UK’s best electric indoor grills for a bbq experience without the smoke personally tested

If you buy the Food Party Electric Grill and Hot Pot you will be absolutely over the moon. I was. What a superb way to cook your bbq indoors. Firstly the temperature controls are pretty good which is a marked improvement on the cheaper models. It comes nicely packaged and the lid is a screw to put together. Other than that it is entirely plug and play, zero hassle:

I wouldn’t write the Quest off though on a budget as I say that. I would certainly however, pick this if I had the additional money and without question we go to this grill before the Quest now.

I know this is a bit show off but still, it’s very appealing:

The soup pot is a touch of genius. It works on so many levels. Firstly you get a chance to boil off veg and make a nice soup as you go. While I prefer my meat prepped on the top of the grill. Obviously you’re only sitting down with the wife and kids eating this as the norm so you’re not worried are you about the closeness? I’m not sure I’d want this setup with friends, in fact I still would get the Quest out for them as it’s far less personal and we could have our own grills.

As far as cooking goes, it’s superb, even when in the middle of the grill there’s only a bit of steam, no smoke:

It’s great for boiling an egg too. You get the chance to make yourself perfect runny eggs time after time 😀

If I had one complaint it’s the cleaning. The grill isn’t removable therefore you have to spend a good bit of time cleaning up but being non stick it’s not the biggest hassle and it’s a huge improvement on how it cooks food compared to the Quest overall. A definite buy and my pick for best indoor bbq grilling machine.

While I really really enjoyed the food and the taste of the Multifunctional BBQ hot Pot and Grill I found the whole thing a bit difficult compared to my top pick. For a start you don’t realise the challenges of eating with 5-6 people until there’s ot enough space and with us all preferring the grill and chicken / pork taking a fair while it can be a slow process. Now as long as you don’t mind feeding the kids first you’re onto a winner – assuming you have time to burn as it’s half the price of my favourite grill I tested – the Food Party Electric Grill and Hot Pot. 

But for us wanting to get done fast, we prefer the one we paid more for. The dials were easy enough but difficult to control – I don’t feel like the thermostat was a true gauge of what was going on with either – if I set half my bacon wasn’t sizzling, if I set whole it was flying. I found myself continually adjusting the temperature – not really that bigger deal for someone that is always mucking about with charcoal and finding the right balance. But it could be annoying for someone that expects a perfect temperature and easily the biggest weakness on this.

In terms of cleaning it’s a doddle – if you catch the grill lukewarm and wipe it off, 95% of the grease comes off – highlighting just how healthy this method of cocking is – that’s not why I do it though, I love the charred flavour and I have to say this delivered.

Overall it’s a definite buy rating from me and given half the price of my top pick, deserves second place on budget behind the incredibly well priced Quest. And the very very best thing is toward the end with big patience you can slowly put a real smoky flavour on your food:

Pros:

• Great for health
• Super price compared to the top pick
• Cleans easily
• Smoke free

Cons:

• Not big enough for 5 in my opinion (we are greedy though) 😀

The George Foreman name has almost become synonymous with these folding indoor grills, and it’s also a name that is trusted by many, including myself. So, I was both happy and surprised to see that many of their products are currently heavily discounted on Amazon at the time of writing. This particular indoor grill is designed to cook seven portions. Now, that’s a fair old bit of food for small money!

There are also smaller versions of this very same model for people who only need to cook 3 or 5 portions, and they are obviously even cheaper, and that’s the one I’ve got – it really is small these are little bits of salmon, the very largest sashimi for a scale:

While this model doesn’t have all the fancy sensors and options that the Tefal Optigrill has, it still offers up excellent cooking performance no matter what you’re cooking. The non-stick plates seem to be built to a higher quality than my old George Foreman that was packed in after many years of use, and can be quickly cleaned.

The new improvements on this model also include an adjustable foot that lets you angle the grill in order to let fat run out into the drip tray easier. The drip tray itself fits better than on previous models, yet is easier to remove at the same time.

I tested out this indoor grill’s ability to cook sandwiches and it didn’t disappoint, and the aforementioned non-stick plates were a god-send after my overloaded cheese ran out of the sides. Here’s a tip- use baking paper if you’re going to grill cheese sandwiches.
The George Foreman Large Red Steel Grill gets its name from the colour of its lid, and I must admit while red usually isn’t my thing, this grill certainly looks better than a lot of other models.

Measuring 37.1 x 37.9 x 10.7cm, the largest version of this indoor grill would be perfect for families where there are three children or more, or for people who like to get a few friends around for dinner. It weighs 3.88kg so it is lighter than the Tefal, and features a cord wrap for easier storage.

For the price, this well-built, good looking indoor grill is hard to beat. It delivers excellently cooked steaks, burgers, chicken, and just about everything else. A real bargain at the moment.

