If it’s cold outside, but you’re still looking for a great way to grill up some chicken, then you have to get yourself a nice little indoor grill. The simple fact of the matter is that when it’s cold outside, or if you don’t have an outdoor grill, the only other option you have at your disposal is an indoor grill, at least if you want to replicate those results that you get from an outdoor BBQ.
Sure, you can always pan fried, roast, bake, or even air fry some chicken. Yes, deep frying is always an option too. However, when it comes to getting that great taste and those beautiful grill marks, grilling chicken is really the only way to go.
Today, we want to talk about the best way to grill chicken indoors, and yes, this is going to involve using an indoor grill.
The Best Way to Grill Chicken Indoors
Whether we are talking about George Foreman or any other brand name, the simple reality is that the very best way to grill chicken indoors is by using indoor grill. Now, this might all sound quite obvious, but the reality is that all too many people are going to try using their outdoor grill indoors. For many reasons, using an outdoor grill indoors is not recommended in the least.
Can I Use an Outdoor Grill Indoors?
As mentioned above, all too many people are going to try using their outdoor grills indoors. This is extremely dangerous and can in fact even be lethal if things go really wrong. When there is combustion, especially from something like propane, carbon monoxide is produced.
Carbon monoxide is a very poisonous gas that can be lethal if inhaled in high concentrations, as it effectively suffocates you due to displacing the oxygen in the air. Therefore, if you use a gas grill indoors, you’re going to end up gassing out the whole house.
Not only that, but using an outdoor grill indoors is also just really dangerous because there is an open flame involved. You always run the risk of starting a fire when you do this.
Even if the open flame does not touch something, that outdoor grill is going to get so hot that it might actually cause nearby curtains or other very flammable objects to combust.
Moreover, using an outdoor grill indoors is just going to cause a whole lot of smoke that’s going to make your whole house smell, plus it will probably set off your fire alarm too. Therefore, using an outdoor grill indoors is an absolute no-no.
Why Use an Indoor Grill?
So, you can’t use your outdoor grill indoors, so you’d probably think that pan frying, roasting, or baking your chicken, or even deep frying it, is your next best bet. However, there is one option that many people overlook, and that is the indoor grill. Using an indoor grill is actually beneficial for a variety of reasons.
One of the main considerations to keep in mind here is that using an indoor grill is much healthier than pan frying, deep frying, or anything else of the sort. The reason for this is because when you use an indoor grill, you barely have to use any oil at all.
This helps to cut down on the fact that you consume, therefore keeping you healthier. There’s also the fact that unlike when you cook over an open flame and many carcinogens are produced, cooking over an indoor grill doesn’t really produce any carcinogens. It’s just another aspect that helps keep you a little bit healthier.
What is also worth mentioning is that the vast majority of indoor grills all come with nonstick cooking surfaces. This means that not only do you not have to use oil to cook, but clean up time is made much easier too. Food doesn’t easily stick to these surfaces, and on the off chance that it does, it’s also very easy to clean.
Also worth mentioning that indoor grills are extremely versatile. If you bake or pan fry something, chances are that you can only make the chicken in that one dish, but you have to use other pans and pots for the sides. This is not the case when you use an indoor grill, because you can cook a full meal on one of these awesome little kitchen tools.
Moreover, if you get to the right kind of indoor grill, you’ll also be able to swap the grill plate for a grill plate, therefore allowing you to cook many other foods as well, mainly breakfast foods, but much more too.
The simple reality here is that there is no better way to grill chicken indoors than by using an indoor grill.
How to Grill Chicken on an Indoor Grill: Step by Step
Right now, we’re going to take you through a quick step-by-step tutorial on how to grill chicken on an indoor grill.
Today, we’re going to go with chicken breast, boneless and skinless chicken breast. The reason for this is because boneless and skinless chicken breast is extremely versatile it’s something that you can use for a wide variety of dishes.
On a side note, when using an indoor grill with nonstick cooking surfaces, you do need to be careful about bones.
You don’t want any sharp or very hard bones scraping against those nonstick surfaces, because it can cause damage. This is actually another reason why we are going boneless and skinless chicken breast today, because there’s no dealing with those bones that can potentially cause damage. Either way, let’s get through it and talk about exactly how to grill chicken on an indoor grill.
Step 1: Prepare the Indoor Grill
Before you get started, use a damp cloth to wipe down your indoor grill. You don’t want any debris being present before you get started. Then, put your indoor grill on a flat and level surface that is combustion resistant.
Once it is set up, you can then turn on your indoor grill to the desired temperature. If we are talking about chicken breast, 375 degrees Fahrenheit will do just fine. You then want to let the indoor grill heat up.
Step 2: Season the Chicken
Once your indoor grill is ready to go, you then want to season your chicken breast. Of course, how you season your chicken breast is totally up to you. There are plenty of great Mediterranean, African, South American, North American, Asian, and other types of recipes to follow.
However, if you want to keep things simple, some salt, pepper, garlic powder, onion powder, paprika, and a bit of chili powder will do just fine.
You can also use liquid ingredients to marinate your chicken breasts. Remember, if you marinate your chicken breasts, it’s going to produce a lot more flavor and help keep them moist during the cooking process.
Marinating your chicken breast overnight is recommended, although this is completely up to you. It really depends on whether or not you have time for it.
Step 3: Grill the Chicken
Most important step here is actually grilling the chicken breast on your indoor grill. If you have an indoor grill that only has one cooking surface, you’ll want to cook the chicken breast for around 15 minutes, flipping about halfway through.
However, if you have a Panini press style indoor grill, which means that it also features a cooking surface in the lid, then this cooking time is going to be about half as long.
Whatever the case may be, just make sure that the chicken reaches an internal temperature of 165 degrees, as this is what is considered safe.
Step 4: Clean the Indoor Grill
One thing that so many people forget to do after they are done using an indoor grill is to clean the indoor grill. Cleaning your indoor grill is not something you want to you can tell the next time you use it, because any food residue leftover is going to dry and get very stuck.
Therefore, using a damp cloth or any other cleaning methods is recommended. If food got a little bit stuck on, you can always remove the grill grates and clean them in the sink, or if they are dishwasher friendly, then just pop them in the dishwasher.
Also, use a wet cloth to wipe down the exterior, and don’t forget to empty the grease drippings tray either.
Conclusion
As you can see, using an indoor grill to grill up some chicken is very fast, easy, and reliable. Just make sure that your chicken is cooked all the way through, because you do want to avoid salmonella poisoning.