Cuisinart 2-in-1 grill and sandwich maker

How easy is the Cuisinart 2-in-1 grill and sandwich maker to use?

This Cuisinart model comes with a clear instruction manual and separate recipe book with 14 recipes, including prosciutto, tomato & asparagus calzone and chocolate & mixed berry turnovers. There is a dial with ‘low’, ‘medium’ or ‘high’ setting, and whilst the manual does not say what temperature these setting correspond to, the recipe book does suggest which setting to use for all of the dishes, which is a real plus.

Like the Cuisinart sandwich maker we’ve tested before, this model is also slow to heat up, taking five minutes to reach temperature.

The plates are simple to fit and remove thanks to the comprehensive manual and clear-to-see positioning guides. They slot into place with a satisfying click and are easily removed using the buttons on the upper right side of the toastie maker. There is also a lock on the handle that keeps the lid in place when using the toastie plates.

The lid has a good weight to it but does not squash the contents. We were particularly impressed by the floating hinge, which is responsive and allows the top plate to have full contact with the food inside.

Results

Using the toastie plates, we cooked a simple cheese toastie with shop-bought sliced bread and a deep-filled toastie with thick-cut tiger bread. We then made a tomato and mozzarella panini using the grill plates. The toastie plates are a great size; of all of the models we’ve tested, Cuisinart’s plates are the closest in size to standard supermarket bread.

There were no real instructions for how long to cook the toasties for, so checked them after three minutes and found them to have a tight and defined seal with deep, even browning all over. The deep-fill toastie was the most impressive, owing to the generous filling pushing the bread to have full contact with the toastie plates. The bread on the outside was crisp and delicate, and a rich brown.

The grill plates are a good size, but we were only able to fit one panini in at a time as we didn’t want to overcrowd the plates. It took just three minutes to cook, and was even and crisp with well-defined grill lines. The mozzarella was perfectly melted giving us the kind of cheese pull usually reserved to adverts.

After letting the plates cool for 30 minutes, these can be removed for cleaning. Best of all, they’re also dishwasher-safe.

Conclusion

This solid and stylish sandwich maker is built to last. It’s versatile, thanks to the additional grill plates, making this so much more than a standard toastie maker. It’s not the quickest when it comes to heating up, but we can forgive it for that, because its performance is just fantastic.

Specifications

Multi-functional: yes (toasties and grills)
Number of sandwiches: two
Removable plates: yes
Dishwasher-proof: yes
Recipe book: yes
Dimensions (cm): H 23.2 x W 35.4 x D 32.6
Weight 5.5kg
Wattage: 1000W

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This review was last updated in March 2021. If you have any questions, suggestions for future reviews or spot anything that has changed in price or availability please get in touch at goodfoodwebsite@immediate.co.uk