Not as Much Fun for Me as a Day at the Beach

Background:
Several years ago, I asked my grandmother for a basic George Foreman Grill for my birthday. While opening presents, I noticed hers looked double the size of the Foreman; it was the Hamilton Beach Meal Maker Express 25285 Indoor Grill. She said the store did not have the Foreman I wanted, and my brother told her I’d love this one. 'Thanks, Mike,' I thought.

Contacting Hamilton Beach:
Hamilton Beach is part of the Proctor-Silex Company, which can be found at:
www.proctorsilex.com/
Or on the Hamilton Beach site at:
www.hamiltonbeach.com/

About the Meal Maker Express Indoor Grill:

Inside the box you will find a manual that includes instructions on grill safety, description of grill parts, directions on how to use the grill, a chart outlining cooking times for different types of food, cleaning instructions, recipes, and description of two year limited warranty.

This Meal Maker Express has a white colored exterior and black metal grill plate interior. The maker measures 15 inches across, 10 inches in length, and is about 5 inches in height. Grilling surface is about 13 inches by 7 inches. The entire Meal Maker Express weighs 14 pounds.

The black cord to the maker is the standard 2 foot length and has 3 prongs. There is a place on the bottom of the grill to wind and hide the cord, if desired. When plugged in the maker stays off and shows no light. When the timer dial on the front is turned to time between 0 and 15 minutes, an orange colored light shows up on the front to remind you the grill plates are hot and the maker is on When the timer is done, it dings and shuts the grill off.

When lifting the lid, the handle will stay cool and the lid will stay open. Having the grill in use this way, quickly and evenly cooks food items on both sides. There is a stand that comes up from the top of the grill and the grill completely opens lying flat. Cooking this way means you will have to flip food items, but more items will be ready at the same time. Open flat this grill can cook 12 hamburgers at one time.

The grill plates get hot while cooking and there are tabs on them that say HOT to remind you. The plates are removable with the press of a button, to allow for thorough cleaning. A drip tray container slides out of the side of the grill to easily pour excess fat and grease out.

Items I’ve Cooked On This Grill:
Hamburgers, Steaks of all cuts, Pork chops, French toast, French Fries, Apples, Chicken, Hotdogs, Grilled Cheese

Likes:
- Three prong adaptor, but all of my kitchen outlets are built for 3 so easy to plug in and more grounded.
- Grill does not turn on until I turn it on and if I lose track of what I’m doing, it shuts itself off.
- Timer dings to let me know when food is ready.
- Grill plates are removable, a big plus. They are also easy to remove; one push of the release button. They also click back into place without any trouble.
- Drip tray catches excess fat. A low-fat way to cook.
- Drip tray is easy to remove and pour out without a mess.
- Even cooking on both sides when lid is closed on food.
- Start with frozen meat, end with a delicious meal.
- Cooks food in less time (because it cooks on both sides) than in the oven or on the stove-top.
- Grill plates are non-stick; fat pours off of food and into the drip tray, without getting stuck on the plates.
- Easy to open and lay flat for if you are having an indoor cooking party.
- Makes apples soft and delicious in minutes.
- Crispy fries browned perfectly in minutes.

Dislikes:
- Laying grill flat, it takes more than twice as long to cook items.
- French toast ends up awful with grill marks and very dry. Have tried it both with the lid down and opened flat.
- Taking all the excess fat away, takes the flavor away. Steaks get dry easily and are best if marinated first. Hamburger do not come out as great as they do with Cast Iron.
- Must preheat grill for 5 minutes before use.
- Have to keep remembering to turn timer dial up. Example; a steak that takes 15 minutes, first preheat 5 then the timer is down to 10 and must be turned up to 15 again. More frustrating when trying to get fries really crispy and having to turn dial up constantly during cooking.
- Weights a ton. We have limited space in our kitchen and cannot leave this on the countertop. We have to put it above our cabinets. It is so heavy and a pain to take up and down, making us less likely to cook with it.
- Have to wait about a half hour to an hour for it to cool before it is safe to remove plates.
- Plates should not be placed on top of each other in sink because they lead to dings in the ridges of the grill; learned this the hard way.
- Dishwasher safe, but I don’t own a dishwasher. The grill plates are very difficult to clean. Also they really dirty sponges. Yes they are non-stick, but there is still grease soaked into them. I usually place them one at a time into a hot bath of soapy water. I use a wet paper towel to scrub them and still have to give it some fingernail pressure at times. Then I rinse them and have to use more paper towels to dry so they won’t stain my sponge.
- The inside of the drip tray has become stained and discolored over time. The black interior on the sides of the grill plates have become stained overtime. The exterior has also become stained and discolored over time, despite using a wet-soapy-sponge to clean the exterior after each use.

Recommendation:
Any indoor grill has its handful of problems. But for its size and functions this is a good choice to own. If you have a place for it on your countertop and won’t have to move it often, it is definitely a good choice for you. If you have a dishwasher for easier cleaning, it is definitely for you. And if you have a big family or occasional indoor grilling parties, it would also be a good choice for you.

For me, it has not been a good choice. Like I said before: we have no space for it on our countertop so it needs to be moved back and forth in order to use it. We have no dishwasher and literally draw straws between the two of us to see who will get stuck with cleaning it. And it is just the two of us, so we really don’t need something this big. I really do wish we had the smaller basic Foreman.

Please don’t let this deter you. If you are looking for a big indoor grill to handle a lot, this is a good one.