Customer Reviews

George Foreman GV5 Roaster and Contact Cooker

5 star:		(39)
4 star:		(13)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(3)
1 star:		(2)

 

 

I was suprised at how good this cooker is, as I was skeptical.

First task: We picked up a fresh 5.2 pound chicken at the store, tied the legs together with cooking twine, and it fit perfectly in the roaster with a little bit to spare. (the larger chickens will need the legs secured, or pushed together to fit) It was jucier than that famous rotisserie on TV. The grease ran off as advertised, as it nearly completely filled the catch cup on the bottom. This is an A+.

Second task: Eggs. Three scrambled eggs, peppers/onions, topped with cheese. Used a light coating of spray to coat the top tray, just in case. Closed the lid and set it for 20 minutes. After 20 minutes, was nearly done, so set it for 2 more (total time 22 minutes). I couldn't believe the fluffiness of the eggs. Normally when I use a stove top pan, the bottom cooks faster than the top. This time, no burnt bottom. It slid right out of the pan, and I folded it over onto the plate.

I bought one of these and tried it out when it got home. Cooked a 4lbs pot roast in it in 70 minutes and it turned out extremely juicy and perfectly cooked medium rare. The only work I had to do was marinate it how I wanted, put it into the cooker and turned it on. 70 Minutes later I opened it up, took it out and put it on a platter and sliced it up! Cooking doesn't get easier than this it was cooked perfectly on all sides thanks to the top and bottom heater.

Clean up was simple, too. Just used a plastic spoon and wood chopstick to push off some of the harder build up, and a soft sponge to clean off the rest. Dried it off with a paper towel and it was all clean.

Next I'll try cooking up a garlic-lemon chicken and see how that goes! Should turn out reeeeeeeeeeal good.

In addition to being an avid reader, I enjoy cooking. This appliance is the best thing on my counter. The first night after it arrived, I roasted a whole 4-1/2 pound chicken. I slid some fresh sage and rosemary under the skin, placed it in the cooker breast side down, added some baby potatoes and sliced onions, set the timer, and ignored it for the next hour. The wonderful aromas coming out of it were hard to ignore, but I resisted the temptation to open it up during the cooking process. My chicken was thoroughly done but moist, tender, and very flavorful. Although I had pulled out the abdominal fat, about 1/4" of grease dripped out into the tray during cooking. That was fat that didn't end up in my body. Last night I roasted an inexpensive pork roast along with some whole carrots and created a delicious dinner. I highly recommend this product.

I already am a fan of the Foreman (Salton) grill, which does a chop or chicken breast or salmon steak and removes a lot of fat. The contact cooker is a small roaster that works on a similar principle: two heated sections and a hole to drain the collecting fat and liquid. The roaster is about the size of a small football helmet.

The roaster includes a small oval pan for stewing (collects the juices and blocks the drain hole.) This makes it more versatile. It has a timer, since you are roasting larger objects and this can take an hour or two.

Our first trial was a roast chicken, using a modified recipe included with the cooker. We added Red Bliss potatoes and put an olive oil and garlic seasoned mid sized chicken in to roast. This took one hour. The kitchen stayed cool and the roast was juicy. The fat from the skin drained almost as soon as the cooking started.

If you like to roast meats or fish, and you don't want to heat the entire oven or you live in a studio apartment, this is a great device.

Those of us who are convinced devotees of the George Foreman series of indoor grills will love this relatively new offering, which now allows us to extend the two element cooking principle of the Foreman grills to a more traditional cooker. Yet for us bachelor types, this is anything but cooking as usual, providing adequate space to accommodate a large (up to five pound) chicken or several steaks to thoroughly and safely cook meat to absolute perfection. This new version of the Foreman grill series of devices employs heating elements which are embedded both top and bottom to ensure a more even cooking of the meat. It also features a quite unique "rib-grill" design that is both easy to clean (as are all the Foreman products) and has a non-stick surface that facilitates cooking without the use of a lot of vegetable oil. One of the nicest features of this relatively inexpensive indoor grill-cooker is the neat 2.5 hour timer, which helps even a die-hard amateur like me to deliver the goods and have everyone asking for seconds, please! It also has some nice features such as a pre-heating function, a custom oval baking pan, which fits nicely inside, and an easy to use slide-out grease tray for easy disposal of the leftover residual grease. This is a great product, and is relatively inexpensive at around $55.00. Enjoy!

