Page 18 - Barbecue News Magazine August 2020

bbq griddling
GRIDDLE GRILLING CREATES AN EXCEPTIONAL SEAR
Meathead, AmazingRibs.com
The griddle, or plancha, as it is called in Europe, goes back to the primitive technique of heating a flat rock in a campfire and put- ting the meat on the hot rock. Today most griddling is done on a steel flattop, but you can also buy cast-iron griddles, ceramic pizza stones, slate slabs, marble slabs, basalt slabs, salt blocks, and various metal plates on which to griddle. If you love this type of cooking, you can even get a dedicated outdoor electric or propane griddle grill. In most cases, this method is very much like cooking in a giant frying pan without the sides and handle. In fact, there’s no reason why you can’t just use an oven-safe skillet right on your grill grates. You can still get that outdoorsy taste with a griddle if you use smoke on your grill.
The great advantage to griddling is that cooking is fast and you get an unmatched dark sear because you are cooking by conduc- tion, the most efficient heating
method. Griddling lets you
achieve a perfect sear on a piece of meat even when using a cooker, such as a pellet smoker, which doesn’t have the horsepower to darken the meat all over with direct infrared ra- diation.
Get the griddle or pan blistering hot, add a little oil to prevent sticking, and sear the meat right on the metal. It should take only 2 to 3 minutes per side. You can preheat the pan in- doors, on your grill’s side burner, or right on the grill grates.
A griddle is also a good application for reverse searing. You start low and slow, with a little smoke, on what- ever grill or smoker you have, and then sear the outside in a hot pan or griddle. It improves on the classic restaurant technique of pan roasting by adding a little smoke.
Tips For Griddling Success
1. To check the temperature of the griddle, use an infrared laser gun thermometer. Just point the gun at the surface and pull the trigger, and the gun will tell you if you’ve hit that 400 to 500°F temperature nec-
essary for proper searing. Note: This may not work on a shiny stainless steel griddle because the surface is reflective.
2. To lubricate the griddle, don’t use spray oil because it has addi- tives that get gummy. Use a cooking oil with a high smoke point, such as corn or canola.
3. After you add the food, close the lid to get some heat to the top of the food.
4. When you flip the food, move it to a different part of the grid- dle because the wet food will have slightly cooled the surface just below it.
Cast Iron
While various griddle surfaces get the job done, cast-iron is one of the best due to its superior heat retention and total heat capacity. When shopping for a cast-iron griddle, you’ll find most have one
side that is ridged to give you “grill” marks and one side that is flat. You want the flat side with a lip. A lip keeps the oil from running off into the flames below and creating a firestorm. Avoid griddles with a moat along the edge. All the oil will run into that moat, and you want it to stay on the griddle surface. For that reason, you also want to make sure that your grill is level and your grid- dle is not warped.
Cast-iron griddles, pots, and pans will rust in a hurry if left outside or if not lightly coated with oil after use. As you use the pan, the metal ab- sorbs more oil and the heat creates a slightly non-stick surface. Most new cast iron comes pre-seasoned from the foundry; that is to say it has been coated with oil that has been baked on to help make it nonstick. If you need to season a cast-iron grid- dle, start by washing it with warm soapy water (yes, you can use a mild soap) to remove any grease or metal from the manufacturing process. You can hit it with steel wool if it is rusty. Pat it dry completely with paper towels. Put it in a 300°F oven for about 30 minutes to dry it thor- oughly and warm the metal. Then
BarbecueNews.com - 18
AUGUST 2020