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How to get the effects of grilling indoors without using a grill

I’d like to make a confession: I’m a food writer who has never owned a grill. As I’m sure many other home cooks can relate to, I’ve lived in several small apartments and houses with little to no yard space, making owning a grill impractical. And though the grill can do magical things to fruits and vegetables, being a vegetarian has made me doubt the return on investment I would be getting on a cooking tool with a hefty price tag.

Despite these obstacles, I still love the taste, texture and appearance of grilled food, and I don’t want to be left out of the fun. Whether you’ve put away your grill for the winter or if, like me, small living spaces or sticker shock are preventing you from owning one in the first place, you might relate to my FOMO.

I’ll start with the bad news first: Food cooked in an indoor kitchen will not be exactly the same as food cooked outdoors on a grill. Replicating the effect of cooking meat or vegetables on a grate over an open flame or glowing coals is pretty much impossible. But here’s the good news: There are a few tools that you likely have in your kitchen that can help you achieve some of the delicious qualities that a grill bestows.

Getting started

First, it’s important to distinguish between grilling and barbecuing. Though the terms are often tossed around interchangeably and take on various definitions around the world, there is a difference between the two cooking methods. In the cookbook “How to Grill,” author, TV host and barbecue expert Steven Raichlen says that grilling refers to cooking food over medium to high heat — direct or indirect — for a short amount of time, while barbecuing, on the other hand, involves cooking large cuts of meat with gentler indirect heat over the course of several hours.

While barbecue is delicious, it involves a more complex setup and process than grilling, and is therefore even more challenging to mimic in a home kitchen. So we’ll focus on grilling, the cooking method most commonly used by home cooks in the backyard.

So what exactly are we trying to replicate from the grilling process? Browning, crisp textures and a little char, for starters. Grills use both direct and indirect heat to cook food, but it’s the direct heat that’s most commonly associated with grilling. The dry, intense heat that comes from cooking something directly over a flame or coals triggers the Maillard reaction, a chemical reaction that leads to “a brown coloration and full, intense flavor result,” says author Harold McGee in “On Food and Cooking.” As chef and author Samin Nosrat explains in “Salt, Fat, Acid, Heat,” because that “surface browning is often accompanied by dehydration,” it also yields those sought-after crispy, crunchy textures.

Charcoal grills in particular also lend a smoky flavor to the food they’re cooking. And in terms of appearance, it’s hard to beat the crosshatch grill marks that come from scorching metal grates.

Another thing to keep in mind is that the same foods that are suited for grilling will fare best with alternative methods. Think thin cuts of meat, such as steak, chicken, sausages, as well as fish, vegetables and even fruit. Save thicker, tougher cuts of meat for low-and-slow cooking styles.

You can get grill marks and that grilled flavor by using a grill pan — just don’t forget to preheat the pan. Tom McCorkle for The Washington Post; food styling by Amanda Soto

Using a grill pan

One of the best ways to achieve some of the hallmark qualities of grilling is with a grill pan. Chef and James Beard award-winning cookbook writer James Whetlor suggests using the heaviest cast-iron grill pan you can find. The heavier the pan, the more able it is to retain heat and distribute it evenly.

A pan with taller ridges is also helpful, as it gives more distinct grill marks and helps any fat or moisture render out to the bottom of the pan, keeping the food dry to enable browning. This upgrades the presentation of dishes while also giving them some char and an extra-crispy texture.

Cookbook author, chef and small space cooking expert Annie Mahle says using a pan with low sides also encourages browning by letting steam escape. “The more moisture you trap in, the less you’re caramelizing the outside of whatever it is that you’re cooking, and the more you’re steaming it.”

Thoroughly preheating your grill pan is also important. “High heat gives the flavor that we’re trying to replicate,” Mahle says. “You can start with high heat and then turn it down if it gets too intense, but ideally you’d start with high heat or medium-high heat.”

