Many people who have ovens often ignore the broil feature because they do not know how to use it. Broiling, like baking, cooks food with radiant heat, but unlike baking, broiling uses a high heat that cooks food surfaces quickly. Broiling is a great method for getting the perfect char or caramelization on your food.
Can you broil in a gas oven? Yes. You can broil in a gas oven. Gas ovens do have a broil feature. The coils that heat the oven for baking and roasting are the same coils that are used for broiling. The broiler is located either in the oven if the heating element is on the top of the oven or in a drawer below the oven if the heating element is on the bottom of the oven.
You can create amazing meals by broiling food in your gas oven. Broiling food is a wonderful way to seal in flavors and give your meats and vegetables a nice crispness. It is easy to burn food when you broil, so it helps to know how to broil. It is also important to keep a constant eye on food while it is broiling.
How Do You Broil in a Gas Oven?
Broiling is broiling. Whether your oven is gas or electric, the steps for broiling are the same. Once you locate your broiler, you are on your way to creating culinary masterpieces. Every oven is different, so how your food turns out may depend on the accuracy of your oven temperature and all the heating elements working properly.
Locate the Broiler
To broil in a gas oven, you must first find the broiler. The broiler will either be in the oven or below the oven in a drawer. You can find the broiler by locating the heating elements in the oven.
- If your oven only has heating coils at the bottom of the oven, then your broiler will be in a drawer below the oven.
- If your oven has heating elements at the top and bottom of the oven, the broiler is likely inside of the oven, and the drawer at the bottom of the oven is just for storage.
Gas ovens often have broilers that are located below the oven in a drawer. If you are unsure where the broiler is located, you can consult the oven manual to find out. If you do not have the manual to the oven, search for the heating elements to confirm where your broiler is located.
Placement of the Rack
Knowing how to place the rack in the oven when broiling is critical. The rack should be placed close to the heating element, but not too close. The closer the rack to the heating element, the more chance your food has of burning. The best rack for broiling is usually 3-4 inches from the broiler, but the exact placement will depend on what you are broiling.
You may not be able to adjust the temperature on your broiler setting except to high or low, so placing the food at the right distance from the heating element will help your food broil to perfection.
Preheat the Oven
The oven should be pre-heated before you put the food in to broil. If you put the food in the oven and then turn the broil feature on, the food will cook too much and may dry out or burn. You can put the broiling pan in the oven and let it heat up and then put the food onto the heated pan once the broiling temperature has been reached. Doing this will help sear the food on both sides.
What Type of Pan Should Be Used to Broil?
A broiling pan is a special pan that has slats in it to allow air to circulate and cook the food evenly. Many ovens come with a broiling pan, but you do not need a broiling pan to broil. You can use a baking sheet or a cast-iron skillet to broil. If you use one of these alternatives, you should flip and rotate the food as it broils to make sure it broils evenly.
How to Avoid Mistakes When Broiling
Following the steps above, you should be able to broil food to perfection. There are still ways to make mistakes while broiling. To ensure a fabulous meal, here are some tips for avoiding a broiling disaster:
- Do not broil frozen food. Food should be thawed completely before broiling. If you broil frozen food, it will char on the outside and be raw on the inside.
- Reduce the liquid on food before broiling. This can be done by blotting or draining it. Juices and marinades on the meat can burn the food or create a fire in the broiler.
- Use a broiler-safe pan. Glass baking dishes may crack under the intense heat of the broiler. Use a broiling pan or other pan that can withstand the extreme temperatures.
- Distribute food evenly. If food is not distributed evenly on a pan when broiling, some food will be charred, while other food is barely cooked. Spread the food out and turn the pan or rearrange the food at least once during broiling to ensure it cooks evenly.
- Do not cook thick meat. Broiling is great for cooking thinly sliced filets of meat. Trying to broil a full turkey or rump roast will not turn out well. Thicker cuts of meat must be baked or otherwise cooked fully before you broil them. Broiling these types of foods is great for crisping the skin or searing the outside, but the broiling should be done after the food is cooked.
- Not leaving the door open. To avoid an overheated oven, the door to the oven or the broiling compartment should be kept slightly open. If the oven overheats, it might shut off, or it could start a fire.
Watch Food Closely
Broiling usually only takes five to ten minutes, so you should watch your food closely when broiling. Taking your eyes off the broiler for even just a few minutes can mean disaster and a call for take-out food.
What Foods Are Best to Broil?
A broiler heats food from above the food. This means that broiling is good for browning, charring, caramelizing, and searing. Not all food should be broiled. Here are some foods that come out great in a broiler:
- Thin cuts of meat. Thin cuts of meat may dry out if you bake them. Broiling is a great way to keep the moisture in the meat. Try broiling thin cuts of meat like chicken breasts, skirt steak, and fish fillets next time you are preparing a meal.
- Pies, Casseroles, and Pizzas. Foods like pies, casseroles, and pizzas are delicious when they are brown and crispy on top. These dishes will be even tastier if you broil them after they are fully cooked to make the crusts crispy.
- Fruits and Vegetables. Broiling fruits and vegetables caramelizes them around the edges, but also keeps them from getting mushy. Broiling vegetables like peppers can also help loosen the skin on vegetables for peeling. Many fruits like peaches, pineapple, mangos, and bananas and vegetables like asparagus, peppers, tomatoes, and onions turn out great in the broiler.
The Difference Between Baking and Broiling
You may think that baking and broiling yield the same results, but they do not. Here are the differences between baking and broiling:
| Baking | Broiling | |
| Temperature | Usually up to 375 degrees Fahrenheit | Around 550 degrees Fahrenheit |
| Oven Placement | middle of the oven | Top of the oven, or in a broiling drawer |
| Heat | Indirect hear that surrounds the food with hot air cooking it slowly | Direct heat that cooks the food quickly |
| Types of food | Cakes, breads, thick-cut meat | Fruits, vegetables, think-cut meat |
Baking and broiling can be used together. Food that has been baked in the oven can then be broiled to add searing, charring, or caramelizing to the outside of the food, giving the food an extra flare.