George Foreman Grill, just hype?

2

Replies

  • yousendme
    yousendme Posts: 1
    I got mine at the thrift store for 5 bucks. Its a trooper. I don't cook much on it...heh I actually got it for Paninis. I have cooked chicken thigh on it, I don't care for Chicken breast in general. My son cooks bacon on it. And its great for bacon, but for really grease free bacon, you must microwave it!
  • spookiefox
    spookiefox Posts: 215 Member
    A cast iron grill or skillet is a lot cheaper and easier to use and will never break on you! :flowerforyou:

    I'll give you the cheaper (though not "a lot") and will not break, but not the easier to use. No way.
  • WinwillLose
    WinwillLose Posts: 101
    Love mine for quick cooking, chicken breast or fish. My son used it a lot during football season, sometimes you need a double cheese burger before dinner or after a Friday night game. And I love to do grilled sandwiches on it. Just get the one with removable plates for easy clean up. But with anything, it only cooks low fat if you put low fat stuff on it.
  • WinwillLose
    WinwillLose Posts: 101
    I've had mine for 5 years, and my kiddo's never broke it. Whatever one you get, just be nice to the non stick surface and it will be nice to you.
  • kshaw5501
    kshaw5501 Posts: 390 Member
    We use ours most mights of the week, even for chicken. It cooks food so fast and can dry it out pretty quickly, so you have to keep an eye on what your cooking and/or set a timer. I cut check breasts super thin and cook for about 3 minutes per side and it's still pretty moist, but not undercooked. I spray it with Trader Joe's coconut oil spray first before placing on the grill for a little extra moisture. Beef burgers, turkey burgers, veggie burgers, veggies, chicken, seafood, grilled cheese sandwiches have all been cooked on mine and so far we love it. It's easy to clean, food does not stick (yet) and it's nice to see all the fat drip away instead of being ingested. Good luck!
  • kevinjb1
    kevinjb1 Posts: 233 Member
    I had one years ago. It will cook what you need and cook it fine. But Ifound it a PITA to clean and deal with, so personally I wouldn't get another one.

    I put some aluminum foil under and over whatever I'm cooking (making sure the grease will drain from the foil into the pan) so that I don't have to spend as much time clearning it up afterwards.

    Works like a charm.
  • JodieP13
    JodieP13 Posts: 94 Member
    I use mine for nearly everything. Bacon is a must on it as it's so much cleaner without all of that grease everywhere! If you use a meat thermometer on chicken it won't dry out. I just plug my thermometer into the side of a chicken breast and grill away. It beeps when it's at the proper temp and I pull them off and let them rest for 5 minutes.
  • Jennloella
    Jennloella Posts: 2,286 Member
    cooks everything pretty well, I hate cleaning it. I can't submerge it in water so I never really feel like I've gotten it clean.
  • andrewj87
    andrewj87 Posts: 74
    This is the ultimate grill, Brother!

    http://www.hulkhogangrill.org/

    Is that still a thing? lol. I'm gonna be hearing that guy's voice in my head everytime I pull that thing out.
  • stevepax
    stevepax Posts: 86 Member
    I have a cuisinart brand that also has reversible and removable plates, so you can wash them in the sink. And it unfolds flat and you reverse the plates for a flat griddle for stuff like pancakes, etc.

    Chicken breasts don't dry out because of the grill. they dry out because they are overcooked. We use a meat thermometer; the breasts don't dry out, and they are tasty.

    And great for paninis.

    I will say, I don't feel like it gets hot enough to cook a good sear on beef. If I'm cooking a good steak, it doesn't come out with a nice crust. If I'm cooking a single burger, it's great. But if I cover the whole plate with burgers for the whole family, it seems to cool down too much and struggles to recover, so the burgers don't get good grill marks, etc. So that stuff generally gets done in a skillet instead.

