Cooking is quick, easy and consistent with the Elite Gourmet Electric Single Buffet Burner. This portable electric hot plate offers reliable heating and takes up minimal cooking space. At 1,000 watts, it heats up quickly with an adjustable temperature knob. The non-stick cast iron hot plate will ensure even cooking and makes clean up a breeze. It features adjustable temperature control with Off, Warm, Low, Medium, and High settings. The heavy duty cast-iron flat heating plate is easy to clean. It features a cool-touch base and non-skid rubber feet for stable cooking. It’s perfect when you need an extra heat source for holiday cooking and entertaining, or simply use it to keep food warm at a buffet station.
Countertop Burners
Elite Gourmet ESB-301BF Countertop Single Cast Iron Burner, 1000 Watts Electric Hot Plate, Temperature Controls, Power Indicator Lights, Easy to Clean, Black
| Asin | B00C8C5I7I |
|---|---|
| Dimensions | 9"D x 9"W x 3.25"H |
| Weight | 249 Grams |
| Manufacturer | Maximatic |
D. Smith –
I almost tossed this…glad I gave it a second chance. I bought it for cooking while traveling away from home. It seemed to be a good option for that…cooking in hotels or in an unfurnished apartment/home when on an extended stay.
The first couple of times I used it it didn’t seem to get hot enough to boil the water but in hindsight it seems to work better and get hotter after the first few uses. It kind of seems like it needs to burn off the coating first before it’s fully functional, but once it does it works great and is pretty efficient just keep in mind that due to its reduced wattage it may take longer than expected to get hot. Think of the light as a preheat…when it first turns off, it only means that it’s ready to start cooking.
There is an initial smell that comes from the burner and maybe even a little smoke I’m not so sure about the smoke because I first used it outside and the room that I was in was fairly large and well ventillated not sure if the initial smoke was from what I was cooking or the residue. Whatever coating, residue, or what have you that causes it does eventually burn off and leave you with no smell but it did take quite a few uses (even after initially leaving mine on 1 much longer than the recommended time).
There were a few options with the burner tops. Mine is the iron one. It retains some heat after the burner light cuts off. I saw some reviews complaining about this but now after using it I see it as a feature (if efficiency is important to you) because the heat turns off once the desired setting is reached yet the burner is still cooking. The downside is that sometimes you will need to turn the burner off (or down) earlier than you may be used to.
At home I have an electric stove and while it does take longer to warm up or cool down compared to a gas stove, the response time is still much closer to a gas stove than it is to this burner. It can take quite awhile for the burner to completely cool down after turning off. A nuisance at first but now that I’m used to it I kind of like it since it does save me a lot of power. I’m on an extended stay now and there is a gas stove here that works great but I find myself using this burner most of the time to save my expense on gas. Recently got the electric bill and it was so much cheaper (a fraction) than the gas which was really great and I was using it the burner a lot.
One other downside is that it takes the burner a lot longer than expected to heat up. I have been turning it on early to “preheat” it and this helps a lot to get things cooking. I have even used the burner to cook stock in a large stock pot. It did take longer to get the water boiling and I had to use higher settings but it worked fine otherwise. My only worry was whether the burner could handle the weight. The burner is still new (I’ve only been using it a couple months so far) so the jury is still out on that.
All things considered I’m very happy with my burner and even considering getting another one. It is very efficient, takes very little space, and is great for travel or on the road. A second one will allow me to cook two things at the same time.
Edit on March 29, 2023 – One other thing that probably deserves being mentioned. The settings are numbered from 1 to 6 (if I remember right, because my stove is currently packed somewhere since I’m not traveling at the moment). It will take some trial and error to find out which settings work best for your cooking preference. I recommend after the initial burnoff (per the manual), doing a test run first to boil water in your usual pot presetting to 4 first then allowing it to go until the water is boiling and then turning it down to see where you like it set at most for simmering, medium boil, etc. Then do a fry test run frying/sauting something simple (like onions and potatoes or similar) and starting again presetting at around 3.5 and then heating everything up in your preferred pan and seeing what settings you like best here as well for it to cook at the speeds that you prefer.
Crystal –
I got this for candle making. Heats up well and fast. Does the job. Takes a while to cool down so be carefule
Walter O. –
Who doesn’t like the controlable heat of a Gas Stove? Changes instantly and is continuously variable from Low to High. Vietnamese Restaurants invoke huge gas flames, 80,000 BTU’s surrounding the sides of a wok to stir fry a meal put together in one or two minutes.
Modern Electric portable cooking appliances don’t work that way. Temperature is controlled by turning the heat on and off for a duration controlled by the temperature knob. Unlike many electric cookers that have preset temperature settings – 1 – 2 – 3 – 4, this little gem’s temp is continuously variable, but still regulates heat via the On – Off method. I was skeptical at first. infra red hot plates turn the heat on and off very quickly. Imagine turning the gas on medium for twenty seconds, then off for 15 seconds. The old-style concentric ring of glowing orange coils worked very well, but I think safety concerns for a portable device that can cause a fire or serious harm to a curious child have taken precedence over old style designs. My main four-burner is an Induction Stove. Flameless.
