Customer Reviews

George Foreman GR80 Big George Rotisserie

5 star:		(31)
4 star:		(13)
3 star:		(4)
2 star:		(6)
1 star:		(9)

 

 

I'll admit it, I am somewhat a snob about kitchen items, after all you are only as good as your tools (O.K., I don't buy ANY junk products). The mere idea of buying an infomercial product had me cringing that someone might walk past my Calphalon cookware and Henkel knives and see (gasp!), a George Foreman Rotisserie. But, what choice is out there that will rotisserie a turkey? My problem is I only have one oven and need to cook the bird somewhere else so my oven is clear for my homemade pies, etc. I figured I would try the George Foreman Rotisserie and probably return it when I found out it didn't work.

Well, this baby now has a permanent home on my precious countertop. What immediately struck me was the quality, this thing is impressively heavy, even the baking tray has actual weight. The included accesories (lots of them) are all far more heavy duty and better designed than I expected. The unit runs nicely quiet and the video is actually useful; I trussed a chicken like a pro in no time!

I just wish they had a better way of displaying temperature (a series of dots must be interpreted from 1-6=200-450 degrees), but that is not a major deal. Unlike a toaster oven, the unit is large enough to bake a pie or lots of the bigger things that just won't fit in a toaster oven. While it is fair to say there are better and faster ways to toast your bagel, for the serious meat lover this product should be on your "I want" list.

I bought a Showtime Rotisserie and it was the biggest mistake I could have made. Very flimsey metal....the motor was very noisy and no temperature settings. I guess I fell for the mass marketing ploy. Also very hard to clean. I gave it away and bought the George Foreman Rotisserie. What a dream it is. You cannot even hear it run, multiple temperature settings and VERY easy to clean. This is a must for every cook. If you follow the instructions and watch the video you cannot go wrong. EASY EASY!! Thank you for making such a great product!!

Hsless@cs.com of Lakewood, NJ says:

I purchased the George Forman Rotisserie thinking it would sit upon the counter "looking pretty" like many of my other so-called kitchen accessories...but after opening the box and removing its contents I knew right away that I was wrong. It was beautifiul - yes - but it was not flimsy in the least - temperature remained even throughout cooking - foods were crispy on the outside but remained very juicy on the inside - all parts extremely easy to clean - and find I use it at least twice a week (even though I am single and only cook for myself.

"THE FOOD LOOKS GREAT AND TASTES FANTASTIC"

The most important thing - right now JC Penny is selling this same unit at an everyday price of (...). Make your own determination if you want to deal with returns through the mail.

Now about the unit itself. I purchased a refurbished Showtime rotisserie from Amazon about a month ago before the price drop to (..). It looked brand new when I took it out of the box. When I used it all I heard was a loud screeching noise. I read the manual and followed the instructions for oiling the bearing surfaces inside the oven. I did that to no avail. I believe the item was defective and to Amazon's credit they took it back with a postage paid label I downloaded.

Something to think about - Why are there so many refurbished units constantly for sale?

The Bid George rotisserie is really BIG! That is the downside. I have cooked with it twice so far and have been extremely satisfied. It is very, very quiet. It allows for 6 different temperature settings. It also allows for selection of the heating elements. i believe this to be the source of problems for people with complaints with the cooking time when rotissering. I noticed that the default setting for rotisserie is for the bottom two elements ONLY. Pressing the element selection button turned on the top element and my chicken was done perfectly in the time stated in the very skimpy manual.

My humble, but gastromenical, opinion is that Big George is a far superior unit to the Ronco Showtime unit.

