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Professional Panini Press.

post #1 of 9
10/25/12 at 2:07am
Thread Starter 

Im in the process of opening up a take away panini business and have just bought a commercial grade panini press. The problem is the sandwich/panini's take a very long time to cook. There taking 4 to 6 minutes to have heated and melted the cheese and toppings sufficiently. I  have conducted tests on a few different models and there was no difference in the timing.  My business is take away. So the sandwiches need to be cooked within 3 minutes max.

 

I have a george foreman at home and this will cook the exact same sandwiches in 2 minutes! I really dont know what to do, I ve spent a lot of money on this machine and now since it has been used it is second hand. 

 

I am very interested to hear from anybody that has worked with these wretched machines in a professional capacity and could provide some much needed insight.

 

At this stage I am considering bringing the old georgie foreman into work with me!

 

Thanks in advance.

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post #2 of 9
10/25/12 at 5:42am

Can you "start" the sandwich on the grill or in a pan covered with a SS bowl to speed things up?

Not enough to color, just so the middle gets warm.

 

mimi

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post #3 of 9
10/25/12 at 6:15am

nuke it first

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post #4 of 9
10/25/12 at 9:39am

We did cubans at the baseball stadium I worked at and had the same issue. We had to run the sandwich through the press, then opened it up and put it in the oven to heat through. I'm pretty sure that won't fit the 3 minute time you're aiming for, though.

Anulos qui animum ostendunt omnes gestemus!
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post #5 of 9
10/25/12 at 8:42pm

Cooking time depends on temperature. I am using a Waring model right now in my restaurant, and I obtain best results with a temperature set around 380 F. To my knowledge, anything 350 and 420 F is a good temperature for paninis.

 

The more you increase the cooking temperature, the quicker your panini will be ready, however also the more likely it will be to get dry or even burn.

 

The only reason I see for your Foreman to cook faster is because it is set at a higher temperature.

 

If you want to maximize the efficiency of your machine, make sure to pre-heat sufficiently (for the Waring, at least30 mins), and to minimize the time during which the press is open during operation (heat loss is quite high and temperature will fall rapidly). You might gain some time by taking these 2 points into account.

 

In any case, IMO it seems difficult to correctly cook a panini in less than 4-5 mins.

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post #6 of 9
10/26/12 at 5:07pm
Thread Starter 

Thanks for the input guys. I have some good quality george foremans I sourced for a fraction of the price as my commercial machine. I figure if I get 6 months out of them it will be worth it.  

 

Thanks again.

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post #7 of 9
10/27/12 at 4:26am

What are you gonna do with the commercial press?

 

mimi

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post #8 of 9
10/27/12 at 5:31am
Thread Starter 

I can use it for some other jobs around the kitchen for the moment. But I intend to sell it eventually.

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post #9 of 9
10/27/12 at 9:00am

Your friendly health inspector may have something to say about using non NSF equipment in a commercial kitchen...

Quote:
Originally Posted by PierreBlack View Post

Thanks for the input guys. I have some good quality george foremans I sourced for a fraction of the price as my commercial machine. I figure if I get 6 months out of them it will be worth it.  

 

Thanks again.

Chef,
Specialties: MasterCook/RecipeFox; Culinary logistics; Personal Chef; Small restaurant owner; Caterer
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