Knowing how to master the basic cooking techniques is a must if you want to make delicious meals for yourself, and especially if you rely on your home cooking for the majority of your meals. When you’re technique improves, your food improves, so it’s a skill that will bring you big (and tasty!) results. That’s why I’m starting a series in which I teach you the how and why of the basic cooking techniques so that you can get a better understanding of what these cooking terms mean and how to get a good result, every time.

What is Grilling?

Today we’re talking about grilling. Grilling is a cooking method in which you cook food on either a grill pan or a barbeque grill, which is very hot. The characteristic of the grill is that its indented shape creates gill marks on the food where it’s come in contact with the high heat. In short, grilling is quick, dry heat.

Do you use oil for grilling?

Yes. When grilling, oil serves 3 purposes:

1. It prevents the food from sticking to the grill

2. It helps transmit the heat from the grill to the food

3. It provides flavor. The type of flavor will depend on the type of oil you use.

The other thing that’s important to note is that you must use oil with a high smoking point since grilling involves very high heat. Examples of oils with a high smoking point are avocado oil, grapeseed oil, and refined coconut oil. I recommend using these as opposed to more refined oils like canola and corn oil because those are more commonly made using GMO ingredients.

Is there a difference between grilling on the BBQ and grilling in a pan?

Yes! The technique is completely different.

When you use a grill pan, you control the temperature on the stove because you can control the flame. With a barbecue grill, you’re dealing with an open flame that you can’t make bigger or smaller, so you control the temperature by moving the food either closer or farther away from the flame.

When it comes to taste, there’s not that much of a difference, just that the coals or wood used in a barbecue can infuse the food with extra flavor.

Is there a difference between grilling vegetables and grilling meat?

Lastly, it’s important to understand that grilling vegetables and grilling meat are not the same.

This is because the structure and water content of vegetables and meat are very different (it even varies amongst vegetables), so the way they char on the grill will vary.

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Watch the video to see how I demonstrate how to grill a variety of vegetables (and a peach!) on a cast-iron grill pan. I teach you how to do it properly so that you get the most delicious vegetables and how to avoid getting anything stuck to the grill ↓