    So that's what I think.
  • CyberEd312
    CyberEd312 Posts: 3,536 Member
    I cook everything except chicken (too dry) on mine. It does a great job with burgers, bacon, turkey burgers ( I put shredded zucchini in mine so they won't be dry), steaks, and fish (gets done very quickly) . I've even done grilled cheese, and other sandwiches, I love my Foreman grill!

    I've been happier with the larger one I bought a few years ago because you can adjust the temps. The small one is really only good for burgers.

    I think the majority of my grilling would be between chicken breasts, steaks and burgers. Since you guys all seem to have had bad experiences with chicken I guess I'll have to find another way to deal with that. Guess it really is still good for veggies, bit more exciting than simply steaming them.

    Thank you all for the help, much appreciated.

    I am alittle late to the party here but wanted to throw my 2 cents in...... I have no idea what people here are talking about with it not being good to cook chicken?? I have the 5 interchangeable plate george foreman (this is my second one cause I used the first one so much I wore it out) I eat a boat load of boneless chicken breast (16-20 oz. at a meal) now during the spring and summer I prefer my Genesis Weber Gas grill but fall and winter I use the Foreman everyday.... Set to medium high and cook the chicken breast 8 minutes and pull them off, has a perfect internal temperature of 170 degree's and the juices just run out of the chicken when I cut it open.. I cook Beef, Shrimp, Fish among other things on it and they all come out great.... So my vote is most definitely invest in one, in my opinion you won't regret it.... Best of Luck.....
  • askeates
    askeates Posts: 1,490 Member
    I had one years ago. It will cook what you need and cook it fine. But Ifound it a PITA to clean and deal with, so personally I wouldn't get another one.

    I put some aluminum foil under and over whatever I'm cooking (making sure the grease will drain from the foil into the pan) so that I don't have to spend as much time clearning it up afterwards.

    Works like a charm.

    I am definitely going to give this a shot... that is really my only complaint! It is a total PITA to clean!
  • ChangingAmanda
    ChangingAmanda Posts: 486 Member
    I've used two types of indoor grills - an original George Foreman and a Cuisinart Griddler. Having used the two, the best features you can get on an indoor grill is removable & dishwasher safe plates, hinged top so that it'll lay flat on the food verses at an angle, and adjustable cooking temp. The George Foreman had none and always overcooked the outside and left the inside raw and was a pain to clean. The other bonus with removable plates is different cooking services - flat, grill, and waffle. Love my Cuisinart, hated the George Foreman.
  • dmpizza
    dmpizza Posts: 3,321 Member
    They work well if you don't want to, or can't grill outside and you don't feel like cooking on your oven..
    It is a reliable product.
  • kevinjb1
    kevinjb1 Posts: 233 Member
    I had one years ago. It will cook what you need and cook it fine. But Ifound it a PITA to clean and deal with, so personally I wouldn't get another one.

    I put some aluminum foil under and over whatever I'm cooking (making sure the grease will drain from the foil into the pan) so that I don't have to spend as much time clearning it up afterwards.

    Works like a charm.

    I am definitely going to give this a shot... that is really my only complaint! It is a total PITA to clean!


    Give the foil a very light spray with PAM to prevent the meat from sticking to the foil. I learned that one through trail and error. Even burgers will stick to it.
  • ElBence
    ElBence Posts: 291 Member
    When I can't grill outside, I use this one indoors: http://goo.gl/tkV8e3. The big advantage over the Foreman Grill is that all the pieces come apart very easily, and you can submerge the plate. I've cooked steak, burgers, Philly cheese steaks, chicken, vegetables, pineapple, and just about everything else you could want to grill on it. It's also nice to be able to flip it and make lemon ricotta pancakes on the flat side.
  • HardyGirl4Ever
    HardyGirl4Ever Posts: 1,017 Member
    I love mine! It grills me in a very short period of time. I used it on chicken for a recipe before I had a grill pan. I made that same recipe the other day, using the grill pan, and I had much better results with the grill.

