Cuisinart Griddler

Admittedly, after reading many of the reviews, i was quite hesitant. However, I used Amazon rewards earned from doing surveys, so I didn't feel like paying only $7 our-of-pocket for a $45.95 item would seem so bad if this thing failed. At the last minute, based on comments about the warranty, I did look at the ICHICH brand offered, but had never heard of, despite what sounded like a far better warranty. Anyway, I have had it a couple of weeks, and it has actually helped me to sort of like the kitchen and cooking. (Most of my friends/family know I HATE the kitchen and cooking.) I did tell a friend, who is a professional cook, and he agreed good name brand. He also agreed, despite non-stick cooking surface, to use cooking spray, which I have done--except for grilled cheese, bagels, or other sandwiches, bagels, etc to griddle for which I butter the bread that goes on the cooking plate vs cooking spray. As well, it had helped to have previewed the video and learn some of the item's "quirks" to be aware of upon arrival. E.G. Green light shows up to temperature, but temp will drop when food placed, but does come back up to temp., sometimes more quickly than other times, seeming to depend on how thick the food is and if in closed cooking position. (My electric range for baking does about the same thing for a few seconds when I open the door and place food to bake.) The very first thing I cooked were hamburgers. I set to the 'well done' as per instructions for temp which is what my hubby likes. I figured I would just take mine off a little early as I like medium to medium-rare, but I got distracted. They came out perfect for his well done! I did goof with my first experience with chicken breasts which made me pay more attention to the settings! LOL! I thought I had turned the dial to high, but the chicken was taking forever; then I realized, I had not pointed the lighted end of the dial to the high temp. DUH! Even with the error, I cooked huge chicken breasts on the grill in about 15 minutes! Juicy and very good! First thin salmon filet cooked in about 10 min; next time thicker filets took about 15 min! Turkey bacon on the griddle-- watch closely. Hubby likes his really crispy. I should have taken mine off when it looked like still droopy, but the crispy was okay. Further, we always cook the entire package and freeze the leftovers to micro later for other meals/sandwiches, etc. Definitely would want to take off earlier than crispy for those not being eaten immediately! Grilled cheese and grilled ham with cheese have been PERFECT based on settings and time--on the griddle-opened. Tuna melts in hamburger rolls with cheese slice on panini using the grill plates, as I wanted the little toasted marks gave another PERFECT result. For once in my life, something actually came out looking like a photo in a magazine! Marinated pork chops were to "die" for as per grill and time given in instructions, with cover closed! In the summer, my hubby travels a lot, and I tend to not cook for just myself, mostly because the cast-iron skillet (which I LOVE), is too heavy for me to carry across our huge kitchen to get to the sink and difficult for me to scrup with serious RA. I will definitely love having this little griddler. Am using 2 to 4 times a week with cooking spray except for grilled sandwiches, such as grilled cheese for which I butter its bread. (Have not tried eggs yet, mostly because hubby cooks when we have eggs, and he won't use the griddler--doesn't like to try new gadgets! LOL) His loss. . . . BTW: Heat distribution: I used in open position for the bacon on both panels and found both sides to cook at the same timing. Would need to try something else to verify heat distribution, so my 5-star heat distribution may be biased. Temp control: knowing it loses heat when food placed and then comes back up to temp to green, does not deter my rating in this arena. I LOVE THIS GRIDDLER! ADDENDUM: I still love this gadget. I attempted to answer a question from someone who had asked if BBQ sauce could be used. As I was answering, I got a red flag, saying the link had expired--DRAT! Anyway, here is my response to if one can use BBQ sauce with this appliance: Yes! I've had excellent results using the grill plates and using teriyaki sauce or BBQ sauce. What I have done, just trying it all out is as follows: 1. The first time I just brushed teriyaki sauce onto my burger on its top, slid spatula under, and when I got to the grill, I flipped the sauced side down. This leaves the top of the burger available to brush sauce on it. (The beauty of this grill: put the cover down and you don't have to keep flipping the burgers which can cause them to dry out. Not having to flip, has given really juicy, flavorful burgers. 2. The 2nd time, I had bought a London broil and marinated it in a bowl in the refrigerator for a day and overnight. (during the day, I flipped in the bowl periodically, to make sure teriyaki was getting into both sides of the steak). I got my "pinky perfect--i.e. medium rare on grill/sear for 4 to 5 minutes. 3. BARBECUE SAUCE--with steak. I put some sauce in the bottom of a bowl, placed steak in the bowl; then coated the top. I let it sit overnight in a covered bowl. Again, used grill/sear for 4-5 minutes and got pinky perfect--i.e. medium rare. NOTE: Before I bought this grill, a friend of mine who is a professional chef agreed with me to USE COOKING SPRAY ON THE GRILL/GRIDDLE even though non-stick surface. The only time I have not used cooking spray was when I made grilled cheese, for which I melt and brush melted butter on the sandwiches before grilling. I brush melted butter on the top of the sandwich, pick up with spatula and flip to put the buttered side down on the grill first, which puts the unbuttered side up. Brush melted butter on the top, close the cover and VOILA! As much as I despise the kitchen and cooking, this little gadget has been my GODSEND! I have RA and as much as I love a cast-iron skillet, when my husband is gone, I struggle getting the skillet to the sink to wash and hard for me to scrub. Now, I don't hesitate to cook a hot meal for myself when he is gone. EASY PEEZY clean up with no scrubbing, just a dish rag, and everything cooks perfectly. BTW: I LOVE my salmon on this grill. As with the steak, I have marinated in teriyaki sauce overnight; and I have also marinated in maple syrup---Spraying cooking oil has been another 'key" to the easy cleanup after the sticky sauces! YUMMY! YUMMY! Hope this helps, and I hope you enjoy your Cuisinart grill/griddler as much as I do! Blessings! JJ

