Not everyone has a fully functional microwave oven. Nevertheless, no one can resist the delight of baking and the taste and smell of freshly-baked treats.
If you don’t have a microwave or oven, don’t worry, you can still enjoy scrumptious baked dishes using a grill. Read on to find out more.
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Can You Put a Baking Pan on The Grill?
Yes! You can use a baking pan on the grill and get a result similar to baking with a microwave.
Most grills have what it takes to be used in baking. They generate the heat required to bake and have and have lids allowing them to bake like the microwave ovens.
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Is it safe to bake/cook in an aluminum foil pan?
The cover helps to decrease heat loss. It also allows for even heat circulation, so your baked food cooks evenly. Hence, the grill mimics the conditions offered by an oven, making it very easy to bake your delicious recipes.
While you can put a baking pan on the grill, it is crucial to consider the type of pan you use, as some are more ideal than others. Using the proper baking pan on your grill will play a significant role in getting your baking right and avoiding the risk of injury.
There are several available types of baking pans, including; glass, ceramic, and metal pans. While metal pans are not the fanciest option among the three, they are the best for baking on the grill. They are solid, durable, and can handle very high temperatures.
On the other hand, ceramic and glass pans are fancy but might shatter when exposed to very high temperatures. Metal baking pans are hence your most ideal choice when it comes to baking on the grill.
Can You Use an Aluminum Pan on The Grill?
Yes! You can put an aluminum pan on the grill. Aluminum is a good heat conductor.
The aluminum pans heat up fast and do not burn food. More so, it can withstand high temperatures without getting distorted. This is why you see aluminum grates and rakes being used in grill equipment.
However, aluminum pans are not perfect for high heat cooking, but you can use them in an emergency. For easy cooking on the grill, you can also consider using disposable aluminum bags.
Read More: What is a non-reactive pan?
Can You Use Stainless Steel Pan on The Grill?
Yes and no! The reason why it’s not advisable to use stainless steel pan on the grill is that most are made to withstand moderate heat, about 400 – 600 degrees Fahrenheit.
However, a grill can get extremely hot, causing the stainless-steel pan to warp and chip when heated directly.
On the other hand, you can use a stainless-steel pan if you are using indirect heat. This way, the temperature will not get extremely high for the pan. Under moderate heat, the stainless-steel pan is fine and won’t chip.
What Type of Pan Best for Grill Uses & Why?
You are probably wondering the best type of pan best for grill uses. Well, you can’t use all kinds of pans for grilling. The main factor that determines the suitable pan on a grill is the material used for construction. Grills function at higher temperatures.
Therefore, if the pan has not been made to endure high temperatures, it may get damaged when placed on the grill.
Excessive temperature and heating changes cause thin pan metal surfaces to expand significantly and change shape. The loss of shape is known as warping. Warping is sometimes reversible.
However, exposing an unsuitable metal pan to high temperatures continuously can distort it permanently.
Because the thin pans cool down quickly, they will often have cold and hot spots. This causes an uneven heat distribution leading to irreversible and scorching damage.
It is very risky to use ceramic and glass pans for grilling. This is because these materials can shatter at very high temperatures.
It is therefore not recommendable to use them for the grill. It is hence always advisable that you use a solid metal pan for baking on the grill.
Depending on your needs, there are several types of metal pans available out there. These include; the loaf pan, tube pan, baking pan, round cake pan, Bundt pan, and sheet pan, which is an ideal choice for beginners.
You can also opt for a pizza stone or cast-iron skillet. The cast-iron pans are the perfect choice for your cakes and brownies, while the pizza stone is a wise choice for baking cakes.
How To Care Aluminum Baking Pans, Stainless Steel Baking Pans
Now that you know it’s possible to bake your delicious treat with a plan on the grill, it is crucial to understand how to take care of and maintain your pan correctly.
For aluminum baking pans, you should hand wash the pan thoroughly using an aluminum-specific detergent and a soft sponge after each use.
To maintain the pan in the right state, you should avoid cleaning the pan in a dishwasher, using acidic cleaning detergents or coarse sponges.
Such detergents and materials can damage your pan, hurting its overall baking performance as well as shortening its life.
Similar to aluminum pans, stainless steel baking pans require proper care and maintenance. First, you should never add salt to the water before the water starts to boil.
Otherwise, it can lead to pitting corrosion that leaves minor dents at the bottom of the pan. It would help if you also dried the pans immediately after washing to prevent water spots.
Additionally, avoid using harsh scrubbers such as steel wool because they can scratch stainless steel surfaces. Don’t clean the pan with cold water as it causes disfigurement and warping.
Factors To Consider When Using a Baking Pan on The Grill
It is relatively simple to use a baking pan on a grill. However, it is wise to consider various factors for you to achieve the best results.
· Clean it well
It is essential to clean your grill before starting to bake. This will help prevent the baked food from tasting differently. Cleaning your grill will only take a few minutes, so ensure you do it before you start to bake.