What I like about this Contact Cooker is that it's perfect for roasting chickens (less than 5 lbs), roasts, and whatever else you can fit in the cooker's cavity. It heats up in less than five minutes and is ready to go when you are.

The cooker comes with a removable insert which I used most of the time so the meat can roast in it's own juices. It also makes it easier to collect the juice for gravy, just make sure to use pot holders.

The only cons I have are:

1. The insert tray handles stick out of the sides of the cooker. It gets hot and can burn you if you're not paying attention. Plus, an unknowing person may accidently try to pick up the cooker thinking their handles for the cooker itself. It can be a potentially very dangerous situation when the cooker is being used.

2. You don't have a choice to the heat settings. Heck, it took me a while to find out what the cooker's heat setting was. It's a permanent 325. But, since you're cooking using all sides of the cooker, the temperature is quite practical for all meats.

3. The cooking cavity is not as big as I would like it to be. It's fine for anything less than 5 lbs and not overly large. Great for family meals of 4 or less - but don't expect to fit a pork shoulder roast or Thanksgiving turkey. It also doesn't allow room for me to slip in a temperature probe very well.

The Pros:

1. Easy to clean. The teflon coating clean up really nice. The insert tray take a little more work to clean, but it's not too bad.

2. Fast warm up. It's ready in less than 5 minutes.

3. Doesn't radiate heat as much like your oven would. A big plus, especially in the summer time.

4. Less mess overall. I use less pots and pans. What a relief.

5. Just about foolproof if you follow directions. Even though I like using temperature probes to keep tabs on my food, it really isn't necessary to do so.

This is a really nice cooker to have. Lots of pluses to having it, especially when you start using it. You'll discover the benefits yourself.

This product is worth buying. It's great for roasting meats
such as pork chops, whole chicken.The best part is when you cook
your meat in this contact cooker all of the grease leave the pot
and the meat is still moist.It also good for vegetables, bacon
sausages. It also easy to clean.

The only reason I rated this cooker 4 stars instead of 5 is that I've only used it once, but was I ever impressed with that once! Even though the directions say a 5-lb chicken, the one I had was a bit over 6 lbs. The lid didn't quite close at first, but after a short time the lid settled into place and the chicken was not only cooked in about an hour and a half, but it was also very juicy and delicious. The drip pan was filled to the brim with fat from the chicken but not overflowing. Clean-up was fast and easy. I highly recommend this appliance.

I am a person who hates to accumulate useless gadgets in the kitchen, but when I got this roaster and tried it out, it was one of the best things to keep in the kitchen!! It cooks chicken PERFECTLY. It is so easy to use and clean-up is a breeze. I have also used it to bake cakes and they too, have come out very nicely. All I can say is my family loves the way the chicken turns out (I have a husband, 3 sons and a daughter). Also, I love the fact that it doesn't heat up the kitchen. I have yet to cook other meats, fish, and veggies, but I'm SURE they will be wonderful. If you're on a diet and watching your fat intake, you'll love this. This is a great gift for anyone...newlyweds, college students, mother's, father's, anyone!

I got the George Foreman Contact Roaster for a Mother's Day gift. I love kitchen gadgets and could not wait to add this one to my collection. The first thing I cooked in it was the egg casserole (recipe in the booklet) and it turned out great. The second thing I made was a 3 lb. chicken. The aroma as it cooked was amazing. It was moist, tender and juicy. It took an hour and a half to cook. I would suggest NOT to line your roaster with sliced onions as I did to enhance the flavor of the chicken. The onions carmelized, then burned and got stuck in the drip hole. It was not very easy to clean that out. The roaster is also a bit small. I wish I would have requested the larger model as we are a family of 4 (soon to be 5) and I can see us outgrowing this appliance long before it wears out. I love to create recipes and cannot wait to see what I am able to concoct to cook in this roaster. It is very versetile and does not heat up the kitchen. It is smaller than the crock pot I used to have, and I probably will never buy another seeing how much fat this machine drains from meats. I will never again cook a chicken in a crock pot and let it sit in all that grease! The booklet that comes with the roaster is easy to read, although there are not many recipes in it. The little cleaning tool is great, it works very well and the additional drip tray comes in handy in case you have a very fatty cut of meat or you want to cook a second item right after the first is finished cooking. All in all, a wonderful appliance and highly reccomended.