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  • kjoy_
    kjoy_ Posts: 316 Member
    i use my george foreman every day for chicken, or to heat up sandwiches, make grilled cheese without butter etc. i think it was hyped about ten years ago...but they're still around so they have to be doing something right. i love mine personally. chicken has little to no grease, so it doesn't do much there, but the grease trap definitely fills when cooking beef
  • andrewj87
    andrewj87 Posts: 74
    I cook everything except chicken (too dry) on mine. It does a great job with burgers, bacon, turkey burgers ( I put shredded zucchini in mine so they won't be dry), steaks, and fish (gets done very quickly) . I've even done grilled cheese, and other sandwiches, I love my Foreman grill!

    I've been happier with the larger one I bought a few years ago because you can adjust the temps. The small one is really only good for burgers.

    I think the majority of my grilling would be between chicken breasts, steaks and burgers. Since you guys all seem to have had bad experiences with chicken I guess I'll have to find another way to deal with that. Guess it really is still good for veggies, bit more exciting than simply steaming them.

    Thank you all for the help, much appreciated.

    I am alittle late to the party here but wanted to throw my 2 cents in...... I have no idea what people here are talking about with it not being good to cook chicken?? I have the 5 interchangeable plate george foreman (this is my second one cause I used the first one so much I wore it out) I eat a boat load of boneless chicken breast (16-20 oz. at a meal) now during the spring and summer I prefer my Genesis Weber Gas grill but fall and winter I use the Foreman everyday.... Set to medium high and cook the chicken breast 8 minutes and pull them off, has a perfect internal temperature of 170 degree's and the juices just run out of the chicken when I cut it open.. I cook Beef, Shrimp, Fish among other things on it and they all come out great.... So my vote is most definitely invest in one, in my opinion you won't regret it.... Best of Luck.....

    Is this the model you've got?
    http://www.amazon.com/George-Foreman-GRP90WGR-Grilleration-Removable/dp/B000A7W4Z2

    I see a few people say clean up is a pain but the interchangeable grill features here would seem to take care of that. Also great because I don't have to get a griddle either, just swap things out, that's a space saver I'm going to guess this is what they call the "premium" model.
  • DEEDLYNN
    DEEDLYNN Posts: 235 Member
    I second the comment for the Cuisinart Griddler. I too, had both of them. The griddler has earned a spot on my limited counter space, because I use it everyday. LOVE LOVE LOVE IT!
  • shutyourpieholeandsquat
    shutyourpieholeandsquat Posts: 1,394 Member
    I have a cuisinart brand that also has reversible and removable plates, so you can wash them in the sink. And it unfolds flat and you reverse the plates for a flat griddle for stuff like pancakes, etc.

    Chicken breasts don't dry out because of the grill. they dry out because they are overcooked. We use a meat thermometer; the breasts don't dry out, and they are tasty.

    And great for paninis.

    I will say, I don't feel like it gets hot enough to cook a good sear on beef. If I'm cooking a good steak, it doesn't come out with a nice crust. If I'm cooking a single burger, it's great. But if I cover the whole plate with burgers for the whole family, it seems to cool down too much and struggles to recover, so the burgers don't get good grill marks, etc. So that stuff generally gets done in a skillet instead.

    So that's what I think.

    I was thinking about getting a cuisinart this week..... would you really suggest it?
  • TR0berts
    TR0berts Posts: 7,739 Member
    I have this one:

    http://www.amazon.com/George-Foreman-GRP99-Generation-Removable/dp/B0002KINSY/ref=sr_1_9?s=home-garden&ie=UTF8&qid=1380559125&sr=1-9&keywords=george+foreman+grill


    I cook just about every type of meat except bacon on it. I find that bacon just seems to take too long. As far as chicken goes, I just put it at 400F for 7-10 minutes, depending upon the thickness of the breast. It always comes out cooked properly and only comes out dry if I lose track of time and overcook it.
  • Quantumn
    Quantumn Posts: 6 Member
    Maybe this is obvious, but all of these grills have teflon coating, so if that's a health concern for you, you should stay away from these and go for stainless steel or cast iron.

