I bought a panini press! Now what?

[Smithy]

29 minutes ago, rotuts said:

I(m considering this :

 

Breville Duo 1500-Watt Nonstick Panini Press (eG-friendly Amazon.com link)

 

it has the single temp, w a green light.

 

you don't flip the plates  no super tech stuff 

 

top plate seems to be adjustable for thickness 

 

it locks and can be stored upright 

 

its similar in ways to @Smithy's find.

 

OK talk me out of it

 

I'm afraid the only way I'd try to talk you out of it would be to urge you to get something with some temperature control! My unit has grill temperature controls and I'm looking forward to trying them, although I've no experience yet to see whether I actually use those controls. One thing that's very nice about this unit it that it locks and can be stored upright. Mine has no such latch, and needs to sit level (currently it's doing that on the floor) until I come up with a strap to tie it all together. The adjustable thickness looks great.

 

I also like the idea of grill marks on both sides of the panini, but that's just me....

[rotuts]

or me , one temp if not just fine ,

 

I like easy thees day.

 

turn on   green light  'press something 

 

need note on results  re time.

 

standing upright is talking to  me.

 

i think the added features to the original idea , well made BTW

 

Id rarely use , if ever.   

 

if you had a temp calibrated unit , w reversible grills

 

I can see opening that up for a sunday family breakfast , for sure.

[rotuts]

Ive been wondering about waffles. 

 

they really are special 

 

however , a pancake is a less involved

 

tasty sub.

 

so

 

on // off panini's

 

do pancakes , or does the top get in the way ?

[rotuts]

as far as I can tell 

 

if you wabnt a waffle 

 

you get a PPs that have removable plates

 

and buy n extra set for waffles.

 

and the simple PPs's   won't open for pancakes.

 

 

Edited February 20 by rotuts (log)

[weinoo]

The Breville unit here has removable plates, and I did buy the waffle plates (though haven't used them yet).

 

What surprises me about the unit I have is the temperature control.  Separate dials for the top and bottom plates - I checked the temperature accuracy with a laser thermometer and, while it wasn't spot on, it was within like 5℉ or 6℉, which for this type of product, I think is pretty good.

[rotuts]

@Smithy

 

im guessing your panini press is similar to the one Im interested in

 

mentioned previously.  

 

if possible , the next time younuse it

 

will you take a picture of the press

 

'  fully open '

 

ie , can  you use it , at the set temp to make pancakes , or brown something ?

 

or does the lid not lift enough .

 

many thank 

 

Id like to make Carnitas.

 

then thread them ,on the PP

 

and brown crispy is teynwere 2 - 3 " in hight.

 

what do you think ?

 

addendum :

 

I saw the video here :

 

https://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/B002PY6X1E/egulletsociety-20

 

an Ive placed my order.

Edited February 21 by rotuts (log)

[Smithy]

23 hours ago, rotuts said:

@Smithy

 

im guessing your panini press is similar to the one Im interested in

 

mentioned previously.  

 

if possible , the next time younuse it

 

will you take a picture of the press

 

'  fully open '

 

ie , can  you use it , at the set temp to make pancakes , or brown something ?

 

or does the lid not lift enough .

 

many thank 

 

Id like to make Carnitas.

 

then thread them ,on the PP

 

and brown crispy is teynwere 2 - 3 " in hight.

 

what do you think ?

 

addendum :

 

I saw the video here :

 

https://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/B002PY6X1E/egulletsociety-20

 

an Ive placed my order.

 

Although you've already placed your order, here's the information you asked for about my panini press.

 

 

It doesn't have the adjustable height for plates as in the one you originally linked (and presumably bought). The top plate "floats" in the sense that the lid comes up and down as necessary and the top plate pivots to parallel the bottom plate. (BTW it is NOT clever to start warming the press before making sure that the literature and cleaning tool are not being stored between the plates! Ask me how I know.)

 

 

Mine opens out completely flat so that both sides can be used at the same time. Both plates are reversible, so you can have 2 ridged plates, 2 flat plates, or one of each.

 

 

 

[Smithy]

Life brought all my time for and interest in cooking to a screeching halt for around a month, but now that the dust is starting to settle I have some preliminary results to share. I also have a wealth of recipes and cookbooks from which to choose, when things get even calmer.