Skeptical, I conducted an experiment. I have a Ceramic Slow-Cooker type Bowl/Pot. Relatively heavy, about 5/16 thick with a glass lid. The Base of this pot just fits the ring of the Elite Hot plate with about 1/16 of an inch to spare. I filled it with 5 1/2 quarts of room temperature water to within an inch of the rim and turned on the heat to MAX; that equates to number 6 on the temperature control knob. Keep in mind the overall weight and thickness of the pot, designed as a slow-cooker. Not like regulation aluminum or stainless steel. Also, there’s a lag in heating the cast iron plate of the burner and cooling it down. It took about two hours to heat the water to a raging, furious boil that was splashing over the edge onto the counter top despite the glass lid. The pot is shaped like a flower pot so no water got onto the burner plate. I turned the heat down to 4 1/2 and slowly, the water settled into a nice steady boil, perfect for slow cooking had there been any food in the pot. There was a barely imperceptible surge as the heat turned on and off, hardly even noticeable, that has no practical effect on cooking.
The thick cast iron plate acts as a heat sink that disperses the heat evenly when the plate is off. More so the large thick pot full of over a gallon of water retains a lot of heat. The ultimate test, I think. I suppose that for cooking Bacon and Eggs the Elite would work well. I bought it solely for use as a slow cooker since the heating bin for my big pot gave up the ghost with not a whole lot of use. This will do for a replacement.
I have a vintage 50’s glow orange coil type hot plate that also works to heat this pot. In direct contact with 1100 watts of glowing coils, it heats 5 1/2 quarts in less than half the time of the Elite.
I made a 20 amp 110 VAC on/off set-able timer – e.g. 8 hours 30 minutes – out of three dollars worth of parts to be used as an in-line timer. For unattended use – just set it and forget it – I’d prefer to use this Elite hot plate rather that the old glowing coil set up. Cooking time not a problem with a Slow Cooker. It can cook while asleep, or at work; on the back patio – cut the upper two-thirds off a 55 gallon drum and set it inside against the wind… or not. Crude, but effective.
Overall, I agree with other reviewers who give it a good rating. I’ve tried different products of this type that I returned for one reason or another. Used as a portable Fifth Burner, it works well enough to be of good use. For me, it’s a keeper.
Mike M. –
Heats up quick, does the job. Stays hot, be careful. Keep away from little hands. Would recommend to anyone looking for an extra burner.
Swissneva –
I live in a small home with no stove. I depend on countertop burners to cook. This is the second one I have purchased, the first one is still working great after 2 years, I just wanted a back up. These get plenty hot and work great.
C842 –
For reference it took this little thing pulling 1000 W about 15 minutes to boil 3 cups of water in a small pot, though if I use the lid, it would’ve been faster. It’s not terrible, and at $15 I’m certainly not going to return it. There are a few issues with this that I am noticing right away. First, one of the legs appears to be about an eighth of an inch shorter than the rest, causing the device to wobble. It is not quite stable, which brings me to the second issue, the entire unit is extremely hot, not just the cooking surface. it has been 30 minutes since I shut it off, it is still way too hard to even consider moving, let alone storing it somewhere. Just something to keep in mind. I wasn’t expecting a ton at this price point, but I guess it’s a decent value. They’re not a lot of other options out there for this price , lastly I think it’s hilarious that someone actually thought this was battery powered…. My God we really are getting dumb.
Crystal –
Heat quickly, thoroughly. Fast to boil point. Purchased two for an apartment. Perfect for need, space and excellent price. Arrived on time. Thank you
Immy Rayne –
Update April 2024:
I’ve had this burner since June and it just went on me. I managed to get one last cup of coffee from my kettle but the light’s not coming on nor is the surface heating further. You can expect this burner to last between 9 months and 1 year, probably.
It’s still a good value, but I wish I had a proper stove.
Original review:
I’ve had this product for several months now. I opted for this to replace an open-coil design of the same price that went bad on me.
Pros:
– It sure can put out the heat.
– The temperature knob remains cool enough to touch.
– Enclosed-coil design means there’s no random dust turning to ash or bits of food falling through.
Cons:
– Temperature control is mostly meaningless. halfway to max is more like “simmer”, maximum is what I use almost exclusively otherwise.
– It’s not that easy to clean.
Overall, it’s good if you Just Need Something That Works – but if you’re lacking a stove like I am, consider finding a better model.
Paul Emmons –
After learning how many hundreds of dollars it would cost to replace a burner on my electric kitchen range that seemed to wearing out, I decided to use a hot plate instead when possible, at least for boiling water or just keeping it hot for coffee or tea. The first (a different brand) failed after a few months when the temperature control knob froze up. But my Elite Gourmet unit is still going strong. The only inconvenience is that the instructions say to unplug it when not in use, not just turn the temperature control all the way down. Couldn’t a switch have been provided? Wall outlets are not always as easy to reach as, fortunately, mine is.
Nancy J. Hajeski –
This hot plate is superior in every way to the one I got at Dollar General. I am so happy I bought it. The heating unit really heats up fast, tho, so be careful not to burn butter or onions.