T-Fal OptiGrill Indoor Panini Press Grill with 6 Cooking Programs

Purchased this online just over a week ago. Had a Foreman grill been using awhile. I liked the Foreman grill ok but many times I would overcook my food or the chicken would be a bit dry (probably cause I overcooked it too). The Forman Grill worked well enough. It was the Next Gen version with temp controls. I did like the removable grates which this one has as well. The build quality of the T-Fal is at least 1 order of magnitude better than the Foreman. You can see some of this when you pull the grates or open and close the lid. The grease trap is much larger on the T-Fal. The controls on the T-Fal are fine I would had liked a bit more solid feel to them for the price but they are not bad at all. Just use with some degree of care and feel. Cooked a 1.5" thick NY Strip for my 1st cooking. Turned out FANTASTIC! Used Weber Chicago Steak seasoning and PAM high Temp Non stick spray. It cooked the steak to a perfect med rare and fork tender n juicy. I may or may not have made a better steak on my Weber charcoal grill but that takes about 30-45 mins of prep. This prep took 5 mins. Next I cooked a Frozen chicken breast. Using the same PAM high Temp spray again, set the grill to defrost, poutry and then OK. After a short preheat put the frozen chicken breast on and seasoned it with some Weber kick-n-chicken seasoning . Now doing it this way will take about 3x longer than cooking a chicken breast from thaw. Once it was done I immediately pulled it and cut and tasted it. It was pretty darn good from frozen I will say. Much better than when I use warm water or microwave(microwave thawing I think makes it a little tougher and slightly chewy). By far best same day frozen to done chicken I ever did. I also cooked a thawed chicken breast. This was a Cilantro Lime pre-marinated breast from Wal-Mart (about $5.98). I set the grill to just poultry - then it preheated a bit longer, sprayed on the PAM High Temp Grill spray and let it rip. It was done a good bit quicker than the frozen and was absolutely marvelous! Very very juicy and fork tender. While the results were "good enough" on the frozen chicken to eat and enjoy cooking from say an overnight thaw should produce excellent results. Anytime you quick thaw something you tend to lose a bit of tenderness in either beef or poultry. I have to say I dont think I have made a chicken breast this good over open flame. While I miss the charcoal twang in the taste just a little, the fork tender and evenly cooked state of the breast is simply fantastic. I did burgers from Frozen. I used SAMS Choice Jalapeno Black Angus frozen patties. They are 1/3rd pound thick. I used PAM High Temp Grill spray - Turned out perfectly! Now these were tender and juicy unlike poultry ground beef does pretty well from frozen. My sister came over and made her Salmon on it and LOVED IT! Now if your doing fish DONT use the Pam High Temp cooking spray, Use your normal olive oil or regular spray as I believe the grill presets begin at a lower temp. Use normal olive oil for grilled veggies,shrimp and other stuff. So what is the huge advantage vs the Foreman? Well in a busy schedule it removes a lot of the guesswork out of the time to grill and uses temp presets ,auto thawing, temp change programming and thickness of the selected item to predetermine time to done. And it really does work great! The only caveat to it and they mention it in the guide is if you want a medium rare steak, you cook it to Medium Rare but then let it sit say 5 minutes before eating it , most likely carryover cooking will take it to more Medium done. So stop your cooking about halfway between the Rare and Medium rare color change as I have started doing, let it sit 5 minutes and it will be perfect. This is a great grill for a college student, elderly or someone who needs a fast efficient cooking grill that takes a lot of uncertain guesswork out of cooking. Pros SUPER EASY! Takes a lot of guess work out of cooking meats to desired doneness Efficient - 1800 watts - about the same power as a hairdryer - lot less power than the oven Removable grates - Cleanup isnt bad at all about the same as the Foreman Fairly compact - fits easily and for me permanently on my counter Cons A little pricey - I paid $89 for my Foreman 4 or 5 years ago. This was about 2x that price Alert beeper - Could be a little louder if your in another room or have noisy kids around Soft Touch Controls - I prefer more solid feeling controls

