Cuisinart Griddle & Grill Review

Whether it’s a superbly seared steak, a lower-fat cooked breakfast or the last word panini, the Cuisinart Griddle & Grill is the machine you want.

Combining the important thing options of a sandwich press, well being grill and sizzling plate in a single, its detachable plates, variable temperature and sheer versatility make it nice for cooking quite a lot of meals with out spitting, singeing or sticking.

It’s generously sized, too: fold it flat and it’s giant sufficient to cater for household meals, whereas a floating hinge means it might accommodate every thing from fish fillets to an overstuffed toastie.

Cuisinart Griddle & Grill – What it’s essential to know

• Steak check – A fast sear resulted in a steak fillet that was properly browned on the skin but barely pink inside
• Sweetcorn check – This took longer to grill than anticipated however was nonetheless properly browned and cooked after 20 minutes or so
• Panini check – The plates are fairly heavy, so light strain resulted in cheese spilling out of a panini – nevertheless it was completely toasted

Design – Big, cumbersome and heavy for a grill, nevertheless it’s an actual all-rounder

Anyone who’s ever owned a fixed-plate grill or sandwich toaster will know the way time-consuming they’re to wash, and the way limiting that single pair of plates will be. The Cuisinart Griddle & Grill solves each points.

Its plates will be rapidly prised off for cleansing within the dishwasher, and the grill comes with a pair of flat plates, too, increasing the vary of meals that may be cooked utilizing the equipment – from pancakes and eggs to cookies and do-it-yourself granola. Or you may combine and match a flat plate with a grill – say, for meat on one facet and veggies on the opposite.

Much like a well being grill, the Griddle & Grill can prepare dinner a variety of meals, nevertheless it’s designed with decreasing fats in thoughts. Both units of plates have a recess for liquid and fats runoff, which flows into an built-in drip tray (reasonably than the separate one which some grills function).

While not one of the meals I cooked produced sufficient fats for it to run off, having the tray built-in is useful since there’s no probability of it turning into misplaced or knocked whereas cooking. A scraper is provided for cleansing, too, though, since not one of the meals I cooked caught to the plates, it wasn’t required.

The Cuisinart Griddle & Grill is pretty easy to function. There’s a dial for setting the temperature (marked between 100°C and 240°C), and two lights to point when the grill is heating up and has reached temperature. As nicely as a recipe booklet, it has a information to cooking occasions and temperatures – though it was largely restricted to meat and fish.

Performance – Versatile and excellent for cooking all kinds of meals

For steak, I select 230°C, the half-open place and grilled it for 3 minutes on both sides. The grill plates took six minutes to warmth up from chilly, which is the time it took to prepare dinner the fillets, so a complete time of 12 minutes (though this could possibly be lowered by cooking closed).

The excessive warmth of the grill seared the outside of the meat rapidly, leading to solely minimal fats and juices leaking from the meat. While there isn’t a option to decide whether or not the steak can be well-done or medium-rare, cooking steak utilizing this methodology resulted in a medium end – nicely browned on the skin with seen grill marks and barely pink inside. The steak was juicy and superbly cooked.

I discovered the Griddle & Grill’s timer was of restricted use. It’s solely marked between 5 and half-hour (so much less useful for brief cooking occasions) and is a rotary dial that doesn’t cease the grill – which means that if you happen to’re busy doing one other activity, you’ll nonetheless have to recollect to show off the equipment manually following the alert. However, it might be sensible for timing meals you don’t want to observe over, comparable to toasted sandwiches.

Paninis have been subsequent; I added cheese-filled bread to the grill plates. There wasn’t a information to temperatures however I guessed 210°C. The floating hinge, which opens as much as 8cm, meant the sandwiches fitted simply between the closed halves – though a mild press to seal them resulted within the cheese leaking out. The grill heated up in simply over 4 minutes and it took three minutes to grill the paninis to a golden brown, with a well-melted filling.

The floating hinge was tougher to make use of for bulkier meals. Grilling corn on the cob, these slid round as I closed the plates. However, gently inserting the highest plate over them was simpler, and helped scale back grilling time in comparison with the open place. The deeper Ninja Health Grill & Air Fryer AG301UK makes such jobs simpler.

I additionally cooked fried eggs on the flat plates. This was simply as fast and simple as a pan however required much less fats.

Another level of distinction for the Griddle & Grill in comparison with another fashions is the non-stick coating on its plates. Nothing I cooked grew to become caught, and I didn’t add a lot in the way in which of additional oil.

I used to be additionally impressed by the convenience with which the plates could possibly be fitted in place and indifferent. Both prime and backside plates have a devoted button that you simply press to take away the plate. Also, the swap for opening the grill flat is positioned on the deal with, so there’s no probability of blending it up with the plate-release buttons.

There are a few downsides. The first is that the plates are fairly cumbersome, so when the pair that isn’t in use needs to be saved, you’ll have to discover a place with sufficient area and the place the floor gained’t be scratched. The different difficulty is the storage of the equipment as a complete – the Cuisinart Griddle & Grill is pretty heavy, and there’s no lock to maintain the sections collectively, so it might’t be saved vertically with out being buttressed both facet.

Cleaning the plates was easy, although – hand-washing was fuss-free, as was popping them within the dishwasher.

Should you purchase the Cuisinart Griddle & Grill?

If you don’t have a whole lot of free worktop area then it’s possible you’ll wrestle to discover a area for the Griddle & Grill. That mentioned, its beneficiant measurement is what makes it very best for households; the cooking floor when flat is much bigger than many different fashions of well being grill (bar the indoor/out of doors Tower T14028) and far much less restrictive than a sandwich toaster. The incontrovertible fact that cleansing takes seconds, not minutes, additionally makes it an important alternative for busy households, or a useful helper when entertaining.

Whether you’re making an attempt to eat extra healthily or broaden your grilling repertoire, the Cuisinart Griddle & Grill is a superb place to start out.