Broiler pans are a staple in the kitchen. These pans make cooking and clean up after cooking a breeze.
Broiler pans are used for cooking diverse food items. And like grilling, you only require heat to cook your foods and achieve the desired result.
You can use broiler pans for cooking various cuts of poultry, vegetables, meat, and seafood. They are also an excellent choice for cooking meat. Why? They help to drain the meat’s excess fat, a reason most people prefer the broiler for preparing steaks and roast.
Unfortunately, not everyone has a broiler pan at home. And you can’t stop eating just because you don’t have a broiler pan, either.
If you’re one of those seeking how to broil food items without a broiler pan, keep in mind that you’re not alone in this.
In this post, you’ll learn how to cook without a broiler pan and the various broiler pan alternatives you can use.
Are you ready? Let’s get to business.
What is a Broiler Pan?
Before diving into how you can broil without a broiler pan, let’s define what a broiler pan is.
Also called oven roaster, broiler roaster, or oven broiler, broiler pans are popularly used in the kitchen.
The broiler pan is used for broiling various food items in the microwave oven, such as roasts, steaks, and diverse cuts of poultry, vegetables, and meat.
Broiler pans are also made of heavy gauge steel or stainless steel coupled with the black porcelain enamel. You will also notice that these pans boast two sections. One is the upper cooking surface, which happens to be the broiler plate lid, while the second section is the low walled pan.
Broiler pans’ lid or cooking surface, which holds the food item, has tiny holes and open slits. These holes and slits catch the droppings from the food when the heat is applied.
The minimal openings in the lid or cooking surface ensure the drippings and hot grease are contained while the food item is being cooked. That way, they won’t flare up and get the food burnt while it’s being cooked.
You can use the broiler pan for a variety of cooking tasks. It can also fit into diverse microwave ovens, given its size and shape. A typical broiler pan’s cooking surface is 6 – 12 inches wide and 10 – 18 inches long.
How to Broil Chicken Without a Broiler Pan? (Step-by-Step Process)
The broiler pan is excellent when it comes to broiling chicken. But just because you can’t afford one doesn’t mean you won’t be broiling and consuming chicken any longer. You can cook your chicken perfectly well without a broiler pan.
What makes some of the broiler pan substitutes perfect for broiling chicken is getting the job done as perfect as the broiler pan itself. Your chicken will also be ready in no time.
Are you ready? Here are the simple and effective ways to broiler a chicken in the absence of a broiler pan.
Step 1 – Clean oven rack
Your first task should be to clean up the oven rack. Just take one out and clean it up thoroughly. Have it sprayed with cooking spray and keep it aside. This cleaned rack is what you need to use in your cooking.
Step 2 – Preheat the broiler
Your first move should be to heat the broiler. Your microwave oven needs to be at a temperature a bit high before you send in the chicken.
Ideally, many standard microwave ovens take at least 10 to 15 minutes to heat up. So, preheat for 10 to 15 minutes.
Note – Don’t leave the oven door completely closed down while preheating. Have it partially opened so that it won’t overheat, causing the oven to turn off. That’s not the aim. But if your oven has the off and on control setting, it would then be a breeze to control the heat.
Step 3 – Get your chicken ready
Now that you’re preheating your microwave oven, you can start preparing your chicken. Try to finish up the preparation within 10 to 15, so you can send the chicken to the oven.
First, wash the chicken thoroughly and dry it up. Then get the skin peeled off if that’s how you like to have your chicken prepared.
Next is to sprinkle some salt and pepper all over the chicken to enhance the taste. Remember to keep the salt in moderation. And feel free to introduce some vegetable oil.
The bottom line is to prepare the chicken the way you like to eat it. Add whatever you think would make it to taste great, just like you want it to.
Step 4 – Pick your broiler substitute
There are diverse cooking pans you can use in place of a broiler pan. So, make your choice.
However, it would be best if you avoid using Teflon coated pans or nonstick pans. Keep in mind that you will be cooking at extremely high temperatures (500 degrees Fahrenheit), and these pieces of cookware are best used under moderate heat.
Subjecting Teflon coated or nonstick pans to high temperatures will cause damage to their coatings. It can also release some toxic chemicals into your food item being cooked.
Baking sheets are a suitable broiler substitute to use. But as you lodge it into your microwave oven, make sure you turn the food now and then while it’s being heated.
