10 Indoor Grilling Hacks That'll Change The Way You BBQ Forever

Tess Koman

May 31, 2018 at 6:50 AM·4 min read

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Sure, in a perfect world, all Fourth of Julys and Memorial Days and Labor Days would be glorious, cloud-free, 78-degree days, but alas. We don't live in a perfect world, do we? Here you'll find some life-changing hacks for the days (or entire summers, depending on where you live) you need to grill indoors.

Cast-Iron Is Key

No, you don't need a panini press or a whole indoor grilling system or whatever else you might think you need to do this. You need a cast-iron pan. They're good. And cheap! And good.

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Season! Season! Season!

Yes, I just went on about the benefits of a cast-iron pan, but said cast-iron pans need to be seasoned to impart as much flavor as possible! All you have to do for your pan to be set for life is 1) scrub it, 2) dry it, 3) melt things in it, 4) heat it, and 5) cool it. Boom! Flavor 4 lyfe.

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GYOPC (Grill Your Own Potato Chips)

You could certainly go ahead and buy some icky chips, or you could grill your own right on your stove top. This option is not only saving you the vat of oil you'd use to fry chips normally (and the buttload of calories that comes with that process), but is also easier to clean up and just super fun in general.

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Get Oily

It's imperative you oil both sides of everything you're grilling — that includes any kind of loose herbs you're using to marinate! Or else it's going to burn and be icky. Unless you're into that kind of thing, in which case, proceed oil-free.

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Trim ?? That ?? Fat

I don't want to alarm you, but grilling indoors = less ventilation than, like, the outdoors, which = smoke. But the less fat there is in your food, the less burning will be required which means less smoke!

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Get Rid Of Your Smoke Fear Altogether

... just go ahead and pop that skillet in the oven after you've pre-heated it to 500 degrees. It works just as well (and eliminates any ventilation issues you might expect from a stovetop grilling sesh) as long as you keep the oven shut.

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Make Your Own Grill Marks

It's just a matter of pressing your meat to the grill pan at a 45-degree angle for a few minutes before rotating, rinsing, and repeating. It'll look just as though you took it off the BBQ.

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Get Your Veggies Super Charred

A handy guide on how to grill vegetables directly on the stove right this way.

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Fake ?? That ?? Smoke

Because, OK, fine, realistically, your ceilinged party isn't going to yield the smokiest of meat flavors. But that's fine because Bobby Flay says you can still make it happen with a super smoke-heavy barbecue sauce or marinade.

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Slice When Necessary

Thinner vegetables are going to cook faster and get all grill mark-y without you having to try very hard. Cut anything thick into one-and-a-half inch pieces or stick to smaller veggies like asparagus or mushrooms.

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Skip the Stove — Use Your Oven

Yup. Your broiler can serve as a grill in and of itself. All you have to do is pre-heat your pan and put your food as close to the top of the oven as possible and voila.

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Look On The Bright Side

Oven-cooked ribs are the most sumptuous in the world because of how the heat is able to get all up around the meat in a way a BBQ won't allow, per the Kitchn. Here's how to make them!