DinnerDork [ ˈdi-nərˈdȯrk ]
I love broiling! I said it – I love it. I love the quickness of it. I love the crunchiness of it. I love the versatility of it. Broiling is my secret weapon for getting a tasty dinner on the table at the end of a long day. It delivers delicious results in a fraction of the time required by conventional oven roasting techniques. Frankly, a broiled steak is my preference, even when time isn’t an issue – unless there’s an outdoor grill involved 🙂
I get lots of questions about broiling, steak especially. Here are a few of my tips for getting a perfectly delicious result, every time:
- Room temperature steak will provide the best, most even broil. Let your steak sit at room temperature for 30 minutes to an hour to bring it up to room temperature before broiling. If you’re going to broil a steak that has marinated, don’t worry about removing it from the marinade while it warms up – simply place the steak in the marinade on the counter. Watch out for sneaky pets if you leave it out uncovered. My cat and Great Dane have spoiled many a planned dinner simply because I left something yummy unattended (yes, yes, pet training is a thing that I need to commit to:-)
- If you’re going for that nicely crisped outside (and who isn’t) blot your steak with a paper towel before broiling it. Less moisture on the surface ensures that the meat will in fact broil, rather than do some odd combination of broiling and steaming (bream?).
- Use a high quality broiling pan (cool point for dishes with a grated surface, because grill and grate lines on food look cool). You’ll want to look for a pan that is heavy and broiler-safe (obviously), but not so heavy that it’s difficult to lift, as even the best oven mitts may transfer some heat when handling a dish that’s been rocking out at 500+ degrees. I am a bit, well..dorky about broiling with cast iron only. It heats evenly, and once well seasoned provides the perfect nonstick surface that won’t impart any unwanted flavor on the meat. And I will admit, I’m a modern (read time-strapped) cook, so I opt for the pre-seasoned variety of cast iron: none of the work and all of the fun!
Pre-seasoned cast iron provides the advantages of cast iron minus the work of building up the seasoning (click for details)
Happy (and yummy) broiling!