DIY Network

Buying Indoor Grills Tips for buying an indoor grill From "Home Made Easy" episode DHME-119

Guest Carolyn Forte, the Good Housekeeping Institute's home care director, joins host Stephanie Lydecker to supply great tips on buying indoor grills. She shows you the differences in grills and points out features you should look for before buying.

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	Carolyn shares tips that will assist in making an educated decision when purchasing a grill.
	Figure A
	Figure B
	Figure C

Buying Indoor Grills

• No matter what type of indoor grill you are buying, always remember that a higher wattage will result in better browning and faster cooking. A 1,400 to 1,500 watt grill is the best.

• There are "open" and "contact" countertop grills available.

• Open grills have a cooking surface above an electric element. Try to buy a model with elements that are embedded into channels in a ridged cooking surface (figure A). They brown well, which, in turn, makes whatever you are grilling taste better. Grills where the rack is placed several inches above the heat source are less successful.

• Contact grills close, similar to a waffle iron. They heat from two sides at once (figure B), which will speed up cooking time significantly. On the downside, contact grills do hold less food, because they are smaller than open grills.

• When buying any type of indoor grill look for a grill with an indicator light to let you know when the grill is hot enough.

• Most grills will have nonstick finishes, which won't hinder browning. Treat them gentle though, using wooden or plastic tools. If the grill can't go in the dishwasher, clean it with plastic scrubbing pads.

• For open grills, look for a grill that doesn't take a long time to preheat where the coils are embedded in the nonstick finished, cast-aluminum cooking surface.

• For contact grills, look for ones that have a drip tray. Also, look for grills with temperature settings and ones that can be used in an open position as well. Look for a grill where the nonstick-coated grids detach for easy cleaning.

• Just because you have a contact grill don't think that you are actually reducing your fat intake by that much. Some contact grills are slanted so the fats and cooking juices run out into the drip tray sitting underneath the grill (figure C). But, only a small amount of what drips out is fat, not enough to make a difference in your diet. Still, these grills are very convenient and save a lot of time. You won't have to worry about what the weather will be like for a barbecue!

GUESTS :

Carolyn Forte
Home Care Director
Good Housekeeping Institute
E-mail: cforte@hearst.com
Website: www.goodhousekeeping.com