Question for Robin on Foreman cooker.

Awhile back you were considering buying one of these cookers, or one of the clones.

Did you do so? If so, do you like it?

Regards, Bob

[Robin Garr]

Awhile back you were considering buying one of these cookers, or one of the clones.

Did you do so? If so, do you like it?

Bob, actually, I <i>did</i> buy a George Foreman grill, through Amazon, and reported on that - complete with a click-to-buy link - in the <I>Wine Advisor Foodletter</i> last Nov. 16.

Lean, mean and handy

It's a good question to bring back up six months later, though, so thanks. With hindsight, everything I wrote in the article was correct: It cooks the things it was designed to cook quickly and well, and a fair amount of fat does drain off.

At the same time, it suffers the fault of all "uni-taskers" (or is it "mono-taskers"?) as Alton Brown says. It takes up a fair amount of space on the shelf, and I don't use it often. Most of the time if I want to make burgers, I just slip them onto a lightly oiled, large nonstick skillet. And if I want to make something involving boneless chicken breasts or the other things the Foreman does well, the chances are that I'm just as happy to use my regular kitchen equipment.

It's not hard to clean, but it's not really all that easy either - it's a little too big to put in the sink, and you can't submerge it.

So, bottom line, I don't have buyer's remorse - it wasn't that expensive at Amazon's discount anyway, and when I do use it, I'm entirely satisfied. But I can't honestly say I use it often or that I consider it indispensible.

Thanks, Robin. I thought of your experience because I made paninis today, using Cynthia's suggestion of adding arugula -- it worked great.

I suppose I use mine more because I use it at least two times a week, often for paninis, and then it seems easy to make chicken or burgers or even bison steaks and fish where the ability to control the heat is useful.

In any event, thanks for the update from an experienced cook.

Regards, Bob

That's the ticket, Bob- if, like me, you love panini and eat them regularly, it's a tool in constant use. C'mon Robin, it's sandwich time!

I prefer to grill my meats on a BBQ.


Same result, better taste....IMHO.

I prefer to grill my meats on a BBQ.

So do I, but it's just not possible in New England in the winter.

-Paul W.

We can grill outside in almost any weather in northern New Jersey -- and often do. But we find that some meats actually grill better on our version of the Foreman -- temp control is better and the cook is certainly much more comfortable.

If I lived in Southern California, I might feel differently, but bison on a Foreman Clone is just superb.

Regaqrds, Bob

[Robin Garr]

We can grill outside in almost any weather in northern New Jersey -- and often do.

Although we have a "distinct four season climate" here and can have, at least on occasion, cold, snow and ice that come close to the horrors of the Northeast, I expect our winter climate on average is a little more benign than New England or even New Jersey, Bob. But that being said, I tend not to grill in the winter because I find a cold environment alters the grill's cooking behavior.

[Robin Garr]

That's the ticket, Bob- if, like me, you love panini and eat them regularly, it's a tool in constant use. C'mon Robin, it's sandwich time!

In a truly weird chain of events, you had me persuaded ... and then, before I could turn words into action, Mary accidentally knocked the Foreman off the shelf. When it hit the floor, the clamshell lid broke in half. It's a goner, I'm afraid. I can't believe I could get it fixed for less than the price of a new one.

I really like my foreman grill too...I have had it for over 10 yrs and it still works great. I got it when I was living in an apt and didn't have a grill. I cooked lots of things on there. Now that I have a grill, I use that instead, all yr around to make burgers and steaks, but I still use my foreman at least once a week for panini's. I think it does a great job. It's a lot less expensive than a panini grill and I can still make an occasional burger or hot dog, if I don't feel like lighting the grill. Also, I like to grill some veggies, like zuchini and aspargus, on the foreman grill because they come out nice and I don't have to worry about them falling through the grates...LOL!

It works great for grilling red peppers too, Maria.