There’s nothing like Korean barbeque. While the best Korean barbeque is of course in Korea, it’s possible to enjoy it at home. To enjoy this experience, you’re going to need a Korean BBQ grill. In this post, you’ll learn how to choose the best Korean BBQ grill.
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3 Best Indoor Korean BBQ Grills
- BRAVADEX Raclette Korean BBQ Tabletop Griddle
- CUSIMAX Portable Korean BBQ Grill with Turbo Smoke Extractor
- CUSIMAX Raclette Table Top Korean BBQ Grill
What Is Korean Barbecue
Korean barbecue is a popular technique in Korean cuisine that involves grilling meat, usually beef, chicken, or pork. Korean cuisine is typically prepared on a gas, electric, or charcoal Korean BBQ grill table.
A Korean barbecue offers a unique experience where the center stage is cooking and eating. Along with Korean hot pot, this is one of our favorite things to do when we travel to South Korea. But, you don’t need to travel to Korea to enjoy this type of eating experience at home.
The Best Indoor Korean BBQs For 2023
What Is An Indoor Korean BBQ Grill
A traditional Korean BBQ restaurant has a table with an inbuilt charcoal grill in the center with exhaust fans above the table. However, a modern gas or electric indoor grill allows you to create the experience at home.
Much like an at-home Korean hot pot, a Korean BBQ at home is a delightful experience because it is all about getting family and friends together.
The Korean barbecue charcoal grill allows everyone to gather around the table to cook and eat together. The fun part is that everyone participates, and nobody is stuck in the kitchen with all the work.
Is An Indoor Korean BBQ Grill Worth It?
An indoor Korean grill offers a dining experience like no other. The fun is all about getting together around the Korean BBQ table, with everyone cooking and eating their own food. The experience makes the Korean barbecue grill a worthy home appliance.
In the past, we’ve tried making Korean barbecue using an ordinary stovetop griddle. To no surprise, it’s just wasn’t the same.
As soon as we purchased a proper Korean BBQ grill our dishes turned out so much better. Now, we host friends and family over to a night of Korean food with our Korean BBQ grill and electric hot pot.
Best Korean BBQ Grill
Korean barbecue is not a new cuisine. However, it has become trendy in the recent past. As a result, many grills have hit the market, making it difficult to determine the best.
However, we have done the work for you. We have listed the best Korean grills to make your task easier. These grills will bring the taste and flavor of an authentic Korean restaurant home.
Want to make the perfect rice to serve along with your Korean BBQ? Check out our reviews of the best rice cookers for home chefs.
BRAVADEX Indoor Korean BBQ Tabletop Grill
The BRAVADEX indoor grill measures 19 by 9 inches, making it perfect for family fun and dinner. You can place this tabletop grill on a table in the living room or kitchen island and let the cooking fun begin.
This electric grill for Korean BBQ features an ergonomically designed non-stick cooking surface and adjustable heat controls. Therefore, the barbecue gives you a wide range of cooking options.
In addition, the grill has eight mini bottom trays for Korean side dishes, cheese, or s’mores. The grill is excellent for cooking as well as warming food. You can remove the main cooking surface and mini trays for easy cleaning.
CUSIMAX Smokeless Portable Korean BBQ Grill
While not a traditional charcoal grill, the Cusimax allows you to enjoy a Korean barbeque grill at home without any smoke. It is perfect for both indoor and outdoor use. Furthermore, this electric grill for Korean BBQ is also ideal for RVs.
The grill uses double U heating tubes, which provide faster and more consistent heating. Consistent heating seals in the flavor and moisture to make your juicy steak or pork belly.
A perforated grill plate filters out excess oil and leaves your steak with grill marks, just like the perfect charcoal steak.
An Ultra clear LED display allows you to control the temperature from 200 to 400 degrees Fahrenheit. A non-stick cooking surface will enable you to turn and take food off the grill without leaving any residue.
CUSIMAX Raclette Portable 2 In 1 Indoor Korean BBQ Grill
The CUSIMAX Raclette grill features a reversible non-stick cooking surface. The grooved surface is ideal for grilling with grill marks and removing excess oil.
On the other hand, the flat surface is perfect for pork belly, short ribs, and pancakes. This grill saves you the trouble of having to purchase additional equipment.
Indicator lights and adjustable heating controls make the grill ideal for all kinds of dishes. The grill also comes with eight independent heat-resistance raclette trays, which can simultaneously prepare cheese dishes for eight people.
The reversible tray and raclette trays are non-stick and removable, making them easy to clean.
Zojirushi Indoor Electric Korean BBQ Grill
The Zojirushi grill’s design directs excess fats and oils from the food into a drip pan for healthier cooking and dining. A large non-stick cooking surface makes the grill ideal for cooking steaks, seafood, fruits, vegetables, and other dishes.
The grill also features cool-touch handles and a frame for easy transport. Variable heat controls allow you to adjust the temperature between 176 and 410 degrees Fahrenheit.
The heat adjustment feature allows for various uses, including grilling, braising, frying, and broiling.