    I personally would check out second-hand stores or garage sales or craigslist. People are constantly unloading these things for around $5.
  • llym6520
    llym6520 Posts: 1
    The problem I've found is that if I put any type of seasoning on the meat it makes it burn, especially chicken which from reading other replies you apparently don't want to cook on the George Foreman. Now, I'm anxious to try cooking veggies on it.
  • IPAkiller
    IPAkiller Posts: 711 Member
    I have owned several of these wonderful things, used the hell out of them and never had one break! "Why have I owned several?", because of constant moving and leaving behind as part of apartmental community property. While in the Navy I lived with 4 others and this thing spent more hours on than off, "Hey man, you using the Foreman? Leave it on for me.". We put the little guy to the test and it never failed us. I have heard two legitimate concerns; drying out food and difficulty of cleaning. To reduce the drying out (pork/chicken/turkey) just cook with the top open. If you aren't throwing in items straight from the freezer, marinating before also helps greatly. Cleaning can be a pain, but once you get a "routine" it's pretty easy. I suggest while the surface is still hot, use the plastic scraper (that came with it) to get the big stuff off, follow up with a wet paper towel on the surface and wipe down the outside with a Lysol Wipe.
  • 19bulldog60
    19bulldog60 Posts: 96 Member
    I really enjoy my Foreman grill. Greating for grilling sweet potatoe slices. Be SURE to get one with removable plates.
  • JenSD6
    JenSD6 Posts: 454 Member
    I have an older Hamilton Beach indoor grill and use it all the time. It's perfect for cooking for two people. I cook all sorts of different meats on it such as steaks, burgers, chicken, fish. Just have to set the timing right to keep it from drying out. I did chicken breasts on it just last night and they were very juicy. I also sometimes put my vegetables on it to cook at the same time, such as red peppers or asparagus. I love that I can close the lid and it just cooks away without having to turn or flip or do anything.

    And yes, definitely get a grill with the removable plates. Makes cleanup so much easier. The grill we had before it didn't have removable plates, and we quickly replaced it with our current one that does.
  • Pulka_Dot
    Pulka_Dot Posts: 87 Member
    Another vote for the Cuisinart Griddler! I love that I can cook damn near anything with it, including waffles. :)
  • just_Jennie1
    just_Jennie1 Posts: 1,233
    Disgusting to cook chicken breasts on it... so dang disgusting and dry
    Zucchini, asparagus, mushrooms, bacon, onions, burgers... all work fantastic

    I have never had an issue cooking chicken on my Forman grill. Since it cooks both sides you need to really keep an eye on it. I've done chicken on it dozens of times and it's come out the same way it does on a regular grill.

    I've used it for steak, pork, fish, grilled cheese. Just make sure you spray it down with some Pam before you put your food on it to cut down on the sticking. Also get the one with the removable grill plates. So much easier to clean!!

    ETA: We use ours in the winter time when it's too cold out to grill.
  • andrewj87
    andrewj87 Posts: 74
    Okay lot's of opinions so far. From what I've read these are the choices. Or go the cheap route and get a $5 cast-iron skillet off eBay. haha.

    Cuisinart GR-4N 5-in-1 Griddler
    http://tinyurl.com/2fs6xws

    Wolfgang Puck Indoor Reversible Electric Grill/Griddle
    http://tinyurl.com/ntgeosz

    George Foreman GRP90WGR Next Grilleration Electric with 5 Removable Plates
    http://tinyurl.com/3uv3994

    George Foreman GRP99 Next Generation Grill with Nonstick Removable Plates
    http://tinyurl.com/k9n6xvv

    Hamilton Beach 25451 Indoor Grill with 85-Inch Cooking Surface, Stainless Steel
    http://tinyurl.com/p86tx6e

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