I purchased this Cuisinart Griddler because my husband and I just weren’t happy with our George Foreman Grill George Foreman GRP1060B 4 Serving Removable Plate Grill, Black . It didn't have temperature adjustment, the drip tray would melt every time hot grease would drip in it (or after being put in the top rack of dishwasher), and it just wasn't big enough really. When I came across this one on Amazon with such stellar reviews, I thought this would be the one for us. So I ordered it along with the waffle attachment Cuisinart GR-WAFP Griddler Waffle Plates . I have used it at least ten times since I received it. So far I have cooked eggs, bacon, pork chops, toast, a Philly steak sandwich, and waffles (with the waffle plates I purchased separately). Everything has turned out great except the first time I cooked eggs on it because I didn't use cooking spray on it beforehand. So keep in mind that you will need to lightly spray the plates with cooking spray or use butter before placing your items on it that may stick. I love that I have the option of using either the griddle or the grill plates. When you use the Griddle setting you get to select a temperature between 200 up to 425 degrees. If you use the Grill/Panini setting you select your temperature as either warm, low, medium, high, and sear. There are also marks in between those settings so you are able to get a setting of medium-high for example. The plates (including the waffle plates) are dishwasher safe but after owning the George Foreman for years I am choosing to hand wash my plates on this Cuisinart. When I would put the George Foreman plates in the dishwasher it would never seem to get them very clean. I guess it is just too difficult to cut through all that grease and stuck on food that was burned on. It is super easy to clean the plates on this Cuisinart though. The non-stick plates make it where I can just wipe the mess right up with little to no effort. Very nice. I like that the drip tray on this grill is attached underneath the unit. That was a big frustration for me with the other grill. To constantly have to place it under the grill in just the right spot, then find something to do with it until it cooled down. I have furbabies so I didn't want to leave it out because they look at it as "oh look, a meal!" Since this drip tray is attached I can pull it out and clean it when I please and then place it right back into the slot. Easy peasy. I love that I can fold this unit flat and make bacon, eggs, and toast all at the same time. It is wonderful. It is so nice not to have to dirty up a bunch of pots and pans and tun on my range all the time. Overall I really am proud of this Griddler. It has been a welcome replacement to our old grill and is definitely one of my best Amazon purchases. If you find my review useful please let me know and if you have any questions or comments, feel free to post them below and I will answer them as quickly as possible. Thank you for checking out my review. :)

I've had this griddler for 3.5 years now. We use it about 2-3 times a week, and I just replaced the griddle plates so I figured it was past time for a review. Bread-type stuff is where it shines. Does AMAZING things to burritos and leftover pizza -- I think I actually prefer the leftover pizza now, with the crunch that the griddler gives. We also use it for warming tortillas, toasting bagels, making paninis, spring onion pancakes (taiwanese snack, I get the frozen grocery store packs), paratha, frozen breakfast sandwiches, the occasional sausage or hot dog, the list goes on and on. The plates are so easy to clean -- I normally do a quick wipe with a wet paper towel, only washing if we did something like sausage. I don't miss the toaster. While it is slightly bigger, the griddler is so much more versatile and does a better job. I also used to have a breville panini press at one point -- the only feature I miss on it vs the griddler is the ability to set the height of the lid, for different food thicknesses. It's minor though...now I just use kitchen utensils to prop it up if needed. I'd definitely buy this again!

