by Walter Grace

Created on: January 14, 2009   Last Updated: September 20, 2011

The commercials are all over the airwaves about the George Foreman grills. Though I am not normally inclined to buy something based on advertising alone, when the smaller version went on sale, my wife and I elected to get one. The model we have and have had for nearly eight years still gets used at least three or four times a month. We grill chicken, steaks and the occasional hamburger with it. These take about ten to fifteen minutes on average and the majority of the fat drains into the little dish that's supplied (and sometimes gets separated from) the grill.

However, this is not grilling in the sense that we've come to appreciate it. It it really cooking on a hot metal surface and not over an open flame. In a sense, this is actually frying, the only difference between conventional frying and on this grill is that the fat gets to drain into the dish. The other issue is that food tends to be a little drier, and unless the meat is seasoned really heavily, the results will be on the bland side. This is because, like it or not, the fat imparts most of the flavor of the meat cooked. A charcoal grill replaces some of the flavor lost with some of its own as it's over an open fire, while the George Foreman variety only has an electric heating element on the bottom side to apply searing heat.

Cleaning is only marginally easier than with a conventional grill, a proposition made a little more difficult in that you cannot immerse the George Foreman one in water (at least the one we have). The cooking surfaces are not detachable from the rest of the appliance either. However, the surfaces are non-stick and the cleaning tool (or a damp rag) and a little patience, gets this cleaned in an acceptable manner. The other cleaning issue is with the oblong tray meant to catch the grease and juice from "grilling." This requires the person cooking to dump this out at least once during the cooking process, or there will be a mess on the counter. This is made all the more tricky in that there was only one of these trays included with our grill. Even if you had two, there would still be a little mess to clean up switching them around.

The bun warmer on some models such as ours is too small for anything larger than a half a bun (such as a hamburger bun), and is difficult to unlatch and latch. As a result, we don't use this feature. Even with its faults, this is still a better indoor grill than anything else on the market. It has a smaller footprint than competitors' offerings, a real plus when counter space is at a premium and the design is very durable. Competitors' models were very fragile in comparison.

We like its convenience and the fact that we can marinate something and cook it quickly despite the mess. A plate would also work a lot better than the tray supplied. While the product is flawed, it's still the best on the market that we've seen and makes a good substitute when inclement weather makes outdoor grilling more of a chore.

Learn more about this author, Walter Grace.
Click here to send this author comments or questions.