When adapting a grilling recipe, Mahle suggests starting by translating the directions from the grill to the stove as closely as you can. For example, if the recipe says to turn the grill to medium-high heat, begin by heating your pan over medium-high. However, you’ll ultimately need to use your senses and judgment to determine when food is done or ready to be flipped. Note how long it takes to cook on one side, keeping an eye on how the bottom and sides change color. Once you flip it, you can use that time as a guide for the other side.

If your grill pan comes with a lid, use it to help you cook denser vegetables, such as broccoli or cauliflower, or slightly thicker cuts of meat, such as bone-in chicken thighs. Once the food gets a good sear, Mahle says you can cover the pan to allow some steaming to cook the food through.

Another one of Whetlor’s biggest pieces of advice: Temporarily disable your fire alarm. When cooking meat on a grill pan, “you’re going to get a lot of smoke,” says Whetlor, “and that smoke is going to set off your fire alarm.” You may also need to open windows and turn on the exhaust fan. Mahle also cautions that the smoky smell may linger in small apartment kitchens.

If you don’t have a grill pan, you do have other options. Mahle says your regular cast-iron pan will still brown food nicely over high or medium-high heat, it just won’t leave grill lines.

Broiling salsa ingrediedients is simple. Stacy Zarin Goldberg for The Washington Post

Using the broiler

Nosrat says to “think of broiling as upside-down, indoor grilling.” Unlike a grill, the heat is coming from above the food rather than below, but you can still achieve similar browning and charring thanks to the intense heat from the heating element.

Quick-cooking skewers and kebabs are particularly well-suited to this cooking method. And “if you’re cooking something that’s going to render a lot of fat, consider using that broiler pan so the fat can drain,” Krystal says. This can also be achieved by placing the food on a wire rack set over a sheet pan. Both setups will promote browning and crisping.

In “How to Cook Everything,” Mark Bittman advises to place the oven rack 2 to 6 inches from the heat depending on the thickness of the food. Something thicker like pork chops are best kept 5 to 6 inches from the heating element to avoid burning as it cooks through, while thinner, more tender bruschetta can tolerate being on the highest rack, about 3 to 4 inches away from the element. Just like on a conventional grill, brown the food on one side, then flip to finish cooking and browning the other.

While the broiler is a great tool, it comes with a caution label. “If you’re cooking small bits of meat in the oven, you run the risk of drying it out,” Whetlor says. He adds that while you can use all your senses to see how your food is progressing on a grill, it’s more difficult to check on something under the broiler.

To prevent burned food fiascoes, Krystal recommends gauging your broiler’s strength by running some tests to determine where hot and cold spots are and what the ideal position for the top rack is. And when you pop something in the oven, stay nearby and keep a close eye on it.

Using marinades and rubs

Even with the help of a cast-iron grill pan or broiler, it can be difficult to replicate the smoky flavor that a charcoal grill provides. This is where marinades and rubs come in handy. Letting food soak in ingredients such as smoked paprika, smoked salt, smoked oil, chipotles and even liquid smoke can help infuse it with the savory flavors that charcoal or wood normally imparts.

Liquid smoke can be divisive, especially among barbecue purists. Some say its flavor is artificial and unpleasant, and Whetlor and Mahle both avoid using it. “There are ways of trying to replicate what we love about grilling, but there comes a point where you just have to love the method that you’re using right then rather than trying to create an artificial situation,” Mahle says.

However, former Post Smoke Signals columnist Jim Shahin was pleasantly surprised by the addition of liquid smoke to a sweet potato dish, saying “not only was it delicious, it tasted of something resembling smoke.” While it won’t trick seasoned grill masters, it can still be a useful tool to have in your kit. Just be aware: A little goes a long way. For example, the marinade used in the recipe for Unsmoked Smoked Short Ribs (pictured at the top) calls for just 1/2 teaspoon of liquid smoke for 3 to 4 pounds of short ribs.

For the liquid smoke averse, Whetlor is fan of Mexican-style marinades, which naturally include smoky ingredients. “If you soak the chipotles, stick them in a blender and make your own marinade, that’s a nice way of doing it.”

If you’re not marinating your meat, Whetlor still suggests brining to ensure that it remains juicy and doesn’t dry out in the pan or under the broiler.

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