Buying advice Electric grills

The grills’ cooking areas range in size from 38 to 192 square inches. So you must first decide whether you’re willing to give up that much counter space or storage room for a single-use appliance.

Then determine which suits your needs better: the contact or the open grill. The decision will generally hinge on how speedily you want to prepare food, the thickness of the items you grill, and how pronounced you want grill lines to look. (See Faster or juicier?)

Ignore extras. The Hamilton Beach HealthSmart, the George Foreman Double Knockout, and both open grills come with temperature controls. You don’t need them. The grills don’t heat to much more than 400º, so all foods cook best at the highest temperature.

A timer, which lets you know when the grill is fully heated and when your food is cooked, is available on four George Foreman models and the Hamilton Beach Meal Maker. Timers are convenient but indicator lights work just as well, and you can use a regular kitchen timer to track cooking time.

Choose the right size. Almost all the grills are big enough to cook four burgers at once. Several grills will accommodate ampler amounts. The Hamilton Beach Meal Maker Express is the most versatile because it can be used closed or opened up to cook for a larger group.