JOHNSONVILLE SIZZLING SAUSAGE GRILL Johnsonville BTG0498 Sizzling Sausage Grill, OSFA, Black/Stainless

When this cooker arrived, I was pleasantly surprised to find it very well packaged for shipment, and constructed to an unexpectedly very high degree of quality, being larger, heavier, and more robust than I expected it would be. It cooks the meat very well. Overall, I'm very pleased with this machine. However, there are a couple things I didn't expect. First: the instructions say that when the machine is done cooking, it will beep several times (which happens about 7 to 10 minutes after you start the machine). This beeping lets you know that the heating elements are no longer on. Then later, when the machine is ready to be opened, the instructions say that a bell will ding. My machine never dinged, because it turns out that my machine doesn't have a bell that dings, so I had to learn by trial and error when to open the machine. I figured that 7 to 10 minutes of cooking wouldn't be enough (I don't know why I figured that, but I did). So I thought that if I left the meat in the machine after it beeped, it would continue cooking more while I waited for the ding, which it probably does, being that the cooking surfaces are still very hot. So the first time I cooked with it, it beeped like it should to let me know it was done heating, then I waited for the ding, which never came... I waited for 23 minutes from the time I first started the machine.. The machine never dinged, so I finally opened it at 23 minutes, and the meat looked fine, but when I ate it, I found the meat to be still warm, but a little bit too cool in my mouth. The second time I cooked with it, I set a kitchen timer to ring 18 minutes after I started the machine, and I found that the meat came out at the perfect temperature for eating when I took a bite... not too hot, not to cold... Goldilocks perfect at 18 minutes! Second: The grease trap pan works perfectly, but it is held in place by friction-fit with a bit too much friction, so it can slop around a bit when you first begin to try and slide it out. I've learned to remove it slowly and cleanly by sticking both thumbs down through the carrying handle of the machine and using both thumbs to gently begin sliding the grease tray back out of the machine until the friction-fit has been overcome enough to allow the grease tray to slide out smoothly (hence cleanly). Then I just dump the grease into any empty can (instead of clogging my pipes by pouring the grease down the drain) and place the can in the freezer to solidify the grease quickly before I throw the can of grease in the trash. (The machine's grease tray fills about halfway with grease). Both of these issues are no problem at all for me and were quickly mastered during my learning period with this machine. As for cleanup? Extremely easy! Once the machine cools, there are two buttons on the machine's right side... one for the top cooking surface, and one for the bottom. Press them in and the cooking surfaces unlock and are easily removed. Just wash them like you normally wash your dishes. This was a very nice surprise for me to see just how easy this machine is to clean. I've always loved Johnsonville bratwurst, but living in a cold winter state, grilling them outdoors was too much hassle in the winter. With this machine, I can eat them all year round now! YUM! I waited until I saw this machine on sale on Amazon for seventy nine ninety nine, used a fifty dollar bonus I got for applying for an Amazon credit card, and using cash back earned from that credit card, was able to purchase this machine for seventeen dollars and some change... the best 17 dollars I ever spent! I'd give this machine 10 stars if I could... it's just that well made and easy to use and clean. No smoke, no fires, no unexpected negative surprises at all during the cooking process, just the wonderful aroma of cooking brats. Go for it, people! You'll be glad you did.

Many years ago when my wife and I were young newly weds, we took a trip to Kohler Wisconsin to get some remodeling ideas at the "toilet museum". We stayed at the Kohler Inn, rented bicycles and rode around the quaint town. During our ride, we ran into a summer festival in one of the parks. It was lunch time and we decided to walk around and graze the local delicacies. We ran across this big black oil tanker thing with golden Johnsonville letters written on the side. It looked completely out of place. But there was a long line of people waiting to go inside. I asked somebody waiting what all the fuss was about, and they explained the story of Johnsonville sausages to us. We were from Illinois, and had never heard of Johnsonville before. Needless to say, we had to try the bratwurst, after all, we were in northern Wisconsin. The brats were great, they reminded me of the brats I ate at bierfest time when I was stationed in Germany. And once my wife tasted them, they became a staple for our backyard parties. I fell asleep the other night in the easy-chair and woke up to an advertisement for this cooker. I always cook by meat thermometer. And I spend more time pulling things out of the oven, checking the temperature and putting things back "for just a few more minutes". What makes this thing great is that a bell goes off letting you know when the sausages are cooked to precise doneness, at optimal flavor. As an added bonus. I can trust my two teenage boys to independently properly cook sausage sandwiches, without worry of salmonella poisoning. I'm being serious... my 18-year old tried cooking 1/2 pound pub burgers the other day. He used a meat thermometer, the edges were cooked okay, but the middle was raw. One thing to watch out for is that you should immediately remove the sausages when they are done, and close the lid. I left mine open to cool, and grease dripped down the back and made quite a mess. Beyond that. It's a great a great cooker. You will not be disappointed. You can tell that Johnsonville

product appears to be well built and designed easy to operate cooks brats perfectly no guessing