How To Grill Indoors All Winter Long
By Leah Koenig
Summer is gone. I know it hurts, but it’s time to accept that fact and move on. Besides, just because you packed up the backyard barbecue for its winter hibernation period doesn’t mean you have to say goodbye to all of summer’s grilled food pleasures.
Enter the cast-iron grill pan. One of the most undervalued kitchen tools around, this pan manages to bring a taste of summer indoors. Of course, it is impossible to replicate the flavor of a charcoal or wood-fired grill inside without smoking up your kitchen and risking a serious fire hazard.
But a good grill pan gives the sizzling grill marks, smoky flavor, and crusty char of summer cooking—while you stay safely indoors. And all of those robust, satisfying flavors will take the sting off of the fact that you’re eating dinner wearing wool socks and three sweaters and you are still cold. Winter cooking, say hello to your new favorite thing.
See more: 25 Amazing Turkeys for Your Family Feast
How to score a great grill pan:
Look for a square pan. Square pans are especially good, since they maximize the surface area you can grill on.
Stick with cast-iron. Grill pans can be made of a variety of materials, but the cast iron version tends to cook foods more evenly and give the most convincing, “grill-like” results.
Go as big as your burner. The larger your grill pan, the more you can cook on it. That way, you won’t need to mess with grilling multiple batches.
What To Make With It
Many of the dishes you would typically make on an outdoor grill can be prepared indoors with a grill pan. Burgers? Check. Grilled skirt steak with tomatillos? Check.
Grilled zucchini, grilled salmon with lime butter, or steak fajitas with grilled cabbage and scallions? Check, check, check, and check. Just be sure to preheat the pan well (at least 5 minutes) and then oil the ridges before laying any food on top of them, and use a lid to help thicker foods cook through.
See more: The Most Delicious Roast Chicken Dinner You’ll Make This Fall
How to Clean It
Like all cast iron pans, grill pans take a bit of extra TLC to clean properly. First, pour off any cooking grease left in the pan, and let it cool down enough to handle. Then, sprinkle a generous amount of kosher salt into the bottom of the pan and use a non-scratch scrub brush to scrape up any bits of stuck on food. The salt acts as an extra scrubber, which lets you cut back a bit on the elbow grease.
Ready to rinse? Skip the soap and just use plain hot water (soap messes with the non-stick surface of the pan). To prevent rust, make sure to dry the pan thoroughly with plenty of paper towels, inside and out. Then use a fresh wadded-up paper towel to spread a little vegetable oil all over the pan before stashing it away.
More from Epicurious:
Breakfast of Champions: Creating the Ultimate Egg Sandwich
A Visual Guide to Winter Squash
Stress-Free, Super-Tasty Pies That Will Impress Anyone
How to Make Creamiest, Dreamiest, Cheesiest Mac and Cheese Ever
photo: Romulo Yanes
