How To Maximize Your Cinder Grill
One of the questions we hear most often is whether we will come out with different sizes of Cinder Grill. Right now we have one model: 24 pounds, 17 inches tall at full extension, 85 square inches of cooking space. However there are ways to maximize the Cinder Grill’s output. Using the Cinder Grill you can cook with ease, cook from frozen, and gain confidence in cooking. You can also feed a crowd, with just a few tweaks.
Cook With Ease: Let the Meat Touch
We’re used to spacing meat out when we cook it. It heats better that way, and also doesn’t stew in its juices. Thus it’s counterintuitive to ‘crowd’ meat on the Cinder Grill, letting the pieces touch. However, the meat cooks better that way, and here’s why. At sous vide temperatures, the heat isn’t strong enough to drive large amounts of moisture out of the meat. Indeed, that’s one of the benefits of sous vide cooking. So, heat propagates both through the Cinder’s plates and through the meat itself. The meat reaches its target temp faster than if insulating air were left between the pieces. This crowding not only helps the meat cook, but it makes room for more pieces to fit on the Cinder. In fact, both of these effects make cooking on the Cinder that much easier, enabling you to gain confidence in cooking.
The ‘Reverse Reverse Sear’ And Other Ways To Speed Cooking
As you gain confidence in cooking and in using your Cinder Grill, you can try cooking from frozen (detailed in the next segment) and cooking from sear. Namely, the Cinder Grill uses the Reverse Sear method. The food is brought to temperature and then seared. This has many benefits, but does take a little time. Instead, for faster cooking, you could also pat the food dry, sear it, turn off the sear setting and let it cook as the Cinder Grill cools. You’ll need a probe thermometer for this, as the Cinder will not be measuring the food’s temperature in this method. Also, there will be more of an internal temperature gradient.
Another way to speed up cooking on the Cinder is to use the heating-to-sear period to cook food. For example, see our Roasted Brussels SProuts recipe. This can be especially useful when you cook from frozen.
Expanded Options: Cook From Frozen, Cook in Parallel
One big step towards the ability to cook with ease is learning how to control timing. Getting all the dishes on the table at the same time can be tricky. However, the Cinder Grill can help by providing one more cooking surface, and all its versatility. Use the Cinder alongside your range to cook more dishes at the same time. Enjoy its perfect results when you cook from frozen, and gain confidence in cooking. Assign it the task of bringing the main course to perfect doneness -- it’s large enough to cook a whole chicken or a full turkey breast. Or use it as a griddle to sautee vegetable side dishes. Even use the Cinder Grill as a serving dish to keep delicate foods like fish fillets warm.
Gain Confidence In Cooking Through Teaching Tools
Another excellent use for the Cinder Grill is as a teaching tool. Due to its single degree precision, the Cinder Grill makes it clear exactly which temperature produces which doneness for any and every cut of steak. A budding cook can then apply this information to cook steak perfectly in less optimal conditions. Also, this goes for any kind of food which can be cooked on a Cinder. You can not only cook with ease but learn to gain confidence in cooking by using your Cinder Grill.
We hope these tips on uses for the Cinder Grill turn out to be helpful and useful for any size meal and any size household. Furthermore, we invite you to consider other ways in which the Cinder Grill can help in the kitchen, and beyond!