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"  Price: $180 My ancient Hamilton Beach countertop contact grill died a while back. And as the months passed, I increasingly missed sear marks and sizzle. Looking for a new apartment grilling solution, I found the OptiGrill by T-fal. The Hamilton Beach I&amp;#039;d been using all those years had a lone control: a spring-wound timer with a few icons on the side bearing suggested cooking times. Over time I&amp;#039;d gotten the hang of it, but I was stoked to test T-fal&amp;#039;s stylish new OptiGrill with Automatic Sensor Cooking, which promises &amp;quot;perfect grilling results from rare to well-done.&amp;quot; Nothing spring-wound about it. Thus began a month-long experiment that placed my culinary fate in circuitry, sensors, and six automatic programs.  Here&amp;#039;s how the appliance works: After spritzing or wiping the nonstick aluminum grilling plates with cooking oil, close the brushed stainless steel lid; press the On button on the handle; press the appropriate food icon (burgers, poultry, sandwich, pork/sausage/lamb, red meat, or fish\u2014the six programs); and press the OK button. Then wait 4 to 6 minutes for the purple preheating LED in the cooking level indicator to glow steadily and beep. Lift the lid, slap food on the grilling plates, and close the lid to start the cooking cycle. The thickness measurement sensor automatically adjusts the time and temperature according to the thickness of the food and the number of pieces, T-fal claims. Pro tip: At this point, kill your curiosity. The first time out of the chute, I grilled a ribeye steak, and I kept lifting the lid (probably all the way up) to see how things were going, which apparently screws up the automatic program. By the time I was finished, I had managed to turn a nice cut of meat into the heel of an old boot. Once you position the food and close the lid, the cooking level indicator turns blue (I&amp;#039;m not sure why this intermediate color is necessary) and then green. When green turns to yellow, the rare cooking cycle begins. When the indicator is yellow and beeps, the food is rare. Orange and a beep means medium, while red and a beep is well done. It seemed straightforward, and it was, at least once I let go and let grill. So I started grilling as many items as possible. Vegetables were surprisingly good\u2014once I put away the olive oil, which rendered them limp and soggy coming off the grill. Two favorites were grilled potatoes and grilled corn scraped off the cob (though you need to precook these in the microwave). I could have used my old Hamilton Beach to anchor a yacht, but the lighter weight of the OptiGrill plates meant sausages cooked properly without getting flattened. The same applied to grilled cheese sandwiches. There is also a setting for frozen food, which I deployed successfully on a pair of chicken legs and thighs slathered with barbecue sauce. The system doesn&amp;#039;t work with food that&amp;#039;s thicker than 1.5 inches\u2014which is probably why a gorgeous tuna steak turned into a chunk of inedible rubber\u2014or with food that is too thin. No problem: To get around this fact, I laid strips of bacon on the cold grilling plates, the way I would if I were using a frying pan, and pressed Manual. That also meant I could peek without penalty from the preprogramming. I was soon grilling great bacon in a fraction of the time it would have taken with a frying pan, and with a fraction of the mess and odor. The grilling plates are angled to direct grease to the drip tray, and are spiked with nubs that keep the meat in position. The plates and drip tray are easy to remove and clean by hand or in a dishwasher. However, the drip tray could use a spout or indentation somewhere around the rim to make draining grease prior to cleaning a bit easier. No countertop rig is ever going to replace the arcane delights of a charcoal-fired backyard Weber kettle, but for electrified, sensorized kitchen grilling, the OptiGrill comes pretty darn close. "^^<http://www.w3.org/2001/XMLSchema#string>
<http://www.popularmechanics.com/technology/gadgets/a9566/t-fal-optigrill-tops-in-countertop-grilling-16080743/>