Customer Reviews

Hamilton Beach 25295 Indoor Contact Grill with Removable Grids

5 star:		(30)
4 star:		(12)
3 star:		(5)
2 star:		(4)
1 star:		(7)

 

 

I was very intrigued by the Hamilton Beach Indoor grill/griddle with removable grids. I saw the commercial, but was hooked on the advertisement featuring removable grids. That advertisement sold me on purchasing one. Since purchasing one, I have been using it quite often. The ease of use and easy clean up keeps it from being a stowaway appliance. (Nut chopper, Salsa maker and toaster oven)

I really like the speed of cooking hamburgers and toasted sandwiches within five minutes. The dual sided cooking surface keeps the food hot and moist. The food remains hot inside for quite a long time and there is a noticeable difference to microwave heat.

The best features are: dual sided cooking, attached adjustable timer and the removable grids. I liked the removable grids the most because when you continuous cook for four or five times without cleaning the grids they can become very dirty. But you just pop them out and let them soak in soapy dishwater. The non-stick surface makes any burnt particles slid right off. This model (25295) has interchangeable grids; One set flat griddle grid and one set of ribbed grilling grids.

As with all kitchen appliances, there are some small inconviences to this grill. The grill must be heated up for five minutes before any cooking is done. (Five minutes is a lot of time to some people.) The bottom grill is slightly slanted for the grease and debris to slide down to the removable tray. This uneven grid makes uneven cook times if two items are cook simultaneously. The grease/debris tray is not locked into place, so it could fall out easily. We don't want grease all over the counter do we!

All in all, this grill/griddle is very useful and convenient for a small family.

I've owned a number of Foreman grills over the years and am a BIG fan of the product. I bought this to replace my last Foreman (the non-stick surface was peeling off the Foreman - again). I figured this product couldn't be much different than the Foreman - wrong!.

It doesn't get anywhere near as hot as the Foreman. Everything takes at least twice as long to cook.

There is about a half inch of space between the grill plates when closed. This is fine if you are cooking half inch steaks, but when cooking thinner cuts of meat, burgers or bacon only one side of the food is in contact with the grill. So you must turn the food. (the Foreman's plates are closer together and "float" on a hinge to accomidate both thin and thick items)

The cooking surface is TINY. It is comparable to the smallest Foreman. You can only cook 2 burgers at once. About 10% of the cooking area is lost to a large slot for the grease to drip through.

The drip pan doesn't lock into place so it is easily dislodged when you move the grill (just sliding the grill back a few inches on the counter can missalign it). If you don't notice right away you can end up with hot grease all over your counter!

I am buying another Foreman today! I will keep this and use it as a folding pancake griddle (you can cook four 3" pancakes at one time by opening it and using the griddle attachments) but I'm going back to Foreman for grilling.

My mom has owned this grill for about a year and a half, and she and I ocassionally use it whenever we cook something on it. I find it to cook very effeciently and at a reasonable amount of time. It comes with a timer so you can cook your food at the time you feel that is needed. I cook a lot of food on this grill here (hot dogs, fish, beef patties). It also has a slot at the right side of the grill for the grease to run off of into a cup.

I seem to notice some of the 2 star reviews (mainly one of the spotlight reviewers) complain about how small the grill is. I personally don't believe it is that small. Unless you have two jumbo burgers, or something to the equivulent on your grill, then you aren't much room (I cooked 5 on mine without any problem). Also my grill's non stick surface hasn't peeled off yet. Also I don't have a problem with the amount of time it takes my food to cook because of the fact that the heat cannot be adjusted. Seriously people, whats a couple of extra minutes going to do when cooking your food?? Are you that hungry enough that you have to compain about the grill taking longer to cook food? I personaly believe that the surfaces keep a reasonable amount of heat so you can cook your food without burning youself. You don't have to spray oil or put butter on the grill because of it's excellent non-stick surface.

Another thing about this grill is that the surfaces comes apart so you can wash them or put them in the dishwasher. I find that to be very convient when cleaning the grill.

This grill is very effective when cooking. I find it very useful when I'm trying to cook large amounts of food when I don't have enough room on the stove. This grill has made cooking very convient and much easier. If you want to compare this to the competition The George Forman Grill (one that we once had as well), I find this one to have many advantages. The only difference that I found is that Hamilton Beach grill has a timer and the plates can be taken off, while the George Forman grill can adjust the temperature.

