Aluminum Grill Pans Are Crap
1658 days agoYes, they certainly are. I tried to grill some chicken breast today with my aluminum grill pan and the result was terrible. As I normally do, I heat up the grill pan till it is very hot, then place my marinated chicken on it. So it sizzled and I thought everything was fine. I let it grill on one side for 5 minutes till it started to brown and then I turned over the the other site. It did mark some very nice char marks but after cooking the entire thing for around 10 minutes, I took it out to check for doneness. It wasn’t. In fact, only the surface was cooked, most of the inside wasn’t. So, I left it on the grill again for yet another 5 minutes on each side but then the surface started turning blackish and overburnt. Yuck, I had to throw away the food. Wasted some very fine (and should be great tasting) chicken today.
Nope, I had properly ensure the chicken is around room temperature first before I started cooking it. Yes, I have removed any excess marinate from the chicken before putting it on the grill. And yes, I have oiled the grill pan before cooking.
The problem with aluminum grill pans is that it can’t retain heat well and it warps easily. So after a few uses, one side of the warped grill pan will be hotter than the other side. So your food gets burnt on one side, while the other is not cooked completely. And the aluminum grill pan acts like a frying pan. So instead of grilling, you are actually frying the food but since you don’t use a lot of oil on a grill, it starts to burn. A cast iron grill pan retains heat very well and can withstand high temperatures. High temperature cooks food fast so that your food won’t get overburnt or overcooked. And that with a uniform temperature thoughout the grill pan, your cook will be properly cooked throughout as well. Anyways, that aluminum grill pan, I purchased for 11 bucks, so I guess what you pay is what you get. Time for me to get a real grill pan! If only I know where I can get such a grill pan in Singapore.