 

I tried grilling slices of eggplant that had been brushed with olive oil, as the preliminary step to making eggplant parmesan. 

 

 

It appears I didn't get any "after" pictures, which is too bad. They took on light grill marks and a pretty golden brown color. Unfortunately the eggplant came out so tough that the entire assemblage needed a knife for every bite. Was it because of the grilling method? I don't know. It could also have been because by that time the eggplants were at least a month old! I'll try the technique again later, with fresh eggplant, and report back.

 

Pressed sandwiches have been a fairly regular occurrence. When I had some interest in and time for cooking again, I bought a selection of sliced meats and cheeses. The results have ranged from Reuben to grilled cheese sandwiches. I'm finding I like my homemade sauerkraut added after grilling to my sandwich.

 

Again, there aren't any detailed pictures of the innards but here's a composite of one pair of sandwiches. 

 

 

I do have to flip them, despite having grill shapes on both top and bottom plates, to get good grill marks. The top plate doesn't seem to get as hot as the bottom plate. So far we're very pleased with the results, basic as they are.

[gfweb]

We got one about 15 yrs ago and found our kids didn't like panini, and we were underwhelmed too. 

 

Once you cook a Reuben and a cubano....

[Smithy]

I think this panini press / grill was the best $8 I've ever spent.

 

Granted: our life circumstances are leaning heavily toward "easy" in terms of prep and cleanup.

Granted: I can imagine becoming bored with grilled sandwiches, no matter the combination of meat, cheese, and condiments, although I'm not there yet.

Granted: I still haven't put this Cuisinart griddler-gourmet through the rest of its paces. I had intended to try grilling pieces of ribeye steak on it tonight, but we got sidetracked as we do so often these days.

 

So far, we haven't even scratched the surface of what this thing can do. Nor have we scratched the surface of potential grilled sandwiches! These days we have a selection of sliced meats, sliced cheeses, fresh greens, our preferred breads, and my latest batch of sauerkraut.

 

In tonight's dinner sandwiches: slices of beef, turkey, pepperoni, various smoked and unsmoked cheeses. Bread interiors were slathered with Miracle Whip (him), Duke's Mayonnaise (me), some mustard (both). The exteriors were slathered with butter before grilling and pressing. Salad greens and sauerkraut were added after griddling.

 

 

Our appetites aren't large these days. Each sandwich was cut in half. At least half will serve as dinner or lunch or snack some other time.

 

Probably The Best Eight Bucks I've ever spent. When and if this panini press dies (may it live forever), I'll probably spring for a new one (eG-friendly Amazon.com link). And I haven't even tried its other functions or fancier recipes yet!

[Smithy]

In addition to tonight's extravagant grilled sandwiches, I griddled a tray of portabella caps. The plan was to press them between heated plates, like the sandwiches, until they'd flattened and softened; then use them later in sandwiches or salads. Ha! Most are already gone. They're too tempting as snacks to be eaten out of hand. I do think they'd do better sliced first, if the plan is to use them in sandwiches.

 

 

 

 

Edited June 1 by Smithy
Clarified sentence about snacking on finished mushrooms (log)

[lemniscate]

10 hours ago, Smithy said:

In addition to tonight's extravagant grilled sandwiches, I griddled a tray of portabella caps. The plan was to press them between heated plates, like the sandwiches, until they'd flattened and softened; then use them later in sandwiches or salads. Ha! Most are already gone. They're too good for snacking out of hand. I do think they'd do better sliced first, if the plan is to use them in sandwiches.

 

 

Giant portobello caps are my favorite use for panini press.    Also using the bigger white mushrooms for "smash burger" sliders too.  I really mash down on those.

[gfweb]

I can see the press being of great use in the trailer/camper. Can the power supply there handle it?

[Smithy]

1 hour ago, gfweb said:

I can see the press being of great use in the trailer/camper. Can the power supply there handle it?

 

Yes, it can. I think I remember hearing the generator load down a little when I used the press, but not much. I'm using this press a lot here in our house, but I expect that when/if we hit the road again this fall I'll be bringing it along.

