Customer Reviews

Nordic Ware Microwave 2 Sided Round Bacon and Meat Grill

5 star:		(27)
4 star:		(7)
3 star:		(5)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(3)

 

 

I absolutely hate washing greasy pans, so being a bacon-aholic, I had to find an easier way to get crispy bacon on the table ASAP or sooner. I've been using a microwave safe plate, and zapping the bacon for about 5 ½ minutes on 70% power, but couldn't resist trying out this product, just because.

Comparative results:

Bacon a la plate:
1. Put a paper towel on the plate
2. Put the Bacon on the paper towel
3. Put another paper towel on top
4. Zap at 70% power for 5 1/2 minutes
5. Remove top paper towel
6. Put bacon in another plate - ready to eat
7. Discard greasy bottom paper towel
8. Allow plate to cool, add dishwashing liquid and water for a few minutes
9. Wash as usual

Bacon a la gadget
1. Put bacon on grooved side of gadget
2. Put a paper towel on top (I hate cleaning splatters off microwaves too)
3. Zap at 70% power for 7 minutes
4. Zap again depending how it comes out
5. Remove top paper towel
6. Put bacon in another plate - ready to eat
7. Reserve gunky stuff at bottom of gadget if you're going to use it later
8. Apply generous quantities of dishwashing liquid and hot water, leave gadget to soak
9. Wash off whatever comes off, then leave to soak longer
10. Rinse, and soak again
11. Realize that sticky stuff isn't coming off the sides of the ridges or the inside rim of the gadget
12. Apply more detergent and use brute force with a brush to the problem areas
13. Remember to brush both sides of each ridge
14. Wash again

Summary:

For bacon without all the mess
Just use the microwave
There's no real need to use a pan
Unless it's fat you crave

All you need's a dinner plate
And two thick Bounty sheets
The rendered fat helps it to cook
Providing crispy treats

This gadget works, make no mistake
But it's too hard to clean
Use the flip side as a plate
And zap some quick cuisine



Amanda Richards, December 20, 2007

I have the rectangular version of this bacon/meat microwave grill and let me tell you - this is one of the handiest items to have onhand, especially for cooking bacon.

I don't know about you, I really enjoy bacon, but it's a pain to cook and it stinks the house up for hours. However, I always jealously noticed how my mother-in-law's bacon always seem to come out perfectly brown, crunchy, and flat. Above all, her kitchen wasn't overly saturated with the bacon smell. When I found out she used one of these Nordic Ware bacon microwave dishes, I was flabberghasted. I went right out and purchase one.

Now I make great bacon without the hassle, extra pans, and the extra permeating odor. The odor is now mostly contained in the microwave.

The trick to having one of these is figuring out the time/power level formula for making bacon the way you want it. For me, it's 7 minutes on 80% power with a paper towel on top to keep it from splattering. I almost always get bacon the way I want it this way. It gets a little trickier when adding more than two slices, but it's nothing mind-boggling.

An extra bonus is that the bacon grease collect on the bottom of the pan (keeps it from interfering with the bacon cooking). Makes it easy to collect bacon grease for different recipes, like collard greens. I usually collect the grease in a jar so I can have it readily on hand for whenever a recipe calls for pork fat or bacon grease.

You can also use this item to defrost meats without making a mess of your microwave. You can either use the grill side, or flip it around and use the flat bottom side to do so. The lip keeps the fluids from making a mess.

It's dishwasher safe, so all you have to do is drain off the excess grease/liquids and pop it in. The more stubborn stains usually slough off with a scrubbie-sided sponge.

This is a great product. I'm very happy to have it.

I also have a rectangular version, purchased many moons ago. It is reversible. It's at home all the time, flat side up, in my microwave to catch boil-overs or spills. I never take it out except to clean it. It is easier and safer to clean this item than dealing with the glass turntable.
In response to Elaine L.-- this is not difficult to clean if you know how. After frying bacon, drain out any fat and place the rack into your sink. Sprinkle it with dishWASHER detergent, fill it with your hottest tap water and let it soak for a few minutes. By the time the water is cooled, the detergent will have done a good job. Then you can finish it by scrubbing quickly with a stiff brush and rinse in plain water, or put it into the diswasher. Either way, its fast & easy.
I gave it only 4 stars because of its size/shape. The rectangular reversible design is far superior to this one.

This rack allows fat to drain from the meat but it is very hard to clean. You will spend more time cleaning this rack than cooking or eating the food.

I read the reviews for this item prior to purchasing it. The several negative ones gave me some pause for consideration. However, since most reviews were in the positive sense, I took the chance and purchased it. I am glad I made the right decision. Works as intended. I have cooked bacon and sausage on it and have not had any trouble cleaning it after each use as some other reviewers have mentioned. Its round shape is great for a microwave as there are no corners bumping against the sides of the oven requiring you to continuously adjust it. The only caveat I would give to future purchasers of this item is that its size is a bit on the small side. It will accommodate a single layer of four full slices of bacon without the ends of the strips hanging over the edge of the grilling plate (I guess you could stack a second layer on top in a criss-cross fashion, but I have not yet tried this). Sausages are no problem. The plate will easily accommodate five Italian sausages. I turn them over about halfway through their cooking. I use a Progressive splatter shield and there is absolutely no mess to the microwave's interior surfaces. An addtiional benefit is that this grilling plate does not get super hot as a glass or ceramic dish, and therefore I was able to remove it from the microwave without using a clumsy pot holder or dish towel. This is an item well worth Amazon's purchase price.

OK, so to cook bacon in the microwave, I had been using a dinner plate with paper towels: two underneath and one on top. The bacon came out cooked evenly every time. The only trick is getting the time right.

While I was searching for a microwave cover (to prevent splatters), I came across this thing and thought I'd give it a try.

So I'm here to report that the bacon does not come out cooked evenly: 3 peices on the plate, the one in the middle was only partially cooked while the other two peices and the ends of the peice in the middle were fully cooked. Had to cut that peice and cook it longer. Not fun.

Maybe you are thinking something else changed? Nope. The only difference between using this specially designed plate and using a regular dinner plate is what the bacon is sitting on - the plate. Everything else is the same - same power, same time, same built-in microwave turntable, etc. I even used bacon from the same package.

Theory: My ceramic plate (stoneware?) distributes the heat more evenly than this peice of plastic so the bacon cooks more evenly.

If you are cooking more than a couple of slices of bacon, you will need to "cut up" slices into pieces as this is not a large cooker. However, it will allow your microwave turntable to rotate, which larger cookers will not.... it's a tradeoff.

This is the third Nordic Bacon cooker I have purchased over the years and every time it produces great bacon. One tip when you cook bacon lay the bacon on a sheet of paper towel when you cook and the tray is a snap to wash.

It is SO hard to find a round bacon tray! My mom would complain everytime she used the square one because it wouldn't rotate and hit the walls. She even went as far as filing down the corners, and it still didn't work. When I saw this I got it (and the microwave plate cover which goes nicely with this) and she is SO happy! No more complaining! ; )

on the flat side used for pizza the finish is marred. also, i found for pizza that the tray needs to be preheated in the microwave for 3-5 minutes in order to get it hot enough to make the pizza crust not be soggy. the microwave pizzas come with a paper tray that crisps the pizza and does not need to be preheated. this product might be more successful for bacon, but it looks like it would be hellish to clean between the ridges. the tray does NOT come with a tool shaped like the ridges to make scraping in these valleys easier. for just a few dollars more you can get a real George Foreman GR10B 36 Square Inch Nonstick Countertop Grill, Black.