Food prepared on an electric grill is tasty, varied and healthy, and its preparation does not take much time. More and more different models appear on the market because the demand for the category is growing. Each brand of household appliances strives to offer affordable and premium models. So, which electric grill to choose? What are the important nuances and what to pay special attention to when comparing different options? How to choose an electric grill so that it becomes a reliable assistant in the kitchen all year round? You can trust a popular rating or review, or you can take as a basis a checklist with the main points for evaluation and independently compare offers on the market to make your choice.
Grill type
A contact grill consists of one or double-side panel with the heating element, which is located directly under the surface on which the products for cooking are laid out directly, or built into it. Such grills can be open one-sided and closed with one or double-side working panels.
An open electric grill has only one heated work surface. At the same time, its area usually allows you to cook a lot of things at once, but this also determines quite voluminous dimensions. Due to the size, this type of grill may not fit into every interior and space. If the kitchen has modest footage, then it is better to think about an alternative model. In addition, food is cooked on such a grill more slowly, because you have to turn the food over. The disadvantage of this type of device is that in the process of cooking fatty meat, fish or vegetables, splashes may appear on the surfaces of the kitchen. This is easily eliminated with a glass cover: you can see the products and determine the degree of their readiness, while furniture and walls will be protected from possible greasy splashes, soot, etc. By the way, if there is a lid, the possibilities for cooking also expand, because it becomes possible not only to fry, but also to stew food.
The closed grill works as a press, with the ingredients “clamped” and cooked on both sides, at the cost of having heating elements above and below. This allows you to significantly speed up the cooking process and save time. The closed steak grill is ideal: the meat is sealed on both sides, keeping it juicy, so the dish is cooked not only faster, but also tastier thanks to this technology. A modern double-sided grill can easily become single-sided if the panels can open 180⁰. AENO models, for example, have this option.
In addition, the double-sided grill can be used as an oven by fixing the top cover at a comfortable angle from 40⁰. It is so convenient to cook hot sandwiches, sandwiches, and pizzas. In this sense, we can say that the indoor grill is more functional and versatile for cooking a larger number of different dishes.
Power and heating temperature
Power is an important characteristic on which the operation of an electric grill depends. There are both super-economical, but low-power models on the market at 700-800 W, and at 4400 W. The optimal solution is a grill of about 2000 watts. Smaller values of this parameter will already affect the heating rate and, as a result, cooking. On low-power models, you can cook any vegetable without problems, but they are not quite suitable for meat. More powerful grills consume more electricity. A 2000 W electric grill will help you cook food quickly and without spending extra electricity. The temperature mode is a key factor in the cooking of many dishes, so you should not lose such an important point when choosing an electric grill as the operating temperature. You can focus on the range from the minimum 150-190 °C to the maximum heating of 230-240 °C. This level is usually enough to prepare a wide variety of grilled dishes.
The panel for cooking
When choosing a home electric grill, special attention must be paid to the work surface on which food is cooked. There are several considerations here: material, form, and functionality. It’s great if the working panel is removable – it’s so much easier to clean the grill after cooking. By the way, most often such plates can be washed even in the dishwasher. If the work surfaces are stationary, then it is important to observe safety precautions when cleaning them, because rinsing them in water will not work. But, what is important, this is not impacting on the process and quality of preparation, only on the comfort when caring for the equipment.
Any option for the working surface of the electric grill will have a non-stick coating, so you can cook without oil. Mixed panels are made of metal: aluminum or alloy.
Some of them expand the possibilities: double-sided work surfaces. This means both sides can be used for cooking. This option can be found with the AENO brand, where the removable panels are double-sided, each side shaped differently. The ribbed side is ideal for cooking steaks, fish, seafood, vegetables, as well as sandwiches and sandwiches with signature grill strips. The flat back surface allows you to enjoy a different type of food: pancakes and pancakes, scrambled eggs and omelettes.
