Everdure by Heston Blumenthal - FORCE Gas Grill - Red

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• Rated 4 out of 5 stars

  Easy, consistent grilling

  • Tech Insider Network Member
  • Top 25 Contributor

  Pros Heats up fast Sears without the need for a separate burner Less flareups and shorter ones with hidden burners Food doesn’t stick much to enameled cast iron Sloped interior guides grease to drip tray Disposable drip tray makes cleanup easier Nonstick interior makes cleanup easier Sloped exterior guides drippings off grill Igniters don’t require batteries Still usable even in high winds Separates to operate as portable grill Compact size for grilling space Handle for lid isolates heat well Flat cooking plate available Cons Overly complicated instructions that still miss vital information Plastic base and feet likely will not last Plastic shelves likely will not last More plastic and fabric used to secure tank does not give a sense of longevity Wheels only on 2 feet makes movement more awkward Burner controls change quickly making fine adjustments finicky Side shelf does not feel like it locks in place firmly Slot for holding propane tank finicky to put tank in Heavy top doesn’t have any sort of bumpers Recommends against metal utensils Recommends cleaning hot but not with metal tools No teppanyaki plate option Hard to recommend over the larger Furnace grill The Everdure Force is likely an unfamiliar brand design by a chef you may not know. A quick Google search of Hesten Blumenthal will help provide some context of who exactly decided the regular grills we know are not good enough. The main complaint the Force and its larger counterpart aim to solve is not getting hot enough. Making a steak like the steakhouses requires high heat to sear in moisture. Some brands attempt to solve this by offering a separate infrared burner that requires you to use it separately, then turn it off and use the main part of the grill. These grills claim to do the searing and grilling using the same burners. They achieve this by moving the burners closer to the grill surface while pointing the flame directly up on a covered section of the grating to help control flareups. Design The best way to describe the overall appearance is, unconventional. Instead of heavy stamped stainless steel everywhere with a closed in cabinet, the Force is a blend of mainly aluminum and plastic. The lid is a heavy aluminum and comes in multiple colors and bottom is sloped metal with a nonstick coating to facilitate easier cleanup. The main part of the grill sits on a plastic base held up by aluminum legs. Storage is provided by open plastic shelves. Once assembled, it feels relatively sturdy but does not give the feel of heft of traditional grills available in the US. The liberal use of plastic and fabric makes one wonder how long the stand will last. The good thing is the main body is all metal and is completely capable of being used without the stand as a portable grill for tailgating or at a campsite. It could potentially also be adapted as a countertop grill for a back-yard kitchen. Assembly and Operation The main body requires very little assembly, only requiring installing the handle and the hose. The stand is a bit more involved but not overly hard except the instructions are overly complicated while at the same time being vague in important ways. An example is a list of fasteners at the beginning of the manual which does not match what is in the box, partly because it attempts to provide a list for more than one grill. Then, when providing assembly instructions, it depends on text descriptions instead of simple diagrams of what bolts and washers go where. As an example, washers are provided for the base, but the instructions only say to use them in two locations. One of the two locations only applies to half of the screws as well making things more confusing. There are two rods provided for you to install, but you must bend into place. It does not tell you if the rods should bend making you wonder if the rods were made too long. There is only one location where that length works so it is not a matter of improper installation. While assembly instructions could use refinement, operation is vague. Admittedly, if you have used a gas grill the operation is straightforward, but it still seems strange, so little time is spent on instructing you on proper use. Overall, the instructions seem more as if they were written with a focus on health and safety versus proper assembly and operation. Perhaps this is the difference in regulations in Britain? The good thing is Everdure has several videos on YouTube that can help fill in the gaps for those that might be grilling for the first time. Hopefully Everdure will refine the manual and offer a downloadable version on their website. It would also be great if they even offered some of Hesten Blumenthal’s recipes that are achievable by the average person. Performance The worst enemy of grilling is wind with extreme cold being a second. Too much of either or some of both and all grilling is canceled. On the day the grill arrived, a cold front hit with winds gusting to over 25mph and temps dropping into the mid-40s. Granted, 40F is nothing for most grills but 25mph winds even on a warm day can kill the heat of quite a few grills. As a test, the standard 5-minute warmup was done and even with the winds the grill was able to reach 475 degrees F. Of course, this is not ideal for searing, but on testing the steaks still sizzled and smoked as if they were getting a proper sear. Although the top had to be closed for the remainder of the cooking, it surprisingly was able to hold high enough temps to cook two strip steaks better than a standard grill. Normally, during these winds the gusts can cause a current in standard grills which either causes the flame to go out or the safety in the tank to activate reducing flow. Surprisingly, the Force did neither of these. The flame was a cooler yellow, but it stayed steady and allow for reasonably confident grilling in what would seem impossible conditions. In fact, after searing the burners had to be turned down. This turned out to be less than precise as the adjustment from full heat to low occurs in just one quarter turn of the nob. Operation is smooth but ideally a larger range should have been provided to more precisely adjust the burners to your desired setting. Cooking strip steak usually also means a fair bit of flareups and the Force was no exception. However, what was different was the flareups were much less intense and shorter. As the grease dripped by the flames it could still ignite, but since it continued to fall it burned out quickly. Through several grilling sessions with different greasy, fatty foods the same thing happened. Grilling those more tricky foods have become less stressful. What is nice is both the inside and outside of the base are sloped metal with a non-stick surface. Spills on the outside are easy to clean up and drippings on the inside are guided into a disposable drip tray. Besides the liberal use of plastic, the grilling surface is probably the best and worst of the grill at the same time. It is heavy cast iron, which is great for strength and withstanding the heat. The downside is it is vitreous cast iron, meaning you should not use metal utensils or brushes. The instructions recommend silicone utensils, which is fine for the grilling. Foods usually stick very little so silicone works well for the task. The problem is when it comes to cleaning the grates. Even though very little sticks, food still gets on the grates. The instructions recommend cleaning them hot while the food is still loose, but where can you find a non- metal brush that works on a hot grill? This leaves you no options except to let it cool off and wash it with a nylon brush and plastic scraper. Their manual even suggests using their tools and utensils, which ironically are all metal. This makes cleaning the grates tedious as the food has solidified in what is nearly concrete on the grating once it is cold. There is always the old trick of turn the heat on high and close the lid to burn it all off. Unfortunately, not only does this not work, Everdure recommends against keeping it on high for extended periods with the lid closed as it would damage the grill. Unless Everdure provides a new procedure or tool, the current method is just cooking the remains until they are char. If buildup becomes excessive then they will be washed in soapy water. Grilling Results With the easy searing, low flareups, and easy release from the grating consistent grilling was easy to achieve. A good crust could be produced on a steak without overcooking the inside. Chicken could be heated quickly locking the juices inside so can easily full cook chicken without it drying out or ripping off when removing it from the grates. Salmon burgers seared very well producing a nice, thing crispy crust with a moist fully cooked inside and easily release from the grating as well. Of course, you will not get the flavor or charcoal or wood but its far more convenient. Hopefully, as weather permits the grill to achieve high temps the possibility of chargrilled foods can become a reality which can make up for the lack of charcoal flavor. Final Thoughts The Everdure Force is a unique take on grilling and solves some old problems of most grills and possibly introduces some new ones of its own. Hopefully, future versions will cut down on the usage of plastic for something that is designed to stay outdoors and be around high heat frequently. That said, the Force combines the convenience of cooking inside with more of the taste of steakhouse cooking. If the design interests you, you might look at its big brother, the Furnace, before making your final decision as it also has an option for a teppanyaki plate as well as the flat plate offered for the Force. If you like the idea of being able to produce the grill marks, thin crust, and moist interior of a steakhouse steak with little fuss, the Everdure Force might be a good fit.

