Customer Reviews

George Foreman GRP4EMB Black Evolve Grill with 2 Grill Plates, 1 Deep-Dish Bake Pan and 1 Cupcake and Muffin Pan Insert

5 star:		(22)
4 star:		(10)
3 star:		(4)
2 star:		(3)
1 star:		(5)

 

 

This is, in my opinion, the best of the George Foreman grills.

It functions perfectly. The removable plates lock into place fairly well and do not slide around very much. It is incredibly easy to clean even without removing the plates.

The adjustable temperature and timers make cooking a lot easier when you don't have to guess at the actual temperature, like you do with so many of the other George Foreman grills.

It is sturdy, well built, and is designed to last. It fits easily onto a countertop, and I have had no problems with it whatsoever.

The one quibble I have is that the Bistro Grill does not actually shut off after it has been turned on for use, even if you press the power button again. You have to unplug it to get it to stop heating, and this is apparently by design according to the manual. This is counter-intuitive, and definitely not the way it should work. Pressing the power button should be a toggle. Press once, it turns on. Press a second time, it should turn *off*.

I bought this grill as a replacement for a "Ready-Set-Go" that was a piece of junk that fell apart after only a couple of uses. I really liked having a counter-top grill though, so i thought I'd give this Foreman a try! WoW! Am I glad I did! Grilled some Maple/Dijon/BBQ Glazed Salmon the first night, and it came out better than when I use my professional outdoor grill. I love the interchangable grill, deepdish, and muffin grill plates. The kids loved the deep dish pizza too! Now, if I can get George to offer an omlet and tiny muffins plate like I had with the "Ready-set-Go" this thing would be perfect. It's easy to use, quick and easy to clean with the removable plates, and versatile. Bottom line: buy it! ...and enjoy!

This grill is quick and versatile. Temperature and time controls are very simple. All grilling/baking plates are very easy to remove and pop in the dishwasher. Thus no greasy cleanup after burgers, etc. At this price a more complete cookbook should be included, since cooking is done on both sides and cooking time is much shorter than other methods.

This has been a great tool for me. I still prefer using a flame grill but when time or weather doesn't allow for it (which is quite often) this is a great alternative. I have used it to cook chicken, fish, steak, burgers, turkey breast (both ground in the deep dish attachment and fillet on the grill attachment) and have baked muffins in the muffin attachment. I have been pleased with the results of all items cooked except for the steaks. It may just be me needing to get the cooking method down but my steaks are only OK when using this. I am going to be purchasing a couple of the attachments soon so I can have waffles and mini burgers. Overall I am very happy with this purchase and would recommend it.

Ok, so after some extensive research I bought this a couple months ago. Overall I'm a big fan. I love cooking and this baby makes some things so much simpler. You all know what the deal is with what it can and cannot do, but here's my take on it.

Pros,
-Large area, able to cook for several people at once
-Temperature control and timer a big plus, and an improvement over the last model I had (I forget which it was)
-Tiltable for easy cooking of steaks and other things that should not have runoff.
-INTERCHANGABLE PLATES makes cleaning so much easier.

Cons,
-Really short power cord is just aggravating
-THIS MODEL DOES NOT SUPPORT THE WAFFLE IRON PLATES, which I find ridiculous. I bought it with the expectation that I could buy the waffle plates afterwards, especially because they are both 84sq inch models. I want waffles!

The GRP4EMB George Foreman Grill with the deep bake pan and interchangeable grill plates has become the second most used appliance on my counter, after the microwave. I'd done on-line research to find a reliable product that would have the functionality of cookers with removable upper and lower grills similar to what are advertised on TV, but which would be well-made and reliable. This item seemed like the best thing out there, but it was new and there weren't many reviews available. I took a chance on it because the George Foreman name implies a level of quality. I've had this thing for about three months now and it's great. I cook with it almost every day, and sometimes several times a day.

The waffle plates were not included, and I bought them separately from Amazon. Contrary to what another reviewer said, they fit fine. You have to make sure you get the waffle plates that go with this model.

The deep dish baker is superior to a toaster oven because you can bake items in sauce. For example, you can make a small lasagna that feeds two in less than half an hour by using two layers of the no-boil type lasagna pasta and adding a large can of tomato sauce for moisture and whatever filling you want. I also use the deep dish pan to bake olive oil drizzled broccoli or asparagus, Rachel Ray style. The deep dish does a good job baking frozen biscuits (8 at a time), and other frozen convenience items like fish sticks and chicken strips.

The coating on the grills is the usual George Foreman hard non-stick metal type, and stands up well to repeated washing.

My only complaint (and this is minor) is that the cook time only goes up to 20 minutes. I sometimes have to keep an eye on the timer and add additional minutes before the cook time is up.

First off- I'm convinced many of these reviews are fake. Any time someone writes an unsavory review some person comes along the day after to click "unhelpful" on it even though it has way more information on it than the 2 -3 sentance reviews that have no information but only say "It's great, I love it"- the end. Yet those useless 5 star reviews that say absolutely nothing about the product get thumbs up as helpful. I would come to read the reviews on this product for months before purchasing because I was on the fence before buying it and I'm not kidding when I tell you that virtually any review that had 3 stars or less almost IMMEDIATELY had been clicked unhelpful by someone as if this was being monitored in some way. there are a few too many reviews where this is the only product the reviewer has ever reviewed here on amazon too which is fishy to me. Anyhow, I just don't understand why what I'm about to mention here was only mentioned by a few of the reviewers so far. I'll sum this up with pros and cons.

