Summertime means grilling time. However, some people cannot set up an outdoor grill and throw a BBQ. If you love all things grilled, learn how to grill without a grill here.
With the right ingredients, kitchen gadgets, and seasonings, you can execute a summer cookout in your kitchen.
Also, it brings back fond memories of grilling with your loved ones.
Grilling without a grill is undoubtedly possible. Read on to discover fabulous techniques to cook food that tastes as if it’s grilled.
Table of Contents
How to Get Perfect Grill Marks Without a Grill
Although you cook without a grill, you can add marvelous marks to your food, including steaks. They may trick your family or friends into thinking you cooked the meals on a grill.
Below are two common ways to make grill marks:
Hot Skewer Method
There are two popular grill marks: the diamond and single strip. If you are into the latter, apply this method.
Be sure to prepare a metal skewer and a gas stove.
First, heat the skewer over the gas stove flame. Next, wait for it to become red hot. Just in case you have no gas stove, a cooking torch works too.
While the skewer is hot, press it onto the food, be it chicken or meat. This method lets you attain excellent grill marks on steaks.
The metal skewer should be hot enough.
You should heat it over the flame a few times. By doing so, the skewer will not stick to the steaks and other food.
Ridged Pan Method
This method allows you to get diamond patterns or grill marks. Just purchase a grill pan. Since the equipment comes with ridges, it offers a fake-grill look.
Once you sear the food properly, turn off the heat.
Remove the grill pan from the stove. Next, place the food on a plate and use a covering to keep it warm.
Use the grill pan at high heat without adding any cooking oil. When heated, put the food back into it.
After 1-2 mins, rotate the chicken or meat from a ten o’clock angle to a two o’clock angle. Then, wait for 1-2 minutes.
Flip over the food. Next, repeat the process. Since you cook the food over high temperatures, the grill pan’s ridges receive high heat.
Consequently, the chicken or meat has beautiful grill marks.
8 Clever Ways to Grill Without Using a Grill
A perfectly grilled steak will taste better. In the eyes of apartment dwellers, throwing a backyard barbecue seems impossible.
If you have no outdoor grill, the solution is simple, cook without it. These techniques will let you bring the summer cookout indoors.
1. BBQ with a Crock Pot
Every barbecue typically requires a propane or charcoal grill. However, you can have a BBQ by cooking the food using a crock pot.
The slow cooker enables you to serve the food that reminds your family of the BBQ. In addition, it lends the meal a spectacular BBQ-like flavor.
Some foods taste better when cooked in a crock pot. Chicken thighs and beef briskets are suitable for slow cooking.
Place the briskets or chicken thighs in the slow cooker. Then, add smoked spices and BBQ sauce.
Cook the meat over low heat overnight. You can also cook during the daytime and serve the slow-cooked meat for dinner.
Do not forget to add caramelized onions to enhance the BBQ flavor. First, saute the onions with one tbs of brown sugar.
Once they get caramelized, add them to the slow cooker.
If you have wondered how to grill without a grill pan, the answer is the crock pot. It lets you barbecue without using a special pan.
2. Grill Chicken Without a Grill
If you love chicken steaks, it is time to grill the chicken without a grill. All you need to cook the chicken is a cast iron skillet.
Using a grill pan on the stovetop will not offer the intense smokiness of grilling. It makes your foods flavorful, though.
You can buy either a long flat griddle pan or a grill pan with ridges. While the former provides more surface area, the latter is perfect for cooking steaks and sausages.
The ridges ensure the chicken or meat does not sit in fat. Moreover, they produce excellent grill marks.
Besides, the grill pan lets you enjoy the meal with browned and charred parts. To create this contrast, cook the meat in a grill pan over high heat.
A grill pan conducts and distributes the heat so well. It lends the chicken a dark brown sear that reminds you of the outdoor grill.
Season the cast-iron grill pan properly. Furthermore, to soak up the flavors, marinate the chicken for several hours.
Put some cooking oil on the grill pan. Ensure that the pan is hot before cooking the chicken. It ensures the chicken gets evenly cooked.
At the halfway point, flip the chicken once to get a terrific char on each side.
- Pros
Grilling with a grill pan is highly recommended. Grill pans are pretty cheap since you can buy a good one for about $30.
- Cons
Grill pans also come with downsides. Since they are bulky, they consume space and become challenging to store in tiny kitchens.
Besides being heavy, grill pans will not develop a great smoky flavor.
Do not heat this pan for too long to prevent you from smoking out of your apartment. Learn how to switch off the detectors in the first place.
3. Grill Vegetables with Smoky Ingredients
Grilled veggies round out any cookout. If you plan to grill indoors, consider using smoky ingredients.
Adding these seasonings will lend the food a smoky taste.
Incorporating smoked seasonings is one of the easy ways to recreate the outdoor grill flavor. Use them with other methods too.
Some ingredients have a smoky taste on their own. Moreover, smoke other spices before grinding them.
Add smoked olive oil to drizzle veggies. Next, season them with hickory-smoked salt and black pepper.
You can add dried/fresh chipotle chilies to marinades or sauces too.
