My husband really wants to get a stovetop grill (like the Jennair in the picture) so I'm trying to get info on it. I hear they're horrible to clean and someone told me they forbid anyone from using their Viking grill for anything but things like toast.
Anyone else have any experience on this or know of any good alternates for grilling for apartment dwellers who have no outdoor space when George Forman just won't hack it?
- Ann
We don't have much outside space either, so we're interested in good answers to this question as well. We would lean towards a cast-iron grill that goes on two burners, along with a very good vent fan.
Cook's Illustrated, however, just did a brief roundup of indoor grills, and they also dismiss stovetop models. Their pick was this Sanyo Smokeless Electric Grill ($39.95, Amazon), which uses a water basin to cut down on smoke. The reviews on Amazon are very positive too - perhaps check this one out?
Anyone else? Good ways to grill a hunk of meat inside without smoking up the apartment permanently?
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i found a cast iron grill (two-burner coverage) at macy's on sale for TEN BUCKS! i was so excited! i used it for a while...steak, mainly...but then...cleaning it was HORRENDOUS. i stored it out of the way, in its box, when not in use. and it STUNK. seriously, it was gnarly. so i chucked it. and at this point, i'm done w/ indoor grilling. the smoke, even with a great exhaust fan, open window, etc., was just too much and too stinky.
the fad has passed, for moi. if the fad returns, however, i might get a little fire-escape-style hibatchi :)
good luck!
The NY Times just did an article on this yesterday, which prompted me to look for instructions on how to use these pans. (My mother gave me a Le Creuset skinny grill pan a few years ago but I have no idea how to use it.) Le Creuset has a very informative site on how to season and clean their grill pans, and I assume that these instructions could be applied to other grill pans as well.
My range has a grill in it and it's the greatest thing EVER. One of my favorite things about my kitchen, really. I don't know why people are always complaining that they are hard to clean, because this hasn't been my experience at all, and I use mine constantly.
I treat mine more like an outdoor grill in that I don't "clean" it after every use. If it's necessary, just a quick scrape of the grates and a wipe down of the removable drip tray underneath when I'm done cooking.
I have a stainless steel cover for mine that I got as an accessory from the range manufacturer, so most of the time I just cover the grill back up when I'm done using it and I get an extra bit of counter space as an bonus. When it's cleaning time, the grates lift right off for an overnight soak in the sink. Rinse and back on to the rangetop and that's it.
A few extra minutes of cleaning are a more than fair trade for being able to enjoy a nice grilled piece of fish or veggies or a burger when it's -10 and the outdoor grill is buried under a pile of snow.
You MUST have a hood that really, really works, however.
Mine is 1500 cfm because I have a commercial wok burner too, but I've read that 600 cfm would be the minimum.
We used to have a Viking range with a grill in it. Even with a full pro range hood, you couldn't do meat on it. Fish, usually, was OK, as were veggies, bruschetta, etc. But a steak? No way. Chicken? Not with the skin on.
Sorry, I hit 'submit' too soon: Anything with any amount of fat caused flare-ups and it was just too smoky for indoors. It was great for what it did, but it wasn't a substitute for a an outdoor grill.
I just bought a tiny little charcoal grill for picnic-ing, but have nowhere to use it at my apt since I have no outdoor space. Are there any laws against using this on the sidewalk outside my building? I would love to have a little BBQ party, but don't want to get hauled off to jail by New York's Bravest...
My parents have the stove pictured. They used the grill a few times, but ended up taking it out and putting in extra burners - additionally switching between burners and the grill element is not the easy-peasy exercise the promotional material would have you believe. The grill is hard to clean. The fat drips down into some funny little compartment accessible from the oven. Then obviously, there is a lot of smoke from grilling indoors.
My parents have a more complicated version with an electric Jenn-air stovetop built-in to their island. It is an incredible pain to switch out the elements due to the heft of them, and everything has to be cleaned thoroughly before putting the grill away. Granted, they live in a house with a very large backyard, so having an actual grill outside is easy.
I'm fond of grill pans. And there is a version of the George Foreman grill which is less panini press and more like a real grill.
