How good are electric grills?

[JerryLBell]

I love grilled meat and have had charcoal and gas grills over the years. Now that we're about to move to The Villages (finally!), I'll be needing to buy a new grill. For the past 19 years, I've had a natural gas grill with a line run from the house and I find I am just not enamored with the idea of fussing with LP tanks once again. I've seen some electric grills (what I think of as "George Foreman" grills) at some of the hardware stores and like the idea of the convenience of them but have no idea if meats cooked on them taste anything like, well, grilled meats. Has anybody had any experience with them? Any good? Any recommended brands? I'm not looking to cook for the whole neighborhood so a small one would be fine.

Thanks in advance for any helpful replies!

[Mikeod]

We had an electric grill on a pedestal designed for patio use. IMO it never got hot enough to really sear/grill meat. It also required cleaning after each use requiring disassembly of the whole upper unit. We wound up using it so sparingly that we got rid of it.

If your new home has gas service, it's worth it to get a gas line run to where you will use the grill. If no gas, you could explore having a propane tank installed in your yard and piped into your lanai.

[simpkinp]

I gave away my Foreman Grill on a pedestal to a charity. It did not get hot enough to sear the meat. Lousy. What I have now is a Cuisinart Griddler Elite model. It indeed gets hot enough to sear meat, the grilling plates are removable and clean up is very easy. They also reverse to a griddle for doing other cooking. I prefer to take it out to my lanai when searing meats, but use it for other cooking on the kitchen counter like cooking eggs and stuff on the griddle. Make sure you buy the Elite model. Amazon, about $170. Also waffle plates are available at extra cost. Read the reviews on line on Amazon and decide for yourself. Makes great fajitas, grilled veggies, etc. too.

[jnieman]

I have a cast iron grill pan I use on my electric stove. I cook boneless steaks and burgers on it and they taste great and they have grill marks. Amazon.com: Lodge P12SGR3 Pro-Logic Cast Iron Square Grill Pan, Pre-Seasoned, 12-inch: Kitchen & Dining (https://www.amazon.com/Lodge-P12SGR3-Pro-Logic-Pre-Seasoned-12-inch/dp/B0001DJVGA/ref=sr_1_15?ie=UTF8&qid=1486437236&sr=8-15&keywords=cast+iron+griddle)

[OpusX1]

Nothing like real charcoal imo. I use a komado type grill and can easily get the temperature up to over 700 degrees. Really put a crust on meat. Also great for smoking as you can control the temps for low and slow cooking.

[TheDude]

the new Evolve Foreman grills have a sear button in the middle (it gets 500 degrees then goes back to 350 or so). Its so easy to clean and really you could buy 2 for 200$ and cook for a family with almost no cleanup. Just get a table to put them on and an outlet. I did brats today. I just put my Cuisinart grill (and it woks perfectly) in a clear bag in front of my home with the words 'works perfectly'. Its trash day tomorrow, its a good grill but the fat drip sucks. So, if you near me, come get it.

If you want a Weber then you have to clean the Weber. Personally I don't.

[JerryLBell]

Thanks for the replies, all!

[villagetinker]

JerryLBell,

First welcome to TV, second, you have another choice if you like LP grills. You can get a large buried LP tank ($$$) that will be filled for you automatically. These tend to be installed with pool heaters, but I have seen where some home owners have used these for gas ranges and grills. NOTE: as far as I know, no gas lines installed south of 466a, so a propane tank would be your only option.
Hope this helps.

[PaulDenise]

It seems that electric grills are capable of about 5,000 btu's given the electrical breaker sizes (about 1500 watts). Stoves are different because they are run on much larger breakers and wires and at 240 volts.

The small 2 burner propane grill that I just got from Walmart has two 8,500 btu propane burners, for a total of 17,000 btu's. The bigger 4 burner grills will run from 34,000 btu's to 40,000 btu's or so. So, if you want 500-600 degrees to sear steaks, you probably will be happiest with propane (or gas if you buy a house in the northern tier of town).

[klough53]

Unfortunetaly our rental is equipped with one. Had to finish steaks indoors as they would have taken all nite. Grill takes a long time to get to high temps, had a little better luck with chicken cutlets. At least I will not be able to burn burgers. Not a good option in my opinion.

[crash]

Our house came with a Char Broil electric grill and it works as good as a gas grill. No problem cleaning the grill treat it just as you would a gas grill using a wire brush on the grate. It does take time to warm up about 15 minutes to get to 450F. I cook steaks in about 8 minutes to a medium (pink inside).