Create a smoked spice rub with garlic powder, smoked paprika cumin, and onion powder. Then, sprinkle the seasonings onto the fish, chicken, or meat.
Cover and keep it in the fridge for about six hours before grilling in a grill pan.
4. Easy Grill Shrimp with a Broiler
If you need great grill alternatives for apartments, it is time to heat your broiler. This underappreciated kitchen gadget acts as an upside-down grill.
The oven broiler cooks the food quickly using high temperatures (about 500-550 degrees Fahrenheit).
In addition, the direct heat comes from the top.
Unfortunately, the broiler will not generate a smoky taste and grill marks. However, it gives the food a nice char.
Utilize the broiler to grill chicken, veggies, and meats. You can use it to grill seafood like fish and shrimp as well.
The broiler will make the shrimp juicy and tender on the inside. Moreover, oven-grilled shrimp is easy to make and tasty.
If you wonder how to grill in the oven, place the rack about 4-8 inches from the direct heat. Next, switch on the broil function.
Then, preheat the oven for a few minutes. Spray the broiling pan with oil before arranging the food on top.
Next, place it into the oven. Then, slightly open the door to keep it from becoming too hot. This trick ensures the food doesn’t get burned.
After pulling out the broiling pan, flip the food halfway through. The broiler usually cooks chops and steaks within 8-10 minutes.
For shrimp, make sure it is neither undercooked nor overcooked.
When broiling, monitor the vegetables frequently because they burn quickly. Moreover, if you hate the scrubbing, line the broiling pan with foil.
5. Indoor Grill Bread with a Countertop Grill
Slices of grilled bread make an incredible side dish or appetizer. Without them, the cookout will not be complete.
If you are craving slices of nicely charred and toasted bread, purchase a countertop grill. It allows you to grill various foods.
There are different countertop grill models, including bread. They all cook the food quickly indoors.
While some indoor grills cook from the bottom, others receive heat from the lid and bottom.
Speaking of grilling bread with an indoor grill, put the slices on a hot countertop grill. Importantly, brush them with olive oil first.
Next, cook them until you get grill marks.
Indoor grills are not hard to use. Additionally, they maintain the tenderness and juiciness of the chicken or meats.
6. Simply Grill Eggplant with a Culinary Torch
You do not always need an outdoor grill to cook the food. Hence, a culinary torch will come in handy.
Typically, people use a blowtorch to make a caramel topping, toast bread crumbs, and brown meringues.
Furthermore, a cooking torch helps melt mozzarella cheese.
You can put a cooking torch to good use to grill as well. Not only does it offer a lovely char to meats, but also it chars vegetables like eggplants.
It takes 15 minutes to blacken and peel three eggplants using a torch. You must torch them until they begin to collapse and their skin blisters completely.
Charring the eggplants is crucial in some recipes like baba ghanoush. By doing so, you will get a rich smoky taste.
Wondering how to grill corn without a grill, cook the corn first. Next, use a culinary torch to blacken it.
You can utilize it to char chicken and red peppers too.
7. Grill Fish without a Grill
No outdoor grill? Do not worry since you can make a DIY indoor smoker. It enables you to cook foods and get a smoky flavor indoors.
Just take a cue from pro chefs who smoke everything.
This method does not require special equipment. Before smoking the fish, open the windows. Moreover, turn on the fan to ensure the smoke detector will not go off.
First of all, grab an aluminum pan that has high sides. Next, line it with heavy-duty foil. Then, put dry hardwood chips on top.
To get an incredible smoky BBQ flavor, opt for applewood chips.
Top the hardwood chips with another layer of aluminum foil. Poke tiny holes into it to let the smoke escape.
Then, place a rack on the foil’s top. Finally, put the indoor smoker on the stove and heat it over high heat.
Once the smoke appears, arrange marinated fish, sliced veggies, and small pieces of meat on the rack.
Cover the indoor smoker with aluminum foil.
Smoke the fish for 3-4 minutes. Next, uncover and remove it from the indoor smoker. You can either broil the fish or cook it in a pan.
The smoke from the DIY smoker injects the food with a grilled flavor.
Try various kinds of wood chips to obtain different grilled flavors. Consider using oak, walnut, hickory, cherry, and mesquite.
8. Add Liquid Smoke
Another brilliant way to achieve a smoky flavor without a grill is using liquid smoke. You can purchase liquid smoke at specialty food stores or buy it online.
Liquid smoke is an all-natural product. Manufacturers made it from condensed smoke.
They will burn the hickory wood before collecting it. Furthermore, they wait for the smoke to turn droplets.
The manufacturers then filter the liquid droplets and bottle them. Since the liquid smoke is very concentrated, it can increase the smoky flavor.
Liquid smoke comes in different flavors like hickory and mesquite. By using it sparingly, it will not overpower the foods for sure.
Before and during cooking, brush the sausages and steaks with a bit of liquid smoke. If you do not like a deep grilled flavor, combine liquid smoke with balsamic vinegar.
Final Thoughts
The sky is the limit. Using the tips above, you can grill without using a grill. Moreover, they will turn you into an indoor grilling master.
By applying the tips here, you will be able to cook an outstanding meal. Try a few techniques to know what offers the best-grilled flavor.