Griddle pans/ George Foreman grills ..

another_casualty · 18 June 2017 at 11:36AM

Howdy !
I have tried to cook the right way over the years . I had a few George Foreman grills over the years , but I'm a now a little confused as there seems t be loads of stuff out there now.
I had a first generation Foreman grill, lasted about 5 years. Using it daily , I have no complaints . About 5 years ago, I got another Foreman . This time with removable grills. That was beginning to get filthy and I dumped it last year when I moved flat.
Back in December , I got a George Foreman melt . The grills are a grey colour. The melt thing I found confusing and poor.
I overdid a piece chicken on it and more or less ruined it.
When I plugged it in in my new flat, the lights never worked.
So I am binning it . It looks a bit of a dirt trap too imho
Which brings me to..

Griddles ! Not sure if these are any good . I purchased a nice red one
I notice in the various shops I looked , there are no lids. Why is that?
I thought all frying pans came with lids. Also , there is a groove on the pan . What's that all about ? I would've assumed that if there was a lid then the pan could tilt and all the fat runs out .
The next question is: what's better and healthier ? George or the griddle ? Are they both good or useless? Why no lid ?
Food for thought

AndyMc..... · 18 June 2017 at 11:45AM

Can you actually cook?

Why not use the oven?

dj1471 · 18 June 2017 at 1:12PM

A griddle pan is designed to sear meat, it's not used in the same way as a frying pan or a George Foreman style grill.

These grills are fine for what they are, they cook quicker than a traditional grill and use less energy. There are plenty of simple cheap alternatives to the George Foreman brand. If your main concern is fat content then consider steaming, you only need a cheap saucepan and a bamboo steamer.

Also it sounds like there's a serious electrical fault in your new flat - call your landlord or an electrician.

Strider590 · 18 June 2017 at 1:29PM

Looks like we have a student...... Have you tried pot noodles yet?

Doozergirl · 18 June 2017 at 2:30PM

You won't see a chef using a George Foreman grill. You would see them use a griddle.

Griddles are designed to sear meat, as mentioned above. It's a fast way of cooking. Putting a lid on it would result in steaming.

You don't put oil in a griddle either. Season your meat and rub in a small amount of oil, it just stops it from sticking.

I can't stand those grills because I like my food with flavour and moisture

another_casualty · 18 June 2017 at 3:36PM

Thanks everyone

Student ? I wish .

I just got lazy and complacent . Yeah, conventional ovens are obviously good but cleaning them is a pita .
Questions answered . Amazing really, George Foreman made more from those than in boxing apparently .

kleapatra · 18 June 2017 at 6:40PM

I'm not a student and I can actually cook but I have just bought a tefal optigrill- it's amazing and puts my old George foreman to shame. It wasn't cheap but cooks meats perfectly- tasty and juicy. You can can cook with different temps unlike the George and it has settings for different meat types. My best purchase in ages and the grill plates go in the dishwasher. Oh and the plates are easy to put on and remove- unlike my old George foreman!

Murphybear · 18 June 2017 at 7:09PM

kleapatra wrote: »

I'm not a student and I can actually cook but I have just bought a tefal optigrill- it's amazing and puts my old George foreman to shame. It wasn't cheap but cooks meats perfectly- tasty and juicy. You can can cook with different temps unlike the George and it has settings for different meat types. My best purchase in ages and the grill plates go in the dishwasher. Oh and the plates are easy to put on and remove- unlike my old George foreman!

My GF has 4 different temperature settings. I find it great for burgers and gammon steaks.

rach_k · 18 June 2017 at 8:22PM

I've never had a frying pan with a lid. Is that odd? My other pans have them but never frying pans.

If your griddle pan is cast iron, google how to season and maintain it and it'll be great to cook with. I much prefer ours to the GF grill the husband bought. It's much easier to care for and I think it cooks better, although being a vegetarian I don't benefit from it much myself!

The groove around the edge of the pan is to collect fat/juices. I don't normally see much though, perhaps because you cook quickly so the juices remain in the meat or maybe we don't cook very fatty meat?

LandyAndy · 19 June 2017 at 9:37AM

Murphybear wrote: »

My GF has 4 different temperature settings..

Does she indeed!

Sounds like fun. :cool:

Cupcake_Returns · 19 June 2017 at 10:22AM

What does a GF do that can't be done in a normal grill ?

I was given. GF years ago and tbh I found it to be a PITA. Only having a small kitchen trying to find the space to use it was job its self. Then I'd invariably knock the drainage dish so fat would drip over the work top

The grill on a cooker works just fine keeping the food out of the fat so it's just as healthy. I do have a griddle for steaks and it's great for doing chicken tikka, gets a good crust on the chicken rather akin to it being put in a tandoor

You can't really fry with a lid, which is why frying pans don't have them. Add a lid and you create steam, therefore the food will not fry. Saut! pans do have lids, the steam is needed to saut!

Griddle pans/ George Foreman grills ..

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