Indoor Electric Grill EB-CC15

I spent hours researching indoor electric grills before deciding to purchase the Zojirush. I wanted something that would get hot enough to really mimic outdoor grilling and the reviewers on Amazon.com seemed to indicate that this one would--and also be easy to clean. I knew it would be small--only enough for three to four people, but that's fine for our small family. But if you want to cook for a crowd, this grill is too small for your needs. Last night I set up the grilling pan--very easy to do just as promised--and put heavy duty tin foil in the drip pan with some water in it to prevent smoke. I also sprayed the grill plate with Canola oil spray and wiped off the excess as the instructions indicated to do. I followed the enclosed instructions to heat the grill for 10 minutes and then placed three New York Strip steaks (all about 3/4 inch high) on the grill. (I did not marinade the steaks--just seasoned with lots of salt and pepper.) I covered the steaks with a grocery store bought aluminum pan with handles to keep the temperature up. Wonderful sizzle and smell immediately! Also, wonderful grill marks. I grilled the steaks (still on high heat) exactly as I would on my outdoor propane grill: 3 minutes on each side, then another 3 minutes on each side for my husband who likes his steak rare; I cooked the other two steaks for an additional 4 minutes for my son and me who like our steaks medium rare. Total cooking time: 12 minutes for rare, 14 minutes for medium rare. (I kept the aluminium pan on top at all times to make sure the grill was really hot.) These were some of the best steaks we've ever had! Our family could not believe that these weren't grilled outdoors--and in fact thought they were juicier than the ones that are grilled outdoors. I am thrilled! I have wanted to grill indoors for most of my married life but had had bad experiences with other grills that didn't get hot enough. This one does and if it grilled New York strip steaks to perfection, then it can grill anything! Tomorrow I'm going to grill chicken breasts, onions, and peppers for chicken fajitas. I can't wait! By the way: clean up was easy, too. I waited till the grill plate was cool, unhooked the electric plug, placed the grill plate diagonally in the sink and rinsed it with warm water, scrubbing it with a brush to get off the bits of meat. I then took out the drip pan, dumped the fat and juices in the sink that were in the tin foil, and then carefully removed the tin foil and threw it in the trash. Easy! I then wiped the handles of the grill and the plastic base with a damp sponge and dried with a paper towel. The grill looked brand new! I am in love with my Zorjirushi grill! This is one of the best buying experiences I've ever had. One last thing: many people wonder about smoke and smell inside their home. This did not smoke at all and I didn't even need to open a window or use our stove vent fan. Did our kitchen smell of steak? Yes and boy was that a good smell!

Over the years I've purchased so, so many indoor grills, and I didn't like any of them even a little bit. Most indoor grills are "contact" grills with a lid that grills the top of the food while the bottom grills the underside. I could do that in a frying pan by just turning my food. The Zojirushi is a real grill with openings for the grease to drip into a pan. Grill marks are perfect; there really is NO smoke, and the finished project is like food that you cooked outside on the grill....BUT you didn't have to stand outside in the heat swatting bugs and inhaling fumes. It doesn't get any better. Clean up is a breeze. You can wash the grill section with hot, soapy water, but you can NOt immerse it in water....like put it in the sink to soak. A quick wipe down of the bottom section, the heating element, and the cord puts you ready for the next meal. No, I didn't forget to mention the drip pan's clean up. Just line it with foil. Remove the foil and you've got a clean drip pan. GREASE?? Of course there is grease. I don't care what you cook or upon what you cook it, there will be grease. I put my grill on the counter next to my stove. That way I could be preparing food on top of the stove while grilling on the counter next to it. I did put my exhaust fan on to remove cooking odors. The grease clean up was minimal....a little glass cleaner on a paper towel, and I was done. I discovered that an aluminum baking pan as for a cake makes a superb lid. The one I used was an HFA 3940 size. I like thick pork chops on the grill. I grill on high for a couple of minutes on each side. Then I cover with the aluminum pan and lower the temperature on the control and allow the chops to cook 20 minutes on each side. After removing the "lid" I brush with BBQ sauce and recover. Ten more minutes on each side gives me a nice, juicy BBQ-ed chop. The cookbook is nice, but you'll need to experiment a bit as far as times go. Everything you grill needs to start out on high. If I were still young and entertaining as I once did I'd have four to six of these grills positioned around my entertainment area. Each couple could grill their own appetizers or meat adding toppings and marinades as they see fit. Or....I could have four to six different foods cooking with someone in-charge of the grills. This grill is superb, but I recommend it for one or two people only. You could feed up to four people if you crowded the grill and didn't allow much food per person. Who in the world would do that?? Purchase the grill and treat yourself. After using it please write a review so everyone can find out the clever uses and recipes you developed.

