Another countertop grilling unit that you are able to find in the market is the Hamilton Beach indoor grill 25324. As its name suggests, the Hamilton Beach 25324 100-square-inch nonstick indoor grill with Panini press comes with a moderately sized 100 square inch cooking surface.
Obviously, it’s probably not the largest surface that you can possibly get, but it is certainly bigger than a lot of its competitors and would be sizeable enough for an averaged family. Additionally, the surface of the Hamilton Beach Panini press is also nonstick coated, in a similar way to other countertop grills and Panini makers.
A non-stick cooking surface is generally easier to cook with, since various foods tend to stick less often than they normally do, and this type of surface can be cleaned more easily as well. However, the Hamilton Beach 25324 grill does not have removable grilling plates, or any type of surface that could be detached from the whole unit for easy cleaning (like some of the newer George Foreman grills, or the Cuisinart griddlers).
The Performance of the Hamilton Beach 25324 Indoor Grill
On the other hand, such countertop units that come with non-removable plates usually have a better heating mechanism and heat distribution so that foods get cooked more evenly and quickly. This Hamilton Beach indoor grill does get hot enough for cooking Panini sandwiches and other recipes that don’t require high heat, but it cannot get the high temperatures that you need in order to sear steaks and other meats.
This is a bit surprising because of the fact that the Hamilton Beach 25324 grill has non removable cooking plates that should allow the unit, at least in theory, to achieve much better cooking results. There are certainly other more interesting models in the marketplace that could offer a lot more than this Hamilton Beach Panini press (even other Hamilton Beach grills and Panini presses would be able to perform a lot better).
Other features which are included with the Hamilton Beach indoor grill are the dishwasher safe drip tray, the power / ready lights and the floating hinge that could be used for more versatile cooking options.
While the drip tray of the Hamilton Beach 25324 Panini press is supposed to drain away all the grease and unwanted fats that are generated while cooking various foods, it doesn’t always do its job.
In addition, this Hamilton Beach grilling machine comes with variable heat controls, but as mentioned before the appliance itself isn’t capable of reaching the high temperatures that are needed for certain foods. Furthermore, its price isn’t very expensive for a countertop grill and Panini press, but there are other alternatives that would provide you with better results.