How to Prevent Food From Sticking to the Grill
It’s an awful feeling to try to turn over a steak, chicken breast, or a piece of grilled fish only to find it melts on the grill and I don’t like feeling bad. But sticking is not inevitable. You can save those delicious browned bits from this terrible fate, you just need to lubricate them properly.
Do I need to grease my food or grill grates?
I’ve always been a fan of greasing food, whether it’s oiling steaks, wrapping fish in greasy bacon , or smearing mayonnaise on shrimp . It just seems a little less wasteful, although I’ve never given much thought to which method is best for preventing food from sticking.
I contacted Meathead Goldwyn from AmazingRibs.com and of course he had a lot of information to share. “I’m with you. Grease the food, not the grates,” he said, before directing me to this article on his website.
There are several reasons why oiling foods makes sense. Unless you hate brows, spraying oil from an aerosol can onto a hot grill is a bad idea as these little droplets are very volatile, but even applying the oil with paper towel and tongs (or an onion) doesn’t guarantee a non-stick surface. . According to AmazingRibs.com scientific advisor Professor Greg Blonder , results vary depending on the temperature of the grates and your oil’s smoke point:
The metal grates of the grill, even if they are shiny, are not entirely smooth. Numerous scratches, pits, depressions, ridges are visible under the microscope. The compounds in food are much colder than the lattices, and when they meet, a bond is formed between them. If you oil the grate below the smoke point of the oil, say 400°F, the oil will actually coat the grate and help release the protein and fat. But if you “keep it hot,” above the smoke point, the oil cracks, smokes, and chars almost instantly. Carbon and smoke are unpalatable, and a dry, uneven carbon layer simply impairs adhesion. Even at high temperatures, if you oil and then immediately add food, the oil and food will cool the grate, and if it cools down enough, the oil may not burn. But in no way creates a stable non-stick surface.
By greasing meat (or other food), you get a little more control:
When you put in oiled meat, the oil fills microscopic nooks and crannies in both the food and the grate, creating a relatively smooth and slippery surface. Cooler food lowers the temperature of the grate and keeps burnt oil residue on the food. But you want to use an oil with a high smoke point. Most refined vegetable oils will cope with this task.
Keep your barbecue grills clean
Burnt debris and charred shit are sure to stick to food, so clean the grates while they are hot and hot (either before adding food or at the end of each cooking session).
How about frying fish?
Fish are notoriously sticky and tender, but you can make it easier for yourself to cook the fish without tearing the fillets. For extreme beginners, I recommend wrapping a whole fish in bacon . Bacon protects the fish with oil while adding a slight smoky flavor. I’m also a big fan of smearing seafood with mayonnaise , which gives a lovely crust but doesn’t taste very good. You can also use a fish basket which seems to be safer. This is one of the times Meathead recommends oiling anything other than food, so give the basket a quick wipe with an oiled paper towel before adding the fish. Fish sticking to the grill grate is perhaps worse than sticking to the basket, but not much worse.