GRILLING, INDOORS

Using an indoor grill pan on top of the range, we can produce pretty darn good grilled meats and veggies, fruits, breads, etc. And we don’t have to worry about the rain!

Basically we use a grill made by Staub. It is a line of enamel coated cast iron pots and pans in all colors, but the grills are always black. Since it is enamelware, it doesn’t rust like plain cast iron, so no worries about thoroughly washing them.

Typically as with all cookware, preheating is a good idea. Brush a high smoke point oil (grape seed, peanut) onto the hot grill before adding the food items.Where the grill has been brushed with oil, where no food is, there is a chance it will smoke. Whenever possible brush the food, not the pan with oil.

For steaks, typically we place the seasoned side down on to the greased grill. We cook the longest on the first side,  but if the spices begin to smoke, we will turn it and finish cooking on the second side. (Note–the reason we cook the spice side first is to get them heated and cooked  to better release their flavors.) The goal when cooking red meat is to char the exterior but keep the center red. We use the OK-Method of determining doneness of red meats, which is concentrating on the feel of rare cooked meats.  We use our tongs to press the center of the steak to see if it is where we want it. When grilling in our out of doors, always have a clean set of tongs to remove the cooked products, and always have a clean pan or platter to which to remove them.

Removing the steak to the individual plate and serving right away, still gives the steak time to rest, but if it does purge a little juice it is on your plate!

For veggies and fruits we simply grill sliced pieces that are well oiled with EVOO. We almost always coat the food with EVOO, and not the grill, preventing smoking and flare ups.

Grilled pizza, is done by  rolling out 2-3 ounce dough balls and placing one immediately onto the hot oiled grill. (no need to wait for the rising of the rolled dough like we do before baking). When the first side is grilled, flip, decorate with toppings as desired, then cook until second side is done. Serve pizza immediately. Next!

Grilling pizza dough for use as a  flat bread is just the same as for pizza except we don’t top the cooked side. When both sides are cooked, it is removed to cool, for later use. We continue until we get enough to use and a few more to freeze so we always have a quick meal to fix. Mostly we love this flatbread reheated and served with a Mezze plate of Greek olives, humus, grilled vegetables, Bob’s ghanoush, etc.

Bruschetta made with sliced day old bread, is grilled/toasted lightly to create grill marks on dry grill, then lightly oiled with EVOO and rubbed with fresh garlic. Then it often becomes the vessel for delicious toppings, or just used as a garlic toast.