GR-4N 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. :)

It all started after watching "Chef" and seeing the care that Jon Favreau's character, El Jefe, put into making Cuban sandwiches. Each of my kids voted that we buy a "Plancha" which is a sandwich press that could have other uses, like to make waffles (buy the Griddler Bundle with the waffle plates, they are worth the extra money). A professional quality Plancha, however, is more than $1000 and it really doesn't need to have anything more than a way to control temperature of both top and bottom surfaces independently and a long handlebar to press down evenly. The 5 in 1 Griddler fits the bill with a sturdy handle and two even cooking surfaces. Getting the cooking rate to be balanced between top and bottom is somewhat of an art because different foods will cook differently depending on the ratio between the leftmost and rightmost dials. I'm really not sure about the actual temperatures displayed on the dial, but they give you a general sense of the amount of heat, The more expensive models have digital readout and other more sophisticated controls, but they are not really necessary since we rarely will use it to cook delicate foods like fish or eggs. Either way, if you enjoy cooking, you will love how easy and fun this plancha-style griddle press makes grilled cheese, ham, and pressed Cuban sandwiches, or Cubanos. The sturdy handle is really nice for pressing down on bread or thick meat to sear and press, but the pivot in the center will need the food to be centered so that it cooks the food evenly. The grill nonstick surfaces are really easy to grease and clean, even for a quick wipe down, which we do most of the time rather than dishwasher after each use. The leftover food residue wipes away easily with a paper towel while hot, leaving black crumbly flakes around the back and sides of the griddler but a quick wipe down as it cools keeps the area nicely free of residue. The booklets that come with the grill give you a few usage pointers and it is important to know from it when you are going to use both burners or just the bottom (the center dial to the right sets it to use both surfaces). We found for example that it pays to wait for the green light on the rightmost dial to be lit, before putting anything on the surface, including butter. This might take about 4 minutes from room temperature. Temperature-wise, the Griddler does not get as hot as quickly as your stovetop or outdoor grill, but for a couple of grilled sandwich lunches for two, or easy breakfast waffles (see Cuisinart GR-WAFP Griddler Waffle Plates it is great addition to our family's kitchen counter.

Fair warning: I've had my Griddler for a grand total of one week so far, so while I can sing praises of its longevity, it's been alive about as long as a state fair goldfish so I can't truthfully speak to ruggedness or sturdiness or any of that. But I have used the heck out of it in that week, enough to know that I really like it and that there is one thing I wish Cuisinart would change or add to make it perfect. I bought the Griddler to fill a few voids in my cooking life, and one in my heart. It's been pretty awful as a life companion, but as a kitchen gadget, it's superb. I had tossed out my old stovetop griddle some months back because its nonstick coating was flaking off and I don't like teflon in my pancakes. I also wanted a sandwich press because I do love my Cuban sandwiches, and I also wanted a contact grill because I foolishly bought the biggest outdoor grill I could afford. I don't always feel like it's necessary to affect the local climate every time I turn it on just to cook a hot dog. Yes, one hot dog. I said foolishly, okay? Anyway, I've done all that on the Griddler so far and I'm genuinely impressed. Mostly. The good: as a sandwich press (or a panini press, if you're fancy), it's excellent. It's much better than a Foreman grill, mostly because the pivoting top plate lets it sit flat on whatever you have in there, no matter how thick. Similarly, it does very well as a contact grill. The lower settings don't get as hot as I would have thought, but the sear setting is HOT. It will make that steak sorry it came home with you. It's crazy-easy to clean. You can toss the plates into the dishwasher if you like, but so far, I haven't even had to scrub them to get them clean again. Eggs and burned cheese slide right off, as do sausage drippings. It cools off relatively quickly when you turn it off, so it doesn't have to sit filthy on your counter for an hour while you're waiting to be able to touch it. So that's all a whole lot of pluses, and I wouldn't hesitate to buy another one of these if some misfortune happened to befall the one I have. It's been pretty indispensable since I've gotten it. Except. You know, when a product is named something like Griddler, you might reasonably expect to be able to use it as a griddle pretty readily. And if you're griddling sausage or bacon or, really, anything else that's solid, you can. It's wonderful for that, and I really do enjoy being able to cook so much sausage or bacon at one time, which I could never do on a stovetop griddle. It's just when you want to griddle something liquid that things take a turn for the embarrassing. So say you'd like to make some pancakes one morning, or some eggs like you see all over the promotional pictures. Not an unreasonable request, I don't think. Both sides of the Griddler are tilted to encourage fat runoff. You can imagine what this means for eggs. Yes, your eggs will run right off the griddle and land, uncooked, in the grease tray. Pancakes fare slightly better, but they'll run downhill until they hit the raised lip of the plate, and you wind up with some teardrop-shaped pancakes that would get you fired from IHOP. It's a problem easily enough remedied by either moving the Griddler to the edge of the counter so the handle hangs off the side far enough that the top plate lies flat, or wedging something about 1'4" thick under the back feet if you want both sides flat, but it seems odd that I should have to do this so I can cook foods the product's box tells me I can cook. This isn't a dealbreaker, all it cost was a single star, it's just an annoyance. I am wondering what that slight tilt will mean for my waffles when I get the waffle plates, though. Anyway, if you're waffling (yeah, I said it) on whether or not to buy this, get it. Just make sure you have a kitchen towel or something to stuff under the back feet if you want pancakes.

