 Stove-top pan grilling is an indoor cooking process that uses a grill pan — similar to a frying pan but with raised ridges to emulate the function or look of a gridiron.In pan grilling, heat is applied directly to the food by the raised ridges and indirectly through the heat radiating off the lower pan surface by the stove-top flame.Stove-top grill pans can be used to put sear marks on meat before it is finished by overhead radiant heat.