I read about this grill in Consumer Reports (who gave it a good review for moderately priced indoor electric grills), I bought it and was delighted that it worked as described. I cooked several dishes on it including zucchini slices, asparagus spears, T bone steak and hamburger. The grill heated up in 4 minutes ready to cook and the cooking surface seemed to heat up evenly. The zucchini and asparagus were the best I ever tasted, esp the zucchini which is so bland it really needs to be grilled to add flavour - plus the grill marks look good on it too. The hamburger cooked on the grill tasted much better than fried in a pan. It was very, very close to outdoor charcoal grilling. The T bone steak was good,(much better than in a frying pan) but I think T bone is best cooked over charcoal because the surface sears quicker to hold in the juices. I used the grill on top of a glass top stove (turned off of course), so I could take advantage of the range hood fan to vent fumes. This worked very well, especially for the hamburger and the T bone which did smoke some. I was able to cook onions for the hamburger in a small fry pan placed on the grill. This worked well and was a handy way to have fried onions alongside the burgers. Washing the grill is easy, taking it apart for cleaning is simple as is putting it back together. I placed wet paper towels on the grill to soak it for several hours as it cooled before cleaning it. The drip tray is easily cleaned in a dishwasher. I want to use the grill often and plan to build a pull out drawer exclusively for the grill so it does not clutter up my counter top. I'm always delighted when things work exactly as described. I highly recommend this grill especially for people trying to add more vegetables into their diet.

I've owned mine for two years and while I use the outdoor gas grill in the summer, this thing does a credible job on steaks and burgers in the winter. Heat is a little uneven and you have to juggle the food a bit to get it on the hot spots evenly but once you figure that out everything is smooth sailing. Cleanup is a breeze, as one reviewer stated, as long as you do it immediately after it cools down. For the fellow who's asking for a cleaning tool, he could go to any dollar store and buy a $1 plastic bottle brush and that would do an excellent job, though I've never needed one. One final note. I especially like the fact that the heating element is embedded directly inside the grill casting. Other such grills with a separate element may be cheaper to make, but I find those generate way too much smoke and tend to actually ignite the drippings. This thing cooks with virtually no smoke and it seems to be a much safer design.

We love making kababs, and grilled veggies so after much research decided to buy this grill. It is a fantastic grill as far as 'making the food' is concerned. No smoking, nice blackened lines on the grilled food and easy to use. We do baste while we grill so have not noticed any issues with veggies overdrying either. We leave it on high for a few minutes every time we turn it on, to burn off any 'residue' from last use. The issue is with the cleaning of the grill. I read plenty reviews where everyone seems to be raving about how easy it is to clean. I disagree. Sure the surface is very non stick and food residue just glides off, but the dripping does stick and burn on the bottom. And when grilling meats, you dont want the bottom part even mildly coated with oils - bacteria could grow, and the smell is another factor. Since it is a nonstick coating, the only way to clean it requires gently wiping it down with a very soft brush or cloth repeatedly till all of the food residue is gone. Believe me it takes very long. It is on account of this cleanup we dont use it as much as we would like. I wish it came with a tool that would help with the cleanup of the bottom of the grilling plate.

This grill does an excellent job at moving the fat and other juices away from the heating elements thus keeping the generation of smoke to a minimum. It takes a bit of time to reach temperature but once there it maintains the temperature as selected. Nice grill.

Don't get me wrong. The one star is for Zojirushi quality control and warranty service. I'd love to give the item 5 stars in term of usage. Received the item sold by Amazon. Realized there is a chip on the polished finish just under the power socket (see the customer image I uploaded). Contacted Zojirushi and sent the picture by email. The customer service rep was very helpful. But he warned me that their warranty department would refuse to do anything as "it does not affect usage". Regardless he submitted the case. A few hours later, the rep called me back that indeed the warranty department refused to admit it is a defective item as "the customer can still use it". I was told that my only options were either keep it as it is, or send it back to Amazon. Amazon was very nice by offering refund or replacement. Since it was sold out at Amazon at that moment, I decided to keep it. With it is clearly a manufacture defect, I am disappointed with how Zojirushi treating customers. My own google search shows that Zojirushi is pretty poor on warranty service in North America. Just because an item is still usable does not justify Zojirushi to release it with defect, no matter how small the defect is. I was a fan on both Panasonic and Zojirushi appliances equally. Now you know which brand I am leaning to on my next purchase.