Deliciously Filled Grilled Sandwiches

The Russell Hobbs 3-in-1 Sandwich, Panini and Waffle Maker with interchangeable plates.  

About This Sandwich Maker. 

This Russell Hobbs 24540 3 in 1 sandwich maker comes with top and bottom toastie, grill / panini and waffle plates which can be easily interchanged.

The plates have an easy clean, non-stick coating and are dishwasher safe.

With power and temperature ready indicator lights, easy to remove plates, a thermo-insulated handle with a locking clip and non-slip feet, this snack maker is safe and simple to operate.

It has 760W power and measures 23.2cm x 25cm x 10.5cm (approx.) and weighs 2.54 Kg (approx.) with a stainless steel cover.

Product Review.

At First Glance...

The Russell Hobbs 24540 3 in 1 sandwich maker is a moderately priced, multifunctional machine that can help satisfy your cravings, whatever they may be!.

With the separate deep fill sandwich, waffle and grill plates, it’s versatility means you can create anything you desire, from a deep-filled toasted sandwich through to waffles or grilled meat and vegetables. 

It’s traditional design is similar to most other machines available. 

It has a stainless-steel cover with integrated indicator lights.plus a thermo-insulated handle, which means that although your sandwich may be piping hot, the sandwich maker itself should never be too hot to handle.

It is slightly smaller than the Salter 3 in 1 model previously reviewed but has a compact space saving footprint on your worksurface and stores away neatly when closed and not in use.

At First Use...

When using for the first time, there was a slight burning smell, but found that this gradually diminished with time and especially after several uses.

This model took about six minutes to warm up and the indicator lights on the top of the toastie maker are red and green which is self explanatory.

The interchangeable plates appear to be reasonably effective as a non-stick coating, but in our opinion these are probably best to quickly hand-wash them after use (not in the dishwasher!) but at least this is relatively easy to do once removed, as opposed to trying to clean them insitu as with some more basic sandwich makers..

This machine has a thermo-insulated locking handle which secures the lid when cooking.

Useful Observations...

We found the Russell Hobbs 24540 3 in 1 sandwich maker to be particularly good for making grilled sandwiches. 

The grill plates produce a nicely grilled sandwich with a crisp surface and clearly defined grill lines and provide a different option to the normal sealed and filled toasted sandwiches provided by the toastie plates. The grill plates are also perfect for paninis and can also be used for bacon and vegetables too!

With the toastie plates fitted it was found that they required some trimming of a larger sliced loaf to fit but cooking times were reasonable and the "deep fill" enabled a good quantity of filling resulting in a well proportioned toasted sandwich. 

With the waffle plates fitted, and using a standard packet waffle mix, the rise was reasonable but they seemed to be cooked more on one side than the other.

Possibly due to the deeper plates the mix seemed a little undercooked in the middle. We are not sure whether this was due to this product being a little underpowered at 760W rather than other machines at 900W, or whether a different mix might produce a better result.

We also found that in general, the waffles took a lot longer cooking time and noticed that the outer stainless steel surface got quite warm over time.

The waffle plates are also a lot more difficult to clean than the other grill and toastie plates due to increased number of crevices, but to be fair this is probably the same for all waffle makers.

In Summary

If you’re looking for a competitivelly priced sandwich maker that gives you the option to do a little bit more than just make toasties, then the Russell Hobbs 24540, at £30 to £35 is worth considering. 

The grill option and the toastie plates are the two better features, offering the possibilities to make an aray of perfect toasted and grilled sandwiches.

The waffle plates are a little more difficult to achieve the perfect result, but fine as an occasional option to try something a little different.

The Russell Hobbs 24540 is a traditional looking 3 in 1 sandwich maker, great for occasional use, doesn't take up much space, stores away easily and is slightly cheaper than some other 3 in 1 machines.