George Foreman GRP4P Indoor Grill: A Significant Improvement?

We recently spent a long weekend at a friend's apartment and found a few eye opening realities that we had forgotten about since our days in an apartment. The main eye opener was when it came to "grill out" in the early evening. Grilling out meant getting the George Foreman grill out and actually meant grilling in. I had not seen or used a George grill since my apartment days and I was never a fan of them at that time. That was about five years ago and I was hopeful that they had improved the grills.

One thing that I did remember quickly was how small the grill is. The grill is 15 x 13 x 7. In other words, small enough so that you can store it above a fridge or underneath the sink. In this regard, it truly is wonderful. The grill also provides a decent amount of cooking space- 72 square inches. Do not confuse this with the normal outdoor grill that can cook 10 burgers at a time. Of course, you also would not be able to store a normal grill on top of the fridge.

The other positive that I remember and is still the case is the sloped grill. The grill slopes gently from back to front where the grease will collect and can be dumped. The theory is that more of the grease and fat will drain away, rather than being cooked into the food. It works well and I guess it also provides some health benefits.

The biggest improvement that I saw with the GRP4P grill over the model I had five years ago is that you can now stick the grilling plates in the dishwasher. I could not stand using that old plastic fork like thing to try to push and pull the residue off the grilling plates. The process took way too long and you had the feeling that the job was not done effectively. Now you do not have to worry about it. Now you simply takes the grilling plates and stick them in the dishwasher. It could not be easier to clean the GRP4P. A huge improvement!

But what about the bottom line? Yeah, how does the food taste? We grilled burgers and chicken breasts and the results were mixed. The chicken breasts were decent enough. However, the burgers were a little on the dry side. They were not terrible, but I was not interested in seconds. My guess is that they were a lot healthier than burgers on the grill or in the oven, but as seldom as I eat burgers I can deal with a little bit of the stuff that makes food taste good.

What else? Well, the handles are constructed to remain cool to the touch regardless of how warm the grill gets. This is an expected touch in this day and age. The grill plates are scratch resistant and have a non-stick surface. Again, expected features. I will say that the stick free surface is not 100% stick free. It is more like 75% stick free. In other words, some things a little bit and others are just fine. You do not have an on/off switch nor do you have a temperature control; everything cooks at the same temperature.

All in all, the GRP4P George Foreman has improved to a great extent from the model I had. I would still say that it is not something I would run out to purchase even if I lived in am apartment. I would also note that this is not something that you need to run out to buy if you do not live in an apartment. You will simply be purchasing something that you do not need. I will give it a recommended rating because it does have a use if you are into it and reside in an apartment.