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  This review is from Everdure by Heston Blumenthal - FORCE Gas Grill - Graphite

  Posted 5 years ago by CraigB

• Rated 4 out of 5 stars

  Actually made me a better griller!

  • Tech Insider Network Member

  I've never really had an actual good, or in this case fancy, grill like this one and was super excited to try it out. Full disclosure, I'm not a great griller, much to my wife's chagrin. It's not for lack of trying, I just tend to either overcook things or not be able to get the temp right or any other number of things. Looking over the features of this grill, I became optimistic all that might finally change. Before I could try though I had to put this thing together. The main body of the grill was simple enough, and was mostly already assembled, less the handle and thermometer. The stand however was another story. It eventually all came together, but not without little tweaks and pulls here and there. The instructions didn't help either, as they were just a little bit off and seemed to be from an older model, even completely leaving out where one set of 4 screws were used. I ended up going online to see pictures and video to make sure I had it right. Especially for the aluminum wire, which has to be bent in order to get them to fit between the legs. The instructions actually show these being straight, but in several videos I saw that they did indeed have a bend in them. Also, all the hardware was mixed up in a bag, and the parts drawings weren't exact or to scale so it took some time to figure out which screws were used where. Once setup I decided to have a dinner party for my family, my bubble. I grilled up a couple filets and salmon. But before getting them going I lit it up and wow did it heat up to temp fast. Putting the first filet on the cast iron grill the sizzle sounded so good my confidence instantly shot up I might actually get it right for once. It actually didn't take long to cook everything as this grill gets REALLY HOT. The filets came out tender with a nice sear and the salmon was cooked perfectly. I was quite proud of myself actually, but also know that I couldn't have done it without this grill. Be careful with the heat though, I'm not kidding when I say it gets REALLY HOT, even with the burners set as low as they can go. There's even a warning that leaving the burners on high with the hood down can cause it to overheat! Then comes a big downside, cleaning. I realize cooking, whether on a grille or in a kitchen, requires cleanup, but its a bit more tedious with this grill. To properly care for this grill, and you'll definitely want to seeing as how expensive it is, you can't treat it like any old cheap grille. You can't just leave it until the next time you turn it on, heat it up and scrape the metal grates with a wire brush. No, for this you have to be meticulous about it. The cast-iron plates the most, because if you don't clean it while it's still warm, any remnants will cement onto the plates as it cools. This is a shame because this grill works so great for cooking food, you'll find yourself wanting to grill up anything and everything you can! But then you realize the hassle it can be to clean and you end up passing on the grill. Just yesterday my wife was getting some chicken ready for fajitas and I was like "Oooh, I could throw those on the new grill!", to which she then said, "are you gonna clean the grill when you're done?". Yeah, the chicken ended up getting fried in a pan on the stove. But when it comes to having gatherings or grilling up some steaks where the results are more than worth the cleanup, then this grille is absolutely amazing in what you can do with it. To sum up, when it comes to cooking, this by far exceeds every other grill I've ever had and has turned me into a decent griller. It even gets me excited about wanting to grill! It absolutely gets a full 5 stars on that front. But while the quality of the grill itself is decent, there's just a bunch of little things, like screws not fully aligning, the lacking instructions, some of the materials, the play in the knobs, the burner gas lines hitting the base when switching from tabletop to base. On their own not a big deal, but added all together, makes it feel like there were some corners cut in the manufacturing process, which you wouldn't expect with a pricy grill like this one. Add in the issues with assembly and the chore that is cleaning and it falls just a bit short. It's still a great grill that is hard to beat when it comes to what matters most, and I definitely see a LOT of grilling in my future.

