Indoor Grilling | How to Get the Best Results?

There are many reasons to grill indoors. Maybe you don't have an outdoor grill (or not enough space), or you don't want to mess with charcoal, ashes, or propane tanks at home. Or, the current weather conditions make people dislike cooking outside.

No matter what the reason you want to grill indoors, we will help you. Let's take a look at the different ways you can grill indoors and the advantages and disadvantages of each method.

Can You Really Grill Indoors?

First of all, there is really no such thing as a grilling indoors. By the way, the biggest safety precaution is not to try to use outdoor grills anywhere indoors, including garages or any other type of enclosed structure.

In addition, the so-called indoor grilling actually uses alternative cooking techniques to imitate the effect of grilling.

Even if you have a high-end series with a built-in grill (and matching oven hood), you can almost replicate cooking on an outdoor gas grill, but not entirely. Charcoal grilling can only be done outdoors, and it is from charcoal that we get the true high temperature characteristics of grilling.

All other cooking techniques are imitations of grill at best.

The Broiler: Like Grilling Upside-Down

Barbecuing is quite similar in temperature to grilling. The key difference is that on the grill, the fire is under the grate, and the food is placed on the grate. The stove is very hot, and both the stove and the hot stove cook food from below.

For broilers, the food is placed on a tray or in a shallow pan or roasting pan with the heat source above the food. If there is no grate, and the food is between the fire and other things, there is no way to leave grill marks on the food.

And, unlike the layer of coal underneath, when you bake, your food drips somewhere, even a piece of foil on the barbecue pot, so things get a little messy.

However, barbecues are a good alternative to outdoor grills. Here is more about using your broiler.

Cast Iron Grill Pans: the Next Best Thing

Cast iron bakeware has the ability to roar and retain heat. Coupled with the built-in ridges at the bottom of the pot, cast iron bakeware may be a better alternative than grilling.

Although there are grill pan made of other metals, cast iron bakeware is better. Because the quality of the cast grill pan is too large (and the thermal conductivity of iron is very poor, which means it stays hot once heated), it will not cool down when you put the meat in it.

This is important because when grilling, you have to roast the meat very well, which is only possible at very high temperatures. When you put the meat in the pan, the pan will cool down, even if you let the meat reach room temperature before cooking (you should do this).

Another difference between grill pan and actual grill is the size. Even a 12-inch grill pan can only hold two steaks. It is definitely not a good idea to squeeze in the pan, especially when you are cooking steaks. Therefore, this method works best if you cook for fewer people. You can use two grill pans, or a cast iron frying pan with ridges that spans the two stoves on the stove. Here is more information about cooking the perfect steak on a cast iron pan.

Countertop Grills: a Pale Substitute

The last method of indoor grilling is the countertop grill. This is an appliance with two main types: a contact grill (basically a sandwich press) and an open grill (basically a ridged electric grill).

The contact grill has a significant advantage, that is, it has two cooking surfaces that are in direct contact with the food. This helps your food become hotter and cook faster. If you are lucky, it will also produce traces of grilling.

On the other hand, in order to effectively transfer heat, it does need to squeeze your food very tightly. Unfortunately, applying this constant pressure to the steak or hamburger during the cooking process will squeeze out all the juice.

In addition, despite the heat of the two cooking surfaces, putting the food in the waffle iron will lock the steam, so the final amount of cooking for steaks and burgers is as much as grilled. Needless to say, this is not ideal. But for grilled sandwiches or thinly sliced ​​vegetables, they will do.

Also not ideal is an open electric grill, just like an outdoor grill, the heat comes from below, you need to flip the food to cook the other side. Similarly, for thinly sliced ​​vegetables or even seafood, this device is sufficient, but the heat generated is not enough to produce steak, burger or chicken results, and these things are similar to the effect of outdoor grills in all aspects. If you do go this way, try to find a device with high power as much as possible.