Conference turris::cooks

Well, despite the warm weather the last few days, winter is not far off and 
I have been thinking about the end of the barbeque season.  We do have a 
gas grill, and I know a good many people use their gas grills all winter 
long, but given the logistics of our current situation, it just isn't 
feasible.  Nor am I in the market for a whole new stove with grill 
attachment.  

However, I have been looking at counter top electric grills. There seem to
be two basic kinds on the market -- the all metal jobs and the ones with a
stoneware base. They seem to vary somewhat in wattage -- 900 to 1200 watts.
All come apart and everything except the heating element goes in the
dishwasher.  Prices seem to run $35-$65.  Does anyone have any experience
good or bad?  Any recommendations or cautions? 

I apologize if this is a duplicate note, but I have done a title search on 
this file for "electric grill" and for "indoor grill" and found nothing.

Thanks,

Susan

    
    	I have a small countertop indoor grill with a stoneware base.  I
    think it's great!  It is easy to use, clean, and food comes out very
    similar to broiling.  My only complaint is it cooks rather slowly and
    you really have to keep an eye on things (but you really have to keep
    your eye on the real grill too).
    
    I'm glad I have one.  It sure beats standing out in the cold!
    
    Joanne
    

    I've had a Farberware broiler/rotisserie (sp?) for about 15 yrs., and I
    haven't seen anything that could take it's place.  Smokeless and easy
    to clean.  
    
    
    Steve

    Re. .2   I stored mine in the basement wrapped in plastic
    and it rusted.  I guess I created too much moisture.  
    Or, are there different qualities?  I now have 
    the pottery base type indoor grill, which
    I really have not used too often, but should.  I made shrimp shish
    kabobs at a family gathering once and it really was  a success.
    It is great for entertaining.  However, I miss the 
    rotisseri (sp) on the Faberware.
           
    Flo

    If you're still in the market and have decided to buy a table-top
    grill, I saw a nice-looking unit in Rich's Dept. Store yesterday
    on sale for about $29, regularly $40.  I don't know where you
    live - this store is in Gardner, Massachusetts and there's one
    in Fitchburg, Mass. also.  Anywhere near you?  Good luck.
    
    				Martha

    I own one and love it. It is the size of the burner, so I say that
    if you grill for a lot of people you need two of them, but in general
    it's quite a nice gadget.  It does not smoke up the kitchen, because
    the water in the pan underneath catches the drippings. I have cooked
    vegetables, tofu,fish and lots of other things on it; it also cleans
    up very easy.  I would say, invest in one.
                             Gudrun
    

    I own a gas range. The grill fits on top of the burner. Don't turn
    the flame to high. But in the directions it says that you may cook
    on an electric range with the same results.

  I sort of wish we had gotten a Jenn-Aire with a grill module when we
  remodeled our kitchen, but we didn't. So this note and some others
  prompted me to try adding some lava rocks to the Farberware grill/
  rotisserie we have to see if that would help it do an acceptable job
  grilling meats. Char-B-Que used to sell just such a gizmo, and they
  still sell table-top indoor electric grills, but without the lava
  rocks these days.

  Anyway, it worked reasonably well. I let it heat up for 30 minutes
  before grilling the meat to make sure the rocks were as hot as they
  were going to get. It actually grilled the meat nicely, but there was
  maybe a little too much flame (fortunately we have a decent range
  hood). Part of the problem was we have the small model, and there
  wasn't enough room to move the steak around to let the flames die
  down. I would never try chicken or anything really fatty on it, but I
  felt it did a better job on steak than the oven broiler.

  Another thought: I think the more powerful the grill, the better. So
  far, the most powerful I've seen is 1600 watts (the large Farberware,
  and a unit called "Ferrari"). Ours is 1200 watts, which seemed
  adequate, but many of the units in the stores are only 800 or 900
  watts, which I don't think would do a good job on meat.

  Of course we're crazy enough to grill on the Weber when there's three
  feet of snow on the ground, so the only time we'll use it is when it's
  raining or snowing and we get a craving for grilled meat or fish. But
  it was a worthwhile experiment, and (I feel) moderately successful.

    We tried one on the electric range and it does work.  But watch out for
    running out of water, ours caught on fire!  All the oil, fat and grease
    will be floating on the water and once the water boils over, you get
    flambe dish :-)  We prepared a variant of Thai marinated chicken and it
    came out moist and nicely grilled.  Doing the same dish in regular oven
    makes it very dry.
    
