An ignificant number of people love electric grills for various reasons. They are easy to use, lightweight, are smokeless, and easy to clean. Additionally, people living in apartments and condos appreciate electric grills because they are not affected by strict rules that prohibit grilling using certain grills, such as gas and charcoal grills.
Is it hard to cook on electric grills? No, it’s pretty easy to cook on an electric grill. To some people, using an electric grill is easier than using conventional grills. This post entails tips you can use on an electric grill irrespective of the level of your grilling skills.
Tips for Grilling on an Electric Grill for All Skill Levels
Are you a rookie yet you want to improve your grilling game? Are you a seasoned chef with high grills skills, yet you want to enhance your grilling experience? Below are some useful tips to help you enhance your experience on an electric grill.
1. Know your grill type
Electric grills are of two types, i.e., open and contact grills. Open grills feature a similar design to a typical outdoor grill, while contact grills have two heated plates.
Open electric grills can be used to cook steaks, hot dogs, vegetables, etc. On the other hand, the two heated plates of a contact grill are suitable for cooking sandwiches.
2. Always cook on a clean grill
One of the key things you should not ignore anytime you want to grill is cooking on a clean electric grill.
But why a clean grill? Cooking foods on a dirty electric grill is likely to cause food to stick to the cooking surface. However, food doesn’t stick or get torn off when cooking on a clean grill, and you attain clean grill marks.
Note: You should always clean your grill after use to ensure food particles don’t build up on the cooking surface.
3. Never skip preheating a grill
Before you cook anything on an electric grill, always ensure that you preheat it. Preheating prevents your food from sticking to the cooking surface and enhances the formation of excellent grill marks on the food’s exterior.
How long should you preheat your electric grill anyway? The general rule is that you should preheat an electric grill for approximately 15 minutes before cooking on it.
4. Know the ideal cooking temperature for the exact food you’re cooking
Each food cooked on an electric grill have their ideal temperature. For instance, the perfect temperature for cooking steak on an electric grill is about 400-500 degrees F; burgers need roughly 300-400 degrees F, and pork chops require about 450-500 degrees F on an electric grill.
As you can tell from the above examples, each food requires an ideal cooking temperature on a grill. Always check that for your food.
5. Using a food thermometer is necessary
You can’t easily tell whether food is cooked just by a look or touch. Therefore, you need a food thermometer for the best results. Every food has to attain a certain internal temperature for it to be considered cooked.
A food thermometer helps you check the internal temperature of foods. Therefore, you’ll not end up with undercooked or overcooked foods.
6. Don’t overhandle your food on the grill
Frequently turning of food while grilling is not recommended. Often you might be tempted to flip foods, especially thin cuts. However, it might cause food to lose moisture (dry out quickly). Also, it denies enough time for the food to be well-charred and form visible grills.
7. Don’t flatten foods
Often you might be tempted to use a spatula to press your steak and burger patties against the grill cook surface. That’s not right because it forces out the tasty fats and juices out the food. As a result, you end up with less delicious and dry food.
8. Let your meat rest before serving
Once you have removed cuts from a grill, you shouldn’t serve it instantly. Allow it to rest for about 10 minutes before slicing. By doing so, you reduce the amount of juice you’d lose while cutting it into smaller pieces. Also, it allows the juices and moisture to reabsorb into the meat; thus, you end up with a tasty and juicer meat.
The above tips are for anyone (all skill levels). They will help you take your grilling to the next level.
Happy Grilling!