Hamilton Beach 25360 Electric Indoor Searing Grill Review: Real Sear, Real Trade-Offs

Product Overview

The Hamilton Beach 25360 is a hooded indoor electric searing grill — an open-grate design with a vented lid that traps heat and mimics the cooking environment of an outdoor grill. It is not a contact (panini-style) grill, so food sits on one heated surface and needs to be flipped manually.

A close variant, the 25361, adds a viewing window to the hood for an identical cooking surface and specs — essentially a cosmetic upgrade.

The cooking grate is perforated to allow drippings to fall into the oversized drip tray below, which is one of the grill's best design decisions: there's genuine room for grease and juices, and the tray rarely overflows. The nonstick coating is PFAS-free, which is increasingly meaningful to buyers who are wary of fluoropolymer coatings. All the parts that touch food come apart for dishwasher cleaning.

Performance & Real-World Use

The 25360's primary selling point is its 450°F ceiling — and that ceiling is real. It preheats to cooking temperature in under five minutes, which is quick enough that you can turn it on, season your steak, and be ready to cook before it's preheated. At 450°F it browns and chars burger patties and chicken thighs properly, producing grill marks and a seared crust that flat contact grills can't replicate on thick cuts.

The open-grate format means you get actual air circulation under the food. A bone-in pork chop or a thicker chicken breast will cook more evenly here than it would sandwiched in a George Foreman-style press. For boneless chicken breasts, burgers, and thinner steaks, the cooking is consistently solid.

The edges run slightly cooler than the center — heat distribution isn't perfectly even, particularly on items placed near the outer corners. For most home cooking this is manageable, but if you're cooking four burgers simultaneously and want them identical, move them toward the center of the grate.

Smoke is the most cited issue in user reviews, and it's legitimate. At high heat, fatty foods like burgers and ribeyes produce visible smoke. The hood contains some of it, but not enough to eliminate the need for ventilation. Running a range hood fan or opening a window is genuinely necessary — not optional — when searing at 450°F.

The 118 sq. in. cooking surface fits about three to four burger patties or two to three larger cuts of steak. For households of one or two, this is plenty. For four people or more, expect to cook in batches, which affects timing and food temperature management.

Cleanup earns consistent praise across reviews. With all removable parts going into the dishwasher, a full cleanup after cooking steaks takes under ten minutes.