 You're correct. There is an electric element underneath it. There's a Teflon griddle that you can use, a grill, and then also there's an air fryer basket that you put on top of the grill. That's great for, I have fried chicken breasts, not chicken breasts, chicken thighs, air fried them in this, and they turned out just marvelous. The skin was perfect. How do you know in an air fryer when it's done?