The Breville Panini Press - Oprah Likes It (Again).
Ranked #1,346 in Food & Cooking, #25,091 overall
Is a Breville panini press THAT good?
In 2007, Oprah chose a Breville Panini press as one of her favorite things. Then she chose a newer model as one of her favorite things in 2010! Unfortunately, both are out of stock right now. But have no fear. There are lots of great Breville panini makers and grills to choose from!
I will try to give you the ins and outs of the different Breville panini makers and grills that I can, including the pros and cons from around the web. Then, you can decide for yourself whether buying one of these sandwich makers is a good counter space investment or not.
By the way, this lens isn't just about the Breville Ikon that Oprah loves, but also the other kinds of Breville panini presses that are available.
Click Here for Breville Panini Makers.Breville Panini: Lens Contents
- The Breville Panini Duo
- A Great Video About the Breville Panini Duo
- EasyPaninis.com
- Breville Die-Cast Indoor BBQ and Grill
- Breville BGR820XL Smart Grill
- Before You Buy, Watch this Video About the Breville Smart Grill
- Breville Panini Press - Ikon
- A tip to make clean-up easy!
- A Breville panini press needs some delicious panini sandwich recipes to go with it!
- Not convinced a Breville panini press is the way to go?
- Here are even more Breville panini makers.
- Breville Panini Makers & Grills. Love 'em or hate 'em?
The Breville Panini Duo
Breville BSG520XL Panini Duo 1500-Watt Nonstick Panini Press
Amazon Price: $64.99 (as of 02/15/2012)
List Price: $99.99
The Breville Panini Duo has almost all positive reviews, so this one seems to be a good one.
This grill adjusts to 4 heights to toast even the biggest pieces of bread. The top plate is ribbed, giving that nice toasted-grilled texture. (Better than pan grilling.)
The bottom plate is smooth which makes clean-up of panini goop much easier to deal with. And because this plate is smooth, you can use this grill to make eggs, sausages and french toast. Versatility is good!
The downside seems to be that you can't remove the plates. However, it is non-stick so it probably wipes clean pretty easily with a damp towel.
A Great Video About the Breville Panini Duo
This will give you a better idea of its size and what it can do.
Breville Die-Cast Indoor BBQ and Grill
Breville 800GRXL Die-Cast Indoor Barbeque and Grill
Amazon Price: $215.00 (as of 02/15/2012)
List Price: $299.99
If you enjoy grilling foods and miss it during the winter months, or rainy days, then the Breville Indoor Barbeque and Grill might be for you! The top and bottom plates are adjustable, which allows for more delicate foods - like fish - to not be squished!
This grill can either be opened flat so that you can cook on both sides, or closed so that you can cook stuff from both sides at once (such as panini sandwiches, of course!). It's great for eggs, bacon, pancakes, steaks, burgers, fish, vegetables...in other words, it does it all!
Now, the downsides are that it's very big and heavy. So, it will take up lots of counter space, and storing it will be difficult. Also, the cooking surfaces aren't removable. But from what I've read, cleaning up is easy if you use some damp paper towels.
When compared to the George Foreman grill, many of the reviews say this grill puts the GF to shame. Someone even referred to it is a "brilliant piece of engineering."
Sounds pretty good!
Breville BGR820XL Smart Grill
Breville BGR820XL Smart Grill
Amazon Price: $289.99 (as of 02/15/2012)
OK, this is a higher-priced grill, but that's what you get when you add the word "smart" to the product name. :) Seriously though let's look at how this one stacks up to the other Breville panini makers and grills.
Some of the positives of this grill (and there seem to be plenty!) is that there are three different temperature settings (low, panini and sear), that the temperature dial allows you to set a precise temperature and cooking time, that there are different heights for the plates so that your food can either touch or not touch your food and that the plates heat up quickly and cook evenly - with no cool spots.
There's also mention that if you purchase additional plates, you can have a full-sized griddle, or full-sized grill. And by full-sized, I mean you can fit 12 burgers on that bad boy.
So it sounds like if you have the space and the money for this one, it is an excellent choice. It's a Breville panini maker, griddle and grill all in one. And that versatility is important when you're making a high-cost purchase. You will definitely get your money's worth with this one.
Breville Panini Press - Ikon
This is the one Oprah loves!
Breville BGR400XL Ikon 1800-Watt Removable-Plate Grill
Amazon Price: (as of 02/15/2012)
List Price: $199.99
Oprah chose the Breville Ikon Panini Press from Williams-Sonoma as one of her favorite things in 2007.
So, is it really that good? Well, it definitely has its good points and its bad points.
On the good side, a lot of reviews that I read said that the grill did a wonderful job with panini sandwiches, chicken breasts, vegetables and even lamb. The removable gill plates are easy to clean (and are dishwasher safe). And the grill plates get hot enough to sear meat. (Reviews of other types of grills mention that the plates only get hot enough to kind of steam the meat.) Also, it was mentioned that this grill is the perfect size for a family of 4 (or 1-2 really big eaters - LOL).
On the bad side, I read several reviews saying that this grill broke easily, anywhere from just a few weeks of use to a few months. Now, it would be one thing if it were only a couple of reviewers, but about half of them on Amazon gave this product one star. In fact, one person said she had to return 4 of these grills! Now, that's a little crazy.
Still, can Oprah really be wrong? :) Well, you can decide for yourself. Just do your research, as there are many options to choose from!
A tip to make clean-up easy!
When cooking your panini sandwiches, wrap them in parchment paper before placing them on the grill. When your sandwich is done, all you'll have to do is throw the parchment paper away, and voila...no mess to clean up!
(This only minimally effects the toastiness of your panini.)
A Breville panini press needs some delicious panini sandwich recipes to go with it!
Not convinced a Breville panini press is the way to go?
Here are some lenses on more panini presses and grills you can choose from.
Breville Panini Makers & Grills. Love 'em or hate 'em?
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Reply
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cffutah
Jan 24, 2012 @ 7:02 pm | delete
- enjoyed my visit tonight!
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Reply
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squidshe
Nov 20, 2011 @ 7:59 pm | delete
- I have one, I love panini's!
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by PaniniRecipes
I love paninis and easy panini recipes! (Especially with two picky kids and one picky husband.)
The best place to get recipes for panini sandwiches...
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