In response to one reviewer: You might want to thaw or defrost your food before you decide to cook it. That might explain why it took so to cook your beef patty. This grill wasn't specifically made to cook frozen food.

In response to another reviewer: I've used this grill for quite a while, and didn't have any weird plastic smells while using it.

Yes, the George Foreman grills set the standard for indoor, easy-to-use grills and at one time I used one. But I hated trying to clean my George Forman since it was all one piece and I wanted to scrub clean the unit from all the grease on it.

Hamilton Beach took what was good with the George Forman grills and made it even better. When I'm done using it (and after it cools off) I can snap off the griddle plates and wash them. Heck I'll even put them in my dishwasher. I've had my Hamilton Beach grill for almost 2 years now and I've never had any problems or complaints about it.

I want to speak up on behalf of Hamilton Beach indoor grills. I just ordered this 25295 model, which is my third in about a half-dozen years. It probably will last a few years, making that three in ten years. That's not bad at all.

What went wrong with the one before this, the previous model 25285 with removable grids, is that the turn-off mechanism stopped being dependable. I noticed that my steak got overcooked, but thought it had been my fault for leaving it on too long. It wasn't until the next morning that I saw that the grill never shut itself off (eeek: stayed on overnight). So it's time for replacement -- after four years or so of constant use and perhaps some casual abuse.

The model before that, replaced with the 25285 (for cleaning ease and because I wanted white), was given to my mother, who also got a few years of faithful, second-hand service. So that one too lasted about four years. I also gave one away as a present -- and its recipient, who had been suspicious of such contraptions and has a tiny kitchen, loved it and used it for years. Therefore, this is the fourth HB indoor grill that I've purchased.

If you are single and don't have a lot of counter space, this is tough to beat -- particularly for less than $50 and no tax or shipping charges, and an easy return policy in addition to the one-year warranty. Before I bought the 25295, I checked out the George Foreman grills (including the "next generation"), Cuisinart, T-Fal, etc. Some of the others have some nice features that this model lacks -- such as temperature control, greater grilling area, floating hinge. But to me, that was offset by how much bulkier they are, oftentimes quite ugly IMHO, and not that much more bang for the buck. I really don't like it that some of the smaller GF models turn on only by being plugged in the wall. Maybe this is intended as a safety feature, but I wouldn't want to constantly have to mess with that. A power button should be essential, rather than considered a nicety for which they charge extra.

This does a nice job with grilled sandwiches, meat and fish, sliced vegetables, etc. You get grill marks and it cooks everything right, after you learn the appropriate times for different types of food. It's cooked bacon fine, IMHO. It does quite nicely with frozen meat or veggie patties and chicken breasts. I particularly like to throw on a fairly thick frozen sirloin, or salmon or tuna steak. The outside gets browned, while the interior stays moist and lightly cooked (if you catch it in time). The reservoir cup holds a lot, so if you marinate the meat or fish and it drips, it's not a problem. If it's not essential to dispose of the fat that drips off and collects in the reservoir -- the ostensible purpose of indoor grills and still their prime marketing claim -- you can find ways to use it to baste the food during cooking (buy a second cup or find something else to use) or use it as the basis of gravy.

Some reviewers have noted that the nonstick surface on the GF models flakes or chips off over time. These HBs hold up, but you do need to follow instructions. Wipe the grids clean while still warm and wash in the sink or dishwasher. Don't use cleaning products or tools that will strip off the nonstick covering, and use spray oil before grilling. Also, let the grill heat up 5 min before use, as per the directions. Food placed on hot surfaces sticks less than food that heats up with the surface (of course, such caramelization also enhances taste to some extent, so you may want to fiddle with this for your purposes, carefully scraping off the caramelized parts to avoid scratching the surface). If the grids get messed up, they can be replaced as long as the parts are manufactured, which probably will be for a while.

The models I've purchased have made a tidy "footprint" on my countertop, and I know how to make it do what I need it to do. It wasn't worth it to spend maybe even twice as much for a few more bells and whistles, when I would be settling for a style that I dislike and losing half the counter space. Yes, it can be put away after use, but I like to have kitchen gizmos within easy reach, particularly if I like the way they look. The grill gets too much use to be constantly tucked away anyway. And this model matches my other stuff. If I had chrome appliances or did more entertaining or a larger counter area, I would've been seriously tempted by the Cusinart model, though, I have to admit.