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!

Great product easy to use and clean I recommend this product!

I bought this because I saw the commercial, then read the reviews and figured I'd give it a shot. Understand I have a Foreman grill that I hate, two actually. My main complaint on those is it doesn't heat evenly and it's such a pain to clean. So I saw this with its removable plates (bonus, they can go in the dishwasher, yay!) and tall claims of even heat distribution, the floating lid, fold out flat designs and thought, "eh, worth a shot." Concerns in order of importance; was it really going to heat evenly, was I going to get that weird lid like the Foreman that presses everything into a weird V shape, did the plates really come off as easily as claimed, and when making pancakes using the griddle, would butter or batter pour over the sides? Even heat; the coil is far enough back from the plates that all of the plate heats evenly, no hot spots here or dead spots there. Weird lid, nope. The hinge allows it to be a floating type, so the top of the press is parallel with the bottom, no weird V shaped panini sandwiches. The plates were a breeze. They pop off when you push a button on the side, there's little clamps on the side that release when you push the button. No wedging it in here and there, possibly bending, scratching, or chipping anything. Flat griddle plates, only they have the smallest of lips around the edges to prevent anything from spilling off the sides. You won't be able to make a pancake in the dead center, but you have plenty of workspace like a traditional griddle. I also had another concern, where in the world am I going to store this thing in my tiny kitchen? So, it's a five in one. I realized not only could I ditch the Foreman (wasn't too terribly bummed about this to be honest, I hate that thing) but the griddle I had that was on its last legs (literally, it's so old it predates the modern teflon coated kind) could go, and now I'm tossing the waffle iron and getting the waffle plates. That would all be helpful if it managed to not be used long enough for me to put it away. I have teenagers, and teenagers bring more teenagers, so this thing makes a lot of pressed sandwiches during the week. I've been buying all sorts of stuff for them to make different sandwiches, they had a turkey and cranberry kick over the Christmas holidays, now they want sliced apples and goat cheese (how many teenage boys you know request goat cheese?), and anything else they think would be good, or are copying off a local sandwich shops menu. I've grilled steaks (normally that's an outside thing, but it was freezing out that day and I didn't want to deal with it), chicken and shrimp on it, made eggs, pancakes and bacon on the griddle. Such an easy cleanup, generally I hand wash them since it needs cleaned a couple times a day, and the dishwasher only gets run once a day. I have put them in the dishwasher, no problems there, and either method is easy, I've never spent any time scrubbing away. I highly recommend this, and it was a lot cheaper to buy here on Amazon ($65) since apparently you can only buy it at Macy's, Bed Bath and Beyond, and Best Buy locally ($99 no matter which store it is). Make sure you read the comments though, it appears there's another version of this that doesn't take the waffle plates, and is a different size. Maybe an earlier version?

I am a single guy, who up till a few months ago, had never tried to "cook". By cook I am referring to a dish with more than 4 ingredients, and mustard and ketchup don't count. I started using an online meal-planner and found quickly, that grilled food was done 1-2 times weekly. I needed to find an indoor grill that met my needs. This fit the bill perfectly. I scoured the internet and Amazon reading reviews about several indoor grills, and to be frank I was leaning towards a cheap George Foreman grill. I'd heard a million stories from everyone I knew and how simple and great they were. Well, that appears to be a thing of the past. It would seem that the great G.F. grills of 10 years ago, aren't made like they used to be. Moving on, I found this griddler at a great price here on Amazon. I did see that there were some bad experiences, but I felt like, more people are inclined to write a bad review, than a good one, so I gave it a shot. I've used this to grill several different meats: Salmon, tilapia, chicken, pork tenderloin, several cuts of steak, and burgers, of course. All, and I mean ALL, of the food has come out delicious, and good looking at that. I checked the food each time with a digital thermometer and all were well within the "Safe zone" for eating. The plates on this couldn't be easier to take off and put back on, and they clean, even after sitting for a day, with warm soapy water. The grease trap works well and cleans easy enough too. I have yet to use the flat side of the plates, nor the waffle plates that I purchased separately. So I can not comment on those. The griddler heats up in a very short time, and cooks very quickly. Two large salmon fillets were cooked thoroughly in about 4-5 minutes. The large pork tenderloin was 18-20 minutes. This grill is perfect for single servings or two people and I can have most of these grilled meals done in less than 30 minutes total time including prep. It has certainly expanded my options for great tasting meals and I am only upset that I didn't buy this earlier. One last thing to note is the size. The size of the grill is fairly large. I pack my grill away after each use, however, I also don't think it would be an issue keeping it on the counter at all times. It is a good looking piece of equipment and would look great out. I speak very highly of this product with friends and family, although for those lucky enough, the food speaks for itself.

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.

Best panini grid

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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