Hitachi HGR1 > Reviews > Hitachi HGR1 Health Grill

Author's product rating:   

Performance	Excellent
Ease of use	Very easy
Durability	Long
Cleaning & Maintenance	Very easy
Value for money	Excellent

Advantages:	large enough for  family of four or five
Disadvantages:	it weighs a ton !

Recommend to potential buyers:

yes

Full review

I bought this from Dixons in the january sales for £29.99, I had originally gone in for a 'George Foreman' but they were out of stock so I decided to buy the Hitachi instead. I have never owned one of these before so wasn't sure what exactly I was going to do with it but the instructions were very clear and inspiring.
The grill itself has two non-stick plates inside with a chrome lid and black feet, it looks very stylish but wieghs a ton! (I weighed it on the bathroom scales and it came in at over 6kg's). It has a temperature control knob on the right hand side and allows you to adjust to low, med and high.
The instruction booklet has a list of various meats and vegetables with a suggested temperature and time for cooking so was very easy to follow. The first thing I cooked on it was a sirloin steak (instructions suggested 8-10 mins for well done and 2-3 for rare on high) I cooked it for approx 6 mins ( no need to turn food) but it was almost cremated!
With a little practice and several burnt steaks later I got the hang of it and have found that the suggested cooking times are a little erring on caution (probably to prevent them from being sued for food poisening). Now I wouldn't be without it, there is none of the mess of using a conventional grill (on your cooker) or fat splashes from using a frying pan - genius!
On the matter of cleaning, the plates are not removable like some of the more expensive models but it is easy enough to do. Simply dab some cooking oil onto kitchen paper and wipe the resdiues off, as the plates are non-stick it comes off like a dream and the gaps between the ridges are just big enough to get your fingers in so you don't miss anything.
The grill plate is big enough to cook 4 large or 5 small chicken breasts on or 4 8oz steaks on it, my favourite dish is now the humble cheese toastie, the grill cooks 4 toasties in around 4 mins, the bread is toasted to perfection and the cheese is all gooey - delicious!
the dimensions of this little beauty are:
cooking plate - 20cmsx25cms (size of four slices of bread)
overall dimensions - 34cmsx34cms (including handle)
weight - in excess of 6kgs
I would thoroughly recommend it for the price and ease of use, happy grilling!