3 Comments on “Hamilton Beach 38546 3-in-1 Grill/Griddle Review
  1. 84 of 88 people found the following review helpful
    5.0 out of 5 stars
    Happy I waited to buy this!, April 27, 2013
    By 

    This review is from: Hamilton Beach 38546 3-in-1 Grill/Griddle (Kitchen)
    I needed to find a replacement for my old Presto griddle. I know I didn’t want to buy another Presto, but it seemed like that was all I could find in the stores. I was about to suck it up and purchase it, then I came across this 3-in-1 awesomeness.
    I have used both the grill and the griddle, and I am very happy. I agree, it is a little smaller than the other griddles, but that is no problem for me. What I am very happy about is that the heating element underneath doesn’t just go around the outside. The Presto did that, and my food (pancakes or bacon) was cooked unevenly. Both the left and right sides have their own heating element, and the shape of it allows for more even cooking. And for easy cleaning the griddle/grill plates can be washed in the dishwasher, although I have not done that yet.
    I am definitely very pleased with my purchase and recommend this.

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  2. 70 of 74 people found the following review helpful
    1.0 out of 5 stars
    Junk, May 9, 2015
    Verified Purchase(What’s this?)
    This review is from: Hamilton Beach 38546 3-in-1 Grill/Griddle (Kitchen)
    Worst purchase I have ever made! Grease does not drain, but rather gathers on the wrong side of the plate and ends up filling the entire griddle with grease. Also, grease fills the bottom where the heat coils are, scary much! When I tried to use it the second time it started smoking like mad. Not cool. It is soooo small! Trying to cook bacon, the bacon hangs off the edges on both sides until it starts to shrink down. Grease leaks out of it no matter how good I attempt to clean it, and is just gross. I only gave it 1 star because I can’t give it zero. I hate this griddle

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  3. 93 of 103 people found the following review helpful
    3.0 out of 5 stars
    Nice Design, but There Are a Few Problems, October 7, 2013
    By 
    Linda R. Hendrex (USA) –
    (TOP 1000 REVIEWER)
      

    This review is from: Hamilton Beach 38546 3-in-1 Grill/Griddle (Kitchen)
    Vine Customer Review of Free Product (What’s this?)

    This isn’t a bad little grill for light use. I liked it at first and it is still used a lot around here, but I am starting to find things that aren’t as good as it seemed at when I first received it.

    First the Good:

    1. The design is functional and awesome – especially for a small household. I love that I can prepare grilled meat on one side and veggies on the other side. There are only two of us here, so I don’t know how it would be in a large family.

    2. Clean up is so easy! When dinner is over, I just snap the small cooking plates out of the base and there is very little need for big pots and pans. It cuts the time it takes to clean the kitchen after a meal in half. And it is DISHWASHER SAFE!!!! YAY! 😀 The small cooking plates take up extremely little space in my dishwasher!

    3. It is especially good that if you only need to cook something small, you don’t have to dirty up a whole griddle.

    4. There are separate heat controls for each side so that less energy is used when cooking with half the griddle. And when different foods require different temps, there is the luxury of being able to control each side independently of each other.

    Now for the Bad:

    1. Food still sticks to the “non-stick” surface. The directions tell you to spray Pam or some other non-stick cooking spray, which surprised me. The only reason that I would put up with a potentially toxic non-stick cooking surface would be for the freedom to cook with no oil at all (I have had non-stick pans that didn’t require any kind of oil). The manufacturer proudly boasts that this griddle is “PFOA Free”, and I assume that means non-toxic). I guess I just don’t trust that PFOA is the only toxic substance present in basically unnatural material and I am just waiting for the headlines telling me that I have given my family cancer because I used non-stick cookware! If I am going to use non-stick, I would have liked it to be at least a little more effective.

    2. This is related to the first point – I prefer stainless steel for cooking – especially since I have to use Pam anyway. A good quality thick aluminum that is encased by stainless steel is a great way to cook and can be made completely non-stick with a cooking spray – and since this griddle still requires something like PAM, I question the value of it when stainless is so good with spray. I actually make my own by mixing olive oil and liquid lecithin. Sadly, I don’t think there are any manufactures that make stainless steel electric griddles, so to get the better features of this item, the non-stick surface must be accepted. If I ever find a nice, griddle with a stainless cooking surface, this one will be at the thrift store that very same day! If anyone knows where I can get one, please leave a comment for me.

    3. BEWARE OF BITING COOKING PLATES! The design of the cooking plates is quite nice and they snap securely into the top of the griddle. However it is very easy to snap your fingers in while you are assembling. Once you get used to how it works, you will be able to skirt this issue, but at first you might have a few painful episodes. Just be careful to keep your fingers completely clear of the area that snaps into place and you should be fine. I smashed my fingers twice before I learned how to put the plates in place.

    4. Storage issues: Other griddles that I have seen were made to hang neatly against the wall, but you cannot store this like that. It needs a large amount of cabinet space to store it. Unless you plan to keep it out on your counter permanently, it might be a challenge in most kitchens.

    5. I don’t think the cooking surface gets hot enough for some things. I can’t seem to get steaks just right, and I made a terrible mess of eggs. I think this might be a learning issue, but for now, I am not completely satisfied with the cooking performance. Will update this later as I learn more about this type of cooking. Grilled cheese sandwiches are great, though!

    And Last, The Unknown:

    Several reviews state that this unit isn’t built to last. People are reporting that the heating elements stop working, or the components fall apart after a short time. This is something that I don’t know about and other people’s reviews do not influence my review or how many stars I gave this griddle. My last griddle lasted 35 years before I decided to replace it, so this item has some big shoes to fill in that regard. If I find that it doesn’t last the year, I will come back and update my review to reflect that.

    This griddle isn’t my very favorite thing, but I do find it useful, in spite of my storage issues, my cooking messes, and my fears of non-stick surfaces. I will probably make use of it for a number of things and hope we don’t find out later that the dreaded PFOA was replaced by something even worse! Give me…

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