Griddle pans

[ayjay]

I use a large and old (very old*) frying pan a couple of times a week, usually to cook Steak or Salmon or Chicken fillets, I've thought about buying one of those ridged griddle pans to sexy up the look of the grub a little.

Does anybody here use one, and does it take any longer to cook bearing in mind there's less surface area of pan in contact with the grub? I know exactly how long to cook most stuff in my old pan and don't really want to have to re-learn everything.

*I can remember my Granddad cooking me chips in it when I was about 7 or 8, always in about an inch of pure lard.
I'm surprised I'm still here really.
I took it on when he died as I'd just moved into my own place, I've got other frying pans now but this is still a good old pan and I get a kick out of its history.

[big-all]

cast iron skillet type
or george forman type

[Rorschach]

Stick with old faithful. Also nothing wrong with lard, actually safer to fry in than a lot of vegetable oils etc.

[ayjay]

cast iron skillet type
or george forman type

Just a simple frying pan type, but with a ridged base, something like pic below.

griddle_pan-r.jpg (52.68 KiB) Viewed 8000 times

Stick with old faithful. Also nothing wrong with lard, actually safer to fry in than a lot of vegetable oils etc.

I only use a very small amount of fat to fry in, just a splash of Olive oil, I still use lard for proving my cast iron pans.

[Bikergirl]

I use one. You put oil on the meat rather than in the pan.I only use it for strips of chicken for fajitas, and they cook really quickly. Don't know for anything else though.

[philprime]

I use one to cook chicken an steak in, you only need a bit of oil on the meat.

Cooking times will very depending wither you cook on gas or electric of cause, but I don't find a lot of differance

[big-all]

when its just me i do most off my cooking on the forman grill although i cook/warm the vegetables in the micro if they are the side serving rather than the main part

typical meal
chips fish /pie/or slice portion peas green beans carrots
all ingredients fridge cold not frozen
3.2% fat chips from lidl placed on the grill turn the grill on then after 10 mins turn the micro on for the veg for 7 mins at the same time place the pie pastie slice in the grill
after 4 mins turn the grill off for the last 3 mins to cook on residual heat 17 mins total cooking time
with fish you put it beside the chips after 5 mins and turn it when you turn the micro on after ten mins
yes the pie or pastie will be flat but hot and crisp 17 mins total cooking time

other meals typicaly peppers cut to 10-12mm slices 6-8mm slices off onion loosely placed inside the pepper rings 3-5mm strips off parsnip sweet/normal potato about 6-7mm thick carrot batons or slices leak slices in rings about 16-20mm thick
these take about 12-15mins to cook to taste you can flip/move the slices for visual criss cross effect but not nessisery

you add the meat /chicken/ fish according to experience but uncooked chicken will need to be less than 30mm thick to cook within 12-15 min window
fish cooks fairly quickly if its a fillet or batterd portion off around 25mm thick

just remember nothing frozen

[ayjay]

uncooked chicken will need to be less than 30mm thick to cook within 12-15 min window

I flatten my chicken down to about 12mm thick and it's perfect in 6 minutes - I think maybe I'll just stick with the old pan for now, I can survive without stripey chicken.

[big-all]

you actually get a different taste and texture in a pan its half fry half simmer as the injected water escapes

the great thing about the grill is cooks both sides together and far cheaper to run compared to an electric ring and pan

[ayjay]

you actually get a different taste and texture in a pan its half fry half simmer as the injected water escapes


the great thing about the grill is cooks both sides together and far cheaper to run compared to an electric ring and pan

I get a different taste every time, depends what I use for a marinade and what spices I coat it in, Ras el Hanout is a current favourite.

....and my hob is gas.

[big-all]

harrisa tunis hot chillie mix here
yes thats why i said electric as gas is about 1 /5th the cost as electric costing 3 times as much has to heat the element to heat the pan so a big time lag and wasted energy with a time delay off a 3000ton freight train compared to a tram

[ayjay]

It's hard to believe that this thread is nearly two years old, but I finally got around to buying myself a griddle pan a few days ago.

Now I need to join a gym to lift the thing, it weighs 2.8kilos.

It does make a nice job of the cooking, but I'm getting a taste for seared Tuna - Steak is cheaper.

Oh well. Steak is next I suppose.