I have one of these stone-topped grills, but I didn't get it from Amazon. None the less, I will review this product for the sake of others considering it.
Does it brown meat? Hell yes. If you try to brown meat and fail, it's because the stone wasn't hot enough when you put the meat on. The stone has a very high heat capacity and takes a while to get searing hot, but once it's hot, it will brown if not blacken meat easily. The stone takes a minute or two to pre-heat. Make sure you thoroughly oil the stone when you pre-heat the stone. Failure to oil the stone will make food stick to it. The stone may actually have to be seasoned before use. I don't know; mine came in a box covered in Japanese text, which I can't read.
Is it easy to clean? Absolutely not. I used mine for korean barbecue. Korean marinades tend to contain sugar, fruit juices, or malt syrup. All of these ingredients will char and leave your grill topper caked with carbon. Do not wash the grill with soap; the stone is porous and is meant to be scraped clean. Soap will get into the pores and ruin the flavor of subsequent meals cooked on it. Repeated use will season the stone until it's blackened like an old cast iron pan. Rinse the cooking surface under hot water and scrub with a coarse stiff brush a few times to get the loose stuff off, then and scrape any charred junk off using either a razor blade topped scraper or a utility blade. The one biggest drawback of this thing is the difficulty of cleaning it.
If the difficulty of cleaning is not worth the extra heat retention of the stone, this product is not going to be worth it for you. If you absolutely must have convenience, get one of those nonstick coated grill toppers.
Now, I must add that if you heat your stone too quickly, it might develop cracks, so pre-heat on medium or medium-low rather than blasting it on high. Mine still works, but it had visible cracks going through it after the first use, where I foolishly heated it on full blast. The outer metal portion holds it together such that the cracks aren't really a big deal, but I imagine that after repeated use, a cracked stone might fall apart eventually.
One more thing: this device is not meant to be used on the stove top. The stoves I've tried it on don't fit well; if it doesn't fit well, it can shift around. It fits best on one of those portable butane canister fueled burners commonly sold in Asian markets. The idea is that you have this thing going at the table, and you cook your meats at the table Korean Barbecue style.
I saw the first review of this item. It was said that the plate does not brown meat and it was evaluated for 1 star. I think it is unfair as meats for Korean BBQ are not meant to be brown. If this grill is used correctly for the purpose of Korean BBQ, bith indoor and outdoor, it is really a nice product for the occasion.
Buy Marukyo Stone Stove Top In/Outdoor Grill (Stove Not Include) Now
This is a smokeless grill should not brown meat on it. The only draw back is that I wish they provide the best cleaning instruction. ~^_^~
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Works well with our stove and have some great meals with the family. Product arrived on time which was remarkable for the holiday rush.
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I bought this in my local-ish Korean market. Sadly the people in the housewares section seem disinclined to speak English and couldn't or wouldn't translate this for me, so I didn't know I should use a low flame and not wash it with soap. Thankfully I seem to have soaked the soap taste out if the stone. The grill worked well enough, but didn't fit my square stove top burner properly. The box does show it used on one of those portable burners, pay attention to pictures! I cooked over medium heat on a gas stove. My LA Kalbi came out good but I had to keep turning and flipping it to cook it evenly. Samgyeopsal ended up deep frying in its own fat, quite delicious but not right. Meat does not cook well over the vented section, but vegetables do all right. I had lots of smoke!!! Had to open windows even with exhaust fan on because it got so bad my upstairs filled with smoke. Again, I cannot read the instructions, so perhaps when properly used on a small propane burner this grill functions much better.
EDIT: I have thrown this out because on its second use the stone cracked all the way across and grease leaked onto my stove creating a fire hazard. Good thing I have a fire extinguisher or I wouldn't be able to edit this!
We used this over a weekend in the mountains grilling burgers and hot dogs among other things. It was great during the first day but by the end of the weekend, the coating on it started to peel off and stick to our food during use. I would not recommend buying this product.
