What is Grilling
Wikipedia: For Wikipedia grilling and broiling are the same cooking technique. Grilling is a form of cooking that involves dry heat applied to the surface of food, commonly from above [broiling] or below [grilling]. Broiling is really a North American term and not used elsewhere in the world as much.
You should not bring your outdoor grill into the house to cook. They can release dangerous fumes and are not made for indoor cooking. Gas grills, for instance, produce carbon monoxide as a by product. Use outdoor grills only outdoors.
If you do not have good ventilation do not grill like I am showing here, consider broiling your food in the oven instead. The broiler gets very hot, cooks the food well, the only thing missing are the grill marks.
Cautions Indoor Grilling
- Too much smoke is not healthy for your lungs, so open windows and have your oven fan on high. No matter what, when the food hits the pan there will be smoke.
- Too much burnt crisp on the food is unhealthy, so do not eat burnt foods every day, and do not intentionally burn your food into charcoal.
- Know where you kitchen fire extinguisher is located…just in case.
Equipment
There are indoor grills but I favor using items that are less expensive, less likely to fail, and are part of my kitchen pantry anyways. Every review I have read on indoor grills indicate that they are fussy gadgets that are an unnecessary expense and just one more kitchen gadget that will collect dust. So here are my preferences for indoor grilling.
Grill Pan: I have a picture at the top of this article showing a DIY hibachi, but the concerns over air quality and fire hazards make me want to suggest you not do this. A good quality grill pan over a gas stove works just as well. Cast iron pans are probably the best, like the one pictured above from Lodge. The pans get very, very hot and cook well. Just make sure you put them somewhere where they can safely cool down before cleaning (like the oven).
Chefs prefer their indoor grilling pans to have little ridges, enough to sear the grill marks, but they also want enough of the pan to touch the food so it cooks. Too deep and the fat can pool in the pan’s grooves, and since they cannot go anywhere, the fat will vaporize and make that darn smoke.
To cook on these pans remember to always oil the food (if required and only just enough oil) and not the pan. The process is to heat the pan first (until it starts to smoke) and then add your room temp, prepared food.
Tongs: A good set of tongs for grilling steak, chicken, fruit, or veggies. Tongs allow for a better grip on the food and makes turning easier.
Skewers: Flat metal skewers (for kabobs) are great because food does not slip off, but what people are most familiar with are rounded wooden ones. Some say to soak the wood skewers before using so that they are a bit resistant to the high heat. I do not think it matters much as mine burn up occasionally anyway. I prefer metal also because you do not get splinters and do not have to worry about them burning up.
Spatula: You might need a heavy duty spatula for flipping certain food (like burgers or fish).
Brush: For marinating meat or other food. Generally when grilling indoors I add sauce after I have removed the food from the heat, while it is sitting. Thus I produce less smoke in the house.
Bowl: For marinades, to hold the utensils, and later to cover the meat while it rests. I do not place utensils that have touched meat on my counter so use the bowl to rest them and make clean up easier.
Good oil: Oil, like Rice Bran Oil, needs to be part of the kit. You want an oil that is neutral and able to withstand high temps. To help reduce smoke do not over oil or just dump sauce on the pan. Also consider opening windows and always have the oven fan on.
Grilling Meat
Meats that do well on the grill are largish shrimp, hamburgers, tri tip, pork chops, chicken, and sausages or hot dogs. I favor dry rubs for indoor cooking, as wet rubs create enough smoke to overwhelm home kitchen ventilation systems.
- Make sure the meat is room temp when it hits the pan.
- If you want smoke flavor, season and brush with liquid smoke ~1h before cooking. Or use some of that black Smoke Salt to the meat. Or add smoked paprika to your rub. You will have to experiment since I do not grill for smokey flavor.
- I do not grill very fatty meat, like duck, since it splatters everywhere. I also trim the fat off meat because the issue of burnt fat can ruin the food and is unhealthy.
- I have also never grilled a whole chicken since that cooks well in the oven. I will only grill boneless, skin on chicken thighs since that meat does not tend to dry out. Some will grill chicken breasts but I have not had good luck with that.
- Tri tip is the largest meat I have cooked on the grill but it does take some time.
- Do not press on your meat while grilling. You do not want a smokey room and dry meat. Let the meat cook and flip it over when it is time. If still raw in the center put the meat in the oven to finish cooking.
The main thing is to always rest the meat before cutting. We sometimes just place grilled meat on the meat cutting board (see below, the plastic cutting board), and cover it with a large metal bowl. I do not use aluminum foil to tent the meat, as I prefer not to have aluminum touch my food.
Grilling Veggies
Clean and dry the veggies, then place on the grill to cook. I tend to season the veggies once they are cooked, right before serving.
Grilling Tomatoes and Peppers
The issue with grilling tomatoes and peppers is that this is also a good way to remove the tougher outer layers of these veggies. Below are pictures showing the regular tomato and Poblano pepper, then charred on the stove top grill, then what they look like with the skins just rubbed and peeled off.
Grilling Various Fruit
Clean and halve the stone fruit throw away the pit, then place on the grill with the flesh side near the heat. Keep on the heat long enough to see grill marks and for their natural sugars to caramelize. For pineapple just peel and cut to the size you want. The natural sugary juice will caramelize on its own.
Grill Bread
Apply olive oil to one side of the bread and “toast” on the grill long enough for some burn marks. Then add a topping and serve. Usually it is a tomato -basil mix.
