Many years have passed since humanity has discovered such a thing as an electric grill. It turns out that one such item in the kitchen can diversify, enrich and heal your favorite fish and meat dishes. And the whole secret is simple. Adherents of proper nutrition note that cooking takes place without fat and oil. Fried meat lovers celebrate the very golden aromatic crust that we expect from the finished product. In contrast to the classical methods of cooking, we have contact frying, without deterioration (cooking) of the appearance. In this article, we will analyze how to cook meat, poultry, fish using an electric grill.
And yes, the article does not provide links or recommendations for specific grill models. This is the material for cooking. Plus highlights on grill selection.
To begin with, we briefly emphasize the main criteria for choosing an electric grill
Sufficient power
It is believed that sufficient power for the grill is 1800 watts or more. This is directly related to the heating elements used in the grill.
Removable panels
A huge plus is the ability to remove the frying panels and wash them separately from the grill.
Drain for fat
If there is a drip tray for the fat, this will greatly reduce the problems in the operation of the grill. There is an option with a removable tray, but there is just a groove for an outflow, under which we substitute our vessel.
In general, these are only 3 important details that will allow you to choose a convenient kitchen item. Further variety of grills, as well as their prices, are justified by the brand, the presence of clever electronics, automatic programs, sizes and possible complete solutions. All these points are selected individually and this is a topic for a separate article.
Let’s dwell on the fact that we already have a grill and have a great desire to cook something. A huge variety of foods can be cooked on the electric grill. There are sandwiches, sausages, meat, poultry, vegetables, fish, as well as many other various products.
Let’s start with breakfast
To make a quick breakfast, simply reheat the grill and place slices of bread on top. Willingness can be easily traced by looming beautiful golden stripes. And on top, while the bread is hot, spread the butter and spread the red fish. For those who do not like fish, there are options with any sausages that are lying around in the refrigerator. These dishes absolutely do not require any preparation, and the taste is simply delicious. All the photos are mine, the sandwiches for breakfast are gorgeous. There are a lot of options.
Now slowly move on to the harder options.
The grill is also perfect for those who like to bake vegetables, no special preparation is required in this matter, you just need to cut the vegetables into pieces of the same thickness and put them in the appropriate mode on the grill. For example, my grill has a special mode for vegetables. Zucchini, eggplants, tomatoes, and potatoes are considered excellent options for grilling. Determining readiness is easy, first bring it to the formation of stripes, then turn it 90 degrees to rotate the cage. In most cases, this will be enough to make the product ready.
Experts do not recommend cooking meat and vegetables at the same time, because the time until the product is ready is different, although this is not forbidden and you have the right to experiment.
Moving on to the bird. The most basic step is to fry the chicken drumstick. We take chilled drumsticks, first pour in salt and spices. Then fill it with kefir and put it in the refrigerator for half an hour. After that, we can start enjoying the taste.
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This dish only requires skill, in terms of turning the legs using a spatula or tongs.
The main thing is to prevent the product from burning. On average, at maximum grill power, it takes 15-20 minutes. The dish always turns out, and always pleases with its taste. A little clarification, the chicken gives a certain amount of fat, and, as can be seen from the photo, you need to monitor the level of flowing fat in order to change the tray or container in time.
Go to the next level and prepare the breast. Cut into pieces of equal thickness, make a mixture of seasonings and salt, it’s a matter of taste. Dip the breast in seasoning and immediately serve on the hot grill. The chicken takes about 14 minutes to cook.
If the breast is tight, then the tongs may not help and use the shoulder blades. Be sure to use non-metal paddles in order not to damage the non-stick coating of the panels. Nylon and silicone would be ideal.
The grill is also perfect for grilling fish. The simplest thing is to bake the steaks. We cut the fish. Choosing parts for steaks using the following scheme
In the example below, I got 4 steaks with 2 trout fish. The main thing is to achieve the same thickness of 3-4 cm. Prepare a mixture of seasonings. These are pepper, salt, coriander and mustard seeds. Sprinkle the steaks, then transfer them to ceramic dishes. I can’t recommend it to everyone, but one of the best marinades for fish is dry white wine, squeeze half a lemon and pour over the fish, then mix the wine with one teaspoon of soy sauce and pour the steaks until completely covered. We keep in the refrigerator for 1 hour. Then, blot the steaks with a paper towel and transfer to the preheated grill. A typical sign of a ready-to-grill is a loud hissing sound when you transfer the food to the grilling surface.
The fish will be ready in five minutes.
For those for whom the option with wine is unacceptable, prepare a mixture of seasonings, sprinkle the fish, pour with lemon juice, add a little water and a teaspoon of soy sauce. We replace the wine with vinegar, preferably wine. Also 1 teaspoon. We leave in the refrigerator for half an hour. Further, everything is the same. You and your guests will surely like this version of the dish.
