Ten creative uses for a sandwich press

May 20th, 2013

Appliance Talk Food Preparation Ovens & Cooking

It’s been a long-running joke in the Appliances Online office that the world’s greatest cooking appliance isn’t an advanced induction cooktop or fancy steam oven, but rather the humble sandwich press.

Sunbeam Sandwich Press & Contact Grill GR8450

The theory (mostly held by the office’s bachelors) says that since the sandwich press offers a rapidly-heating means of cooking on not just one, but TWO different surfaces at once, the sandwich press can prepare the kind of food you’d normally spend ages on with the oven or cooktop, and do so in half the time (“both sides at once!  AT! ONCE!”).

Could there be something to this theory?  Could the sandwich press be used for more than just sandwiches? Let’s take a look at just a few of the things you can make using a sandwich press:

Steak and other meats

Back when we first blogged The Kettle Is for Water, Not Sausages, followed up by Fish In The Dishwasher And Other Crazy Cooking Tips, we opened the floodgates on an unstoppable tide of truly odd ways you could use your appliances (but really shouldn’t, as you could void their warranties).

The idea of cooking steak on a sandwich press stuck with us, as the even, reliable heat of a sandwich press sounded like a great way to prepare consistently great steaks.

It even made an appearance in our follow-up video, along with a few other cracker ideas:

Of course, the lucky staffer who got to eat those sandwich press cooked steaks made in the video described them as tasting “like shoe leather”.  Sounds like we still need to practice some more before we can say we’ve mastered the art of sandwich press cookery…

Once you’ve perfected steak, you could also use your sandwich press to cook anything from burgers to sausages and kebabs…

Vegetarian grilling

Now, before we get overwhelmed describing all of the differnt types of meat products you can cook on a sandwich press, spare a thought for the vegetable layer of the food pyramid.  All manner of non-carcass foodstuffs can also be cooked on a sandwich press.

And it’s not just veggies that can be given the press treatment – haloumi and tofu could also be prepared on one of these portable and convenient kitchen gadgets.

Bacon…

We may have just missed out on National Bacon Week 2013, but that doesn’t mean you can’t enjoy some bacon and eggs a la sandwich press at any other time of the year.

Just lay down some strips of pig meat, close the lid and leave to sizzle until you reach the desired level of crispiness.

…and eggs

But what is bacon without eggs?

While you could opt for a simple fried egg as seen above, there’s also the option of a spinach omelette, as seen in this mesmerising GIF:

This omelette recipe comes from American celebrity chef, Alton Brown, so we imagine it’d be pretty tasty, as well as simple (it’s pretty much just eggs and spinach, on a sandwich press – that’s it) and hypnotising to watch over and over again.

Butterfly chicken

No, this does not involve an unholy amalgamation of poultry and flying invertebrates.  Rather, it involves slicing a whole chicken down the centre and spreading it out flat so it looks like, well, a butterfly.  It’s not the prettiest way to prepare and cook a chicken, but the wide surface area makes it quick and simple to get the bird ready for eatin’.

While butterfly chicken is mostly cooked on a grill or barbeque (possibly while being held down by a foil-wrapped brick), any sandwich press of sufficient size could substitute in a pinch.

Croutons

Now, most croutons are made by cubing bread and letting it spend a little time in the oven, so the bread can reach that state of being a bit dry, but not quite toast yet.  However, if you’re pressed for time (or just feel a bit lazy, which we all do sometimes), you can stick some thickly-sliced bread on the sandwich press before slicing it into cubes for quick and simple croutons.

For bonus points, try using your crouton-bread to make a toasted cheese sandwich on the sandwich press (or the regional equivalent thereof), then cube it into croutons for a dash of extra cheesy flavour (perfect for winter soups!).

Reheating pizza

One problem we’ve encountered with reheating last night’s pizza (we COULD eat it cold, but would rather not) is that nuking it in the microwave can make everything a bit soggy (but at least we know it won’t be radioactive).

One remedy for this is to stick a paper towel underneath the slices to absorb the excess moisture, but another option could be to stick it on the sandwich press to keep everything nicely crispy.  Probably not recommended to close the lid on the really cheesy pizzas, though.

Croissant French toast

I’m not sure if you’re actually supposed to toast croissants in a sandwich press, as half of their appeal comes from their unique and iconic shape.

But we’ll give this recipe (on slide number 7) the benefit of the doubt, mostly because it looks delicious.

Cakes and brownies

If you didn’t think it was possible to bake a dessert on your sandwich press, then think again!

Accordign to Panini Happy, all you need is a sandwich press and a ramekin – a kind of ceramic serving bowl.

Once you’ve placed your ingredients inside this container, place the whole thing on the sandwich press and close the lid – the heat should radiate through the ceramic body of the ramekin and cook the contents, causing them to rise into a cake.

You can also use the same technique to make brownies, armed with just a bigger pan and a different recipe.

Ice cream cones

But the desserts don’t stop at cake – after all, isn’t cake always made better with the addition of ice cream?  And isn’t ice cream best served in a cone?

For a completely home-made dessert experience, all you need is an ice cream maker to prepare the ice cream itself, and a sandwich press to make the cones.  Combine and enjoy the taste of accompished satisfaction.

How have you creatively used your sandwich press? Share the love!