I am considering buying this hot dog griller. Has anyone tried making breakfast sausage or corn on the cob? I am afraid this machine doesn't get hot enough and might need to consider a commercial model instead. Any feedback from anyone that has made these items, I would greatly appreciate it. I am considering buying this hot dog griller. Has anyone tried making breakfast sausage or corn on the cob? I am afraid this machine doesn't get hot enough and might need to consider a... » Read More I am considering buying this hot dog griller. Has anyone tried making breakfast sausage or corn on the cob? I am afraid this machine doesn't get hot enough and might need to consider a commercial model instead. Any feedback from anyone that has made these items, I would greatly appreciate it. « Show Less
587170
It works great. I have yet to use it for anything other than hot dogs , but for that ,It's great. Worth the money.
587171
I don't know for sure for the corn of the cob, but I use it a lot with brauts which take about an hour to cook. I hope this answer will help.
1032717
IF let's off a fair amount of smoke. I was not very happy, and would net rocommend. For me, the problem I had was it got too hot, even on the lowest of settings for my gas burner. Also, it's impossible to clean, without scraping of the coating. the last time I used it was to sear tuna. I let it sit for a day and scrubbed very hard to remove the residue. I used a sponge,then a soappad, becasue the sponge did nothing for the black residue ledt behind. I scrubbed so hard some of the costing rubbed off, and there is still residue left? Hope you have better luck and this was helpful
2172897
I am sorry to hear you are having problems. I finally bought a new BBCCX20 and am thrilled with the improvements they made since my old one. I started with the basic white recipe out of the recipe book and now make whole wheat with more nuts, fruit and cereal than a clif bar and it still handles it all. Some loaves are tall and some are squat but that just depends on what is in them. Is your machine in a draft? I moved mine away from the draft from the back door because one side of the loaf was higher sometimes. The meatloaf is terrific and I make quite a bit of sugar free jam and desserts in it as well. I am sorry to hear you are having problems. I finally bought a new BBCCX20 and am thrilled with the improvements they made since my old one. I started with the basic white recipe out of the recipe book and now make whole wheat with more nuts, fruit and cereal than a clif bar and it still handles it all. Some loaves are tall and some are squat but that just depends on what is in them. Is your machine in a draft? I moved mine away from the draft from the back door because one side of the loaf was higher sometimes. The meatloaf is terrific and I make quite a bit of sugar free jam and desserts... » Read More I am sorry to hear you are having problems. I finally bought a new BBCCX20 and am thrilled with the improvements they made since my old one. I started with the basic white recipe out of the recipe book and now make whole wheat with more nuts, fruit and cereal than a clif bar and it still handles it all. Some loaves are tall and some are squat but that just depends on what is in them. Is your machine in a draft? I moved mine away from the draft from the back door because one side of the loaf was higher sometimes. The meatloaf is terrific and I make quite a bit of sugar free jam and desserts in it as well. « Show Less
2111136
I e-mailed the distributor and explained the problem of having something that I couldn't use and they e-mailed me not only the directions but recipes. It's easy to use once you know what you have. Hope you have as much success as I did. I use it very often and really like the convenience and the fact that it doesn't heat up my kitchen. I live on the desert so hate anything that adds heat. Good luck
1933010
Have you found any alternative? I just started looking into purchasing a bread maker and I'm stuck in the same quandry. I avoid non-stick at all costs, but I can't seem to find a machine without it. Please let me know if you found anything. Thanks! Lyndi
1232680
Jason, I've had a hard time getting it up to the desired smoking temp when it's cool & windy or just cool. I think one of the problems is that they only recommending using 12 or so starter coals. Yesterday I increased this number to 20 or so and that seemed to work better. I'll keep fooling with it and could see using up to half the coals in the chimney starter. And I've found that I need to have the top holes open more than the 5/16 they recommend. I'd say open them all the way up and then throttle them down. I also think it makes a big difference and significantly slows down the process if the meat isn't close to room temp to start. But I'll tell you, the more I use the device the more comfortable I feel with it. I'm having a retirement get together this coming Sat so started preparing for that this weekend. Using a rib rack I smoked 6 full racks of ribs on Sat and 6 more on Sun. I'd never have dreamed that 6 racks of ribs would fit on the Weber but they did. I baby sat the Sat batch pretty closely but once the Sunday batch was up to speed I only looked at about once/hour to stir the coals, add water & wood. We ate one last evening and it was good but will put the rest in the oven for 2 or 3 hours to get them more tender before serving. I hope that this (long) answer is of some help and encouragement. Dave McCartney, Marion, OH dkmcpa@yahoo.com
2093311
No, I insert dogs and set on #5, when done, change dogs end to end and cook again. This time you can hear the sizzle and are brown in areas, taste as if they were grilled. I love the taste so it is worth the effort. I also put in microwave to remove the chill before putting into the toaster. My husband loves the taste also. Hope this has helped you.