In principle, the options for fish are about the same. You can also cook not steaks, you can marinate fillets, but depending on the thickness of the pieces, the final frying time may be shorter. About 3 minutes. We also prepare white fish dishes in the same way. It should be borne in mind that a lot of fat will flow from fatty fish species and the product will significantly decrease in volume, so always give preference to chilled fish. From options frozen-thawed, excellent results are not obtained every time.
Here is an example of a dish made from defrosted catfish, we all know that it gives off a lot of fat.
But the fat yield from 4 small pieces
Let’s get to the main thing! Cooking steaks
It’s not a secret for anyone that it is the grill that allows all your talents to open up and taste this not cheap dish as much as possible in all roasts, without leaving home. For cooking steaks, chilled meat is taken, preferably from unloaded back muscles. For a start, you can try yourself on pork, but beef meat is considered the most delicious, only it makes it possible to taste the very meaty taste of this dish.
For pork, a marinade is not difficult to make: mix salt, pepper, dried garlic, mustard powder (just a little), wine vinegar. Roll the pork pieces, put them in the refrigerator for 40 minutes. Then grill for 6 minutes. It is customary not to take into account the degree of roasting in pork, it is better not to be shy and fry so that the temperature inside the meat is at least 70 degrees, which is guaranteed, will yield healthy meat. In the case of pork, this is very important in order not to harm your health. And this is due to low-quality raw materials. I will not dwell in more detail, this is a topic for a separate article. We memorize the formula. MINIMUM 70 degrees inside the piece. And you will be happy. Better to bring to 80
I highly recommend purchasing an instant thermometer so that you always know exactly what temperature is currently reached. Their price is not high and strongly depends on the company and functionality.
I personally use an instantaneous electronic digital thermometer. It is especially important to know the temperature inside a piece of beef, and this will already affect the taste of the meat.
Cooking steaks is considered a special step in cooking. Only a product made from beef is called a steak. Although this, of course, is not entirely accurate.
Cooking meat. It is strongly not recommended to use defrosted meat. This is where the whole zest of the dish is lost.
For the marinade for beef steaks, we use only salt and pepper. And we roll not generously, so as not to interrupt the taste of the meat itself. There are several types of steaks, and they vary from the type of meat (part of beef). But this is also material for a separate topic.
We have pieces of meat about 3-4 cm. Salted, pepper, kept at room temperature for about 15 minutes, while the grill is warming up, and sent to hot frying panels. The grill temperature should be around 250-260 degrees. Then you just have to wait. You can keep track of the time. Roasting for 6 minutes is considered medium roasting. But the most accurate technology is verification with contact thermometers. In order not to miss the moment and catch the necessary roast.
In general, here is the formula for the ratio of the degree of roast to the temperature of meat
- 50 ° C – Rare
- 55 ° C – Medium Rare
- 60 ° C – Medium
- 65 ° C – Medium Well
- 70 ° C – Well Done
There are two more categories, but they no longer carry the aesthetic pleasure of meat taste and in the common people such meat is called “sole”.
One of the main conditions after frying is to spread the meat on foil, wrap it up and let it “rest” before eating. At least you need to wait 10 minutes. After that, start using. In roasts up to Medium Rare, the presence of blood is appreciated, which gives a special meaty taste and a certain juiciness.
It is worth reminding once again that it is better to work with meat that has not been frozen. This makes it possible to enjoy the same juicy taste. You need to choose meat from non-sinewy places, it is better to cut out. It is also recommended to start with a strip-loin type of meat (with a slight streak of bacon) to make it easier to enter the world of steak cooking.
There is also a certain secret that is not found almost anywhere on the Internet. There is a certain trick to achieving an incredibly delicious grilled dish. This is a special approach to marinating a product. This is more important in the case of poultry, pork and less in the case of beef. Again, this is why the original meat flavor is appreciated in beef steaks.
Vacuum pickling
In other cases, there is a way to bring the taste of the marinade to the very depths of the product. For this we will use a vacuum degasser. Take chicken breast as an example, everyone knows that the output is often a dry product, we will do the same, but with the help of a vacuum apparatus. Cut the breast, salt and pepper, you can add a drop of vinegar. Just for the sake of aesthetics and mineral richness, let’s add Quinoa seeds. We pack it in a bag using a vacuum apparatus, put it in the refrigerator, and at least a day later it can start cooking. Consider the cut meat. The chicken took all the flavoring benefits of the marinade to the maximum, and also remained juicy and incredibly tender.
We send chopped pieces of the same thickness to the grill, fry until golden brown. The nutritional supper is ready. Serve with vegetable salad. The taste is incredible.
This method is typical for meat, and for poultry, and for fish and has been tested many times.
It remains to be noted that the grill can also be useful for cooking seafood, to which each product has its own approach.
I hope this article has opened the door to the world of cooking with an electric grill. This is an electrical appliance that allows you to discover new facets in cooking and motivates even the most untrained chefs to feats that can surprise family and friends. It is also the first step to eating well, which can be delicious. All great culinary experiments and bon appetit!
