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 invitations rescinded obviously)….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

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

The best easy to clean non smoking grill. We love this grill. We had a George Forman grill. We gave it away. We love this grill because it has plates that have two sides. It has 2 temperature controls, so you can control the heat for each plate. Do NOT put the plates in the dishwasher as the cleaning material eats at the coating on the plates. We easily clean the grill with two connecting sheets of paper towels in a layer of 4 of these together which we make wet and wring out the extra water. After we are done cooking and while the plates are still fairly hot, we clean the plates with these, which does an excellent job. This makes cleaning a breeze. You can use both flat plates or both grill plates at the same time or use one of each at the same time. The grill has never smoked for us. When you make hotdogs, you can smell the grill smell of grilled hot dogs. You can make all kinds of things, such as grilled cheese, eggs, pancakes, grilled sandwiches, burgers and all kinds of paninis. You can make many things as we also ordered the cookbook with it at the same time. The grill is made so you can adjust the height for the thickness of the food you are cooking. It is amazing what this can do! We highly recommend it. You have to use it fairly close to an outlet just like anything else because the laws demand how long the cord can be. The grill is worth every single penny. Always of course use utensils that will not scratch the plates. It says you can put the plates of the grill in the dishwasher but understand that dishwasher detergents pods or powders etc. will damage the plates. You can wash them by hand. We always just use the wet paper towels, and the plates are the same as brand new. Since it has dual temperature controls, you can put each plate on the same temperature or on different temperatures. You will not be disappointed with this awesome grill. We love it. We checked a ton of reviews of different grills sold and chose this one even though it cost a little bit more than some, but we chose it because we feel you get what you pay for. This grill is definitely worth the money. Don’t waste your money on cheaper grills that don’t have the dual controls, dual sided plates and all the things you can do with this grill and the fact it does NOT smoke! Also, it is so easy to clean. The food tastes like grilled food. We love it and highly recommend it to everyone. If people say the coating comes off the plates, then they put it in the dishwasher. It states you can do this, but understand if you do, the chemicals in the dishwasher cleaning ingredients eat at the coating and therefore it will definitely take pieces of the coating off which defeats the purpose of having a coating to keep food from sticking. Personally, they should say they are NOT dishwasher proof. The plates are so easy to clean, it is not an issue whatsoever. I clean the outside of the grill with a product called “Krud Kutter” which takes all the grease and brown discolor from the outside of the grill off of it and makes it look like brand new. I use the Krud Kutter and paper towel to clean the outside which is such an easy way to clean the outside. Using 4 layers of two paper towels connected with water on them and squeezed out to get most of the water out and roll them up into a nice roll, I use them to clean the inside of the grill while it is still hot. It makes it easy to fit in between the grill side and also keeps me from burning my hands and fingers. It makes it so easy to clean. I do NOT put the griddle pieces in the dishwasher as the detergent whether it is powder, liquid, or packets will slowly eat away at the coating on the plates. It is so easy to clean the grill the way I do. I love it as it is so easy to clean it this way. We love also that this grill does not smoke whatsoever. The hotdogs we grill tastes like grilled hot dogs and the kitchen even smells like grilled hot dogs. We love this grill for all kinds of things such as for eggs, bacon, pancakes, grilled cheese, grilled ham and cheese, hamburgers, hotdogs, salmon patties, fish patties, and we also purchased the cookbook for it which has so many amazing recipes for it! The possibilities are endless! We love it and highly recommend this grill. I also love that you can regulate the temperature on each grill separately. This would make an awesome gift as well. We use it all the time, so it stays out as we use it at least 5 times or more a week. It does not heat up our kitchen either which is a big plus! You won’t be disappointed!

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

This Grill is Absolutely fantastic Cooked my Rib eye steak it came out delicious with nice grill marks on both sides easy to clean highly recommend this product

So far so good. Is used for pancakes and paninis. Works great. Easy to clean. Replacing a large and heavy unit. Will likely use in our camper.This is a short term review. Only had it for a couple of months.