Bacon curls because the fat on one side renders faster than the meat on the other side can keep up, and it pulls the strip into a bow. You can flip it constantly and hope for the best, or weigh it down flat with something heavy enough to counteract it. That’s what a grill press is for, and the Cuisinart XL is bigger than most.
At 10×10 inches, it covers a full skillet’s worth of bacon in one go rather than pressing two strips at a time over five rounds. It’s cast iron, 5.1 pounds, with a wooden handle that stays cool enough to grab even after the plate’s been sitting on a hot pan. One reviewer said it holds down about four rashers of bacon perfectly and cooks it through in a few minutes flat, faster than letting it cook loose.
The size makes it genuinely useful beyond bacon, too. Cuisinart says it fits six smash burger patties at once, and it’s handy for pressing paninis or grilled cheese evenly so you don’t end up with a gooey middle and a burnt edge. A few reviewers mentioned using it on chicken breasts and pork chops to get even contact with a griddle.
The catch is it’s cast iron, so it needs actual cast iron care: hand wash only, dry it immediately, keep it lightly oiled so it doesn’t rust. And the ends of that wooden handle still get hot near the metal, so don’t grab right at the joint. It’s pricier than a basic bacon press, but the size is the whole reason to buy this one instead of a smaller option. If you’re going to get a grill press at all, this is the one that actually replaces multiple smaller tools.
