Cuisinart products have been in the home kitchen for more than three decades. Over the years, they have introduced many types of kitchen gadgets to enable home cooks to prepare healthier meals faster, thereby freeing up their personal time. Let’s take a look at the Cuisinart GR-4N 5-IN-1 Griddler for this guide.
Cuisinart Griddler Features
Cuisinart has designed this appliance to have a floating lid that can be adjusted depending on the thickness of food. The cooking surface can be customized by opening the cover and making the necessary adjustments. The griddle grill plates are reversible and removable.
When will it get hot enough to cook food? This is perhaps the most important question for you. Unlike similar devices, the Cuisinart gr-4n 5-in-1 takes less than three minutes to reach operating temperature.
While cooking, the non-stick surfaces combined with a drip tray help collect excess grease and fat.
Pros
Grills Quickly, Leaves Grill Marks, and Cooks Red Meat
Many indoor grills don’t heat up to high enough temperatures to safely cook red meat. Cuisinart does not have a problem with that. After letting your unit heat up, you can grill steaks in under five minutes, frozen burger patties in eight minutes, and hot dogs in four minutes.
If you use riveted plates, your meat will come out with black sear marks just like it would on a gas or charcoal grill. All you need to do is plug the griddler in, select the temperature, let it heat up, and then you can start cooking. There’s no need for propane or charcoal, just clean, pure electricity.
It Looks Like A Commercial Kitchen Appliance
The Cuisinart Griddler is a nice addition to a kitchen’s gadget collection. The Cuisinart’s brushed stainless steel housing makes it passable if you aim for a stainless steel look in your kitchen. I wish the Cuisinart’s body were made of stainless steel or chrome, but that is a bit expensive for the under $100 price range.
Easy and Fast Cleanup
To make the cleaning process as painless as possible, Cuisinart designed many features. All grease from the Cuisinart GR-4N drains into a grease tray under the cooking surface. Line the grease tray with aluminum foil before cooking to make the cleaning process even quicker. Then just throw away the aluminum foil and you won’t have to clean the grease tray at all. Simply place a couple of moist paper towels on the cooking plates after they’ve cooled down to clean the surface.
After the griddler is powered off, close it with the paper towels still in place and let it sit for ten minutes. Once those ten minutes have passed, wipe the plates down with a sponge or soapy paper towels to clean up the mess. Cleaning a charcoal grill is much easier.
It’s Easy to Get Rid of Frustrations With the Non-Stick Surface
Non-stick surfaces are my favorite. During cleanup, things don’t crust to the surface and cause a nightmare. Please do not spray your cooking grates with Pan or any other spray. Non-stick cooking sprays gunk up the cooking surface and begin to erode the non-stick layer of the griddler. You can butter your bread or rub your meat in olive oil, but rest assured that this machine is non-stick.
Ideal for Bachelors, College Students, and Apartment Dwellers
You don’t like to cook, but you love home cooked food? To achieve these results, the Cuisinart is essentially a hack. Do you own a George Foreman Grill or other cheap appliance? Cuisinart is basically a deluxe model that works well. Cooking is so easy, just follow a recipe in the included cookbook, and watch as your food is ready in six minutes or less. For the simplicity of the machine, the results are stunning. If you include plenty of cheese, your food will come out hot, grilled, and gooey.
Panini Sandwiches Rock
What’s the point of settling for less? Bread with cold cuts, cheese, tomato slices, lettuce, and perhaps a bit of mustard is boring. Eat a hot sandwich to take everything to the next level. Think about this in your own mind. A grilled cheese sandwich is similar to a cheese sandwich. Which would you prefer? Actually, the Cuisinart’s panini function is almost as useful as its use as an indoor grill. It’s hard to beat a hot and gooey sandwich that takes only minutes to prepare.
Do You Like Waffles? You Can Cook Them This Way
You will have to pay $30 extra for the waffle rack function. If you’re a waffle enthusiast like Leslie Knope, the price is well worth it. Even low-end waffle irons will cost you at least $30, and will likely end up as junk in the long run. It is just like the waffles you get at hotels, and that is what you get from the Cuisinart. Overall, a fun little addition to a nifty indoor grill.
Cons
Limited Lifespan
In all honesty, this grill will not last more than five years. Even worse, you’d be lucky to get more than three years out of the Cuisinart. Those of you planning on using this regularly should be aware that regular use will degrade it faster. The sad truth is that this is not a product built to last. Although it is relatively inexpensive for what it does, it will eventually break down. The non-stick cooking surface will first begin to chip off. Plastic parts will crack or act up here and there after that.
Not for Entertaining Guests
The greatest pleasure of a traditional grill is lighting it up to cook burgers and dogs for a gathering of friends and family. It will be laughable if you host a party with a Cuisinart as a centerpiece. All in all, the Cuisinart is a personal and family grill (as all indoor grills are), and not a grill for entertaining. You could cook some bacon on the Cuisinart as an addition to burgers, but you shouldn’t cook burgers and bacon on it.
The Best BBQ Flavor is Found Elsewhere
We all love authentic BBQ, but indoor grills will never deliver it. How does the Cuisinart deliver flavor? As a result, your meats will taste slightly greasy, if not moist and tender, but seriously lacking in smoky and charred flavor. You can use smoked sea salt as a quick workaround. The grill, however, is not for BBQ purists. It is at best a neat addition to a kitchen.
Use Some Caution Handling this Unit
There is a rapid buildup of heat on the Cuisinart, which is dispersed throughout the entire unit. If you touch the body of the Cuisinart while it is cooking, you will definitely end up hurting yourself. When cooking, use your head. The griddler should always be opened by the handle. After cooking, allow the grill to cool before cleaning. In essence, cit’s like a hot skillet while cooking.
If you would like more options of griddler by Cuisinart, you can find them in a guide we have compiled.
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Hi there! I’m a food enthusiast and journalist, and I have a real passion for food that goes beyond the kitchen. I love my dream job and I’m lucky enough to be able to share my knowledge with readers of several large media outlets. My specialty is writing engaging food-related content, and I take pride in being able to connect with my audience. I’m known for my creativity in the kitchen, and I’m confident that I can be the perfect guide for anyone looking to take their culinary journey to the next level.