Pros:

• Great value
• Can cook plenty in one go
• George foreman quality we trust

Cons:

• Not the best in terms of sensors and gadgets – just a grill

I have to tell you, what a well rounded bit of kit for the money. The temperature is difficult to control but the effect on bacon for the money makes this an absolute bargain and we had literally dozens of great afternoons so far on this:

What’s more, I absolutely love love love how this cooks down onions in the bacon fat – oh dear me weight gainer but so yummy it’s crazy:

This low cost, flat plate grill is another excellent option for those who intend to cook for more than two people. The non-stick cooking surface only requires a small drop of oil before cooking, and the open style makes it easy to keep an eye on how your food is cooking.

The surface of the grill is large and gives you plenty of space for cooking on, and its streamlined design keeps the weight down to just 1.4 kilograms. This lack of weight makes it possible to take this with you to a friend’s house, or even camping if you’ve got a generator.

What I like about these flat indoor grills, is that they allow you to cook fried eggs and similar on them for a nice breakfast, however the downside is that you can only cook one side of your meat and vegetables at a time, and this does slow things down a little. A controllable thermostat is all about what you get features-wise with the Quest Teppanyaki grill. There are no preset modes or anything like that, but the thermostat does work well, and it doesn’t take long to get the hang of it, even though Quest could have made things easier by marking it with specific temperatures rather than just numbers 1 to 5. Though I have to say those numbers really don’t mean a lot it is hard to get the right temperature, one minute sizzling the next plodding, it feels like on and off, however, not that big a deal if I’m honest, main thing is hot really is hot and can crisp bacon!

I found this particular model very easy to clean, the grease and fat from the food you cook enters the grease tray through a drainage hole, and then the tray just pulls out. It’s really simple and works well. There isn’t much more to say about this indoor grill really. It is good for what it is: a basic flat grill that doesn’t cost too much. It feels like it has been put together well, and is not too flimsy, although the power cable isn’t the bet and isn’t very long either. Still, for the bargain price you can’t really grumble too much.

Pros:

• Cheapest by miles
• Enjoyable experience
• Big grill space – never complaining about waiting

Cons:

• Thermostat isn’t the best
• Non stick wears and becomes a chore

Without a doubt, our pick for best indoor grill has to go for the Tefal OptiGrill XL. This thing is incredible, and completely eliminates all the guesswork that is usually involved when trying to cook meat perfectly. The Tefal OptiGrill has some amazing features that can turn anyone into a master chef and produce the kind of steaks that you pay an arm and a leg for down the high street.

For starters, there are 9 automatic programs pre-programmed into the machine, all clearly marked on the buttons with easy to understand pictures of the different kinds of foods that program is supposed to be for. All you have to do is pop in the relevant food option, press the button, and that’s it. The machine will do the rest.

This smart machine has been fitted with multiple sensors to assure that your grilling goes off without a hitch. Let’s take the load calculator for example. This tells the machine how many portions of meat are on the grill so that it can better calculate cooking times.

Then there is the thickness sensor. This works automatically when you close the grill lid, and is accurate to decimal point of a centimetre. Combined with the load calculator, this gives the OptiGrill all the information it needs to adjust temperature and cooking times for the different stages of cooking. Yes, you heard that right, different stages. This indoor grill will go through pre-heating, searing, and then inside cooking stages automatically, delivering your meat just how you like it.

How does OptiGrill know how you like your steaks? Well, it doesn’t, but the clear LED display changes colours to let you know when the meat is rare, medium, or well done. You just have to decide how you want it. The grill comes will die-cast aluminium grease tray and plates that are easily removed and are dishwasher safe, making cleaning up a doodle too.

There is 800 square centimetres of cooking space, and this would be easily enough to cook for six adults, and maybe one or two kids on top of that. It is large (48 x 38 x 25cm approx.) and will take up a lot of space. It is also quite heavy at 5.2kg, but this is not something you’re going to be swinging around, so I don’t think it matters too much.

The Tefal OptiGrill XL is the most expensive of our featured indoor grills, but at just under 160 pounds at the time of writing this, it is not unaffordable, and in my opinion: it is worth every single last penny if you intend to use your indoor grill a lot. A simply outstanding product, and I don’t say that often.

Pros:

• Probably the best technical indoor grill
• It’ll calculate cook times for you
• Healthy way of cooking

Cons:

• Some may not appreciate the digital factor

Raclette grills are so much fun, and add an extra element to your dinner party, or just to enjoy with the family. If you’ve never seen or used a raclette grill, allow me to explain. Basically, you have a cooking plate on top where you can grill your meats and vegetables, and this is heated from underneath by a heating filament. Then, below that filament is another level that houses a number of mini pull out pans.

These pans are meant to be used for melting cheese in, but of course you can use them for cooking any side dishes or sauces that you like. This set includes 8 of these mini pans, but I only ever used 4 a time. This is because the pans can get melted cheese stuck on them as it dries, so I chose to scrape ones that I had just used to clean them, while others were cooking the next batch.