I'm pretty lazy when it comes to cooking. I'd rather just grab fast food. This is probably because I'm a bad cook and usually undercook or overcook things. The OptiGrill really does solve my cooking problem. So far I have cooked a couple steaks, and almost a dozen chicken breasts. All cooked just right with grill marks! I've only used and plan to only use boneless and skinless meats. Usually I will grill two chicken breasts at a time, one for now and save one for later. Setting the OptiGrill is easy, you just press ON, choose the type of meat, and press OK. Grill preheats for 5 minutes, alerts you to put meat on, then you wait until it alerts you for how well you want your meat or if cooking is complete. You'll definitely want to take the meat off at the desired time or else the meat might overcook and dry out. I've noticed my chicken breasts get to about 165-180F with a meat thermometer when it gets towards the end of cooking. After eating my meal, the grill is relatively cooled down enough to clean. Cleanup is pretty easy. Just the two grill plates need to be cleaned and the oil drip pan. The rest of the unit doesn't really get dirty. I've been looking forward to using the OptiGrill, because I know I'll have a properly cooked meat at the end that will taste delicious. I am starting to do different marinades and times, and marinating for 24 hours does make it seem a lot more juicy. I am trying out a dry-rub for a ribeye steak for 48 hours, I can't wait to grill it tomorrow to see how it turns out! Tips: T-Fal recommends you lightly oil the grill on both sides, and this is a great tip to make grill clean up A LOT easier. Another tip would be right after cooking, use a wooden chopstick to clean off any burnt pieces on the grill grooves so there is less to scrub off. When I cook there isn't a lot of oil dripping so I line the oil drip pan with a towel. When preheating is almost done, the grill starts to smoke a little, most likely from the oil and the high temperature.. but just make sure the stove vent is on or a window is open.

Because when you live alone and have a demanding working/social schedule, it's tough to keep everything balanced - especially cooking. But do you every want something grilled? Who has time, right? Just going to tell you...I wake at 4:30am, walk my dog, prepare for the workday, commute to work, put in as many hours beyond required of smart work, commute back home, walk/play-fetch/feed dog, pick-up/clean-up house, wash/fold clothes and SO much more. (I have someone walk dog at noon.) Then, I look in frig/cabinets to decide what the to cook - which usually turns out to be, "DAMN-IT, I forgot to stop at store on the home!" I am SO burnt-out on "salad-in-a-bad" creations! Yes, they're "quick n' easy n' healthy", but lately too many are becoming science projects - figuratively! "Add this, shake that, pour this, toast that, add a pinch of this...to where I say to hell with all of that..." YOU CAN RELATE! I FEEL YOU!! So, I want a steak every now and then! Or grilled chicken (for something other that a potion-part to the aforementioned chemistry creations), or a home-made hamburger, or more. Usually it takes so much time: pre-heat oven or outdoor grill, prep what it is you're wanting, cook at varying times, cook/prep sides, transfer to plate, add sides, and on and on and clean and soak and, "Oh, what's on TV tonight," and "Oh, I don't have time to watch TV because I'm cooking," and ENOUGH! Stop, relax, take a breath then go on-line and INVEST in the OptiGrill!!! Steaks, chicken, hamburgers are cooked to your liking WITHIN MINUTES!!! And everything I've cooked tasted great..truly, if I seasoned it right. Grilling in the past has always been looking to make sure nothing has been over-cooked. Same goes when using an indoor oven. With the OptiGrill, you don't have to do that. You simply push two buttons and that's it! You look at the color indicator which lets you know that ready-beep will soon follow. "Beep Beep...Done!" And, CLEANING IS A FAST! NO SOAKING/SCRUBBING. Only three small pieces from the OptiGrill, your plate, silverware, glass. If you grilled outdoors, so many other pieces would have to be washed. So, look at this as an investment because it does pay off. Time and great food for a single person. When you have a friend/s or that daring-date over, you will definitely impress them. Ok, I'm going out on a limb and grilling panini's tomorrow night. Oh, I laugh thinking how it's going to be when creating "panini's" - before I grill them on the "T-fal"! Wow, fancy for sure... So, own your own T-fal OptiGrill. You won't be sorry...