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  This review is from Everdure by Heston Blumenthal - FORCE Gas Grill - Graphite

  Posted 5 years ago by CKent

• Rated 4 out of 5 stars

  Excellent Construction, Poor Documentation

  • Top 500 Contributor
  • Tech Insider Network Member

  SET-UP Initial set-up and assembly were easy enough. There are not a lot of parts to assemble, so total time from unboxing to initial use wasn’t much more than an hour. Having done it once, a person could easily knock that time down in half. The only thing that made the whole assembly process difficult was the poor documentation on the hardware supplied with the grille. The grille includes a bag of screws, washers, and lock washers. The instructions reference screws that are the same diameter, but only 1mm longer or shorter than their neighbors. Normally, it wouldn’t be an issue, but after assembling a bunch of items throughout my lifetime, having instructions that show the actual size of the bolt or screw is an absolute requirement in my book. While assembly was easy due to the design, figuring out the hardware was a pain in the neck and added unnecessary time and complication to something that should be straightforward. DESIGN The absolute best design feature of this grille is the fact that it is made from aluminum. Anyone that has owned a grille stored outdoors, knows that eventually the heat and elements take their toll. Whether it be the firebox, burners, cabinet, or something else, the intense heat from cooking, followed by the outdoor elements eventually cause the grille to rust and rot. Some are better made than others, but eventually it will happen. This grille looks to stop the rot. The stand is a combination of fiber reinforced plastics with aluminum legs. The fire box is made from cast aluminum with a nice-looking finish on it. Inside are 2 stainless steel burner assemblies. Even the “wings” of the grille are made from aluminum to resist rot and decay. The only thing not aluminum, are the cast iron cooking grates. AWESOME!!! Gone are the days of grilles lasting a couple of years before they rust out and become useless! USE The grille lights will light on the 2nd or 3rd strike on every use. The burners put out a claimed 22,000 BTU’s and they heat up quick. A person can fire up the grille and be searing a good steak in a matter of minutes. The cast iron cooking grates add just the right amount of pattern and sear instantly. As and added bonus, the grille comes with a premium grille cover. The cover is thick and durable and fits the grille and attached 15 pound propane tank perfectly. NEGATIVES The cooking grates do an excellent job at providing a top notch sear on your steaks, but suffer from other foods sticking horribly to them. Throwing a couple of turkey burgers on the grille resulted in quite a bit of meat loss from sticking. To be fair, this may be able to be reduced or eliminated by using some non-stick spray or maybe even as the grates get more seasoned. On a positive note, my steaks have never once stuck while searing, so time will tell as I attempt to cook more things aside from steaks and a few burgers. The second negative is that large opening in the back of the grille. Most all gas grilles have an opening at the back. However, this grille has an opening roughly 3x larger than my current gas grille. This large hole makes it difficult to get a good cook on your food with a little breeze blowing. You must be cognizant of the wind direction and aim the grille appropriately. During my first couple of cooks using the grille on a slightly breezy day, resulted in flame-outs even on the highest heat setting. This is something that I never had happen on my much cheaper grille bought from Big Orange. I was also hoping the large vent would help control the heat in the unit while using it on the lower heat settings, something my current grille and I both struggle with. But it does not. Even on the lowest setting, I routinely see temps rising to 450 degrees. Lastly, is the price. Does the aluminum construction of the grille really justify a 2 – 4 times price difference to a commonly available competitor? Time will tell. If this grille lasts substantially longer, then maybe. So, I am giving the grille 4 stars because of its unique design and sturdy construction. But, it honestly doesn’t do anything more or better than my current gas grille does.

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  This review is from Everdure by Heston Blumenthal - FORCE Gas Grill - Graphite

  Posted 4 years ago by NAMO