Inspiration
A Guide to using your Grill as an Oven
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Most people do not know that you can use gas and charcoal grills as an oven. This means that all of your favorite roasting and baking recipes, that are traditionally done in the oven, can also be cooked on the grill! Whether it's your family's traditional Sunday roast, a quick batch of weekday cookies, or a pie for the holidays, consider using your grill instead of the oven!
In this guide to using your grill as an oven, we provide ten essential tips for mastering the art of roasting and baking on the grill.
Starting with "WHy?"
The benefits of using your grill as an oven
Whether your kitchen has one or two ovens, it's often never enough when entertaining. To be able to use your grill as an oven during the holiday season and on other occasions helps with timing and scheduling your meals.
During the summer months, using the grill for roasting and baking will prevent overheating your kitchen and putting additional stress on your air conditioning.
If your indoor kitchen has electric cooking appliances, power outages limit your ability to prepare meals. Knowing how to use your grill as an oven provides you with a variety of options if the power goes out.
If your indoor oven breaks, knowing how to use your grill as an oven allows you to keep going without the hassle of changing your meal plans. You don't have to miss a beat!
Because why not? It's adventurous, fun, and it can add another delicious layer of flavor!
A Guide to Using your Grill as an Oven:
10 Tips for Roasting & Baking on your Grill
Tip 1
Clean your grill!
Step 1 should always be to give your grill a thorough cleaning. This is especially true if you are planning to use your grill for baking. Whether you're making cookies or cobbler, you probably don't want to infuse the flavors of last night's hamburgers and hot dogs (unless you're aiming for that combination of sweet and savory).
Tip 2
Use Indirect Heat
Using direct heat will cause burning in most oven recipes, especially baked goods.
For Gas Grills: Turn on only some of the burners and bake over the unlit side. For example, if your gas grill has 3 or 4 burners, turn on the 2 side burners and roast/bake in the center of the grill.
For Charcoal Grills: After the briquettes are ashed over, separate them by putting half on either side of an empty area; you can use a drip pan to prevent the coals from shifting.
Tip 3
Test the Thermometer
For grills with built-in thermometers, it's important to test them before attempting to roast or bake. As with indoor ovens, successful roasting and baking starts with the correct, stable temperature. To test, simply use an oven thermometer (pictured) to confirm your grill's temperature reading.
If your grill does not have a thermometer, you'll need to get one if you want to use it as an oven. Unless you're using a very basic campfire recipe, it's impossible to successfully roast or bake on a grill without a thermometer.
tip 4
Use Correct Dishware
Even when using indirect heat, flames will likely make contact with your dishware. When baking and roasting on the grill, make sure to select dishes that can withstand the intense heat of the flames. Our preferred options are pizza stones and anything cast iron. That said, if you don’t yet have either of those options, most metal or stoneware containers should work well.
*Glassware is prone to breaking under direct heat. If you must use a traditional baking dish, you need something heatproof to act as a buffer. Consider using an inverted cast iron pan or even a couple of bricks to keep the baking pan well above the heat source so air can freely circulate.
Tip 5
Choose Recipes Wisely
Because temperatures can fluctuate on your grill (especially in cooler weather), roasting and baking can be a little trickier than with an indoor oven. When you’re still getting the hang of it, be sure to choose forgiving recipes that won’t be harmed by fluctuating temperatures. When roasting, consider fattier cuts of meat and saucy casseroles that won't dry out quickly if the recipe cooks faster or slower than anticipated. If baking, simple cookies, brownies, pizzas, and fruit crisps are a great place to start.
Tips 6, 7, & 8
#6 — Preheat to a Consistent Temperature
As you would with an oven, it's essential to preheat your grill. Unlike ovens that automatically stabilize at the selected temperature, grills require attention and adjustments. Before you start roasting or baking on your grill, be sure that you are maintaining the desired temperature for a few minutes. You will likely have to play with the strength of the flame to achieve a consistent temperature.
If your grill is known to drop its temperature considerably when opened, consider preheating it about 25 degrees hotter than the recipe calls for.
#7 — Check The Temperature During Baking
Grills typically do not keep a consistent temperature quite as well as an oven, especially during colder weather. Be sure to check the temperature a few times during the cooking time and adjust the flame as needed.
#8 — Don’t Lift The Lid
As with an oven, opening the door releases a lot of heat and will lengthen your cook time. Because grills require more attention to stabilize the temperature, opening the lid will only make the process more difficult and tedious. You must learn to trust your nose when roasting and baking on the grill. And, if you must check, be sure to make it quick!
#9 — Don’t Rely On Recipe Cook Times
Even if designed specifically for the grill, it is best not to assume a recipe's cook time to be exact. More often than not, most people experience that dishes tend to cook a little faster on the grill. If there’s a range of cooking times for the recipe, set your timer for the lowest number. That being said, during colder months, if the grill has to fight harder to keep a high temperature, some dishes may take a little longer than a traditional oven.
Tip 10
Practice makes perfect
Using your grill as an oven is fun, delicious, and absolutely worth trying. That said, it's important to remember that, as with any new cooking method, it takes practice to perfect.
Be sure to start simple with premade items (think store-bought pizza and cookie dough) before investing a lot of time and energy into making everything from scratch. If you put a lot of effort into an early failed attempt, you may be less likely to try again.
And finally, don't be afraid to experiment! What works on one grill may not work on another and there is only one way to find out if it works on yours. Just go for it!
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