KKF, I don't know the answer to your question. It is illegal to have grills on your apt. porch where I live (Austin, TX) with a $500 fine. You might want to try checking your lease, which should say whether or not it's permitted.
I follow the advice of the minimalist from this NYTimes article. http://tinyurl.com/32fxca. I use a cast iron grill pan under the broiler and to prevent the oven from over heating and shutting off the broiler I use have a tube of tin foil about a 1.5 inches think and 4 inches long to wedge between the oven door and the oven. It works pretty well and is easy to do. I think in NYC you cannot BBQ within 8 feet of a building of your building or on the sidewalk. My friend called 311 to find out the regulations and I think that is what they told him.
Sorry, get rid of the period at the end of the URL and the link works.
http://tinyurl.com/32fxca
I've had an indoor grill for over 10 years. It's a Gaggenau with real lava rocks. It's a killer to clean (meaning changing the rocks) but we only do it twice a year. I wouldn't NOT have a grill in the kitchen. It gets the most use next to the cooktop, we use it that often.
I have a cast iron grill pan (not Le Creuset, just plain ol' Lodge) and I've never had a problem cleaning it. I use it under the broiler all the time and scrub it with a tough little scrubby brush, and even the nastiest looking stuck-on bits of chicken or whatever come off without much trouble at all.
For those of you in NYC, Gridskipper recently had a post on grilling in parks:
http://gridskipper.com/travel/new-york/grilling-out-in-new-york-city-265756.php
Also, Gothamist did a similar post last year that I've had bookmarked since then:
http://gothamist.com/2006/06/30/post_94.php
I use a Le Creuset square grill pan in my tiny apartment too. It only goes over one burner, so it's easy to store, but big enough for whatever 2-person meal we're cooking.
http://www.lecreuset.com/usa/products/guide.php?category_id=20
I consider it one of my indispensible culinary purchases.
We use the broiler to "grill" - another Minimalist suggestion.
KKF - it's illegal to use a grill within 10 feet of a building in NYC. We know plenty of people who use grills on rooftops, balconies, etc, but they're risking a huge lawsuit should anything go awry.
I once lived in a house that had a stove top grill. My roommate grilled steaks on it frequently, and they came out fine. It used to drive me nuts that she never cleaned the grill, though. It made the whole house smell like beef fat, and looked pretty bad, too.
As I recall, you pretty much had to dismantle the whole grill to clean it. It was a huge pain. I prefer a George Foreman grill for indoor grilling.
We love our DeLonghi indoor grill! Practically smokeless, nice char marks, and you KEEP the flavor ("fat"). The model we have has a little receptacle in the bottom for herbs, wine, or wood chips. It's only two parts, both easy to clean. It also looks way nicer than that big, ugly, plastic monstrosity of a Foreman grill.
Try looking at the smokeless grill from LTD Commodaties, here is a link:
http://www.ltdcommodities.com/home/catalog/cat_item_pg.asp?P=54&G=356
We have this exact grill and it is fabulous. We love it and use it every day. Clean-up is a snap. Our family and all our guests love the grilled food. We live in a house with a huge backyard with a patio and a Weber S-450 60'' grill, but we never use it anymore, even in the summer, now that we have this great indoor grill. In fact, we rarely even go outside anymore now that we can grill right in the comfort of our own kitchen. I would strongly recommend this indoor grill to anyone. I think this poster (Ann) should just get over her concerns about this indoor grill and get one ASAP :)
The stove top grill/griddle is not too difficult to clean, if you keep the catch pan covered with tin foil and you can put the griddle/grill grate into your dishwasher. Take the unit apart when it is cooled and replace the tin foil and then put the cooking surface in the dishwasher. Make sure that you have the vent fan engaged while using the surface.
it's actually written into my lease that i can't grill indoors. i love grill pans as a rule and have had definite issues with cleaning the two-burner grill surfaces for stovetops. i also find that it's impractical for apartment living. they take up a lot of space both in the cabinet and on the stove (not to mention trying to maneuver it in and out of the sink for cleaning!). for right now, i'm sticking to my pan. and going to a friends' house when the urge for beer and brats strikes...