This is an unbiased review. I did NOT receive this item for free or at a reduced price in exchange for my unbiased opinion. I paid full price and am just a regular Amazon shopper like you are. I held my breath when this arrived. I had purchased a Cuisinart Griddler and it was my favorite appliance for a long time. That is, until I ordered a second one and within a few months, the cord would get very hot when I used it so I threw it away. I cut the cord first so someone that saw it in the garbage would not think they found a working appliance. I needed a replacement and just was not willing to give the Griddler another try. I still have one of them and it works well but I use that on my small balcony so I can cook a quick meal outside in summer and not make the place any hotter than it already is. Bringing it in and out was a pain. So what to do? I liked the design of this one right away. I am paranoid about food being cooked all the way through and the sensor feature was intriguing. Many reviewers indicated that this function did not work on their grill and that made me leery about ordering it but I figured I'd give it a try. It's a little bigger than the Griddler but I had just enough room for it. The first thing that I cooked on it was a burger. I like my burgers extra well done, and the well done setting on this grill resulted in a burger that had no trace of pink inside at all. It was not as well done as I like it but that's fine. As is, the feature worked for the burger and I just now to leave it in a bit longer next time. My next attempt was a grilled chicken breast that was about a half inch thick or so. I followed the directions, put the piece of chicken on when it was preheated and left it until the red light and beeps at the Well Done point let me know it was ready. I took it out and cut it two at the thickest point and there was not a sign of pink. Hooray! No more guesswork and cutting it to make sure it's cooked anymore! I put it back on the grill, basted it with a little barbecue sauce and left it open for a minute or two. It was great. Next up were grilled veggies. I'm a huge fan of the following combo of grilled veggies: broccoli, carrots, green beans and onion. I usually cut them up, throw them in a disk with a very small amount of water and put them in the microwave to cook by sensor since they are-- save for the onion-- hard veggies. Once they were done, I sprayed the grill with a little bit of Pam for Grilling, put the veggies on the grill and closed the top. Veggies should be done in manual mode. I left the grill closed for about 7 minutes and when I opened it, the veggies had nice looking grill marks. At that point, I threw in a few pieces of Purdue ready made chicken shortcuts and closed the grill on that to warm them up a bit. I took few tablespoons of extra virgin olive oil, some minced garlic and some Mrs. Dash Salt-Free seasoning, mixed it together and warmed it on the stove. Once it was warm, I tossed the chicken and veggies with it and had a wonderful lunch. I have used this grill about five times since I got it, both on the manual setting and using the sensor settings and have had no problems at all. I'm extremely pleased that replacement grill plates are available from T-Fal if these ever need replacing. The ones on my grill are the non-stick coated ones but they make ceramic plates as well. I am going to look into whether or not the ceramic plates fit on this model as well. I'm very, very happy with this grill and hope that my good fortune with it lasts.

I've had my Opti-Grill for two weeks now and I've used it every day at least once, sometimes more. I was spooked by all the reviews mentioning reliability issues, so I bought all the warranty extensions. So far so no mechanical defects. This product is good but not perfect. The main benefit is that it tells you when your meat is done, which is fantastic, but other than that it is finicky and has some gotchas. However, the fact that I don't have to guess about when meat is done makes up for the other imperfections. If you move the lid while it's warming up it gets confused and starts cooking, so there's no easy way to toast your bun while it's warming up to cook your burger. Also, after you choose the program you still have to hit start. If you don't it looks like it's doing something but it gets into a weird state and when you finally hit start it starts from the beginning even if your meat is half cooked already. Another downside is that it is a full-contact grill, so there's no way to do an open-face tuna melt, for example, where the top surface is close to, but not touching the food. Cleanup is surprisingly easy. I just empty the drip tray and spray down the two plates, using a soft brush if there's anything the hot water failed to remove. Takes a minute, maybe two. Maybe it's because it cooks at a cooler temperature than an electric range, that the non-stick surfaces are still pristine while my non-stick frying pans start getting burned residue cemented on them after just a couple uses. I live in an apartment and there has been no smoke unless I use it without cleaning it. I must mention that the grill marks it leaves are freakishly perfect. When I take my chicken breast or sandwich off the grill and put in on my plate, it looks like a TV commercial for a bar & grill. So in summary, I have had a few learning experiences to figure out how to do it right, but now that I know what can go wrong it works perfectly every time. And I can go from thinking that I want to eat a burger to having it on the plate in front of me in less time than it takes to hit the drive-through: less than ten minutes if the meat is thawed first. That's actually pretty amazing to me.