Generally, people cook smaller pieces of meat when they use a Raclette grill, but that isn’t to say you can’t cook a full steak or two on there. The 44.7 x 33.5 x 19.5cm dimensions give you plenty of room on the grill plate to cook just about anything you like. The grill plate is non-stick and a decent size, so it should be fine to keep four people fed. It doesn’t require a lot of oil either, which makes cleaning easier.

Talking of cleaning, I liked the fact that the grill plate can be completely removed so I could take it over to the sink and give it a good rinsing.

A couple of little gripes though. First is the thermostat, which is not marked with temperatures so using this indoor grill properly will take some getting used to, and secondly, the power cable is not very long. Again, there aren’t many controls or special features on this indoor grill. You basically turn it on, select the heat level you want, wait for the light to come on to let you know it’s ready, and throw your meat on the grill plate. There is a temperature control that kicks in at 260 degrees, and that helps to stop things from burning, but apart from that, it’s a pretty basic machine to operate.

These types of indoor grill have a fun factor that is hard to put a price on, and with everyone popping their own food onto the grill and managing their side dishes, there is a sort of happy energy that comes with it. Definitely worth a try if you’ve never one it before.

Pros:

• Great value
• Cheese melting pan a nice touch

Cons:

• Complete unit so difficult to clean

The strength of the George Foreman indoor outdoor BBQ lies in its versatility. Designed to look just like a charcoal BBQ (more or less) but with the ability to be taken apart so that you can use just the top section as a table top indoor grill, this product gives you the best of both worlds.

The round cooking plate can fit a ton of food, so people with a few kids should certainly give this more than a passing glance. I think at one point I had teaks, sausages, burgers, and a few shish kebabs all going at the same time. Like all George Foreman grills I’ve tried, the non-stick cooking plates are high quality and very easy to wipe clean. The fat runs off nicely into the grease tray without issue too. What’s more, you can remove the cooking plate completely and give it a good washing in the sink. As well as the removable and collapsible stand, this model also comes with a cover with a built in thermometer. I really liked this, as on a windy day I could pop the lid on to keep dust and debris from blowing onto the food while still monitoring what’s going on inside.

The controls are extremely simple and easy to use, with a simply numbered dial to select the heat level. This thermostat is removable and acts as a sort of safety cut of switch as well as regulating temperature, as the grill won’t work without this being plugged in. Apart from this plug in device, there aren’t any other controls and this makes it great for people who don’t like to think too much about their cooking, but for all you ‘professional garden chefs’ out there it might not give you enough control over the cooking process. I personally found it very easy to get the food cooked how I wanted it, but I have experience with this brand.

At 6.26kg this isn’t a light indoor grill, but that extra weight does make you feel like this thing has been built solidly, so I wasn’t complaining. The George Foreman indoor outdoor BBQ grill is on sale at the moment, and can be yours for just shy of 80 pounds. While not the cheapest indoor grill on the market, it is very large and would suit larger families or people who entertain a lot.

Pros:

• Very nice indoor bbq experience and probably my favourite for authenticity
• Well made, plenty of heat
• Easy to adjust temperature
• Plenty big enough for a large family

Cons:

• Hard to fault at this money

The thing with indoor grilling is that you have to deal with smoke. Now, you can cut down on a lot of that by simply keeping the grill spotlessly clean so no old bits of food can start to burn, but the fat from the meat will still produce some smoke.
A lot of people will either set the indoor grill up near a door or window, or under their extractor fan, but with this model, you don’t have to worry about that.

Fitted with specially designed fans, the Kczazy smokeless grill has been designed so that most of the smoke produced by cooking is taken away from your face while you are standing in front of the grill.

This is an optional feature that can be switched on or off with a simple press of the button on the user interface. Next to this button you will also find an LED temperature control which has a lot of different settings, all marked with temperatures, so you can really dial in how you want to cook your food. Found just above the temperature controls is the ready light which will come on when the grill has reached the selected temperature and tells you it’s time to cook.

At 55 x 40.5 x 22 cm and 8.56 Kilograms, this is a sizeable bit of cooking kit, although the cooking area itself isn’t that large (35 x 20cm). It would be enough for two to three people though. The Kczazy indoor grill comes complete with two different cooking plates: one with ridges and one completely fat. I thought this was a nice touch as you can use the ridged grill for cooking meat, but the flat one for breakfasts. Both plates are dishwasher friendly, so you can just wait for them to cool then throw them in there and forget about it. The non-stick coating on both plates is excellent too, there wasn’t even any real need to add a little oil before cooking. Top marks for that.

This product feels well built and nothing gave me any reason to worry about how long it would last under normal cooking conditions and use. Then again for the price, you would expect that to be the case.

To sum this indoor grill up, I would say that it is a very good product. It offers good temperature control, heats up quickly, is dishwashers safe, so it’s easy to clean, and best of all, you can choose to get rid of the smoke and odours if you wish. All in all, a great little product.