 "BASKET DROPS BACK INTO OIL WHILE SPINNING" | 2009-10-30 |
| - Reviewed By T.ROG |
I HAD 3 OF THE GEORGE FORMAN LEAN MEAN SPIN MACHINES.
ALL 3 WORK GREAT THE FIRST TIME. THE FOOD WAS PERFECT. THE SECOND TIME ON ALL 3 THE BASKET WOULD NOT STAY LOCKED IN PLACE DURING THE SPIN CYCLE. I REALLY WANTED IT TO WORK BECAUSE THE FOOD WAS SO CRISPY AND IT TAKES A LITTLE TIME TO CLEAN.. |
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 "NOT GREASY FOOD" | 2009-10-13 |
| - Reviewed By User: AANLQO36EOH98 |
| Great! Great! Great! The fryer does exactly what it says it will do, "KNOCK OUT THE FAT". |
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| "Works well so far... extra mystery part?" | 2009-10-05 |
| - Reviewed By User: A1H1WLE8T0CPDB |
Ordered from Amazon, used the Free shipping, and not only did it arrive fast, but it was delivered on a Saturday!
This is my first deep fryer, and I figured if this cuts out some of the extra oil left on the food, then so much the better. I would have liked a fryer with digital controls, and I suspect there will be such a version of this one, based on the "D" model also mentioned on the manual, but such is the price for being an early-adopter.
There's a saying that the more parts something has, the more likely things can go wrong. This does have a lot of parts, including one part which was not listed in the instruction manual, nor can I find any place where it might belong! It's sort of an oddly-shaped cup, and seems to have little nubs on it where it would fit into something something else, but I sure can't find anything on the fryer that looks like a space for it. (Any other owners who have figured out what the part is, feel free to reply to this review and let me know!)
As far as the actual functional parts, you must be careful when putting the basket into place, because it's easy to miss the slot it is supposed to slide down into, which means it will not lock into position properly, either in the oil or when lifting out for the spin cycle. Basically, be careful when putting it all together, because anything with moving parts that are not positioned properly can lead to breakage eventually.
So far, though, it seems to work well. We cooked chicken tenders, fries, and mozarella sticks during its first use. All turned out well, and not at all greasy! The spin cycle resulted in slightly-bent cheese sticks, however, since the centripetal force caused them to conform to the shape of the basket.
The instructions say to use fresh oil after every 4-6 uses, and to store the oil in its original container. I made the mistake of buying a big 3-gallon box of expensive peanut oil, though, and had to find a separate container to store the used oil; I didn't want to put it back into the original container with the rest of the fresh oil. Frankly, considering the cost of peanut oil, this could actually be quite expensive to use over the long run, so you might want to use cheaper alternatives.
Maintenance can be a bit of a pain, but I suspect that is true of all deep fryers, and I probably won't use it very often (although that's not necessarily a mark against it). Waiting for the oil to cool takes a LONG time before you can store it. The instructions also do not mention how or if you should clean the heating element, only that it should not be immersed in water, and not to damage the thin wires on it. (The manual has the heating element in its own section, separate from the Cleaning section of the Care chapter, so that seems to imply it is not meant to be cleaned.) Since the instructions were not clear, I just wiped it down with a paper towel to get any excess oil off. I hand-washed the basket and cooking pot. The instructions say the basket is dishwasher-safe, however.
We'll just have to see how well it holds up to the test of time! |
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| "Really gets the oil out!!" | 2009-09-06 |
| - Reviewed By User: A137C9LFKPIN52 |
| This thing was difficult to unpack but about 15 minutes after getting it out of the box I was munching on the best fried potatoes I have ever eaten. I cooked 2 small (fist size) potatoes cut into french fries, spun them for a couple of minutes then dumped them on a brown paper grocery sack, and there was not a trace of grease, at all. Salt wouldn't even stick to'em. The only drawbacks I can see in it is it's food capacity, compared to my other deep fryer, it is tiny. A couple or 3 small potatoes, 3-4 chicken legs, 4-5 thighs, is about all the room it has, you couldn't fit 1 full size donut or chicken fried steak in there, due to the spin mechanism, which is built into the fry basket, is about a 1.5 inch spindle sticking up through the center of the basket. And it's going to be a nightmare to clean because of the close proximity and tolerance of moving parts within the spin basket and mechanism. |
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| "Fantastic!" | 2009-07-15 |
| - Reviewed By User: A2VXDLDDELHKXB |
| Great product. We've been raving to everyone about this fryer! The inside area of this fryer is a bit small but because of that the unit heats up oil very quickly. We've been making a couple batches of food in this fryer in about the same time we could have made it in our larger fryer simply because it heats up so fast. Spin cycle is awesome - it really does take out a lot of the grease. The only negatives I could find are: small basket size (although I kind of like the smaller size), the lid is somewhat flimsy (but not a big deal), and basket can at times be difficult to slide up and down. You'll read other reviews on here stating that the "view" window doesn't work because it steams up - that's only half true. For us, it steamed up the first few times we used it; after that I guess it got that nice "grease" film/coating and now you can see through it just fine when frying foods... it is however a bit small for viewing much. This product is pretty heavy-duty so I'm sure we'll be using it for years to come. However, if you're buying this to "lose weight" because it "spins out the fat/grease"... be warned, this product heats up and cooks food so quickly you may find yourself frying foods more often. |
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 "This is the ONE!" | 2009-07-12 |
| - Reviewed By User: A2503LT8PZIHAD |
We haven't had a deep fryer for awhile because we just weren't happy with the food quality. Every time we get one, we try it once or twice, and then it starts gathering dust in the corner and eventually we get rid of it. In our household, we all love fried foods and so we always try the newest one in high hopes that this will be the one. This is the ONE!
This makes the best french fries and chicken. It is just excellent. We have also put fried fish in the machine to good ends. Everything comes out crispy but not greasy. All of the flavor and none of the greasy fingers! It's hard to explain how well this machine deep fries things. The quality is just amazing.
This is the perfect machine! Before we got this one, we read the reviews and the descriptions of how big it was, how much counter space it took up, and how difficult it was to clean. All of those seem like legitimate problems. We have a pretty big kitchen with lots of storage so that took care of two of the issues. The cleaning part was not an issue for me because with all the kitchen fires I have started, no one wants me to help. :) I have watched my husband do all the work and he says it is pretty direct. He also likes that the basket can be put in the dishwasher. Storing the oil is not a problem because it goes back into the container from which it came.
If you can deal with the size issues, this is the best machine. It is HUGE and should not be mistaken for something that will not command its own section of your counter space. It moves in and makes itself comfortable. |
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