I was such a good and informed consumer. I read all of the reviews for this, for the Baby George Rotisserie and for both of the Ronco Rotisseries. I decided to get the Big George and am VERY pleased with it. One of the bad things is that when you set the timer and the temp to cook something, it defaults to just two burners instead of 3. Alot of the complaints that I read about this product was from people who complained that it took so much longer to cook something than the book said it would. Since I read all of the reviews on here though I knew that I had to manually change it to 3 burners to get it to heat up right. Another thing is that it is HUGE. But since I read all the reviews I knew this already. But it is constructed like a MACK TRUCK! I have not seen anything constructed like this before. I have a feeling that this thing is going to outlast me. What a beautiful piece of machinary also. And its a darn good thing that it looks so good because its so big we had to set it up on its own cart in its own place in the dinning room. When I read the reviews for the Ronco one and found out that you had to allow 8 inches on all four sides of the thing, and it was this ugly gray box, and was noisey I said no way! The Big George gets hot on the top and the front but not on the sides or back which is much better. It is quiet which is one of the bad things that I read about the Ronco one and has variable temp and burner settings which the Ronco didnt have.
I can not say strongly enough. If you are trying to decide between the Big George and the Ronco GET THE BIG GEORGE! Be warned though...it is huge! If you dont want one as big you can always get the baby george but it doesnt have the variable temp or burner settings. Which is why I went with the Big one even thought it was so big. Im very happy with it and would definately recommend it to anyone that has the space for it.

I am very impressed with the rotisserie. I found it very easy to set up, to clean and to remove food from. The control are really very logical once you read the instruction booklet. (I don't think you could operate it without reading the booklet.) The unit is huge and should be on its own cart or table. I wouldn't use it under a cabinet. I found the cooking times to be on par with using an oven if you use all three heating elements. I have made two large chickens, a pork roast, and a small roast beef in it. The results were excellent. It is very important to add water to the tray. This results in smokeless cooking and extremely easy cleanup. I suggest using higher cooking temperature than recommended. Definitely, a thumbs up product!

First read the instruction book. Then start cooking. First thing I cooked was a large chicken. Was just as good if not better than chicken from Boston Market. Easy to use and clean up. The key is to always have at least 1/2 inch of water in the bottom pan. This serves two purposes, one it keeps the drippings from sticking and smoking, but most of all, it keeps a little moisture in the air while roasting. This adds in keeping the product moist and flavorful..

Rich

I've been in the market for a rotisserie for a while and it seemed like the only choices I had were the Showtime and the George Foreman rotisserie.

I had a chance to compare the two side by side and immediately was impressed with the George Foreman rotisserie.

The size is enormous! It's very easy to clean and I especially like the fact that you have variable heat settings.

The food rotates smoothly and quietly. The only drawback was the cooking times in the instruction book were off. The unit defaults to the two bottom heating elements. I just add the top one and it's fine.

If you have a chance to compare the two rotisseries out there, I'm sure you'll agree that the George Foreman Rotisserie beats the Showtime hands down.

I bought one of these because it promised to replace my broken toaster oven and add a rotisserie feature. Well, after using it for a couple of weeks, I've found it's not really a good replacement for a standard toaster oven, and it takes a lot of practice to use it as a rotisserie.

This unit is BIG, I'd say about 2-3 times the volume of a typical toaster oven. On the plus side, it will hold bulky items like a Bundt pan or a turkey, but the drawback is that it takes about ten minutes to preheat, and the rack space for pans is still only about what you'd get in a regular toaster oven.

The rotisserie works, but the recipies and recommended cooking times supplied in the instruction manual are questionable. If you use the round basket to make oven fries and follow the recipie (30 minutes at 450 F), you end up with half-raw potatoes. It takes an hour to cook them properly. Is it worth it for two servings of potatoes? Thinner meats like steaks and kebobs don't cook evenly, and there isn't enough heat to sear them properly. The result is a half-browned, dry piece of meat. IMO, a regular gas or charcoal grill, or the oven broiler is much better for steaks and fish.

There is a large, shallow water pan in the bottom that must be filled when cooking anything that drips. It is very easy to make a big mess when moving this pan to empty it. I'm hoping this grill will redeem itself on a whole chicken or turkey, but so far, I feel like a turkey for buying it.

I have't used a rotisserie in years, since I used to do most everything on an old outdoor smokewagon with rotisserie. I am having a great deal of fun experimenting. Have only had it a very short time. I have done chicken pork loin and yes even spare ribs on it just tonight. You just have to fold the slab of ribs back and forth as you push them on the rod. Works real great. Thats the way I used to do them years ago. With a little adjusment on temps and number of elements used I found it to be more than satisfactory. And one of the best things is, cleanup is a breeze. Love the different temps and choice of elements to use. It is heavy but that is because the quality is there. can't wait to get a piece of beef on there too. I can't recommend this unit too much and can only say if you are thinking of buying one don't wait you won't be sorry.