LOVE THIS!!! We have always enjoyed cooking and have always used the finest kitchen and cooking equipment. We never thought we would have an appliance like this, but the prospect of having a panini maker intrigued us for years. We bought this, we used it every night for a week, and we fell in love with it. Well made, easy to use, and very easy to clean. It's a must have!

So far so good, gave 4 star as unsure of non stick coating . Says it not Teflon or any sister chemical to Teflon, supposed to be ceramic but I know it’s not or a very poor quality of ceramic and install, we use quite regularly so will know for sure in a few weeks

Let me first clarify that I CANNOT SAY ENOUGH ABOUT HOW MUCH I LOVE THIS GRILL!!!! It's small, simple to use, and makes FABULOUS food! I've grilled steak (in about 5 minutes, and it's medium well!) and I can now make my beloved wraps and paninis! Just roll 'em up, lay 'em on, and the magical little grill seals them together! Also perfect for home made breakfast muffins, but better than any you buy because they're GRILLED! Clean up is a breeze! Let it cool and it literally wipes off. The little container that catches the grease is easy to remove, clean, and put back. This also has a 2-sided griddle, but I've yet to make pancakes! SOON! It takes up so little counter space, and it's just amazing! I bought this one because I trust Cuisinart products and I honestly don't think I could have made a better choice. I'm attaching a picture of my ham and cheese wrap tonight...Trust me--if you want a small, perfect grill, THIS IS IT!!!!

Este modelo ya tiene sus años pero la actualización (modelo GR-5) es prácticamente igual en funciones pero tiene algunos malos comentarios así que no nos quisimos arriesgar y compramos esta. Estamos muy contentos con la compra y ya se ganó un lugar en el día a día de nuestra cocina. La parte de abajo es hierro colado esmaltado en gris y la de arriba es acero inoxidable. Los acabados son de muy buena calidad y el producto se se siente bien ensamblado y bastante resistente. Las perillas no se salen y aunque no tiene la precisión que podría ofrecer el modelo más nuevo, la temperatura se puede graduar sin problema. Las placas son de aluminio con un recubrimiento antiadherente que parece resistente pero que sí hay que cuidar. Se calientan desde atrás con dos resistencias y tienen un lado liso y uno con "rayitas" para marcar la comida y dejar que fluya la grasa. Las placas se remueven con mucha facilidad y se lavan como cualquier otra cosa con antiadherente. Se calienta relativamente rápido porque las placas son de aluminio. Recomiendo poner la temperatura un poco mas alto de lo que supongan porque el aluminio se enfría rápido cuando pones la comida y puede cambiar el resultado esperado. Si quieres sellar un corte, te recomiendo que la carne esté a temperatura ambiente y que calientes al máximo la parrilla (en la función grill) para que realmente funcione. Recuerda que las parrillas de aluminio pierden calor rápido a diferencia de las de acero y por lo tanto la fuente de calor debe ser mas intensa. Se puede usar abierta (dos partes viendo hacia arriba) o cerrada para cocer de los dos lados. En ambos casos, las placas escurren la grasa a un depósito que está abajo y que tiene capacidad como para 1 taza de líquido (250 ml) y que se saca por un lado para vaciar y lavar. Puedes cocinar sin aceite pero poner un poco ayuda a que la comida se cocine con mejor aspecto (como en cualquier sartén de teflon). Los sándwiches "prensados" con rayitas salen calentitos y crujientes en 3 o 4 minutos (una vez que la parrilla está caliente). Con las placas en el lado liso puedes hacer quesadillas y fundir el queso más rápido si la cierras. En general puedes sustituir el uso de una sartén con un poco más de espacio porque es un rectángulo y sin tener que dar tantas vueltas a la comida porque se cocina de arriba y de abajo. Hay parrillas con las mismas funciones en el mercado pero la calidad de este producto hace que valga la pena el precio. Yo no compraría una mucho más cara ni aunque prometa sustituir al asador de exterior, estas parrillas son buenas para cocinar lo del diario pero no hay nada como el asador de carbón o de gas de exterior. Ahora estamos pensando en comprar el juego de placas para hacer waffles y tener dos aparatos en uno.

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Es muy fácil de usar, deja el pan doradito, tostado de maravilla llevamos un mes de uso, las hamburguesas las deja super bien, hay que calcular el tiempo por que si no se sobre cosen pero eso es error de uno lonjas de tocino igual las cocina super bien doradito parejo en general es un exelente producto, llego super bien en su empaque, yo escogí la opción de ir a una DHL a recogerlo, todo bien de un día para otro, aclaro que la adquirí en una oferta y el precio se me hizo super bajo para el electrodoméstico que es de verdad funciona super bien, fácil de usar y fácil de limpiar.