Am sure you don’t want your freshly baked pizza smelling like the steak you had prepared earlier.
· Set the ideal temperature
To make sure your baked food does not burn or don’t undercook, you require to maintain the correct temperature inside the closed lid. Fortunately, most grills feature a built-in thermometer. If that’s your case, you won’t need to invest in a thermometer.
However, if your grill does not have one, you should get one. Thermometers measure temperature in the grill lid, which will help you achieve successive results.
· Start by preheating the grill
You should not just put your food into the grill before turning on the heat. To begin with, you should preheat the grill until the temperature range in the grill reaches 24 degrees.
You should also check to ensure the heat is distributed evenly before for an evenly baked result.
· Bake with the lid closed
This is one of the essential factors in baking with a grill. Your baked food requires the right amount of heat to cook and come out well.
Keeping the lid closed will enable faster baking and even heat distribution throughout what you are baking.
Avoid opening the lip frequently as a lot of heat may be lost. If you must, you should make it snappy.
· Choose an ideal time.
Grills cook quicker than microwave ovens. So, if you rely on the recipe’s indicated baking time, you are likely to go wrong.
If your recipe has a baking time range, you should work with the minimum baking time.
Even if you don’t achieve the optimum result in your chosen time, you won’t be too far from achieving the proper baking time.
To know if the cake you are baking is cooked, you can use a toothpick to prick the cake at different parts while observing it at each prick. If the toothpick comes out with batters, continue to cook it for some minutes.
With time, you will understand how to bake with a grill more and the most accurate baking time for every recipe.
· Consider the use of indirect heat
A gas grill produces an extreme amount of heat. Direct heating is therefore not ideal for most baking recipes. Using indirect heat is a good way of avoiding messing up your baked food.
So, how can you bake with indirect heat? This is done by baking your cake over the unignited part of the burner.
For instance, if your grill has four burners, ignite the two bottom burners and leave the other two at the center unignited. Place your baking pan in the unignited section to bake with indirect heat from the lit burners.
Which Dishes Can You Easily Bake on Your Grill?
You can conveniently use your grill for baking several dishes. The result will be relatively as good as when using a microwave oven. Some of the dishes you can bake on your grill include;
Brownies
We all love brownies, including our kids. The good news is that you can easily bake brownies in your outdoor grill. You just need a cast iron pan or an aluminum foil tray.
However, remember the brownies should be baked on medium heat.
For the desired outcome, consider using indirect heat of 350 degrees Fahrenheit for about 45 minutes. You can use some small-sized cans to raise your cookware a little.
You might even be surprised to find your grill-baked brownies will be more delicious than using a microwave oven.
French fries
You have probably cooked French fries before but not using a grill. Now, you can prepare a delicious snack outdoors on your grill.
You can do this by having your potatoes well sliced and having a baking pan ready. Next, you should preheat the grill with its lid on to at least 400 degrees Fahrenheit. This will take less than twenty minutes.
Next, add your potatoes to the baking pan and begin heating them. Constantly turn the potatoes for the crisp to cook evenly on all sides.
Pizza
Imagine you can bake your delicious pizza on your grill. With no grill marks and with crispy edges, the pizza will be better than the one you have eaten before. You will be able to bake a pizza as big as your grill to feed all your family and friends.
To start with, preheat your grill like you do when baking it in an oven. If you are baking a 16-inch pizza, you will need to preheat the grill at the high heat of 500 to 600° F for about fifteen minutes. Also, prepare the pizza pan by applying some grease to the bottom.
Add the dough, toppings, and cheese. To prevent the pizza’s bottom crust from being burnt, you can use empty tins or metal cookie cutters to elevate the pizza pan.
Also, keep rotating the pan 90 degrees each four minutes. Lift your grill lid to check the pizza every ten minutes.
Quiche
Who doesn’t love a tasty veggie or chicken veggie? You can use your grill for baking delicious breakfast food.
A casting iron baking pan is the perfect option to use for its relatively thick walls that ensures even baking. However, the tip here is baking at very low heat at a low speed.
You should bake a quiche at low and indirect heat of 300° F for thirty minutes. Start by blind baking the crust to have a flaky bottom layer. Add the crust to a cast iron baking pan to form the quiche.
Then put a sheet of aluminum foil over the quiche and pie weight for the crust to stay flat. After blind baking, remove the weights and foil. Now, use the filling to load up your crust and proceed with the baking procedure similar to using an oven.
Conclusion
Since not everyone has a microwave oven, it is possible to bake on a grill and achieve your desired results. Even better, baking indoors could be exhausting and baking while outdoors with your grill can be more fun as you chit-chat with your relatives and friends.
You can use your grill to buy anything, including brownies, cakes, and savory snacks. You just need to use the right baking pan and set the ideal temperature.
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