2088715
Yes ~~ ground meat definitely needs to be cooked but Oh! how great it will taste!! It might be a little trouble, take them from the refrigerator and give them a little boost of heat in the microwave ~~ this because the sandwich maker does not take long to have a "sandwich" with other ingredients & the sausage would have an extra boost ready to add to the flavor!!
1613055
I use the side fire box when I'm smoking anything. I use charcoal, charcoal and wood, or just wood. With the side firebox the food is in a different chamber then the heat source so burning is not big problem. One modification I would strongly recommend it to clamp a short piece of 3" flexible aluminum duct the smoke stack inside the the cooking chamber just long enough to come down to the cast iron grates. This forces the heat and smoke to travel all the way across the chamber at the grates level before exiting the smoker. I found that this gives a much more even temp. to the whole cooking area. You won't go wrong with the Char-Griller units. A plus for the side fire box is that it comes with it's own grill surface and can be used by it self when you just want to grill up a few hot dogs or burgers.
1751137
you can try other items. however with brats and sausage you will have a lot of grease. I'm sticking with the hot dogs. I don't want to ruin my machine.
2235545
Never tried either but know it would work great with the buns. It would just be a question of timing on the hot dogs. This is a great product. Thanks for new ideas.
1121303
We cook frozen hamburger patties and chicken breasts on it all the time. You just have to make sure that the patties are situated so they are sitting on the heating element. As with other electric griddles, the surface doesn't heat evenly so you have to make use of the hot spots. I have also cooked thin cut ribeye steaks and carne asada meat on it before, but as John mentioned I would recommend using a skillet for thick steaks.
2256200
Hi Ron, to be very honest with you, I have only used it a few times, my husband uses it most of the time. But for my experience, I have found that the exterior did not get hot, but the inside were of course very hot. Also, I have not heard my husband say anything negative about this toaster oven. I hope that this was helpful. For what ever it is worth, we are very pleased with this one.
2084894
If you want to make a lot of meatballs does it cook them fast enough. Only want answers from someone who likes the machine.
2109021
Honestly, I have to answer, I don't know. I've never had a 7-11 hotdog. But, I'll tell you this. I love hotdogs so the first time we fixed them on this grill I was just hoping they'd be good. I was surprised and impressed. They are excellent. Even the cheaper hotdogs (chicken and pork). You will not be disappointed. My husband and I did try the longer (chicken & pork) hotdogs and they were not very good. But it was the hotdogs' fault, not the grill's. Please, be assured, you will be very pleased.
1594463
I have the grill .. Used it 1 time ... Took forever to even cook a hot dog .. It doesn't get hot enough to sear much of anything....
641865
Fortunately, I have some VERY recent info on that rack :) I ruined mine...by I guess overheating it in the broiler or putting it in the dishwasher. Normally, I use the pan for baking/grilling etc and it is super for single or small servings. But, I used it to grill hotdogs and accidentally left it in the oven and next day went to preheat oven and the rack was a mess....as the plastic or whatever coating on it half melted and or came off in places. If you put it in hot oil I think it will ruin it. It is definitely not stainless steel but a metal with a black coating looks like vinyl. Hope this helps. Fortunately, I have some VERY recent info on that rack :) I ruined mine...by I guess overheating it in the broiler or putting it in the dishwasher. Normally, I use the pan for baking/grilling etc and it is super for single or small servings. But, I used it to grill hotdogs and accidentally left it in the oven and next day went to preheat oven and the rack was a mess....as the plastic or whatever coating on it half melted and or came off in places. If you put it in hot oil I think it will ruin it. It is definitely not stainless steel but a metal with a black coating looks like vinyl. Hope... » Read More Fortunately, I have some VERY recent info on that rack :) I ruined mine...by I guess overheating it in the broiler or putting it in the dishwasher. Normally, I use the pan for baking/grilling etc and it is super for single or small servings. But, I used it to grill hotdogs and accidentally left it in the oven and next day went to preheat oven and the rack was a mess....as the plastic or whatever coating on it half melted and or came off in places. If you put it in hot oil I think it will ruin it. It is definitely not stainless steel but a metal with a black coating looks like vinyl. Hope this helps. « Show Less