We’ve had a George Foreman Champ grill for a while now. It was one of those purchases which Ryan really wanted, even though I was happy making burgers in a pan. I think it boosted his machismo or something but, to me, this little white “grill” isn’t really an ode to anyone’s masculinity. LOL

It’s been used quite a few times since we got it, although it isn’t something we always use on a weekly or even a monthly basis. It is nice for a couple reasons but there are a few setbacks which would prevent me from buying this same model again. I’d be interested in a bigger, better Foreman grill, however.

The Champ grill so marketed as an easy to clean counter top grill with bun warmed. Unfortunately, anything which is a feature of this grill pretty much comes up short. In fact, there are a few ways in which this machine does not measure up.

For starters, the Champ grill is quite small. It suggests you can cook two burgers on it at the same time, but that’s really not true. It’s a bit large for one patty but you won’t get two on there unless they’re tiny. With a width of just over 6 inches, including the parts of the machine which are not the grill, I think this is easy to understand. It’s not much fun to wait for 1 burger to cook and it certainly puts a damper on trying to eat together. In this respect, the grill doesn’t hold up very well and I could just as easily use a pan to fry up a few burgers at a time.

And if two burgers won’t fit on the grill, do not expect two buns (which are usually a bit larger) to fit in the bun warmer. Honestly, the bun warmed didn’t seal the deal for us, although it seemed like it would be interesting. We quickly stopped using it for a variety of reasons. The buns became crushed in the warmed because of the size. They also became soggy from retaining the moisture of the grill. The cover was also very weak and continued to fall off when we could lift up the lid of the grill. In the end, I think it broke and we threw it away. For something we were only mildly interested in, having warm buns sure was a hassle.

Although small, the grill worked well. It heated from both the top and bottom and your burgers can get some nice grill lines. I imagine it would also work well with sandwiches and paninis but I haven’t tried. I did fry up a chicken breast on the Champ grill a time or two and it’s definitely important that your meat is off a uniform thickness otherwise the thicker area will remained uncooked while the thinner burns. I’m not a big fan of having to pound out my meat so this is a bit of a hindrance.

The burgers are always tasty and the house smells like a real grill it going, however. If you don’t want any frills, the George Foreman Champ Grill is a decent product but if you’re looking for a little more, I’d skip this one. Some critics mention that there is no timer on this grill which would be nice. The instructions did include estimations for how long food should be cooked and we never have had a big problem with food being too undercooked (I should mention I like my burgers well done and sometimes I’ve had to toss a burger back on the grill) or burned. I also like that I can flip the top part of the grill up and toss some cheese on my burger to melt a bit.

One of the positive features of this grill is that is is tilted slightly. Provided with the grill is a small tray to catch the grease that drains. This makes it a bit more healthy than grilling in a pan. Furthermore, having a top portion of the grill means it’s less mess than frying in a pan. None of my pans have lids so there’s always a lot of messy and, sometimes painful, splatter from the grease. Nevertheless, the decline sometimes causes the food on the grill to slide forward and it doesn’t cook as evenly. It’s not a huge deal to move the meat but it may mean it takes a bit longer to get all of it cooked or that some parts burn.

As well as the tray, the grill also comes with a little, notched plastic spatula which doubles as a cleaning tool. The spatula is really flimsy and doesn’t work well as a spatula at all. However, I do not want to use metal implements with the nonstick coating and other spatulas are a bit too big to work with this so it’s a bit of a hassle. The make of the spatula and even the tray is rather flimsy, although they are dishwasher safe. Plastic is pretty prevalent in the grill and I think it would seem a sturdier product if it were made of a more quality material. However, besides the warmer tray, I have not had any issues with the quality of the grill itself except for the fact that the nonstick coating has started to come off. As you can guess, this makes food stick to the grill as well, making it more difficult to clean.

And difficulty cleaning is the number one fault I can find with this little machine. The grill plates are not removable so they cannot be fully submersed in the sink or washed in the dishwasher. The instructions tell you to simply wipe it down and it will be good as new but, let’s face it, that’s not entirely sanitary. One thing I do like is that the spatula doubles as a cleaning implement whose notches fit over the grill so you can scrape food and grease off, right into the tray. We always forget to do this immediately after using the grill, though. I have to turn it back on the heat up the grease and such.

So once the majority of food and grease is wiped off, you can just wipe this down, right? Kind of. With a damp washcloth, sponge or paper towels (I usually use the latter), you can wipe down most of the machine but the ridges make for some nooks and crannies which are not all that easy to clean. Add to it the flaking off of the nonstick coating and it does become more difficult.

All in all, the George Foreman Champ Grill is a decent appliance to have in the kitchen even if it is a little small and does make cooking easier while reducing splatter, if not quicker. The heating portion is solid product but the grill would be improved with a few features such as removable grill plates to make cleaning more thorough (and dishwasher safe would be good, too!), a stronger spatula/cleaning tool and perhaps a timer or temperature control. I could honestly do without the additional bun warmer and would probably consider a larger George Foreman in the grill. In the meantime the Champ Grill works okay but isn’t a miracle worker.