🌟 Elevate your grilling game with the T-Fal OptiGrill Stainless Steel Electric Grill! This innovative grill brings the joy of outdoor grilling indoors, offering 4 servings of delectable grilled dishes with its 6 intelligent automatic cooking modes. Experience the convenience and versatility of this must-have kitchen companion! 🌟 🌼 Top 5 Takeaways 🌼 1️⃣ Indoor Grilling Perfection: The T-Fal OptiGrill allows you to enjoy the flavors and textures of outdoor grilling right in your kitchen. Savor juicy burgers, succulent steaks, and more with every bite! 🍔🥩 2️⃣ 6 Intelligent Cooking Modes: With its 6 automatic cooking modes, this electric grill takes the guesswork out of grilling. From burgers to poultry, fish, sandwiches, and more, achieve perfect results with ease. 🍗🍞 3️⃣ Stainless Steel Durability: The OptiGrill features a stainless steel construction, ensuring durability and easy cleaning after each use. Enjoy long-lasting performance and effortless maintenance! 🔧🧼 4️⃣ Precise Cooking Indicator: Equipped with an indicator light and audible alerts, the grill notifies you when your food reaches the desired level of doneness, taking the guesswork out of grilling timings. 🔔🌡️ 5️⃣ Family-Friendly Capacity: With its 4-serving capacity, the T-Fal OptiGrill is perfect for family gatherings, parties, or everyday meals, making grilling a delightful experience for everyone. 👨‍👩‍👧‍👦🍴 ⭐ Pros ⭐ ✅ Indoor grilling convenience for all-season enjoyment. ✅ 6 intelligent cooking modes for perfect results every time. ✅ Durable stainless steel construction for easy cleaning. ✅ Precise cooking indicator with light and audible alerts. ✅ Family-friendly capacity for larger servings. ⛔ Cons ⛔ ❌ Some users may prefer additional grill plate options for specific cooking preferences. ❌ The electric grill may require some learning to adjust to individual food thickness and cooking preferences. 🌟 In summary, the T-Fal OptiGrill Stainless Steel Electric Grill is a game-changer for indoor grilling enthusiasts. With its intelligent cooking modes, stainless steel durability, and family-friendly capacity, this grill elevates your culinary experience and brings the joy of outdoor grilling to your kitchen. Embrace the convenience and versatility of the T-Fal OptiGrill and savor delicious grilled delights right at home! 🌟

I purchased this unit the other day on Amazon's Deal of the day and thought I was going to love it. The shipping was great and we tried some Costco NY Steaks on Sunday 3/20/16. Me and my wife were amazed and my wife is hard to please and she is rarely impressed with any product. Here comes today Monday 3/21/16 and the grill gets plugged in and goes right into Manual Mode. My wife does not want to mess with it and waits for me to get home. I troubleshoot the issue and do some Google research as the T-Fal troubleshooting was useless. The research states to re-calibrate the grill which I did. Now the grill won't even work and blinks white which indicates "APPLIANCE FAILURE". When I tell you we wanted to Love this thing because it worked great when it actually WORKED for the 48 Hours that we had it, but now we are pissed off and can't believe for the price such a defective device. I am just like many buyers, I read a number of reviews and thought this should be okay. How wrong was I. The worst is that many reviews state the same exact problem, how can this company actually think people will buy this product. I was not fooling around as I have my shipping label ready and I'm returning this thing. Update: 3-29-16 We received a replacement for the previous purchased grill and Amazon as usual does a great job in handling these issues. I now use the replacement grill over the Easter weekend and notice that the handle is higher on the right side and does not have a even seal when you close the grill. We grilled some squash and could see that the squash on the left side of the grill where there was an even and leveled seal was cooked with nice grill marks but in the right side where it's not leveled the squash was not fully cooked. I could not believe it, saying no way that the replacement is ALSO bad. This grill is predicated on Level cooking with the sensor it has and this thing was certainly not leveled when closed. I called Amazon again and have a 2nd replacement being sent to me, and the only reason I am even giving this thing a 3rd try is that if it functions they way it should it could be an amazing addition to our kitchen. But if the 3rd grill is a lemon, that's it I'm going to ask for a full refund, wish me luck.

