Breville BSG520XL Panini Duo 1500-Watt Nonstick Panini Press
by Breville
List Price:
Our Price: $57.99
You Save: $42.00 (42%)
Availability: Usually ships in 24 hours
Buy Used: from $49.40 (click here)
Category: Kitchen
See more product details
Product Summary
Manufacturer: BrevilleBrand: Breville
Model: BSG520XL
Color: Silver
Product features:
- 1500-watt panini press with nonstick, scratch-resistant Quantanium cooking surface
- Flat bottom plate for fast, thorough cooking; ribbed top plate creates grill marks
- Floating hinge; 4 height settings; on/ready lights; nonslip feet; locking storage clip
- Cord wrap; brushed stainless-steel housing; user manual with recipes included
- Measures 13 by 11-3/4 by 5-1/4 inches; 1-year limited warranty
Kitchen and Housewares Reviews of Breville BSG520XL Panini Duo 1500-Watt Nonstick Panini Press
Customer Review: Very nice sandwich press and electric griddle
Summary: 5 Stars
Customer review from the Amazon Vine™ Program (What's this?)
1. PERFORMANCE
First, I'd like to discuss the performance of the unit. It's brilliant! I honestly didn't have high expectations for a hot sandwich press, but I've been very happy with it over the past month. Here are some of the items that I've made the most and my remarks:
- Sandwich Wraps: Absolutely fantastic results. I can tailor the cooking time for how firm I want the tortillas to be, and the internal ingredients are nice and hot. Having a flat bottom plate and ridged upper plate gives them a perfect combination of toasting and grill marks. The ability to set a minimum height between the top and bottom plates works wonders for veggie wraps because otherwise (at least with mine) the ingredients don't support the weight of the top plate and the wraps get smashed. The tortillas slide right off the non-stick coating, and any ingredients that spill out during cooking have cleaned up very easily.
- "Grilled" burritos: Again, fantastic. Just like a sandwich wrap but with other ingredients. I've started to grill these with the fold facing upwards to help prevent ingredients (such as salsa or guacamole) from leaking out during cooking.
- French Toast: Works pretty well. I have made it three times so far, each time with the lid down but locked in the second highest position (I haven't tried just cooking one side of the toast by leaving the lid up, yet). If the bread isn't too wet, then it works very well. If the bread is very moist, though, it doesn't cook through to the center very well. With the egg, this items does make it a bit more difficult to clean the non-detachable ribbed top plate.
- Pancakes: Works pretty well. The two drawbacks are that the top plate is still being heated even though I'm not using it, and (more important for cooking performance) the temperature of the griddle portion isn't adjustable. Pancakes do come out pretty well, but not as good as on my other griddle that I use on the stove. Also, for some reason the first batch of pancakes sticks to the griddle a bit. I haven't run into that on any other food so far.
- Ham: Cooked great, but I'll never do it again because of the mess. Because of the splatter from the juices, I closed the top lid. The bottom flat plate was pretty easy to clean off, but the ribbed top plate took a while because the nooks and crannies of the ribs make it more difficult.
2. WHAT I REALLY LIKE
- The floating hinge. That is fantastic and makes cooking thick sandwiches and wraps easy.
- The locking height adjustments. This works wonders for less solid foods like toast and veggie wraps.
- The front handle. Might seem silly to mention, but the handle stays cool and opens the press easily.
3. WHAT I WOULD CHANGE
- Add a power button. I would prefer to not have to unplug it to turn it off. When the unit is heating, there is a decent spark that gets generated at the outlet when I unplug it (same thing happens with my George Forman grill)
- Make the heating plates removable, at least the top ribbed plate. These clean up pretty easily, so this is minor, but it can be a bit tedious trying to clean the top plate.
- Add a temperature adjustment. This is pretty minor to me because it typically works great, but for pancakes (which are shown on the box as a breakfast item), an adjustment would be nice.
4. FIT AND FINISH
This is my third Breville appliance, and I was expecting the same level of fit, finish, and attention to detail on this press as I had with the other two (Breville BJE200XL Juice Fountain and Breville BKC700XL Coffeemaker). Upon opening the box, the packaging (at least of my unit) was a bit sloppy with the protective plastic bag around the press not fully covering it. After taking the unit out of the box, I noticed that the fit and finish aren't as nice as my juicer and coffee maker. For example:
- Some of the bolt holes and rounded corners on the lever arms are sharp as if they weren't properly deburred.
