18.11.2015

I've had this for about a week, and so far have used it to reheat a few slices pizza and made several runs of sandwiches.Pros: Articulated lid, can be used as a grill, fat drains into pan when used to cook meat (in theory, haven't tested it myself)Cons: No switch (you have to unplug it to turn it off), poor temperature distribution makes it unable to toast multiple sandwiches at once.I've read a lot of the reviews on Amazon, that state that it runs too hot and burns their bread. Well, using my handy infrared thermometer I measured 160*C on the extreme left side of the plates, 180*C on the extreme right, and a peak of 250*C in the hottest part, which is about 3cm to the right of the center.The average temperature everywhere else was 200-220*C.What this means is that if you try and toast two slices of bread by placing them left and right, the parts on the left and right of the grill remain raw while the parts in the center get toasted. I have found a couple of hints to get better results:1. The longer you wait for it to warm up (even after the green light comes on), the better the heat is distributed along the plates and the less chance you have of getting part of your food burnt while another part stays undercooked. With my infrared thermometer, I measured an 80*C difference between hottest and coldest parts initially when the green light had just turned on, but after another few minutes the temperature difference reduced to 30*C. I have gotten much more consistent toasts by waiting a little longer after the green light comes on before putting the bread in the grill.2. If you're making sandwiches, it's a good idea to press the grill handle down after closing it to crush the sandwiches a little. This significantly improves heat transfer into the center of the sandwich so the cheese or other fillings have time to melt before the outside of the bread gets burnt. A lot of reviews have commented about how the temperature is too hot and their sandwiches are being burnt before the filling melts. I have not had this problem using white sliced bread slices about 1cm thick (the whole sandwich, consisting of two slices of bread, a slice of ham and a slice of cheddar, is crushed to a final height of about 1cm and cooks to golden brown in about 3 minutes, by which point the cheese is also completely melted). I have also successfully toasted a hamburger bun (initially 4cm thick) with only cheese filling. I guess the other reviewers may have been using thicker bread or not pressing the handle down so the heat did not transfer to the middle very effectively and they just burnt the surface of the bread.I have read complaints that the plates are not sloped so the fat does not run off into the tray. Although I haven't grilled any meat yet, the instruction book shows that the front feet have extenders that you must swing out to raise the front of the grill by a bit. This angles the grill plates backwards towards the fat drain. Perhaps the reviewers didn't read the book or forgot to swing out the extenders? Without them the bottom grill plate is completely horizontal, which is good for toast but of course offers no slope to facilitate fat drainage.Lastly, a lot of people are commenting that the grill is too powerful, 2000W is too much, and so on. That's not how it works. The toaster has a fixed thermostat that turns the heating on and off to maintain a fixed temperature. When the green light turns on, the temperature has been reached and the thermostat cuts power to the heating elements. If you wait a few minutes, the toaster will then cool below the threshhold, the green light will turn off and you will hear a click, which indicates that the thermostat has powered up the heating element again. This repeats for as long as the toaster is on to maintain the plates at a roughly constant temperature. You can monitor what it's doing by looking at the green light:Green light on = heating element off (temperature target reached)Green light off = heating element on (temperature too cool, warming back up)If anything, the problem is that the temperature set-point is too hot, not that the heating elements are too powerful. A 1200W toaster is just as capable of burning your food if the thermostat is set too high; it would just take longer to warm up when you plug it in.

22.3.2011

I got this on offer for £][ and it was a brilliant use of [] quid!The unit is of excellent quality, being sturdy and smooth to open unlike the George Foremans which feel cheap and the lids wobble about. The inside has non stick ridges so the food has a stripey effect once cooked. The lid hinges open all the way back so it opens like a book, giving double the surface area if you have a lot to cook at once. Underneath is a removable tray which collects drips.It heats up really quickly to a very hot temperature (you can't adjust heat levels) and cooks everything really quickly. Toasties and paninis are quick to make and the fillings cook right the way through without burning the bread.

28.5.2019

It's perfect as a toaster, but not as a grill. It has the shapes for it but it’s very difficult to clean, the hobs are not removable and if you need to clean it with some product it takes long and is a mess. At least is nonstick, so easy to takeoff the burnt part.It has a part that collect the drops of fat, that you can easily remove and clean it.The top part is not rigid, it moves depending on what you put on the hob, for example if you have a tall toast you can close the toaster and the top will stay horizontal to it.There’s no way to control the temperature (so isn’t the best as grill) but is not too hot or too cold, even if you leave it open,

27.11.2009

I have always enjoyed the occasional toasted sandwich and recently discovered our existing sandwich maker had given up the ghost. The old appliance was ok except that you had to butter the bread on the outside to stop it sticking and the absence of the floating hinge often led to the contents being squeezed out at the front as the lid was shut. After a quick visit to a couple of electrical high street stores and a look on the net I discovered this Russell Hobbs 3 in 1. The rest as they say "is history". Delivered by Amazon within 2 days of ordering and been using it almost daily since it arrived. Combinations of cheese, ham, tuna with onion have turned out perfect every time.

