Extra-Large Lava Steak Stone Grill Set with Bamboo Base & Heat-Resistant Handles - 15.75" x 11.81" Natural Lava Stone for Tabletop Cooking, BBQ Grilling, and Serving

I bought this because handling a lava rock with hot pads or gloves and trying to get it onto the base looked like an invitation for burns. The metal tray and the hooked handles keeps my hands out of danger. I’m very happy with this purchase.

After seeing "lava stone" grilling in an upscale restaurant, I always wanted to try one. Clearly, the presentation is great, hearing the sizzling of your steak at the table as you put your food on the hot stone that is nestled by a metal frame insert atop a bamboo wood frame. So lets get to it...A couple of things about stone cooking. First, make sure that your stone is dry. You need to cure the stone before use.....basically meaning you need to heat it up to greater than 550 F for at least 45 minutes and then let it cool down in the heated area slowly. Never....I mean never put a cold stone in an already hot grill or oven. These stones need to heat up and cool down gradually. Putting a cold stone in an already hot oven will increase the risk of cracking the stone. The Artestia Extra Large Lava Stone is large to the point that it will not fit in a standard oven (one of the reasons I took off a star). The best place to heat this stone up is in a grill. Close the grill cover, crank the temperature to 550-600 F and wait an hour. This stone is very heavy.....seriously heavy. You will definitely need to have a heavy duty pair of grill mitts to remove the stone off the grill and onto the metal insert. The metal insert does appear well made and it did cross my mind to actually heat the stone in the insert on the grill...but I wasn't sure how the insert would handle an hour's worth of 600 F temperature so I elected not to do that. The removable wood/metal hooks appear of high quality and make it easier to then lift the stone/insert combo onto the bamboo frame. I will say, the bamboo frame did warp a little bit from the heat (the second reason I took off a star).Now to the cooking. Do not kid yourself......you will not be cooking a roast beef on this. The temperature drops relatively quickly. I got 20 minutes of real "grilling" out of it after an hour of heating it up. That's about it. Take your meat out of the fridge and let it get to room temperature before putting it on the stone....the temperature of the stone will not drop as fast than if you put cold meat on the stone. If your meat is not marinated, you may want to precoat the stone with olive oil prior to heating it up. If it's marinated, you don't need to. In either case, sprinkle some kosher salt on the stone before putting your meat on. Unless you like your steak rare, I wouldn't try to cook a steak more than 1/2" thick on the stone...however, placing sliced, marinated steak on the stone will create perfection.Regarding cleaning.....once again, the most important thing is to let the stone gradually cool down before you clean it. Never put cold water on a hot stone....if you do, it will crack. Rinsing with warm water is really all you need to clean a room temperature stone.So.....is this worth all the hassle? Clearly, stone cooking requires some advanced planning with the preheating. I will say, I grilled sliced, marinated steak (red wine and onion/chili garlic combo marinade) on the stone and it was delicious. The presentation is fantastic. For that special gathering or that special date where you want to impress....go for it

I bought the large stone to be used by 4 people. It will not fit in my standard oven to heat up; I t did fit in my grill. This stone gets very hot and the stand it sits in ore the metal rock carrier WILL NOT protect your table. It messed up my finish on my table. A better heat shield is needed to use this stone.

The item was already used.

I order the big size in December 19,2024. Arrive to the camp two weeks after. Today is February 15,2025 and the rock get broken in two parts. One part broke during the cook. Then I leave it cool down naturally, and after hours. I start cleaned with warm water and the rock get completely broken to side by side. Was nice cook on it. Don’t know why get broken? Maybe need the fire more far for cook? Don’t know.

I know there are restaurants where you can go and cook your own food on hot stones, but I have never been to one, basically because if I go to a restaurant, I expect someone to cook my food for me. But, I found this cooking stone and was intrigued enough to give it a try. The set comes with a lava stone, a metal plate with handles to hold the stone, and a bamboo tray to sit the metal plate in. It also comes with an instruction book that includes recipe ideas for the cook.Before I go any further, let me just say that this is a kit that is put together for the home cook. The quality of the stone is not going to be the same as those used in professional restaurants; it would not be affordable if it was. I don't think it is fair to compare the experience you get from one of those restaurants that lets you cook your own food on hot rocks to the experience of using this kit in your own home. Keep your expectations realistic.With that being said, let me give you my opinion on this cooking stone. First, you have to heat the stone, and it needs to be hot. Really hot. The directions suggest a temperature of between 550 and 660°F. I don't know about you, but I do not have an oven that heats that high, so my options are to heat the stone to a lower temperature or to heat it on my outside grill. It was nice enough to eat outside, so grill it was. Once it got to temperature, moving the stone to the table with the handles was simple. We went with thinly sliced ribeye steak and shrimp to test the stone. The extreme temperature of the stone makes everything cook very quickly, so you have to stay on top of it or your food will overcook or burn.There is a learning curve to using this stone; the more you use it the better your results will be. Our steak and shrimp came out fine; I am looking forward to trying a whole steak on it next time. For a two person household, a single stone would work for making a meal; if you like to have dinner parties or have people over a lot, you would definitely need at least one more to accommodate the extra people.

Artestia Extra Large Lava Stone too big for standard oven, heat in grill at 550-600 F for an hour. Use heavy-duty grill mitts to move. Metal insert well-made, didn't heat stone in it.

I got this for my favorite foodie, and we have enjoyed using it. It is a lot of fun to cook individual food pieces over a leisurely dinner. It elevates the atmosphere by making it unique. It is impressive to offer food to guests with this cooking tray since it is a novel experience I love it for how easy it is too use, clean, and store. It takes up hardly any space, it requires no special products or methods to clean it, and it heats by various methods, so it can be used just about anywhere. You can even transport it because of its small size and bring it camping for a fun group activity. It is a welcome addition to our kitchen gadgets and very useful.