- The bottom plate has some rough patches on it
- The power cord and cord-wrap on the bottom plate aren't very well design, IMO (but that's just personal preference)
I mention all of that for one reason - if you are looking at this press because it is a Breville and you have a certain expectation of quality like I did, then those comments might be important to you. I did not remove any stars for this because the unit is nice - it's just not as nice as I had expected from this brand (which I think actually speaks highly of the brand).
Description of Breville BSG520XL Panini Duo 1500-Watt Nonstick Panini Press
In keeping with its heritage of creating the world's first domestic version of a professional sandwich press, Breville introduces the Panini Duo . With a 1500-watt heating element that heats up quickly, the Panini Duo's top plate delivers beautiful grill marks on any kind of bread, while its bottom plate delivers even and quicker heat on the flat to make the perfect Panini or your own toasted sandwich creation. Grill surfaces are made with a non-stick, scratch-proof Quantanium surface for easy cleaning. With its sturdy construction and stainless steel construction, the Panini Duo delivers on Breville's promise of performance and elegance.Contact Grills
Kitchen and Housewares
Bestsellers in Contact Grills
El Paso 70190 Fajita Grill, RedMBlock & Sons, Inc.; El Paso; Kitchen
Price in other shops:
Cuisinart GP-40SA Griddler Express Contact GrillCuisinart; Cuisinart; Kitchen
Price in other shops:
Total Chef TCG08G-CA 4IN1 Sandwich, Waffle, Grill & GriddleKoolatron; Koolatron; Release date: 2006-07-05; Kitchen
Best price: $39.95
Price in other shops:
Swissmar KF-77043 8-Person Classic Raclette Party Grill, Red EnamelSwissmar; Swissmar; Kitchen
Best price: $87.99
Price in other shops:
Foreman Super Champ Grill Brushed W/ Ss W/ timerGeorge Foreman; George Foreman; Kitchen
Paro Fondue Set Stainless Steel 30PCS Matt Finished by Blomus 65474Blomus; Blomus; Kitchen
George Foreman GP200RED GrillGeorge Foreman; George Foreman; Kitchen
Price in other shops:
George Foreman GR18BWY SuperChamp Grill, YellowGeorge Foreman; George Foreman; Kitchen
Price in other shops:
George Foreman GR10ABWR Champ Grill with Bun Warmer, RubyGeorge Foreman; George Foreman; Kitchen
Price in other shops:
George Foreman GR70WHT Infusion GrillGeorge Foreman; George Foreman; Kitchen
Price in other shops:
Similar Kitchen and Housewares Products
Breville 13-Inch Pizza StoneBreville; Breville; Kitchen
Best price: $29.95
Price in other shops:
Breville BOV800CB Bamboo Cutting Board for Use with Smart OvenHWI/Breville USA; Breville; Kitchen
Best price: $39.99
Price in other shops:
The Everything Panini Press Cookbook (Everything Series)by Anthony Tripodi
Adams Media; Published: 2011-08-18; Kindle Edition; eBooks
Price in other shops:
Simple Italian Sandwiches: Recipes from America's Favorite Panini Barby Jennifer Denton, Jason Denton, Kathryn Kellinger
William Morrow Cookbooks; Published: 2006-08-15; Hardcover; Book
Best price: $9.70
Price in other shops:
Panini Express: 70 Delicious Recipes Hot Off the Pressby Daniel Leader, Lauren Chattman
Taunton Press; Published: 2008-02-01; Hardcover; Book
Best price: $4.00
Price in other shops:
OXO Good Grips Electric Grill and Panini Press BrushOXO Good Grips; OXO; OXO Good Grips; Misc.; Home
Best price: $8.99
The Everything Panini Press Cookbook (Everything Series)by Anthony Tripodi
Adams Media; Published: 2011-09-18; Paperback; Book
Best price: $6.79
Price in other shops:
Paniniby Melanie Barnard
Touchstone; Published: 2009-03-03; Hardcover; Book
Best price: $4.49
Price in other shops:
200 Best Panini Recipesby Tiffany Collins
Tiffany Collins; Robert Rose; Published: 2008-09-12; Paperback; Book
Best price: $10.24
Price in other shops:
Cuisinart GR-1 Griddler Panini and Sandwich PressCuisinart; Cuisinart; Release date: 2006-02-01; Kitchen
Best price: $41.99
Price in other shops: