Normally, I hate to give bad reviews since I think most products are disproportionately represented with negative reviews already.On this product, however, I feel that the exact opposite is true.
This review ran longer than I meant it to, so here is a quick overview if you don't want to read it all:
1) Uneven cooking surface (horrible for things like pancakes)
2) Doesn't heat evenly (it is very hot around the outside and cool in the middle)
3) Heats up slowly (probably to make sure the middle is at least a little hot)
4) This is specific to mine, but the grease tray broke in half on the third use when I wasn't even touching it.
Now, on to the details...
We got this griddle about 2 weeks ago to replace the unit that we've used for the last 15 years (although we've really only been using it heavily for the last couple of years).The teflon was coming off the old griddle and the heating unit was starting to go out.When ordering the new griddle, I kind of thought they were probably all the same so I picked one that was reasonably priced and that had reasonably good reviews.
The first thing we did with the new griddle was to warm tortillas I have to say that went perfectly well; so, if that's what you want it for, this is probably a great buy.After that, things went downhill pretty quickly.
The next morning, I broke out the new griddle to make some pancakes.I noticed that it seemed to take a long time to warm up, but that isn't really that big of a deal to me so I just waited patiently.When I started pouring the pancake mix onto the griddle surface, it immediately became obvious that it wasn't completely flat.The pancakes all ran together into the center of the griddle and came out as long oval shapes that I had to cut apart with the spatula that was the first really irritating problem.The second problem is that it cooks very unevenly and the stuff in the middle hardly cooks at all while everything around the edges burns.I've never had pancakes that turned out worse.
As one last example of the uneven heating, I also made grilled ham & cheese sandwiches for the kids on this.Each sandwich had a burned line running exactly where it had been sitting over the heating element it was almost funny, the rest of the sandwich was just fine.
Anyway, we ordered another brand of griddle to replace this one, but I had already thrown the box away so I can't return it oh well...The new one hasn't come yet, but I'm a bit nervous now that I know that not all griddles are the same.
Edit: I just thought I'd throw in here that the replacement griddle I ended up getting was the Broil King USG-10G.After several days of usage, that griddle works great if you are looking for another alternative to this one.
I really like this design. It has a slight raised lip running around the outside edge which contains any batters, grease, or other liquids which might run over the edge and create a mess; the grease drain is only on the front edge and is treated with the same sturdy non-stick coating as the rest of the surface, making for easy clean up. Indeed, the lack of plastic attachments make cleanup easy, and I really like the simple design, a very large cooking surface, two plastic handles and a removable plastic grease catch.
The only thing keeping me from rating it a five out of five is that I would have liked to see a thicker aluminum used, the base is only about 2mm thick, though I've been unable to find anything thicker
Buy Presto 07039 22-Inch Electric Griddle Now
I purchased this item as a result of the positive ratings on this product. I was very disappointed in the quality in that the cooking surface is very thin and the heating element is a single loop that is attached to the bottom of the surface. This causes the heat to be concentrated primarily in the area of the heating element which results in extremely uneven heating on the cooking surface. I allowed the unit to preheat and when I cooked pancakes there was a dark streak in the area where they were over the heating element. I would not recommend this product.
Read Best Reviews of Presto 07039 22-Inch Electric Griddle Here
I bought this to replace my All-Clad LTD Nonstick Grande Griddle, a workhorse for weekend breakfast cooking, but a little pricey to chuck every two years. After all, these nonstick cooking utensils don't last forever, and the more use they get, the sooner they need replacing.
Looking for an affordable alternative, I settled upon this griddle after reading the other reviews. I find it to be just the thing for cooking bacon, eggs, and pancakes for a Sunday morning breakfast. The construction quality is certainly adequate, the grille is quite large, and it heats up quickly. The heating is a little uneven from one side to the other, but you can use this to your advantage. It's not that bad, really.
All in all, I am glad I purchased this after having it for a couple of months, and when it breaks, I'll probably buy another one!
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I got this griddle for christmas a while ago and its nice but the legs and handles brake easily if your not careful.I am looking for a new one but I am wanting one with thicker legs and handles.But I really do like this griddle just thought people would like to know about the legs and handles.
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BOUGHT THIS PAN BECAUSE MY HUSBAND KEPT COMPLAINING OURS WAS TO SMALL FOR HIM. THIS HAS PLENTY OF ROOM TO COOK EGGS FOR THE WHOLE FAMILY AT ONCE. HEAVY DUTY,COOKS EVENLY,NO STICKING.
