Cuisinart Panini Press, Stainless Steel Griddler, Sandwich Maker & More, 5-IN-1, GR-4NP1

What Hazel & The Baxters would probably say about this. What to expect from a knowledgeable cook and simple apt-dwelling single woman……… but where is Hazel?!?!!!! You’re gonna need HER!But please read, there are immense PRO’s to this item, but it was the major CON that turned me off sadly :((( First off: XLNT Sear & Taste!!!! But: *Cooks Faster than most are accustomed to, *Be prepared for immense grease cleanup, HAZEL would even complain! *Plus a few other things that need be mentioned…..The Pertinents to my needs:My oven died, it’s Christmas week, no “woe is me” preferred — so I (was forced) to do my research and picked this above all other products out there (also necessary was the NEC xmas eve-day delivery).Steak was marinating and a-waitin for xmas day dinner (just me…. invitations rescinded obviously)…. A few issues to deal w/amazon with, and a free amazon return to come hopefully. Those issues: 1) poss not all heating elements working (did a test run on scallions) and 2) cosmetic blemishes/almost scratches underneath the big friggin sticker on top. I know how to use these puppies indoors, but I’ve a few gripes beyond the above-mentioned 2 items…. see below.The Outcome:The steak truly&exceptionally seared like nothing I have ever encountered indoors…twas wonderful!I also placed this directly on top of my gas stove with a tempered glass cutting board and foil oven liner on top of it.I did have to put the meat directly on the center of it due to abv poss issue (and not towards the outsides; this also limited my additional items cooking on the grill-base).I seared twice (at beginning of grilling, and midway thru), added more scallions to the grill trying to keep them more centered —- and I was impressed! Not to mention ….ALL was extremely tasty!I also did not scrape off my bbq sauce/etc marinade before cooking (instructions say to do so)….. that’s how creative chefs are made! Besides, I like my meats the way I like them …..and it still did fine!However —-if not for the following issues, I would have requested a replacement because all was soooo utterly fab tasting:1) My Filet Mignon (more reg-steak-sized than fist-sized) approx 1.5″ tall looked more like a McD’s ‘patty’ after searing top&bottom at the same time. BBQ-sauce glazing worked out fine, as did the final clean up of the unit.2) This thing is lovely looking, but it’s footprint is quite B-I-G. An apt-sized kitchen prob won’t have anywhere to store it (save your box+pkg), and the dust where I live will be too much to just leave it out on the kitchen counter. I prefer a nice clean kitchen counter without many appliances left out. However, I was willing to accept this left out, but the greasy mess caused by cooking (mentioned above) IS more than I am willing to tackle after every meal/every useage.3) Also, get used to cooking TWICE as FAST as you are normally used to. While a benefit for electric useage and time waiting to eat…… you’d best have everything ready to ‘sit down and eat’ before you even start cooking. I’d be willing to go there except for all the issues above. All in all, cooking @ twice(x2) the normal amt of time IS something to get used to for most of us probably.4) I did do as another reviewer mentioned, something I’ve normally done for these 4-sided open cooking units normally…. I placed alum foil all around the sides and front (for the knobs) in order to catch any small excess grease that may have popped out. Sadly, I wish I had also included the rear in order to protect my stove (which it sat on). All was for expected grease clean-up…. and yes, I am thankful that I did. Yes, perhaps my left-on bbq sauce made the entire moment messier — but I like my meat flavorful and I am not into tossing on some room-temp bbq sauce after the meat has cooked. Beyond that, I was truly disappointed that my $26 filet shrunk so much (they don’t when I normally broil or bbq them) into some tiny patty-like thing. But was happy enough to eat it as my xmas meal cuz it was so darn’ed good….much better than sitting in the cold outside and attempting to do a bbq moment.5) This is what made me decide against a replacement:Even though a very big footprint, and while it yields quite the tasty food (willing to accept still) —- it was because of the grease splatter that found it’s way UP to the microwave. My micro is at least 3 feet above the stove, and yet it had grease-splatter all