I have never tried one but I see them in thrift stores all the time. I don't need any more appliances to store and then hardly ever use so I have never bought one.

 

Ours sits unused. Gifted by my Mother-in-law I should have suspected it would not cook worth a darn. It is the original style and the cooking surface is attached to the heating elements. A real pain to clean as it can't be submerged. It cooks ok but clean up not so much.
I think newer ones grill parts come off for cleaning

 

We use one a lot. I like the way most things cook on it. I like skillet cooked food too, but I like a little variety.

My wife makes bacon to perfection with ours. She gets it not crispy, just at the edge, were it's still a little chewy... mmm.

She does grilled chicken on it pretty darn good too.

For burgers...I don't dislike it or prefer it. Her burgers are great no matter how she does them, including if she has me cook them over charcoal. I don't dislike dry burgers though.

 

Sounds a lot like the Showtime Rotisserie ("set it and forget it") that Ron Popeil used to hawk on his infomercials back in the day. It cooks well enough but is a BEAR to clean afterwards.

 

Wow, don’t get me started on the Showtime. Got one about 20 years ago because I wanted to make rotisserie chicken at home. It didn’t make good chicken no matter what I tried. Read a lot of reviews and it seemed the only thing it was good at was rib roasts. I was not about to experiment with a $$$ roast, so eventually sold it.
Hard to clean, took up tons of counter space,
got too hot on outside, but worst of all just didn’t cook anything well.
Hats off to Ron Popeil the world’s greatest pitchman for selling millions of those things, but what a disappointment.

 

I switched over to an air fryer, works good for burgers.

 

Ditto!
Did a whole chicken in my large air fryer! Came out great! Five pound chicken took one hour, it's the temp you have to watch, air fryer is automatically set at 400°, recipe called for 360°, I did 380° and chicken came out completely cooked, tender and juicy. I used a light oil coating on chicken with a dusting of spices on skin, crispy skin which I don't eat!
As for the George Forman, I gave it away. To messy to clean.
my two cents.

 

We have one. We’ve used it several times a week for years now. Works great for the two of us. The Wifey had cooking times down near perfectly. Perfect gill marks on burgers, chicken, pork, venison and fish. Easy to clean if its not left on after cooking and cleaned before turning on again. It lives outside on a little table next to the patio door, keeps the mess and odor outside. Can’t believe we haven’t cooked bacon with it yet.

Everyone has their own experiences, love that!

 

We traded up from the George Forman to the Cuisinart Griddler. Removable grill plates, they’re reversible with a flat side and grill grate side. Makes outstanding Cuban sandwiches. The top rotates all the way over for double the cooking area—great for making pancakes. Newer models come with waffle plates.

 

We traded up from the George Forman to the Cuisinart Griddler. Removable grill plates, they’re reversible with a flat side and grill grate side. Makes outstanding Cuban sandwiches. The top rotates all the way over for double the cooking area—great for making pancakes. Newer models come with waffle plates.

Hmmm… now that’s an idea- I bet the Foreman grill would make good grilled sandwiches and would not be hard to clean up. I think I will try it.
View attachment 948268

 

I had a Foreman grill for a long time, it definitely takes getting used to and works better for some things than others. Of everything I cooked on it, it was most useful for cooking fish. Not having to turn the fillets helps prevent the fish from falling apart.

When cooking burgers, watch the blood/fat drippings. The moment the liquid goes from red to clear, the burger is done.

 

I prefer charcoal and hickory

 

It's hard to argue against that!

 

I blame it all on infomercials...

 

Along with consumer gullibility.

 

I still want to make a boat out of duct tape

 

Years ago they got me with the JetStream oven also, I couldn't resist the lure of "cyclonic" cooking.

 

Isn’t that just an early attempt at an air fryer, you know, before they perfected advertisement?

 

How many remember the Amana Radar Range? We call ‘um microwave ovens now.

 

Hes a fighter not a griller for sure.

 

I still want the "Bass-O Matic"

 

Mounds and Mounds of Julienne fries!

 

"Sounds a lot like the Showtime Rotisserie ("set it and forget it") that Ron Popeil used to hawk on his infomercials back in the day. It cooks well enough but is a BEAR to clean afterwards."
Got both of them gadgets, only use the foreman grill for quick burger so far....but the set it and forget it rotisserie gets used 3-5 times a years, great little piece and does a hell of a nice job cooking turkeys up to 12 lbs., can do burger, chicken etc. got to be at least 19-20 years old by now, bought it for the Mrs. after we moved here some 21.5 yrs ago. Clean on both can be a pain.

 

In a two year period about a decade ago, I received several George Foreman grills as gifts. Tried the the first one once and regifted the rest. Actually, I gave away the first one that I tried to a co-worker. I don't think any of those grills ever got used. It looked great on TV, but not the same as real grilling. Clean up sucked too.

I am also not a fan of air fryers for meat. Although, my air fryer does biscuits, hash brown patties, and anything potatoes quite well.

 

I still have one with removeable plates. Have a set of ridge plates and a flat one, the Foreman itself is round. Use it occasionally but prefer to grill chicken and burgers. Had a Showtime too. I thought mine made great chicken and with the cage, fish was OK too. How I hated cleaning that thing and eventually gave it away to a second hand shop that supports the local food kitchen.

 

I still have an old sandwich maker from the 80's

 

Another big seller was the bread maker machine. I like to go to garage sales and thrift stores. I have seen no less than 1k bread makers at garage sales. Also many George Foreman grills and set it and forget it's.

 

Salad Spinner

 

Those are relegated to slinging your wet tumbled brass dry after several good rinses.

 

 

Good to go!

 

Tonite I hauled out a George Foreman Grill I inherited from my parents and decided to try it out on a couple of hamburgers. The result? Kind of a mixed bag.

Pro:

1. Heats up pretty fast. If you plug it in it will be ready by the time you get your patties and buns out.
2. Kitchen stays clean. No grease splattering or smoking.
3. Cooks fast. Two 3rd lb. burgers took 9 minutes.
4. Fat runs off, so burgers are not soaking in grease.

Cons:

1. Burgers ended up with a crust and dry. Healthier yes, but not as tasty as in a skillet.
2. Posted cooking times were wrong. Online I found recommendations that said 6-7 minutes per side. Mine overcooked- well done- in 9 minutes total.
3. Cleanup is harder than if cooked in a skillet. The non-stick surfaces have grooves in them and it’s hard to get in them to scrape out the mess, even with the supplies plastic scraper. Grease runs out while cooking and drains into a little plastic bowl that comes with the grill. An alternative is a paper plate with paper towel on it and just pitch it.
4. Not much cooking area, but large footprint on counter and in cabinet. Good for cooking for two, but would need a really large one for four people.

Verdict: works pretty well for what it is. But I wouldn’t buy one for myself. I also remember cooking boneless chicken breasts with it in the past and it was hard to get them to brown.

For me at least it offers no advantages over cooking with a skillet. Also, I’m not very impressed by the results with burgers or chicken breasts. Maybe sometime I’ll try chops or steaks. For someone trying to avoid fat, it does accomplish that. But you lose a lot of flavor.

To be fair, I haven’t given it much of a chance. If anyone has good tips or recipes, please share them.

Easy clean up, just wipe it down with wet paper towesl while it's still hot, right .soon after you turn it off. every thing wipes right off.

 

if you want to be famous, as I am , get you a charbroil big easy for cooking chicken.