The ceramic non-stick cooking surface and drip tray disassemble from the housing for easy cleaning. The drip tray is also dishwasher safe.
AONI Raclette Tabletop Korean BBQ Grill
The AONI Korean BBQ tabletop grill is smokeless and features an anti-stick coating on the cooking surface.
In addition, it includes eight mini bakers that allow making a variety of dishes simultaneously. The grill has a power of 1200 watts, which can melt the cheese and cook a variety of dishes quickly.
The grill has a temperature adjustment knob that makes it ideal for various cooking options. The anti-stick coating makes cleaning the cooking surface very easy. In addition, wash both the cooking surface and raclettes in a dishwasher.
Artence Indoor Korean BBQ Grill
Artence’s grill has a large two-in-one cooking surface measuring 20 by 14 inches. The two-in-one surface makes the grill great for both grilling and riddling.
The textured surface is perfect for grilling steaks, chicken, and bacon. Meanwhile, the flat surface can make great pancakes, eggs, and sandwiches.
Artence grill features a smokeless design that ensures you enjoy the fresh air and healthy food in your home. The grill has a de-oiling design that ensures you consume a healthier diet and fewer calories.
The non-stick surface makes it easier to turn food and slide it on a plate. In addition, washing the grill is pretty straightforward.
COLIBROX Indoor Korean BBQ Grill Pan
The COLIBROX is a stovetop Korean grill pan perfect for BBQs. The pan features a high-quality non-stick surface that ensures you have stress-free cooking and cleaning.
This stovetop BBQ grill pan can either use an electric or propane gas grill. The pan features two plates. You can fill the lower plate with water to trap dripping as well as prevent smoke and splatter.
This Korean grill pan is easy to use and does not require any instructions.
What Features To Look For In A Korean BBQ Grill
Size
The size of your Korean grill will depend on two things, available space and how many people you are cooking for. Thankfully, there are all shapes and sizes of grills to choose from.
There’s a very good chance that you’re not going to use your grill every day. Even for us, who can’t get enough Korean food end up storing it. If you are like us and have plenty of cabinet space, then the overall size of the grill isn’t going to matter.
However, if you are in a smaller home or apartment and don’t have extra or large cabinets, size will matter. This is why we’ve included a wide range of grills in our recommendations. We all have our own personal preferences and it’s good to know what’s available to purchase.
Now, let’s consider size with regard to how many people you cook for. Normally, it’s just Amber and I. And you would think we went with a smaller-sized grill. No. Because we love to entertain we went with a large-sized grill to allow us to have plenty of cooking surface area.
With the larger-sized grill, we’ve been able to cook for 8-10 people at once. We’ve been able to cook different beef cuts, short ribs, giant prawns, you name it. The decision to go with a larger grill was the right decision for us.
Portability
Some BBQ grills are easy to transport, making them ideal for both indoor and outdoor use. If you love picnics and outdoor parties, consider getting a portable grill.
For us, this wasn’t an issue. We don’t have the outdoor space to move a grill and entertain outside. We use our grill on either the kitchen counter or kitchen island when friends are over. There’s enough room for people to gather around and be a part of the cooking.
That said, if you do and want to entertain guests or family outside, a portable grill might be the right choice. Having a portable grill presents a great of flexibility compared to more stationary grills. In addition to cooking indoors or outdoors, you can take the grill with you. Portable grills work great in RVs or when camping.
Cooking Surface Material
The cooking surface also plays a key role when choosing a Korean grill. A non-stick surface makes it easy to turn food and slide it onto a plate. Thankfully, most grills are non-stick. That said, it’s recommended to use something like sesame oil (the predominant oil used in Asian cooking) to ensure your food doesn’t stick.
Ease of Cleaning
A grill that you can quickly assemble and disassemble is easy to clean. A non-stick cooking surface will also make cleaning easy. You may also consider getting a grill with a dishwasher-safe cooking surface. Even if you’ve seasoned your food with soy sauce or other ingredients that might stick, cleanup is easy.
A Korean BBQ grill does the whole cooking and eating experience fun. For a wonderful dining experience with your friends and family, you might want to consider getting a Korean grill.
FAQs – Korean Indoor BBQ Grill
Yes. In fact, in Korea, barbeque grills are primarily used indoors. Barbeque is different in Korea compared to what is commonly thought of in places like the US. In Korea, barbeques are used indoors whereas, in the US, a barbeque grill is used mostly outdoors.
Yes. There are several brands of Korean BBQ grill makers that offer smokeless models. In a Korean restaurant, an exhaust fan is used to extract the smoke from cooking. Smokeless Korean BBQ grills use technology to remove the smoke allowing for indoor use.
100% yes. Most Korean grills feature a wire grill setup similar to that of a typical outdoor grill. Most electric grills are flat-tops. While you can use an electric grill for Korean BBQ, the results won’t be the same.
During several of our trips to Seoul, we’ve eaten at a number of Korean BBQ restaurants. Each Korean restaurant used a different type of fuel for the grills. Several grills used charcoal, which gave off added flavor via the smoke. However, the most popular were gas-fueled grills. Gas grills heat quickly and cook faster, hence their popularity.