer equipment!!) Bryanna, thanks for the "first hand info" on the Cuisinart. Good to know. I have one of the earlier George Foreman Grills, and seldom use it. It is too small, and does not get hot enough.

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