Product Description

The new Andrew James 8 Person Luxury Rustic Stone Raclette has all the characteristics of our existing Rustic Stone Model. However, this new model now boasts several new features as well as a larger cooking surface. As you can see from the pictures. This is a circular stone raclette. With this improved stone model you receive extra attachments for the healthier dining experience. These include a stone scraper and also an oil collection pan. You can also see from the picture that the centre has a small hole in the middle for fat/oil drainage. This also has a groove/moat so this can be used to segregate vegetables from meats. The griddled area is also healthier for cooking meats. This raclette also has a discreet holding ledge, This enables you to place the grilling pans away from direct heat when not needed. This will make the pans easier to clean. The model also has a thermostat heat control Dimensions of cooking surface : 37cm Diameter *Ideal for upto 8 people

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #23910 in Kitchen & Housewares
• Brand: Andrew James

Features

• Raclette Grill with stone grill plate, Very Large circular cooking area: 37cm in diameter
• Polished stainless steel base, Grill plate features ridged and smooth cooking areas and central oil drainage hole
• Fantastic invisible ledge for storage of grilling pans when not in use,
• 8 stylish raclette pans, 8 signature spatulas , Stone scraper for the stone grill plate,Oil collection pan
• Recipes and party suggestions included, Instruction Manual Included,Variable thermostat, 230V ~50Hz 1300W

Customer Reviews

cheese eating surrender monkey heaven
So what's a raclette grill? First principles: there's a type of Swiss cheese - not really very much to taste when cold. However when thinly sliced and melted it really changes character- it's extremely delicious. We've been using it as a topping on veggie burgers off the barbecue for years. The Swiss used to prop a half round of cheese in front of the fire and scrape off the melted bit onto the rest of their dinner. ("Racler" means to scrape in French). So the raclette grill is a more sophisticated way of grilling the cheese and preparing all the accompaniments.

You can buy Raclette cheese in prepacked slices from Sainsburys or off the deli counter in Waitrose. I've also seen it for sale in sporadic continental markets (in Sheffield's regular shindig for instance!). I have seen two online suppliers in the UK too. You should use it up within two weeks- but supposedly it will freeze. However you can melt other cheeses- the book I have suggests butterkase, camembert, cheddar, emmenthal, gruyere, manchego, mozzarella, scamorza, parmesan, pecorino, feta, fontina, gorgonzola, gouda, roquefort and tilsit.

Well I always buy myself a nice birthday present and this is the 2008 effort. What turned up was very, very big! It looked like something from the X-Files- you know the bit where the saucer abducts Moulder's latest key witness- it is huge- 40cm /15.5" diameter with a generous 2m/78.5" power lead. There's a steel base- then a second saucer with the rests for the little raclette pans, then the double loop of the heating element. A non stick detachable cooking grill surface tops off the arrangement. The pans and grill surface are not dishwasher safe and need prewashing and seasoning with a little oil before you start. However they took no trouble to wash with a non abrasive pan scrubber (frankly I've never seen melted cheese slide off a surface before- magic!).

So I thought I'd give it a whirl. I cut thin strips of courgette and yellow pepper and popped them on the grill top, which I'd preseasoned with oil. The excess oil obligingly ran into the circular groove on the edge of the grill plate. I then scraped the bits into a raclette pan, added a cheese slice and shoved the mix under the grill. As I'd sussed that you could prepared Mexican dishes with this gizmo, I'd also bought some flour tortillas which I heated on the clean grill surface. It all worked splendidly- although you have to make sure you cut your veg to fit in the grill pan! I also boiled some new potatoes and grilled some cheese on its own in the raclette pans- yummy. (That one's a traditional combination). I was just eating on my own and I had two of the grill pans in action - it kept the flow of food going. You can use your own large non scrape spatula to move the food around or the little wooden spatulas supplied with the grill- they are only just over 4 cm/1.5" wide and they fit into the tapered end of the raclette pan too.

Now it is true that you could technically slave over a frying pan and grill and get the same result. However it was a nice experience to cook on the table- you can prechop everything and just let everyone go. Washing up the next day when everything had cooled was a doddle. I'm not quite sure where I'm going to store the thing- but it will get used.

I ummed and ahhd over which version to go for. In the end I decided against this version with the alternative stone top, which creates a "pierrade". The recipes seemed to be oriented towards meat and fish cooking (although apparently you can grill fruit to add to your cheese). Still if you have a yen for this type of cooking it may be for you!

Much loved
I bought this raclette grill as a present for my boyfriend, we spend alot of time in the French and Swiss Alpes and love the mountain cuisine. The Pierrade has been a huge hit in our house - most people that have been round to dinner in the last year have experienced it and absolutely love it! I have to say that we also bought a kenwood electric meat slicer after having prepared a meal just for us at first.

Certainly if you enjoy having dinner parties but don't have endless time to prepare them, this is for you!