Nov 19, 2007 7:56 pm US/Eastern
Does It Really Do That: Micro Grill
PITTSBURGH (KDKA) ―
Many people love to barbecue and hate to see the barbecue season come to an end.
Now, a new product promises to allow you to barbecue all year round… but does the Micro Grill really do that?
The television ad claims it is "the first ever kitchen product that transforms your microwave into a turbocharged grilling machine."
The manufacturer says the Micro Grill can make grilled short ribs in six minutes, halibut in five minutes, and even grilled ballpark style franks in just two minutes.
We asked Wade Timmerson and his daughter to help us find out if the Micro Grill worked.
We started with a grilled cheese sandwich.
We follow instructions and preheat the Micro Grill for two minutes.
It promises a grilled sandwich in two minutes without oil or butter, but then directions say spray with vegetable oil.
The Micro Grill claims to have special patented heat conducting grilling plates that convert microwave energy into high temperature conductive heat, grilling the food.
The picture of the grilled cheese on the box sure looks good.
However, the results of our test are disappointing.
Although the cheese is melted, the bread certainly isn't golden brown like the picture on the box.
Next, we move on the king of the grill… the steak.
Again, the directions say to preheat the Micro Grill and suggest seasoning the steak with soy sauce.
We use the Micro Grill for five minutes and the finished product looks good.
But does it taste good, good like a back yard grilled steak?
"It tastes like a boiled steak," said Wade.
We also tried to make a chicken shish-kebob.
The end result: Wade thinks the chicken is too pale to pass for grilled. And the green peppers?
"I don't think they look great but they don't taste bad," he admits.
The Micro Grill claims it can grill a frozen steak to perfection in seven minutes with no thawing.
We try it on a hamburger patty and seven minutes later it looks grilled on the outside.
We give the burger another minute and a half in the microwave.
Again, it tastes okay, but it still doesn't have that satisfying charred flavor we were expecting.
"My mind is made up," said Wade. "I don't feel that the Micro Grill is worth it. It cooks but it's the same flavor you could get in the microwave oven and I wouldn't buy it."
The bottom line for Wade: there's no substitute for a real grill -- especially not the Micro Grill.
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