George Foreman Contact Roasting Machine Model #GV5 Review

I've had this George Foreman Lean Mean Contact Roasting Machine for many, many years and have relied on it on many occasions to make rotisserie-style chicken at home...without the rotisserie!  Like all of George Foreman's products, the surface is non-stick and it helps reduce the fat of the food by draining the grease away from it.  However, this wouldn't truly be classified as a grill since it doesn't have the typical grill plates and it's large enough to hold up to a 5 lb. whole chicken or roast.

I guess you can say that it looks similar to a rice cooker in size and doesn't leave much of a footprint space on the countertop.  It has a clamshell-style lid that opens by using a hinge on the backside.  Once opened, you will notice that both the top and bottom of the roaster are made of non-stick material for easy clean-up.  The bottom surface is different from the top since it has grill-like ridges along with a hole in the bottom (towards the front) to allow the grease to escape during the cooking process.  The unit comes with a small plastic square tray that fits into the front bottom of the unit to catch all of the grease that comes off the food.  It also has a removable insert baking pan that can be used for cooking small casseroles, brownies, eggs and the like.

Once the unit is plugged in, just hit the ON/OFF switch to "ON" and allow the unit to preheat, which takes about 5 minutes.  Once preheated, the unit will beep to let you know it's ready for the food.  Using a potholder or an oven mitt, carefully open the lid and place your food in - make sure you have the drip tray underneath or you'll have a mess to clean up later!  Once the food is in and the lid is closed, you can set the timer based on the suggested cooking chart that is in the manual (up to a maximum of 150 minutes) and the display will show the time remaining.  Once the timer goes off and the food is done, remove to a serving platter and dinner is ready!

Even though I don't have my roaster sitting on my countertop, it gets used quite often - especially when making that rotisserie-style chicken I mentioned earlier in my review.  All you need is some rotisserie chicken seasoning that you can find in any supermarket and coat the chicken totally around the outside and that's it, you're ready to cook it.  When done (approx. 1 1/4 hours), you'd swear it was just like the kind you'd find at a deli in a supermarket - crisp on the outside and juicy on the inside.

This is a wonderful addition to your cooking helpers since you can use it more as an "any day" kind of appliance, unlike the big electric roasters that take up a lot of room.  Here are some of the features that I particularly like about this roaster:

• Non-stick surface
• Grease is drained away from the cooked food, yet it remains juicy
• Easy to operate - just flip the ON/OFF switch, set your time and you're ready!
• Gives food a nice crispy coating
• Easy to clean up - just wipe with paper towels or a sponge