An important point of the panel for cooking is its size: total square and weight. It impacts on how the device fits into the interior and mobility on a trip to the village. The heavier the panel is better it retains heat and, accordingly, the less heat is lost. This minimizes possible temperature instabilities and deviations from the mode necessary for the preparation of a particular dish.
Complete set and additional accessories
The standard kit with the electric grill includes a drip tray. Usually, this is a built-in removable structure. Fat that is formed during cooking flows into this tray. It’s convenient and a must-have accessory if you don’t want to wash the whole kitchen after cooking dinner. Excess liquid leaks into the same tray so that the dish does not turn out to be stewed or cooked rather than fried.
Sometimes, along with the main work surface, when it is removable, additional elements are also supplied – for example, a baking sheet. Replacing it with a regular panel, you get not just a grill, but an almost full-fledged oven, which further expands the culinary range of dishes available. With such a complete set, it becomes possible to cook casseroles, cheesecakes and even pastries in the grill. Also, removable surfaces for making waffles can additionally go to the grill.
The “three-in-one” option can be a lifesaver for newcomers when the task is to equip the kitchen as much as possible with a minimum of equipment. In other cases, it is better to concentrate on the function of grilling and frying food, so the built-in fat tray will be enough.
Control type: manual vs electronic
Electromechanical control is usually represented by rotary knobs – temperature and time controllers: you need to set the required heating level for frying and timing yourself, based on the recipe of the dish and on the basis of your own culinary experience. This is a classic type of manual control, quite intuitive, but rapidly becoming obsolete with the development of technology. The manual mode takes some getting used to. Sometimes you have to go through trial and error and spoiled food to find the best combination of the heating and cooking time for each dish.
Electronic control greatly simplifies the process. Usually, in such models there is a display on which all settings are indicated. This allows you to set the heating temperature most accurately, and for some double-sided models, you can set different indicators for the top and bottom panels separately. The display can be sensor-based or not. If the touchscreen function is not provided, then on the control panel next to the screen there is a block of buttons for settings.
Often, electronically controlled grills have a set of automatic modes to easily cook different types of dishes: chicken, sandwiches, burgers, sausages, fish and, of course, steaks. Some modern models can even cook the desired steak on their own. Such smart devices have a sensor that determines the thickness of the meat, as well as a time sensor. So the device itself determines when the steak is ready – you will see the status of the process on the electronic panel. This applies not only to frying meat, but also to other products for which separate automatic modes are provided.
Many manufacturers offer several options for grills with different types of control in a product category so that the buyer can choose a model that suits his taste and budget.
Multifunctionality is the main requirement that the buyer makes to a modern grill when choosing it for the house. It is important that cooking is enjoyable and does not take much time, the possibilities for a variety of dishes are wide, and the maintenance and care of the device itself is simple. It is best to focus on your own preferences and what foods you most often cook and how much: meat, vegetables, or all together.
Are you planning to use the device as an alternative to an oven for cooking, at first glance, dishes that are not quite traditional for grilling – for example, baking? In this case, you need to pay attention to the package and additional accessories that are either already included in the kit, or can be purchased additionally.
If you have a busy life, so that you’re looking for options to quickly and properly eat every day for yourself and your family with the maximum set of options, then it is better to choose a closed-type electric grill with smart electronics. Then you don’t have to bother with the recipe and settings – the device will determine the time itself and will track the status of readiness by type of dish and product. This function allows you to detach yourself from the daily routine in the kitchen, leaving only pleasant chores for you to decide what kind of culinary masterpiece to please yourself and your family or friends.
It is difficult to choose a grill for your home in the existing wide range, therefore it is useful to take into account the proposed list with the characteristics that you need to pay attention to in order to decide which electric grill is best for you in terms of price-quality ratio. Among the electric grills of the AENO brand, for example, there is both a variant of an electromechanical grill with manual control, and a model with a modern touch control panel, light indication and several automatic modes. You can get more information about the models of the AENO brand and choose the most suitable one here.
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Tatyana Ryzhova
