Electric Grills Reviews

Electric grills are a good way to cook vegetables, burgers and sandwiches without turning on your larger oven. In addition to fairly well-documented tests at Consumer Reports, Cook's Illustrated and Cook's Country, Prevention magazine has a good article rating four electric grills, and The Wall Street Journal includes testing of five indoor grills. We also consulted owner-written reviews at Amazon.com, Epinions and Cooking.com, which are useful for spotting long-term durability issues. According to the reviews we read, you may want to consider whether to buy an electric grill at all, especially if you want to make the best burgers, grilled chicken and fish. In some tests, reviewers contend that a heavy skillet works just as well for cooking these items.

Although George Foreman started the indoor grill craze, some older George Foreman grills rank lower in tests than other grills. Some testers cite a steamed or baked texture to cooked meats. In a review for The Wall Street Journal, Charles Passy says the George Foreman Next Grilleration electric grill "seemed to bake the meat as much as grill it, giving our chicken a slightly rubbery texture."

Owners posting at Amazon.com and Epinions give the Next Grilleration GRP99 grill (*est. $120) lower ratings than competing grills, including other George Foreman grills. Many cite durability issues, noting that the grill-plate holders wear out and that the plates begin to fall off or that the nonstick coating wears out. Others found that the George Foreman grill didn't properly sear food or heat up fast enough. However, it's interesting to note that some other Grilleration grills, including the smaller George Foreman GRP4 (*est. $50) and George Foreman The Champ GR10 with Bun Warmer (*est. $30) do get better reviews. Salton makes all of these George Foreman grills, and the lesson we learned in reviews is that some specific models are better than others.

Our Consensus Report shows how many times products are top-ranked by reviewers included in our
All The Reviews Reviewed chart.

We found the most recommendations for an open grill, the Sanyo Smokeless Indoor Electric Grill, a simple appliance that just works well, according to experts and owners. If you want to press sandwiches or cook burgers and chicken without flipping, we found good reviews for both the George Foreman The Champ GR10 with Bun Warmer and the similar Hamilton Beach Meal Maker Express. The Meal Maker has an advantage in that it can also open out flat to double the cooking area. However, the George Foreman grill is less expensive, with an integrated bun warmer. It does not open out flat, however.

The Cuisinart Griddler is more expensive, but it is also the most flexible. It can be used to press foods, but it can also be opened flat to double grilling space. Plus, the plates can be flipped to convert it to a flat griddle for eggs or pancakes.