Best Panini Press Machines

[Caged Great]

I have zero experience with panini presses, however a friend of mine is looking for which one is best for Black Friday so I figured I would ask Calgary Puck for their collective knowledge. Any ideas or suggestions would be appreciated greatly. Thank you.

[DownInFlames]

I bought a cheap President’s Choice branded press at Wholesale Club. It was like $30 and it has worked flawlessly for over ten years. It heats up fast, grills evenly, and is easy to clean. It’s a little small but it’ll do two sandwiches at once.

I wouldn’t suggest you go that cheap because you might not get as lucky but I doubt the expensive models are worth it. I mean, it’s not like there are a range of features for presses beyond just grilling.

[PepsiFree]

I imagine cheap would be fine. It’s two hot plates that press together.

[Fuzz]

I've had my Cuisinart one for over a decade, I don't think the design changed much. It's been flawless.

[afc wimbledon]

Man how many effing paninis do you guys eat?

[keratosis]

Originally Posted by afc wimbledon

Man how many effing paninis do you guys eat?

After I come back from the Italian Center market? Many.

[Fuzz]

Originally Posted by afc wimbledon

Man how many effing paninis do you guys eat?

I actually mostly use mine for making corn tortillas. I built a tortilla press, then you can toss 2 in at a time and the cook form the top and bottom, so no flipping.

[CroFlames]

How do you make a panini? What bread do you use, what toppings etc?

[DownInFlames]

Originally Posted by CroFlames

How do you make a panini? What bread do you use, what toppings etc?

Whatever you want. Grill a Reuben or a simple ham and swiss. It just makes a sandwich better.

[Scroopy Noopers]

A cast iron pan and a smaller cast iron pan.

[Two Fivenagame]

I have a Cuisinart panini press that you can swap the plates and turn it into a waffle maker. It works pretty well and we use it quite a bit with our little kids.

[TorqueDog]

It's hard to pick a bad toastie maker. Crappy Tire has a bunch.

[InglewoodFan]

Damn, now I want an Italian Centre panini.

And yeah, the Cuisinart Griddler works great.

Sent from my IN2025 using Tapatalk

[Northendzone]

Originally Posted by afc wimbledon

Man how many effing paninis do you guys eat?

You know the answer is not enough

[DoubleF]

Originally Posted by DownInFlames

I bought a cheap President’s Choice branded press at Wholesale Club. It was like $30 and it has worked flawlessly for over ten years. It heats up fast, grills evenly, and is easy to clean. It’s a little small but it’ll do two sandwiches at once.

I wouldn’t suggest you go that cheap because you might not get as lucky but I doubt the expensive models are worth it. I mean, it’s not like there are a range of features for presses beyond just grilling.

The only feature I can think of that might be worth the extra is a removable grate for cleaning. Other than that, I agree, cheaper ones are probably good enough.

[combustiblefuel]

Non of the consumer grades are worth their salt you need a kitchen grade one or it's ####ing just throwing money down the drain.

[Northendzone]

^ maybe if you are making panini’s almost daily.

As noted above, it seems low cost ones have worked just fine for people.

[TorqueDog]

Yeah, unless you're running a commercial kitchen, you could get away with a damn George Foreman grill. Hell, anything will work if you aren't too fussed about the sandwich press-specific grill:

Spoiler!

[tvp2003]

Yeah, back in the day we just used our old George Forman grill. Seemed to work just fine.

[Winsor_Pilates]

I have a Forman grill knockoff and it works great.
The worst part is storing these things and taking them out every 6 months when you crave a panini.

I'd recommend your friend get takeout paninis and save the clutter.