Hamilton Beach Electric Indoor Searing Grill vs Zojirushi EB-CC15 Indoor Electric Grill

This is the core issue. Epicurious found the Zojirushi got hotter than every other grill tested — hot enough to leave real grill marks on chicken and lightly char zucchini. The Hamilton Beach, by contrast, showed no visible grill marks in some tests. If the whole point of an indoor grill is to replicate outdoor grilling results, one of these does that and one doesn't.

The Zojirushi's grate is nonstick on both sides, top and bottom. When fat drips down and congeals, it still wipes clean. The Hamilton Beach has an uncoated grate bottom, which Serious Eats specifically called out as harder to scrub. If you're grilling twice a week, that difference compounds fast — it's the kind of thing that makes you stop using a product.

Epicurious testing found the Hamilton Beach took almost twice as long to cook food as the Zojirushi. That's not a minor spec difference — that's the difference between a quick weeknight dinner and a 30-minute production. Lower max temperature is the culprit, and it cascades into everything: slower cook times, less browning, weaker grill marks.

The Hamilton Beach has a lid with a viewing window; the Zojirushi has no lid at all. For most grilling — burgers, steaks, vegetables — you don't need a lid and the open surface is actually better. But for thicker cuts that need to cook through, or if you want to trap heat for faster cooking, the Hamilton Beach's lid is a genuine advantage the Zojirushi simply can't match.