Normally we don’t like having a separate gadget for every different job in the kitchen. But in the case of the T-Fal OptiGrill, we are so glad to have this additional appliance. The T-Fal OptiGrill is the first and only indoor grill with Precision Grilling Technology. This means that the grill has special sensors that automatically determines the thickness of the food and it will grill it to perfection.
This really is an “intelligent” appliance.
There are six different cooking options to choose from- burgers, poultry, sandwiches, sausage/pork, red meat and fish as well as an option to cook manually (great for fruits and vegetables) or to cook from frozen. This last option is awesome and is a lifesaver some nights!
You can actually take chicken straight from the freezer and grill it- and it will cook- thoroughly. This makes it an incredible tool for making dinner on a busy weeknight when we haven’t had a chance to pull anything out ahead of time. (Which is more often than not!)
The one downfall of this is having to season the chicken once it has been cooked (or cooked partway), but it gave us the idea to preseason, or marinate and freeze individual portions of chicken to grill later.
Here, I had two massive chicken breasts that were frozen together- and they actually cooked all the way through- even though they were an uneven thickness.
The amount of smoke that I usually produce when cooking steaks, usually sets off the smoke detectors but with the OptiGrill, it was significantly less. A Cooking Level Indicator lights up and changes color to indicate when your food has reached your ideal temperature: Yellow for Rare; Orange for Medium; Red for Well Done. Once it has reached the temperature you chose, it will beep. And you know it’s done!
Our steaks turned out perfectly Medium. (This was also a great time to try out Grass fed beef versus grain fed, but that’s another story for another time. Can you tell which is which?)
Perfect!
When we made burgers, they cooked in about 7 minutes flat and were actually done before we had even finished baking the French fries! Need to work on our timing with that. But, the best part is that all the unnecessary fat dripped into the extra-large tray, making this a much healthier dinner, without sacrificing taste. The burgers also weren’t dry and retained much of their juiciness because we could choose what level of cooking we wanted without guessing when they would be finished.
Look at all that grease!
The extra large, nonstick grill plates enable you to easily cook for several people at once and they are removable so you can put them and the drip tray right into the dishwasher for easy clean-up.
Since receiving the OptiGrill, we have used it on several occasions. We even grilled sausages to accompany breakfast this weekend. Because of its versatility for use and easy care, I think this is one appliance that will have a permanent home on my counter top. I’m looking forward to making some sandwiches on this soon too!
The T-Fal OptiGrill is priced at $179 and is a great option for those who do not have space for a traditional grill or those who love the convenience of an indoor grill. It’s currently only available online but they expect to be in retail locations soon.
Disclosure: We received a T-Fal OptiGrill to test at home. All opinions are our own and we were not compensated in any other way for our review.
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Please tell me why this is better than a George Foreman grill. I am really trying to get an answer that will tell me it is worth almost $200.00.
Thank you,
Susan
Hi Susan,
Thanks so much for your inquiry. Here’s my reasons for preferring this to the George Foreman Grill. Besides the fact that the grates come off and just pop into the dishwasher, the grill is capable of cooking several pieces of meat to different specifications all at the same time. That means rare and well done all during the same session thanks to a built-in sensor that measures meat thickness, adjusts cooking time accordingly, and even detects how many pieces of meat are on the grill calculating the precise cooking temperature for each piece of meat.
The Optigrill has an LED display indicating each stage of the cooking process. You can see exactly when it leaves the searing phase before moving into full-on cooking. A yellow light means rare, orange is medium and red means it’s well-done. There’s even a defrost button for those times when you forget to take your meat out of the freezer until the last minute. A beeping sound lets you know when the grilling is done and automatically turns off.
It just knows when the meat is cooked perfectly- even from frozen- every single time. My George Foreman can’t do this. So it’s really, to me, the precision and the cleanup that make this my choice for the perfect indoor grilling unit.
Hope that helps!
Renee