over the front of it. This leads me to wonder just how much grease is splattered everywhere else on the side counter-tops and the floor. Yes, it is an open-sided (all 4 sides) unit —but I never ever imagined that by just lifting the top up possibly 4-8 times that I would end up with the mess that I had!So yes —– it was a long morning of cleaning up that mess, at least the grease that I could see.All in all, I’d recommend this in a minute to anyone who has a maid (and poss no conscience)… or who doesn’t mind spending quite a bit of time in clean-up mode the morning after. The unit is amazing for what’s out there, seared extremely well (I did 2 sears (at beginning and midway)), and flavored my meal with a grill/blackened taste that just rocked my world! That searing did, yes it did – set my meat with nice hard, flavorful black sear marks that I could taste! It was all wonderful…. until the cleanup the morning after :(If you do buy and use, I recommend the following:1) Use the grill scraper while it’s still warm to clean off the burnt stuff…. makes tomorrow’s cleaning much easier. Don’t remove anything, just make sure that you use the scraper (w-all of the plates in place) to get that stuff off (let the top stuff fall onto the bottom plate) before it hardens. Washing the 2 plates this morning was a breeze by doing that last night after eating.2) In the morning, get out your paper towels and 405! Be ready to inspect all counters, under cabinets, floor, etc and clean up properly so as to avoid gooey greasy build-ups and poss bugs. Not to mention, that you’ll appreciate your lil bbq clean thru the years to come.Wish I could’ve kept this (sans the replacement I would need) cuz it truly does a most wonderful job of searing/grilling indoors (other than turning your boneless piece of meat into a small patty). But that final clean-up this morning has led me down the path of 2 alternative options of indoor, cold weather grilling. Both much cheaper than this, but I am one who has decided that if I’m doing this kind of cooking on the countertop (I normally do my bbq’ing in the broiler when it’s cold outside) —- then I need a unit that has a closed top to it. This panini-style with 4 sides open allowing grease to splatter everywhere just ain’t gonna make me happy ever! Additionally, a unit with a close’d top will offer me a more familiar grilling time when it comes to cooking, readiness, etc. They may not offer any top-searing abilities, but at least the grill portion is fully encapsulated with a cover of some type.The two that I am now looking at have both been decently rated in 2017 indoor grilling reviews. Anything to keep me from feeling like my own maid, esp if I want to use something during these colder months should my oven ever die again.Hopefully even Hazel might approve of one of them…..In finalizing, while I REALLY want to love this item —if it weren’t for this morning’s cleanup— I just can’t. For me at least, I just can’t do the cleanup that will be required after using. I will be more than happy if I can find something a bit less messy in the long run as long as it fulfills my needs of grilling indoors tastily. But for those of you who might have your own Hazel —go for it! It’s exceptionally fab in regards to searing, cooking, and taste. Given only 3 stars due to the cleanup…. wanted to give 4 for fairness, but just can’t.In today’s world, that kind of final exterior greasy outcome is completely unacceptable because we are all waaay too busy!!If just a tiny small panini-style unit used basically for sandwiches & left on the counter-top that req’s negligent cleanup, that’s one thing —- but this thing truly is a beast… at both a) larger than you will probably expect, and b) grease output & cleanup :(Really, I wanted to absolutely love it…. it was so ‘sweet’ (although a tad bit large). But that cleanup this morning, esp upon looking up and finding grease spatter 3 FEET UP on my microwave door….. I just can’t love it any longer, but boyhowdee –I sure did want to…

LEARNING TO LOVE THE KITCHEN and COOKING WITH THIS “AWESOME” GADGET. 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

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.

Se puede usar como grillo panini. Cerrado o abierto. Tiene luces que muestran cuando está caliente a la temperatura que se puso y las parrillas se puedes quitar para lavar

He tenido varías parrillas / planchas de este estilo, pero sin lugar a dudas esta es la mejor de todas y más completa