Step 5 – Move your food to the oven
Now that you have prepared the chicken and you have chosen a broiler pan substitute (baking sheet), your next step should be to transfer the food item into the cooking vessel.
Please keep in mind that you can place your chicken above or beneath the oven’s broiler heating element. It doesn’t matter. Heating the food item under either condition will give you the results you seek.
Note – Your chicken should be between 4 to 5 inches high when placed underneath the broiler heat source. At this distance, your food item will be properly heated.
Step 6 – Note the broiling time and monitor the food item
Your food item (chicken) needs proper monitoring. So you shouldn’t be too far away from the microwave oven or kitchen at this time.
A rule of thumb is to broil each side of the chicken for 20 minutes. At 20 minutes, you will discover the side being cooked is now brown.
Now apply some vegetable oil on the other side with a brush, and broil. Ensure the vegetable oil applied is not in excess.
Step 7 – Serve the food
After turning both sides of the chicken and broiling each side for 20 minutes, you can be sure that the food is ready for consumption, even before tasting it.
However, a simple way you can tell if the chicken is ready for consumption is when the flesh is no longer looking pink.
Feel free to brush your chicken with your already prepared sauce before consumption. You can even add the source 5 minutes before the 20 minutes broiling time elapses.
The cooking temperature depends on the chicken part in question. If you’re for drumsticks and thighs, you can cook at 180 degrees. Fahrenheit. For breast meat, cook at 170 degrees Fahrenheit, while for patties, the ideal temperature is 165 degrees Fahrenheit.
Best Broiler Pan Substitutes to Consider
Does your recipe require using a broiler pan, which you do not have? There’s no need to fret, as there are broiler pan alternatives that can cook your food item and give you similar results as when it’s being cooked in the broiler pan itself.
Check them out below.
1. Roasting pan
Roasting pans are common cookware in many kitchens. There’s a good chance that you may not spend a single dime buying one now that you desperately need it.
These large and deep pots are excellent for roasting meatballs and meat in the microwave oven.
What makes roasting pans a wise alternative to broiler pan is its ability to withstand extremely high temperatures. Roasting pans are made of hard-anodized aluminum, stainless steel, enamel steel, and a cast-iron skillet.
Looking at the materials, you can easily tell why roasting pans are a perfect alternative to broiler pans.
Roasting pans conduct heat evenly, and they can retain heat much longer. Their ability to distribute heat evenly makes it even possible to achieve the desired result in whatever food item you cook.
Note – You need toensure the food is covered while cooking when using a roasting pan.
2. Cast iron skillet or pans
Cast iron skillet or pans make an excellent broiler alternative. Due to their excellent heat conductivity, this cookware is preferred for cooking when a broiler pan isn’t available.
Cast iron skillet or pan can handle high heat cooking. On top of that, heat distribution is even. So, your food item will be perfectly cooked on the outside and inside.
Besides the high conductivity, cast iron skillet or pan’s durability makes them an excellent choice. This cookware is highly reliable. On top of that, it’s reasonably priced.
Note – Consider greasing your cast iron skillet or pan before and after use. Doing so will keep it in top shape. However, ensure that the oil isn’t too much, as excess oil can cause the surface to flake. Moderation is crucial here.
3. Baking tray
Baking trays are mostly used for baking cookies. But do you know that you can equally use them as a substitute for broiling pans?
However, before you place your baking tray in the oven and subject it to extremely high temperature, check to ensure it can perfectly handle such an amount of heat. Try to read up the manufacturer’s instructions on this and other things you need to consider when using this baking tray in place of a broiler pan.
Note – Before using this broiler pan alternative, brush the rack and tray with some high-grade smoke-pointed oil.
4. Aluminum foil tray
Yes, the aluminum foil tray is another broiler pan alternative. Most people might even go for this as opposed to others because it is readily available and budget-friendly.
Cleaning an aluminum foil tray is also a breeze. And what’s more, this broiler substitute is safe and disposable. You can use it to broil steak too.
Another impressive thing about aluminum tray is its high heat conductivity. And this makes it possible to cook food items in no time.
Conclusion
Broiling is considered a healthy way to cook food items. It helps reduce fat and gives you the perfect sear. It’s important to cook with the ideal cookware to get the desired result. Consider reading the manufacturer’s manual to get a grip of the ideal temperature, including other tips needed to get the desired cooking result.
We hope you now know the various broiler pan alternatives and things to do when using them to achieve the desired result. Thank you for stopping by.
