Are you looking into buying a table top BBQ grill plate so that you can enjoy Korean BBQ at home? Then read on! While it’s not exhaustive, the below points highlight a few basic things you should consider when choosing a Korean BBQ grill plate.
I asked my mom who owned a Korean restaurant for nearly two decades for her advice because she had plenty of chances to buy BBQ grill plates for her restaurant.
The below three points are what she considers:-
- Affordability – Not too expensive
- Weight – Not too heavy plate (easy to lift and wash)
- Usability – Easy to clean (its coating shouldn’t scratch off), well-built oil draining system, fits on the portable burner, safety from the oil splashing.
Keeping in mind the above points, below is a picture of my BBQ grill plate I used for my Samgyeopsal (Korean pork belly BBQ) party the other day. This is a typical style of Korean BBQ grill plate.
(Front – if you see closely, there is a blocking bolt in the core. You need to unscrew it with your hands to drain the oil. Two separated parts in both corner are for baking garlic and chilies etc. You can also place the cooked meat to keep it warm while preventing overcooked meat.)
(Back – Those four legs are to sit on the portable burner.)
(Side – Oil comes out through this channel, so you need to put a bowl to catch the oil near the exit)
I did my best to get the best quality grill for its price at Homeplus the other day. If I give it a score where 5 is the highest, I will give it 4.3 out of 5.
Point details
- Affordability: 4/5
- Weight: 5/5
- Overall usability: 4/5
- Easy to clean – 3/5 (I think it will scratch off eventually)
- Well built oil draining system – 4/5 (It was slightly blocked inside until we cleaned it out)
- Fits to the portable burner – 5/5
- Safety from the oil splashing – 4/5
If you don’t open the core bolt, you can cook meat with juice like bulgogi (marinated beef). I haven’t tried it yet though, if I do, I will let you know how it turns out. Now, I hope you can buy your BBQ grill plate with some confidence. 😉
