Has anyone tried the George Foreman Grill that they always advertise on TV?

I got one for Christmas and just gave it a test drive. It made PERFECT grilled cheese sandwiches. That's the good news. I then attempted to cook a hamburger patty on it and it came out tasting like prime filet of HUNTING BOOT. It was the driest, most tasteless hunk of meat I've ever had in my entire life! Is it just me, or is the "grease busting, time saving machine" the worst thing that's ever happened to a slab of meat in history? Am I doing something wrong?

Sounds like you left it in too long. Not that I've ever used it, but it's essentially an iron, yes?

What kind of hamburger patty was it- the kind you buy in bulk at Sam's, or did you make it yourself? Are you using any seasoning?

And don't forget- fat makes food taste good and keeps it from drying out.

I used top sirloin, and thoroughly coated it on both sides with olive oil before cooking. I didn't use any seasoning at all, and I made sure not to overcook it -- it was still plenty pink inside.

I just tried it again with another cut of meat (thin strip steak) and the darned thing came out even drier and more wooden than the hamburger patty... I think I'm going to have to made a decision. Healthier, greaseless meat or dry and tasteless meat. What a choice. I'm thinking that when all those juices and oils drain out through those cute little vents, all of the flavor and taste go with them. Oh, well.

I think in the future the George will used strictly for grilled cheeses, or a paper weight.

Yeah, you need seasoning and fat.

Mine is still in the box so I can't comment in specific, but I can tell you that as an X commercial and informercial producer (yes, I admit it and I apologize--it was one of my many day jobs) you should never ever buy anything from an infomercial or long format commercial. And yes, they can lie on commercials--or use tiny disclaimers. My editor and I used to joke that the disclaimers basically said:

Picture and Voice Over: IT REALLY WORKS!
Disclaimer in tiny font: does not really work.

i used my george foreman grill all the time in Cali....i never had any issues, but then again, i didnt really care if i was eating tasteless food, haha! Years back i didnt even use salad dressing on salad.

Plus I liked that it was quick and easy to clean----key was to not let it dry. So if you squeeze water over it when it is still hot it will all come off pretty easily like when they clean the hibatchi tables in Japanese restaurants.

Robert,

We use our George Forman grill almost every day. In fact it's just about the only way we cook meat.

For Hamburgers, set at 425 and cook for three minutes. Maybe your patty is too thin, or cooked too long. As for steaks, no need to coat in olive oil. You can spray some of that canned cooking oil on the grill itself-- a good idea in any event. As for thin cuts of meat, I have no experience with those, but I think my husband has cooked thinly sliced something or other and just put it in for literally a minute or so.

Hope that helps.