I’d like to grill chicken so it ends up looking like this, but in an oven rather than on a BBQ. A lot of websites give recipes for “BBQ grilled chicken in the oven” but they seem to actually just be recipes for oven-cooking it with a BBQ-style marinade.
So is it possible to grill it like that in the oven? If so, what’s the ideal set-up, temperature and length of time?
well, broiling is more or less “upside-down” grilling, but of course you won’t get the browned grill marks you’re after. Something like a George Foreman grill can do that (in my experience) but it tends to make the grill marks practically black before the meat is cooked through.
You won’t be able to get grill marks like that in the oven, the best alternative might be a grill pan.
You could broil chicken in the oven but, for boneless breasts like that, the breasts are going to be overdone before you get any color on them.
I agree with the above posts. Just to elaborate, you get grill marks because the heat source is under the grate and the metal gets hotter than the surrounding air, so it chars the meat where it contacts it. This works because you are using radiant heat. In an electric oven, however, to get radiant heat you set it to “broil” which uses the top heating element, so it won’t heat the rack where it contacts the meat. (An oven used in “bake” will heat the air to cook by convection.)
One idea that might work (but might also fail miserably) is to set the oven on “bake” on the highest temperature and leave the door cracked open. (You are supposed to do this anyway when broiling; the door should have a stop on it to allow it to stay in the partially open position.) This will theoretically cause the bottom heating element to stay on, because the oven will not reach that temperature. Put the rack one level higher than the lowest level, and put the food directly on the rack.
I have never tried this so you are in experimental territory if you decide to.
(P.S. I cook with gas but bake with electricity :))
Whoa! Cooking thread. Moved to Cafe Society from General Questions.
samclem, Moderator
I think your best bet would be to use a cast-iron grill pan. Something like this:
Put it over high heat on the stove for a few minutes tro get it nice and hot, and then grill it on each side for a few minutes. I would imagine you would probably have to finish it in the oven to ensure it is cooked through.
I’ve broiled chicken breasts in the oven - you can either halve them into cutlets or pound them, and that way you get a nice browning and cook the middle.
OK, so what’s the full process for broiling? Cut and pound them into cutlets like this, put them on a raised grill-tray over a baking pan with tin foil in it, and put it in the oven? Is that right? If so, what temperature, and for how long?
Thanks for the other posts everyone. So to actually grill it it sounds like I should either try a George Foreman grill like this, or a grill pan like this. Which do you think is a better idea?
Are you just looking for grill marks on your chicken? I would use the grill pan to make the marks, then finish the chicken in the oven.
Under the broiler on high, for maybe 20 minutes, turning about every 5 so it doesn’t burn. I cook by temperature, not so much by time, and it depends on your chicken exactly how long.
I want it to taste like grilled chicken as well. Regular oven-cooked chicken tastes pretty different, I find anyway.
I’m afraid if you really want it to taste like grilled chicken, you really do need a wood or charcoal fired grill. I find that even gas-grilled chicken doesn’t taste like “grilled” chicken to me. That said, cooking it under the broiled is the closest to grilled chicken flavor you’ll get in the oven, IMHO.
It won’t taste like grilled chicken unless you actually grill it. I don’t think there’s really any way around that.
