If you are a fan of high-end kitchen appliances, it is likely that you have at least one with the brand name Cuisinart laying around. They make everything with such quality that it is hard to not trust the brand, and their griddler is much of the same. However, don’t be fooled by the name, the 5-in-1 Griddler is a Panini press, but it comes with so many other features to make it a true multi-tool. The true benefit of its 5-in-1 functionality is that because it is supposed to do some many different things, it has a number of great features to cook with precision while still being easy to use.
Featuring 11.5 x 13.5 x 7.1 inches dimensions, there is plenty of room to grill large sandwiches. However, the biggest feature of the Cuisinart Griddler is how versatile it is. It is not only a Panini press, but a contact grill, full grill, full griddle, and half griddle as well. As it can turn into so many different things, it comes with removable non-stick plates that make cleaning an absolute breeze.
Not only will the plates require minimal scrubbing, but they are dishwasher safe as well. While not a worry if you are just cooking Panini’s, the griddler also comes with a built-in grease trap so you don’t need to worry about particularly oily foods dripping their grease over the sides.
Not only are the removable plates easy to switch around, but that ease of use expands to the rest of the Panini press as well. The heat dials allow for precise control over temperature for all the various grill settings. Added to that, it still cooks quite fast. After a 5-minute pre-heat time, it only takes a few minutes to properly grill a Panini perfectly.
While the model comes with that coveted floating hinge lid, unlike other models, there are no adjustable height settings, and the default height isn’t particularly tall. This leads to the major downside of choosing the 5-in-1 griddler, the lid can occasionally cause food to heat unevenly. As the low floating hinge is so close to a traditional one, food in the back can get warmer than the food pressed closer to the front.
Yet, for that one major flaw, the Cuisinart 5-in-1 Griddler is a powerful multi-tool to have in the kitchen. Like all other Panini presses that have a problem unevenly heating food, the issue can be solved with a little rotation. Thankfully, the uneven heat problem mostly exists if you are cooking other food, like burgers. Sandwiches come out perfectly with those beautiful grill marks.
Regardless of the occasional heat problem, this press still has all those features that you would want in a perfect Panini press. You can remove the plates to clean them, it has the floating hinge, and you can adjust the temperature to your liking, all of which are key if you want to make the perfect Panini’s easily in your home.
