A broiler is a section of your oven – usually located near the top – that provides high, direct heat much like a grill. Broiling places food close to your oven's heating element so that it can quickly cook, brown, char or caramelize. This can give food more complex flavors or help you achieve certain textures.

Does broiling make things crispy?

When you broil, you're using very powerful radiant heat from your oven's top heating element. The good news is crispy, browned, caramelized food is a lot better than a sunburn, so keep broiling! ...

Is broiling better than baking?

In some cases, they can be used interchangeably, but not in all. Broiling is best used for thinner foods that can cook quickly, but baking is better suited for foods with an unstable structure like muffins and bread.

What does broiling do to chicken?

Broiling is upside-down grilling, with the heat coming from the top rather than the bottom. As with grilling, broiling cooks the chicken with intense direct heat, creating caramelization and charring while locking in juices for moist, tender, flavorful meat.

Why do you broil after baking?

The first stage of cooking — baking at 400°F — cooks the chicken thoroughly, but keeps it moist. The second step is to turn the pieces over and broil them, rotating the pan or the chicken pieces every few minutes to encourage even browning and prevent burning.

How to use the broiler

18 related questions found

Does no broiler mean no oven?

It means you can use it in the oven using the "Bake" function, but you can not use it in the oven using the "Broil" function. Shannon C. 2 of 2 found this helpful.

Why is broiled food bad for you?

These toxic substances, which form when oil is heated at high temperatures, may increase the risk of cancer and other diseases (4). However, while broiling limits the formation of aldehydes, it may give rise to potentially carcinogenic polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs).

Do you broil chicken high or low?

You should! It's the key to fast, flavorful meals. Like grilling, broiling uses high, direct heat to cook food quickly and give it a tasty, browned crust.

Is broiling the same as grilling?

Loosely speaking grilling and broiling refer to a similar cooking process. In grilling, the heat source is below (like with a barbecue grill); in oven broiling, it's above. Both grilling and broiling involve intense heat. ... Do most broiling about 4 to 6 inches from the heat source.

Can I broil on aluminum foil?

If you don't have a nonstick pan or you are cooking messy foods, you can line the top and bottom parts of the broiler pan with regular or nonstick aluminum foil. For the top part of the broiler pan, be sure to cut slits through the foil so fat can drain.

Can I broil a pizza?

You'll preheat the skillet on the stove over the highest possible heat for 20 minutes, then put the pan under the broiler upside down. A pizza slides on top of the pan's underside, and goes under the broiler for just 1 minute and 35 seconds.

Is broiler hotter than oven?

Broiling is the method of exposing food to direct heat. Food placed in a special broiling pan in your oven's broiler is subjected to 550-degree heat. ... Broiling is different than baking, where the food is surrounded by hot air and cooks slower.

Can you use the broiler to bake?

You do have to make a few minor adjustments in cooking time and temperature, but you can bake the same foods you normally broil. ... Set the oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit when baking meat instead of broiling it. Broilers radiate heat up to 550 F within 1 inch of the element or burner.

Do you need to leave the oven door open when you broil?

The normal practice is to leave the oven door slightly ajar. This allows heat to escape and forces the broil element to stay on rather than cycling off and on. Open door broiling is good for when you are broiling for short periods of time, like cooking thinner meats, top browning or searing meat.

Can you cook bacon in the broiler?

Place bacon onto a cookie sheet lined with aluminum foil. Place pan in the oven, on the middle rack. Broil for 5 minutes. Remove the pan, flip the bacon over and broil for 2 more minutes.

What is the drawer under the oven for?

Most stoves have a drawer underneath them. If you think that drawer is meant for the storage of kitchen utensils, you're wrong. The drawer is actually a warming drawer, meant to keep cooked food warm. Perhaps, like me, you use that drawer located underneath your stove for storing pans, cookie sheets, and muffin tins.

Is it better to broil or grill a steak?

They both use intense, direct heat to cook food. The major difference is that when you grill, the heat source is underneath the food and when you broil, the heat source is above the food.

Why is broiling healthy?

In addition to reducing or eliminating the fat contained in cooking oil, the natural fat in meat or fish melts during the broiling process. The broiling rack in your oven is designed to allow fatty grease to drip into the boiler pan. Broiling reduces some saturated fat from red meat, which is better for your arteries.

What can I use instead of a broiler?

Broiling Pan Substitutes

• Roasting Trays with Wire Racks. Roasting trays are a great option as a substitution for broiling pans and probably the best one, however, it cannot be used on its own. ...
• Cast-Iron Griddle Pans. We love a good cast-iron pan! ...
• Cast-Iron Griddle Sheets. ...
• Roasting Trays. ...
• Baking Sheets. ...
• Aluminum Foil Trays.

What equipment is needed for broiling?

One of the best things about broiling is there is no specialized equipment required besides an oven with a broil setting and a baking sheet.

What's the difference between bake and broil?

Broiling uses only top-down heat to completely cook delicate food or just crisp and brown the top of already-cooked dishes. Baking uses moderate temperatures to cook food. Heating elements on the top, bottom and sometimes the back of the oven are used for an all-over cooking method.

At what temperature do you broil chicken?

Preheat broiler to 550˚F and line a baking sheet with foil. Remove chicken from marinade and place onto prepared baking sheet. Broil for 10 minutes, turning once, or until chicken has reached an internal temperature of 165˚F. Remove from oven and allow chicken to rest for a few minutes before serving.

What is the healthiest way to cook meat?

Generally speaking, roasting and baking are healthy forms of cooking that result in minimal losses of vitamin C. However, during long cooking times at high temperatures, up to 40% of B vitamins may be lost in the juices that drip from the meat (6).

What is the healthiest way to cook food?

Healthy cooking methods include: Steam, bake, grill, braise, boil or microwave your foods. Modify or eliminate recipes that include butter or ask you to deep fry or sauté in animal fat. Avoid added oils and butter; use non-stick cookware instead.

Should I use bake or broil for pizza?

The technique I always use is the Broiler Method, which combines convection bake and the broiler to give your pizza the perfect color on top and a crispy crust. Place Baking Steel on the top rack of the oven and preheat on convection bake for one hour at 500 F. Launch pizza onto the center of the Baking Steel.