    - Vikas

    We just purchased another one from Bradlees Dept Store for $7.99
    (-$3.00) rebate.  The brandname is CookTime and it is of better
    quality.  We prepared thai marinated chicken on it yesterday night. 
    It is indeed the next best thing to sliced bread :-)
    
    - Vikas

    One more gadget that I added to my cooking tools is a Burton's Stove
    Top Grill.  Has anyone else tried this new item?  It is really great. 
    It is a ring that fits over the range burner with a place to add water.
    This is then topped with a non stick piece with slits around the
    outside.  You heat it well and place your food on the non stick
    surface.  It works really well - meats are browned and stay moist.
    All the fats filter down into the water.  A super gadget.  I bought one
    for my daughter-in-law, son, and sister.
    
    I have made pork chops lightly tenderized and seasoned with Paul P's
    meat magic - goooood.   Fajitas, veal culets - and last night a flank 
    steak that had been marinading overnite in soy sauce, ginger, peanut oil, 
    garlic, pepper and a small amount of sesame oil and sugar (I think that was
    all).  It was the best flank steak - tender and moist.  I cooked it 5
    minutes on one side and about 6-7 on the other.  This method was better
    than the broiler or outdooor grill.
    
    I also tried sliced onions, they carmalize beautifully.  Love this
    simple addition.
    
    Flo

    
    We received one of these for Xmas.  I was skeptical at first, but it
    does work great.  Flo's comments are right on the mark.  These units
    are really pretty inexpensive as well.  
    
    - Larry

    Couple of questions on Burton's grill: 
    
    1) How will it do with boneless venison steaks?  My husband believes
    they need to be cooked in a bit of oil and covered to keep them moist.
    
    2) Previous entry mentioned a flank steak.  What is the thickest steak
    the Burton's will handle?                         
    
    Laura

    I'll try to answer your questions.  
    
    The boneless venison steaks? You could rub them with a small amount of
    oil and season well.  They should be moist without a cover as the ring
    is filled with water and this keeps your meats moist without a steamed
    texture. 
    
    I did thin leftover ham slices on the grill once.  Normally, they would
    crisp up and dry out in the heating process.  The slices remained moist
    and did not have the leftover quality. 
    
     The thickest steak? I have done a decent size hamburger, a 1" sirloin 
    and the flank steak so far.  My daughter-in-law did a London Broil.  I 
    would assume that it was pretty thick, but I didn't ask her.  Last night 
    I did lamb chops. They were approximately 1" thick.  So, I would say 
    the grill can take meat at least 1" thick +.
    
    I'm still experimenting.  Maybe Larry has tried a few other things.
    
    Flo                  

    I live in a somewhat small one bedroom apartment and would like to use
    a Stove Top Grill.  My concern is the smoke that it will cause.  Does
    anyone have any experience with these.  The box it comes in says that
    it is smokeless.  Should I believe this ???????.......

    	Just in case you're also thinking about a stovetop smoker (like the
    one Jeff Smith sometimes uses on the Frugal Gourmet), this DOES produce
    quite a bit of smoke. I had my stove fan running full blast, and I
    still set off all the smoke alarms the first time I used it. I now only
    use the stovetop smoker outside on my gas grill. It can smoke all it
    wants to out there.
    	By the way, I really like the thing...

    If you get the stovetop grill, just be sure to add water to the
    reservoir, and keep it filled, as described in the directions.  The
    steam rises through the vents, and somehow absorbs the usual smoke.
    
    I'm sure I've made some terrible mistake that will offend the
    physicists, but anyway - - - there's a lot less smoke than from the
    usual sauteeing or pan grilling.   It's negligable.  We have a
    sensitive smoke alarm which has never been set off by this cooker.
    
    They are also very easy to clean.  I put the grill piece in the
    dishwasher and find the reservoir ring cleans very easily in the sink.
    
    Laura

    Just another hint -
    
    I have found that the less fat on your meats the less smoke. The water
    in the reservoir trick works great. I also coat my reservoir with
    cooking oil or "PAM" which allows for easier cleanup.
    
    

    My mother adds a couple of drops of liquid smoke to the water
    in the bottom of the pan. She doesn't get *any* smoke at all!!
    You can buy Liquid Smoke in most grocery stores, I think. 
    
    MJ
    

    The smoke is what makes it taste good! Really. The reason that putting
    water in the bottom of the pan works so well is that the fat doesn't
    burn, so it can't smoke.
    
    	Marty

    What kind of heat are you supposed to use with this thing?  When I use
    it I get this hot spot in the center.  Are you supposed to just use the
    edges when cooking? 
    
    Help,
    
    Jennifer