Therefore, I think some of the negative comments need to be taken in the context of maybe judging too quickly or nitpicking, needing a larger size grill for a family, preferring more features, using it incorrectly, etc. Neither I nor the people I know who have had HB indoor grills have had problems with melting plastic or plastic odors. HB makes the "Honda" of indoor grills. It's dependable rather than flashy, not big which matters for those with small kitchens, rates well with consumers and through independent tests, lasts for years, and isn't more than a one- or two- person household needs. Why pay (and pay for the electricity over time) for what you don't need? If your needs are modest, a modest indoor grill may well suit your purposes. I look forward to the new grill living up to the quality of its predecessors in my household.

I love this grill. I enjoy this one better than the George Foreman grill. Easy clean up.I have not had any problem with the nonstick when cleaning as I did when I cleaned the George Foreman grill. Some are saying the drip tray does not snap in. Mine does, as with the George Forman grill, you just put the drip tray under the grill (that's not snapped in) and when it is unbalanced the grease went on my counter and not in the drip tray(which was caused by losing one of the grips on the bottom of the grill from moving the grill around). That was extra work to clean! Yes you have to let it heat up for 5 min, that's with any grill even the George Foreman grill I had (the large family size with the timer and temperture control). I have not had any uneven cooked foods as someone mentioned in a previous review. You can open it up all the way to grill open face or you can grill and griddle at the same time when it is opened all the way.
The only thing I hate is no temperture control and I hope Hamilton make a family size.
I love my grill!!

We purchased this last year to replace a previous grill. We don't like it as well as the previous one, primarily because the hinge mechanism has limited flexibility -- for thicker cuts, the grill touches a lot more in the back causing uneven cooking.

This was an excellent purchase. The grids are removable and go right in the dishwasher without any impact to the non-stick coating. It has an audible timer which also shuts off the grill making it a great purchase for the elderly who might not hear the timer. This is the second time we've purchased the grill, we gave the first grill to our son after we'd used it for a couple of years (it was still like new and we'd used it a lot). We called around our local area looking for another HB grill and couldn't find one so we purchased a George Foreman. The features we were looking for, especially the timer that shut the grill off, were only available on the larger grills. We're cooking for two and really didn't want the "family size" grill so we left it in the box and pursued the HB until we found one on Amazon. We're now happy grillers again and hope they never stop making the HB with the features we love.

If you ask me, this appliance was designed and engineered with a little more thought that other similar retail products.

Comparable electric grills in the same price range really don't offer the same options and features as the Hamilton Beach 25295 Express Indoor Contact Grill. While the higher end George Foreman Grills feature a similar size cooking surface and a digital timer, the Hamilton Beach's analogue timer works just as well. Personally, I can't imagine that digital over analogue in this instance could be of any importance.

This grill is best used for grilling chicken breasts, meat paddies, and boneless cuts of meat. New users should be advised that electric indoor over/under grill do not produce the same sort of flavor in meat that you will get using an outdoor grill using charcoal and/or wood chips. The best way to make use of an appliance like this is to marinate most foods for at least an hour before grilling.

Which brings me to one advantage of the Foreman Grill: In the past, a do-it-yourself VHS tape was among the accessories included with the GF grill. It was a thirty minute class on what to do with the grill and how to prepare recipes. With the Hamilton Beach Grill, you get a little pamphlet that has some recipes and descriptions of what sort of results to expect. It's too bad that there isn't more, but that's really the only downside.

Maybe the grill doesn't get as hot as the Foreman Grill, but so what if it cooks a chicken breast in seven minutes instead of five? I thought the grill broke down easily for cleaning. Unlike some of the other reviewers, I didn't notice any weird plastic smells when I was cooking, but then, maybe I didn't scrutinize this appliance as carefully. I'm not very good at picking flysh*t out of pepper, either.

I honestly haven't tried Foreman and had a real tough time deciding between HB and the identical 'next generation foreman grill". I suspect that foreman's new version is a knockoff of HB. I did not see any timer on Foreman and that was a major factor in trying HB instead.

On its own HB is terrific. Very easy to clean and the food is coming out absolutely delicious. I can place frozen solid chicken strips on there and they come out effortlessly. I am using the upper end of the time scale, though, and haven't done much with burgers yet but if its half as good as the chicken, I'll be buying a 2nd one!