Equipment

Korean Barbecue Grill T2 Community

ko: 고기구이

Category
grill
Price
mid-range

Korean barbecue grills are built into restaurant tables or placed over portable tabletop burners. The grill surface is either a dome-shaped convex iron plate (bulgogi pan, best for marinated meats) or a flat mesh grill (wire grate, best for thick-cut pork belly).

Gas vs charcoal

Most restaurant Korean BBQ uses gas for controllability. Traditional charcoal (binchotan or regular charcoal) produces superior flavour — the fat drips onto coal and the resulting smoke flavours the meat. Charcoal is slower to temperature and harder to regulate.

Home setup

A portable gas burner + cast-iron dome plate (삽겹살판) reproduces restaurant-style samgyeopsal at home. The key is getting the surface hot before adding pork — a cold surface makes the fat render without searing.

Sources