Like many families, we are constantly on the go and preparing nutritious meals has become quite the magic trick. I wanted some sort of indoor grill that provided the utility of endless meal options but was also very easy to care for. I had owned the boxer's brand of indoor grill and in it's day was fine, but was, in the long run, still time consuming both in preparation and clean-up. So, I began my research of what recent technology had to offer. The T-fal OptiGrill was constantly appearing first or second on most every list you could find for grills available today. The idea of an active timer system, removable grill plates for cleaning and most of all the ability to effectively grill straight from the freezer was intriguing at the very least. That with all of the positive reviews made ordering the T-fal a no brainer. When I unpacked the grill, I was impressed with it's build quality and well documented guides and recipe ideas. After rinsing off the plates, I pulled out a couple of frozen steaks, seasoned them and began the simple button sequence for the preheat and cooking sequence When the unit beeped to signal that it was ready, I put on the steaks, closed the hood and watched the color coded timer do it's thing. Within 2 minutes the amazing aroma pulled the rest of the family into the kitchen to watch the balance of the process. About 2 minutes after the medium notification chimed, I pulled out 2 wonderfully caramelized, juicy, medium well done steaks for both my wife and son. The couldn't stop praising the steaks the whole time they ate. I made myself a frozen hamburger patty the next day with similar results. I was amazed at how well it was cooked and just how good it tasted. Whom ever designed this grill got it right, this is one amazing appliance. If this unit holds up half as good as I expect it to, I will be one very happy customer. This will definitely make a healthy change in my families diet. You owe it to yourself and your family to research this product well ... if you do, you will most likely make the same decision to get one that I did.

Funciona perfecto, despues de un casi un mes de estarla utilizando, no he tenido ningun problema, los cortes los deja muy bien dependiendo el termino que selecciones. Recomendable 100%

I purchased the T-fal OptiGrill about four months ago. I live in an apartment without a stove or oven, so cooking meat was pretty much off the table. I've been grilling up a storm since I bought it, using it maybe four or five times a week. Cleaning The non-stick trays are on a slant so the run-off grease is collected in a basket. Both the trays and the basket can be dismantled for easy cleaning. Since the lid closes, I haven't had to deal with any spattering on the nearby counters of the rest of the machine. Food Quality I have cooked sausages, pork, fish, steak, and chicken in various sizes and thicknesses. They've almost all been cooked to perfection, with the exception of the pork (which were small, thin medallions, and came out dry). I've even cooked chicken from frozen, and it turned out perfectly grilled and very juicy. Efficiency The timer beeps at each stage of cooking, so you know how far along it is. For what it's worth, the beeps are loud but not harsh-sounding. You can hear them from another room but they won't startle you if you're still in the kitchen. The grill itself has settings for different kinds of meat, and a manual setting in case you're grilling something a bit more unusual. It comes with both a manual and cookbook to help you further. However, if you want to grill vegetables, you'll have to turn to Google for the best settings since they aren't included in either book. I find the grill to be an ideal size: large enough to cook >8 sausages at once, small enough that it doesn't take up too much counter space.

Muy buen producto para comer rápido y sin preocupaciones calienta súper rápido y es muy fácil de usar altamente recomendable

My original optigrill died after 10 years. I purchased another one as I live in apartment with no balcony. A great grill. The plates are removable and easy to clean. I like the various settings. Also you receive a great cookbook with recipes and photos. For Canadians it’s perfect for grilling the President’s Choice frozen burgers. I’ve used it for grilled sandwiches, fish and bacon. Although a tad large, it’s on my kitchen counter for ease of access. There is a manual setting for grilling vegetables- tomatoes and potatoes. I recommend this grill.

Excelente producto! Una de las mejores compras que he hecho. Recomendado 100%.