Pros- Removable plates. Size is good. That's all.

If it weren't for the fact that the plates could be removed and put in the dishwasher... and like someone else's review noted, the fact that this grill is sized long enough for cooking bacon, I would've just spent 20 bucks on the much more superior cooking machine I once had- the GF champ.


Cons:

- Takes significantly longer to heat up than previous gf grill models. It takes 15 minutes on the evolve to cook something that used to take me 6 minutes on the champ.

- Croshatch grill plate much harder to clean. The previous models have a standard top and bottom grill plate that is easy to clean because they have standard straight grill markings. This model has a top grill that is cross-hatched which makes it 5 times harder to clean. Even after putting it in the dishwasher on high there is still so much residue left in between the crosshatches I have to handwash it for an extra 3 minutes.

-Bad experience in getting replacement parts. So the manual says you can get the regular type of straight top plate if you want. Well I tried ordering it from the replacement part company and they told me they don't have them. I was dissapointed but I thought to myself- ok... I might as well just get extra grill plates so that I can have an extra on hand if the teflon scratches or just to not have to run the dishwasher every night I can have an extra clean pair of grill plates. Well that didn't work out either. I was told they didn't have any more replacement grill plates and that I'd have to wait 6 weeks. 8 weeks later they still didn't have them... 16 weeks later still nothing... so basically if you scratch the teflon on these grill plates, you're stuck having to buy a new entire grill because they don't have replacement grill plates and haven't had them for months. customer service is virtually non-existant.

- No where in the manual does it explain to you what it means when the temperature display is blinking and what it means when it stops blinking. Probably because they don't want you to realize how long this thing takes to actually heat up to the right temperature. the manual says to preheat the grill to the desired temperature for at least 5 minutes before placing food on it. But the blinking indicates that it is still heating. Once it stops blinking the desired temperature has been reached. It takes WAY more than 5 minutes to preheat the grill to the set temperature. I put bacon on the rack and it took almost 15 minutes to cook. It would've been faster on the stove! On the champ it took me 8 minutes to get perfect crispy bacon.

If you go traveling outdoors a lot like rv camping the other plates like the muffin and cake plate might work for you. Otherwise I don't see the point of using this to make muffins or cakes or pizza because the oven makes pizzas, cakes and muffins 50 times better than this grill does and in the same amount of time. I don't have the waffle plates so I can't comment on those.

One reviewer below wrote "What did this "evolve" from anyway? A bic lighter?" I couldn't agree more.

For $95 I was expecting a lot more. You can cook pretty well with the thing, but I have two main issues

1)Not easy to clean.
The bottom pan is pretty easy to clean, and that is the one they show in various pictures, but the top pan isn't. The top pan has lines to make cool grill marks, but frankly, its hard to clean. its so big I can't soak it in my sink or my giant plastic tub, so I have to hand clean it with paper towels and rags. Stuff gets stuck in the corners of the grill-line area so easily. Frankly, I just rinse it and re-use without cleaning the top just because its such a pain.

2)Heating
It says it preheats in 5 minutes, but that is just flat out wrong. If you want to preheat on 300 (lowest) it takes about 8-10 minutes, and if you want to preheat to 425 (highest) it takes around 15 minutes. Even if you get it that hot, once you put the food on it won't be able to maintain the temperature. If you have any intention of covering the entire surface with food, you will be disappointed. I can get 2 burgers on this thing and it still has trouble maintaining them. I put 8 strips of bacon on and the 'sizzle' sound fades after 20-30 seconds. It just cant maintain the heat.

I like the deep-dish pan it has though. I put a lot of food in there, set to 300 and let it slowly cook for 30-40 minutes. It barely reaches a boil after 15 minutes, but after that it is a slow boil that can maintain. Even if I set it to 425 like this, it only boils a little faster.

Frankly, though, for almost $100 I think it is junk.

Having tried one of the smaller Foreman grills, I was more than a little skeptical. I have been pleasantly surprised at the way this unit cooks everything from waffles, chicken, steak and fish. It is important to read the literature for best initial results. The only reason it doesn't get 5 stars is the finish. Still has that VERY THIN non-stick coating. After my first experience, I knew to be very careful in cleaning up after using. If the quality of the non-stick were improved by the manufacturer/designer, this would be a PERFECT purchase for indoor grilling balancing quality with cost.

Great Grill !! I have had several models of the George Foreman grill, and this is by far the best. The baking pans work surprisingly well , and have been useful for cooking small portions of cornbread and muffins. The removable plates clean easily, both on and off the grill. This is a great cooking utensil for someone who has to cook for one or two people. Foods can be prepared quickly and easily. Just be aware that the grill does not turn off after the selected cooking time is finished. It will remain on until the power button is turned off. All in all I am enjoying the grill and would recommend it to anyone looking for something to help with quick and easy food preparation.