Low Carb. Lo Fat. High Protein. Diets, diets, diets, diets!!! It's getting so that every time you turn around somebody's trying to tell you what's good for you and what's not. It's getting harder and harder to plan a meal, what with some people clinging to low-fat diets while others demand low-carb foods. As a long-ago commercial whined, "What's a mother to do?"

Well, around our house, the crummy little George Foreman Grill we inherited a year or so ago proved pretty handy. The Ms could get her high doses of protein without either of us significantly boosting our fat intake. The result? She lost significant weight and I stayed (more or less) steady. Not a bad outcome, you think? But the George was already in pretty bad shape when we got it, so a new one went on her Christmas List. The one she wanted wasn't the big indoor grill or the rotisserie model, though, it was the latest and greatest: the Next Generation, George calls it, the one with removable grilling plates. Now that's a step forward in my book, especially since little old model was a royal pain to clean.


Haven't Seen the Next Generation Yet?

The GRP99, as we fondly call it, is considerably larger than the original George, with a footprint seventeen inches wide and fourteen inches deep. Empty, it stands some five inches high, but the hinge "floats" open a full inch to allow you to grill thick cuts and still keep the plates parallel for even heating. The heated plates themselves are about eight by twelve inches (ninety-six square inches of cooking space) with deep grooves and the steep tilt that are the stock in trade of the Foreman grills. Those plates, in a first for the line, are completely removable for cleaning and can even be run through a dishwasher. Their coating is, according to Salton, safe for use with metal utensils (something I prefer not to test at this price).

Like most of the newer Foreman grills, the GRP99 has variable temperature control and a timer, both of which have LED readouts with numbers legible from across the kitchen.
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And now for something completely different (and yet curiously on-topic):

Worried about heart disease? Take note of the fact that the Japanese eat very little fat, while Mexicans eat a lot. Both groups have fewer heart attacks than Americans or Britons. Africans drink very little red wine, while Italians drink volumes. Yet both groups have fewer heart attacks than Americans or Britons. An epidemiological conclusion might be that you should eat and drink what you like. What kills you is speaking English.

We now return you to our regular programming.
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More Gifts From George

The GRP99 comes with two, count 'em, two of those handy grease-catchers; a pair of nylon utensils for use on the metal-safe coating (doesn't give me much confidence in that metal-safe stuff, does it you?) and a nice little cookbook with the "Story of George" as an introduction. Recipes comprise more than just burgers, brats, and hotdogs: there are recipes for poultry and pork, fish and shellfish. Many are "Atkins-compliant," too - one that we've already used a couple of times calls for a marinated orange roughy (or tilapia) fillet and includes grilled veggies as well. There are also, I believe, recipes that call for veggie burgers and other "cuts" (such as those sold by Morningstar Farms).

The basic instruction book has a chart of suggested starting points for standard cuts of meat: time and temperature. We found this to be reasonably accurate, although a bit optimistic...


Using Your George

Gust like the George Grill of yore, you set up the drip tray and turn your grill on by setting a cooking temperature. When the plates reach the chosen temperature, the "ready" sign flashes and you just slap in the food. The floating hinge adjusts the top plate to keep even heat on both sides. Set the timer and wait for it to chime.

When you're done cooking, the plates easily lift out of the body - all you do is slide the handles inward. Wash the plates in the sink or the dishwasher and, when they're dry, they can be re-inserted. Since they're of quite different shapes, you soon learn which of the unlabelled plates goes on top and which goes on the bottom. Re-mounting them is easy, though there's no positive "snap" to indicate that they're mounted right. The first few times I was concerned that the top plate would just fall off...


Overall

A great improvement on the original "Champ" model we had. The temperature control and timer are very nice, but in my opinion the most important innovation is the removable plates. Besides the GRP99 (which, oddly, costs about $99) there's also a smaller "Four-Burger" model (72 square inches of cooking space) with removable plates, the GP4R that lists for about $60.

We like it.


Recommended: Yes

Amount Paid (US$): 80