July 21, 2004
Foreman Grill
Tonight I tried out the George Forman grill for the first time. This one had been handed down to us from a friend of ours who wasn't using it anymore.
We have had it sitting in the kitchen for about two months, and I happened to walk past it with a pound of beef this evening. Seriously, I was just walking around the house carrying beef. Ok, well I was going to throw it into the frying pan because I didn't want to fire up the charcoal grill. So I figured, what the heck.
Trevor took the first bite, spit it out and said "I'm full and this burger tastes yucky". I should have taken that as a red flag but I went ahead and ate mine too. The burgers were like quarter pound hockey pucks with crunchy outsides. They weren't juicy at all and had little if any flavor. My assesment would indicate that the design of the grill siphons off more fat/liquids which reduces it's flavor and texture.
I will probably give it another shot or two, but for my money I would rather hit the real grill.
Comments
No doubt, the real thing is better, but in the winter, it fits the bill. And I don't have a real grill anyway. :(
Beef will keep cooking after you take it off of the grill (any grill, not just the GF), so cook it for a little less time than you normally would and just make sure it's done how you like it. When people get steaks to go at Outback, they end up complaining that the steak's too done. That because it cooked itself a level past where you ordered it (medium becomes medium well, etc.).
That's a good call. I was thinking about this more after I posted, and since the grill is cooking from both sides the cooking time is probably half it's normal time if not less.
I have some chicken that I am making later this week. Perhaps I will give it a shot.
I recommend the GF highly, but don't listen to the manual when you're cooking. I always undercook, check the middle, and adjust as needed. It's great for chicken sausage and stuff like that (if you get pre-cooked it takes no time at all), and I have maybe never been so happy with the GF as the time I got Asian-spiced salmon burgers from Whole Foods and just put them in for three minutes or so. They were perfect. Mmmmmmmmm....
It was from my parents, not a friend. Just so you know.
What's really good on the GF is grilled cheese. Just be careful... there's a split second between "not done" and "all the cheese melted out and is now located in the catch tray". But then again, I like my bread more on the crispy side, so maybe I'm the only one that has that problem. ;)
Yeah, I did see the grilled cheese in the recipie booklet. That part confused me though. Like, do they actually need to provide directions for how to make grilled cheese?
I have a FG that I use almost every other day. However, I rarely cook burgers on it. Best used with chicken or pork. I guess I just love it because it's so darn easy.
Will, do you just make grilled chicken or do you marinade it or something first?
Walking around the house carrying beef?