T-Fal Curved Grill gets saucy in the middle

It doesn't take much to add flavor to food; fat usually does the trick. However as delicious as it may be, one doesn't necessarily always want to add bacon to every meal. Luckily, flavor can be incorporated into food via many other methods. Sauces, marinades, herbs, and spices can be introduced to veggies and proteins by slathering, bathing, basting, stewing, or even injecting them. And there is always room for one more method.

The latest gadget to come along and promise flavor maximization and fat minimization is the T-Fal Balanced Living GC420852 Curved Grill. Featuring a design similar to other sloped clamshell-type indoor grills, the countertop appliance doubles down by having the grill plates curve in two directions. Familiar in concept to anyone who has ever used a slanted indoor grill, there is one area in this case where the geometry provides an interesting angle.

The spine of the curvature allows for what the manufacturer calls a flavor infusing compartment. Designed to baste food as it cooks, the unique channel offers an interesting opportunity in that it can be filled with practically anything. (Think beer-can chicken without the can or the charcoal grill.) The nonstick grill plates make cleaning up whatever creation you come up with a breeze, while not one, but two liquid run-off catchers frame either side of the grilling surface. Considering its somewhat surprising design, it is probably safe to say that other indoor grills may have just been thrown a curve.