22.1.2016

Bought this for my son as he is always looking for ways of making a quick bite but the whole family gets enjoyment out of it. It arrived in a very BIG box - exceptionally packed. Easy to unpack and easy to work - fool proof. Great idea to be able to make normal toasties/paninis and grill meats such as steak/chicken and so on. Have just used it to make peppered chicken fillets for a scrumptious toasted wrap and my word very impressed - cooked to perfection - no fat so ideal for slimmers. Looks more expensive than it was - tremendous value. Good dimensions - sits perfectly on my worktop. However, needs plenty room to open so wouldn't advise putting under a cupboard above worktop.

13.12.2015

Purchased this for my 18 year old son so HE could cook his own burgers etc without the risk of leaving gas on or burning house down He has no previous cooking experience (not for lack of trying to teach him ) but has managed the following so far!Panini (Ham & Cheese with ketchup...yuck) ... Success :-)Minute Steaks.....Takes longer than a minute for meat to get hot so about 3 minutes .....Success :-)M&S Steak Burgers, onion rings and sliced cheese....Success however onion rings made kitchen VERY smoky but still very tasty :-)Quesadilla (Cheese and tomatoes in Flour Tortilla wrap which has been pre buttered on outside of wraps) OMG LOVE THESE SUPER QUICK AND SO YUMMY!Very easy to use and clean.

8.10.2015

Makes fabulous paninis and toasted sandwiches. Easily takes 2 rounds of normal sized bread side by side. You need to experiment will the amount of filling and cooking time but doesn't take many attempts to get it right, just open the lid to check. I usually do 2 paninis with say mozzarella and prosciutto for 5 minutes and they come out perfect. Haven't tried it for grilling meat yet. It's fairly easy to clean but there is now some discoloration of parts of the non stick surface which I can't seem to remove. Not a problem though. I would definitely recommend this grill as a much better alternative to a sandwich maker.

7.5.2016

We initially brought this for my husband to take to work, but once we saw the panini press we kept it. This panini press is really stylish and great value for money. We have made panini's on it and the are absolutely gorgeous, we have also cooked a whole range of steaks from sirloin to rump to even pave heart steak and they have all been really moist and really succulent.I would highly recommend this to everyone from a couple to a family because this 3 in 1 panini press is really versatile.

25.2.2016

was choosing a grill for quite a bit of time. have seen quite few different models, but this one looked right for me and I went for it:really nice peace of kitchen "tool":Surface is easy to clean and the size is big enough to make 3 panini at a time. also it heats up in less than 2 mins.was making sandwiches with a cheese, when a bit of cheese got out of the bun - some marks (that I am not able to clean) have staid on the grill.Tried to do some stake on it as well - satisfied!

30.8.2012

This was a present for my husband as our old sandwich maker had got in an unholy mess once too often and our son was leaving home and taking his Foreman Grill with himI hunted around the reviews and the Russell Hobbs looked like it would fit the bill to replace both.And it has done exactly that just the right size, easy to clean cooks paninis, sandwiches, meats whatever we chose.Husband is happy - was definitely a good buy.

16.1.2013

such a nice grill and griddle. it heats up very quickly but the only downside is that the plates are not removable. after reading some reviews, i found out that it is best not to buy one with removable plates but if a lot of people use it, it is a better solution to be able to take the plates off and throw them in the dishwasher from time to time. but one gets used to cleaning it. it is wonderful buy, we all LOVE IT!

20.7.2010

I have had several grills and 2 George Formans in the past but this Russel Hobs Grill is in my opinion by far the best. It cooks top and bottom at the same rate. It leaves a distict grill lines which makes meat, especially chicken look so much nicer It has a heavy top lid that flattens paninis so they cook as they should. Plus it grills in half the time. It is extremely good value and not at all expensive

19.7.2013

This is my second Russell Hobb grill - I wore out the first one from over-use lol! I would buy thit time and time again.This is the best machine on the market and don't be put off buy the title - PANINI. Yes it does make fab paninis but its plus point is that it opens out flat, giving you two reasonable cooking service - ideal as an alternative to BBQ'ing. Very multi-functional and easy to clean too.

31.5.2015

Makes great paninis, heats up fast less than 1 minute - but the downside is that there is no temperature control hence when the grill gets too hot it does burn some parts of the Panini. To avoid this I had to switch off the power when the bread looks crisp enough and just let it sit under the grill to allow the cheese to completely melt without burning the Panini and setting off my smoke detector!

23.8.2012

I recently had a different health grill but the detachable plates led to its breakage, therefore this item was bought as a replacement.Simplistic and sheek in design, the product does exactly what is advertised, however, be aware there is no temperature setting which can sometimes lead to troublesome rotations to prevent foods, such as toasted sandwiches, getting a little too sizzled.

Russell Hobbs 17888 3in1 - Reviews

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