[Smithy]

4 hours ago, lemniscate said:

 

Giant portobello caps are my favorite use for panini press.    Also using the bigger white mushrooms for "smash burger" sliders too.  I really mash down on those.

 

Do you slice them first, or do any other special treatment before griddling?

[MetsFan5]

I used my press for hotdogs and it worked well. 

[rotuts]

@MetsFan5

 

you bet.  no pan fiddling , or much fiddling along.

 

do you have an air fryer ?

 

another approach , no fiddling.

 

try a ' set '  min an AF from frozen .

 

been looking at those packs of chicken sausage 

 

@ TJ's , or similar-ish style in supermarkets ?

 

AF a pack , from hard frozen , braking off each so that they tray-out

 

as individuals.

 

start from frozen , 400F no preheat , check when you can't stand it any more.

 

around 12 min , rough est

 

very interesting results.

 

[Smithy]

Last night I tried the press for something other than sandwiches: used it as a griddle instead. We had 1 burger and 1 bratwurst.

 

 

I quickly decided that the griddle wasn't hot enough to cook that brat in a timely fashion and put it in the microwave with my darling's ear of sweet corn. His bun went onto the griddle instead. That also allowed me to smash the burger and cook it on both sides at once.

 

 

The griddle put very nice marks on the bread.

 

 

The burger? Well, the jury's still out on that. I can see that this device might make nice smash burgers, but I would have liked the surface to get a bit hotter. In this particular case, the meat tasted old. That had nothing to do with the cooking technique and everything to do with how long it had been sitting out of the freezer.

 

 

I'll try again and experiment with the controls a bit more, sometime in the future.

[ElsieD]

Top right of your first photo - is that a cat salt cellar?

[Smithy]

14 minutes ago, ElsieD said:

Top right of your first photo - is that a cat salt cellar?

 

No, it's a Catzilla butter dish.

 

 

 

[Smithy]

Another "panini press saves the day" sort of dinner.

 

I've had portabella caps and a red bell pepper since, well, sometime before June 14. Life Got In The Way. Tonight I went to press the mushroom caps and discovered that mold had already gotten to them. (The local bears will enjoy them, I'm sure.) The pepper was getting a bit shriveled but still okay, so I cored it, quartered and pressed it. Then I used two of those slices along with chunks of cheddar cheese, slices of smoked turkey and pepperoni, all encased in whole wheat bread with generous amounts of mayo and mustard inside and butter outside. After the grilling, I added chunks of lettuce and sauerkraut.

 

 

I know of folks on this forum who like to let the bread shine if it's good bread, and not make for multi-layered sandwiches. Trust me, this is good bread...but an excellent sandwich. And an easy dinner.

 

Move over, Dagwood!

[Senior Sea Kayaker]

Whenever a new post comes up I start looking at panini presses. Haven't made the leap yet but it's inevitable.

 

[Smithy]

3 hours ago, Senior Sea Kayaker said:

Whenever a new post comes up I start looking at panini presses. Haven't made the leap yet but it's inevitable.

 

 

I'd love to become an eG enabler. 😉

 

Seriously, this thing is perfectly matching my lifestyle right now. It's easy and quick, and allows me to mix and match ingredients. The same can be said of salads (and often is, around this household) but sometimes I prefer the heat and the textural contrasts that a grilled sandwich provides.

[lemniscate]

4 hours ago, Senior Sea Kayaker said:

Whenever a new post comes up I start looking at panini presses. Haven't made the leap yet but it's inevitable.

 

Go to a thrift shop.  That's where most panini presses end up.   I've seen at least 3 of the expensive Cuisinart Elites (+$150 new) in the last few months, virtually unused, for less than $20USD sitting on the shelves.  I'm guessing wedding gifts that went unused and eventually donated during a downsize purge.

[Smithy]

46 minutes ago, lemniscate said:

Go to a thrift shop.  That's where most panini presses end up.   I've seen at least 3 of the expensive Cuisinart Elites (+$150 new) in the last few months, virtually unused, for less than $20USD sitting on the shelves.  I'm guessing wedding gifts that went unused and eventually donated during a downsize purge.

 

That's exactly how I got mine, for $8. Unused as far as I could tell. I've fixed that!