Electric Grills Frequently Asked Questions

Picture this: it is the middle of winter; it’s frigid and snowing outside and all you can do is think about the unmistakable smell and taste of foods grilled or smoked on the barbecue outdoors. Is there a solution to grilling indoors without having to worry about all the smoke? The simple answer is yes, with an electric grill you can grill indoors, as long as it is smokeless.

There are two types of indoor electric grills: open grills and contact grills. An open grill has a cover that does not make contact with the food. With the contact grill, when the lid closes, you guessed it, the heated elements come into complete contact with the food.

An open grill will come closer to tasting like grilled meals prepared outdoors and ideal for odd shaped foods that won’t evenly make full contact on the contact grill. A contact grill will cook faster as both sides of the food are making contact with the cooking elements. Contact grills are ideal for sandwiches, steaks and burgers, and make for easy cleaning.

Traditionally, grilling has been an outdoor summer activity as charcoal and open flames tend to emit a lot of smoke. An excellent alternative would be to use an electric grill as they can be used indoors, do not have an open flame and do not produce smoke in the same way as a charcoal barbecue.

While some smoke from cooking may still be produced, in the same way as cooking on a stove top, your food will cook more quickly as it cooks from contact on both sides at the same time.

Many people who live in apartments or condos within 50 feet of other residents are not allowed to use charcoal grills and for that reason the only options are gas grill or electric grill.

A gas grill can be ideal if you have a fuel source and the space outside to grill. Since you are cooking over an open flame it will produce large amounts of smoke making it not ideal for cooking indoors. You can either use propane or natural gas from a gas line or a gas tank. Many people prefer the traditional, smokey flavour that a gas grill provides.

An electric grill is ideal when living in a dwelling that does not allow a barbecue, charcoal or when it is too cold to be cooking outside. An electric grill will not produce copious amounts of smoke and can be plugged directly into an outlet rather than a fuel source.

As an electric grill owner you might be wondering, can I use metal cooking tools

on my electric grill? The short answer is yes, the porcelain enamel iron grates are tough, non-stick surfaces that can handle minor abrasive contacts from cooking tools and everyday use.

To make sure you don’t ruin the non-stick surface with your metal tools, preparation is everything! Before using your electric grill, make sure you preheat the surface on high and apply a coat of oil before cooking to make clean up a breeze and the sticking food and crispy bits a thing of the past.

An electric grill is convenient and easy to use anywhere, indoors or outdoors, easy to clean and produces little smoke compared to its gas and charcoal siblings. However, if you are looking to use your outdoor grill attachments with your electric grill, you are out of luck as they are designed to be used with gas and charcoal outdoor grills only.

NOTE: Please take care and do the following at your own risk.

An electric grill is convenient and easy to use anywhere, indoors or outdoors, easy to clean and produces little smoke compared to its gas and charcoal siblings. However, if you are looking to use your outdoor grill attachments with your electric grill, you are out of luck as they are designed to be used with gas and charcoal outdoor grills only.

First, we must understand what indirect heating is with a barbecue. Indirect grilling is cooking your food on a much lower heat setting, away from the fire source and takes a longer time to cook. Indirect cooking is the ideal method when smoking meats, such as ribs, briskets and chicken at temperatures around 250° - 260°.

Now that we understand what indirect cooking is, we want to know if this cooking method is still possible with an electric grill. The answer is yes, you can use indirect cooking on an electric grill.

• Preheat the grill on the low setting.
• Place foil over the ceramic grates. Use a grilling pan that fits your electric grill, and flip it over so that there is a large gap between the pan and the grill to further reduce the heat.
• Make sure the grill surface is free from old food bits that could cause flare ups that will affect your grill’s overall temperature.
• You may not be able to add a smoker to your electric barbecue, but you can still achieve the desired effect by soaking wood chips and then wrapping them in tin foil and placing them in the back corner of the grill.

Remember: Adding wood chips for smoking will no longer make your electric grill safe for use indoors but you will achieve that same exceptionally smokey flavour you would get from a traditional barbecue. Happy grilling!

You don’t want to clean your electric grill while it is hot as you would do with your charcoal or gas grill. You want to cool your electric grill till is cool to the touch. Use a vinegar and baking soda mixture to clean the hardened food bits off the grates if you are having problems loosening debris.

If your grill is smoking then there is probably some grease that has leaked down and onto the elements rather than pooling onto the drip tray. Once the drip tray has been removed and cleaned, turn the electric grill on high until all of the grease burns off and the smoke dissipates. Do NOT perform this cleaning method while indoors.