Open Grills and Griddles

Best open electric grills and griddles

Many users favor the easier-to-clean design of open grills, which require users to flip foods over to cook both sides. For this reason, open grills can take longer than contact grills, which cook both sides of the food surface at one time. One common complaint: These products take too long to heat up. That said, many open grills come with lids, which reduce smoke and steam. Some users say this can speed cooking and enhance food taste Why? Open grills tend to smoke more, which can infuse foods with a smoky, barbequed taste.

In the open-grill category, the Sanyo Smokeless Indoor Electric Grill HPS-SG3 (*Est. $65) gets the most favorable reviews. It has a large cooking surface (200 square inches) and a removable, dishwasher-safe drip pan. One foodie magazine recommends the Sanyo Smokeless grill, calling it "the only grill that combined a large capacity with easy cleanup" It has an adjustable temperature control (200 degrees to 425 degrees Fahrenheit) and a 1,300-watt heating element. The Sanyo's cooking plate doesn't double as a flat griddle, however; this is just an open grill. The Wall Street Journal recommends the Sanyo as "best overall" and "best value" and says it "sears meat nicely." Owners posting to Amazon.com also like this grill's cooking surface and rate the taste and texture of the food cooked on the Sanyo as excellent. However, some owners say the Sanyo isn't entirely smokeless. One owner on Amazon.com complains that the Sanyo emits smoke for several seconds whenever marinated meat initially hits its surface.

The DeLonghi Perfecto BG24 (*Est. $95) is another highly rated open grill. Since the heating coils are built into the grill top, the cooking surface self-heats, with adjustable temperatures up to 450 degrees Fahrenheit. The DeLonghi BG24 is also included in a list of the top 10 grills on About.com and is praised in a 2006 Wall Street Journal review. Owner reviews at Amazon.com are also mostly positive. Users praise its ease of use, even cooking and removable splatter guard. The cleaning process is also easy, say many owners. The nonstick drip pan and cooking surface are dishwasher-safe, and its tempered glass lid minimizes splatters. Users posting at Cooking.com like the DeLonghi Perfecto grill as well, but a few complain that it doesn't get hot quickly enough -- a common complaint about electric grills in general. Still, despite the DeLonghi's solid feedback, the lower-cost Sanyo Smokeless Indoor Grill gets our vote for best open grill because it receives more positive professional recommendations and owner reviews.

The West Bend Electric Indoor Grill 6111 (*Est. $70) is the most highly rated grill on Target.com, with over 25 owners giving it a perfect five-star rating. Similar in design to the DeLonghi Perfecto, the West Bend is an open grill that also has a glass lid. The West Bend offers 165 square inches of cooking surface and a dishwasher-safe grill plate and drip tray. More than 70 owners posting to Amazon.com generally agree, giving this grill positive feedback and an average rating of 4.5 stars out of five. Most reviewers say this grill does a great job of replicating the flavor of outdoor grilling and is large enough to cook for a family. In addition, it creates nice grill marks on the food, emits no smoke and is easy to clean. Reviewers on Amazon.com say the lid is helpful for keeping foods moist and juicy, and many say the flavor is close to that of cooking on an outdoor grill. Of the few negative reviews, the most common is that it takes a bit longer to cook foods than some owners expected, and several mention that the lid doesn't fit snugly. We didn't find any professional coverage of the West Bend Electric Indoor Grill, however.