Don't like it - wouldn't put my name on it
17 of 17 Ciao Users found the following review helpful
()
Advantages Does get rid of the fat
Disadvantages Dries food up if left too long
I have never considered buying a George Foreman In Grilling Colours Lean Mean Fat Redcing Grilling Machine (what a mouthful). I like a bit of fat in my food, besides I am on the Atkins diet and fat is not a banned item. Still, this Christmas one of my friends bought me a small one, the GR20BW, in mauve. It also comes in green. It has a thermostate but only one heat setting. There is no timer nor an on/off switch, so you have to be in attendance at all times (bit dangerous!)
The instructions in the accompanying pamphlet are quite amusing, such as "8. Plug the GRILLING MACHINE into the power socket (switch the socket on, if necessary)." "17. Put the food on the bottom cooking plate". It would be difficult to put it on the top one, it would fall off!!You cannot detach the two grilling surfaces, so it is not easy to clean and can be a bit messy on your working surface.
Immediately under the lid is a place to warm up buns and rolls, it would be just as easy to put them in the overn.I decided to give it a go so made a place available on my work top and decided to use it to take the fat out of some beef mince ready for a shepherds pie, (sorry that's lamb, I mean cottage pie). The instruction booklet has a list of items which can be cooked on this machine, with recommended timings and notes of the thickness of the items. Minced beef was not listed so I used the same timing recommended for Lamb mince.
There are two small drip trays included, which you put under the front of the machine to catch the fat. Beware, you cannot leave it for a minute as it quickly fills up. I just caught it in time, spilling it of course as I tried to pour it in a basin. Luckily I didn't get any on my hands (the instruction leaflet DID tell me to wear gloves). You have to be very quick doing this change over, you can't stop the machine oozing out fat, so there is a great danger of spilling the it all over your work surface.The machine did as it said and took out all the fat from the beef, but also the natural juices, so it was very dry and was actually crispy on the top and bottom. There is a lesson here to be learned, keep opening the lid to see what is happening. It didn't really matter in this instance as I was cooking it later in a gravy.
I have used it since for pork chops, but they too turned out very dry. I think this machine will turn out to be one of those "one minute wonders".To sum up I think the fact that the machine has no timer or on/off switch is dangerous, it take out the natural juices from the food and it could be messy to clean.
I would not recommend buying this model, but the ones with more controls would be a lot safer.Detailed Rating
| Performance | |
|---|---|
| Ease of use | |
| Durability | |
| User's Manual | |
| Cleaning & Maintenance | |
| Safety | |
| Value for money |
more
Author's newest reviews
|
22/05/2007
|
|---|
|
25/03/2007
|
|---|
Attention, this is the first review from this author
Instead of giving a negative rating, consider:
Help this member by giving your advice
Report fraud (for example plagiarism) or other issue with the review to the Ciao support team
Add your comment
Page 1 of 4
| 1 - 5 out of 18 comments
HotBabes 20/03/2005 22:19
Good review, I have always liked the idea of one of these but wondered how long it took for the drip tray to fill, now I know! :-)
Delicate_Orchid 14/03/2005 18:37
funkydee13 03/02/2005 12:59
Good review, I know what you mean about it drying out the meat. I use mine for bacon, burgers and tuna steaks which don't seem too dry.
skeet263 22/01/2005 23:43
We have the same one, and I am always scared that the lid will close on my hands when I put the food in. My hand touched the hot plates once, and boy did it burn me.
Page 1 of 4
| 1 - 5 out of 18 comments
ive wanted to try but not got the room or a socket spare in my kitchen!