Chefs offer tips to flatten bacon, grill veggies, and make a perfect grilled cheese.
Some hoi polloi might think of agrill pressas a one - trick trot . And while the tool is sure ideal to conjure down bash burgers and seer a steak , there are a ton of different ways to utilize a grill press — and you ’re going to want to invest in one this summertime .
Also known as a steak weight , the grill military press is a cast iron tool that ’ll bring your summer cookouts ( or breakfast or lunch … ) to the next level . Beyond that , it ’s a great style to get picture - sodding grillwork likes ona panini , blacken vegetable to beau ideal , and eventually uncurl that Viscount St. Albans for your next brunch .
How to make the perfect smash burger
But let ’s begin with one of its most unwashed U.S.A. : the hamburger . If anyone knows about perfecting the burger with a grill press , it ’s Ty Goerke , the head chef at the restaurant chainSmashburger , and he ’s more than happy to share his smashing best practices . He says that starting with a hot cooking control surface of about 375 to 400 degrees is a must .
You ’ll also desire to warm up the press on the preparation surface itself or on a burner for about 10 minutes . Then put some unseasoned butter on the grille which , Goerke say , adds a flavor boost and serve the meat get a small sack from the airfoil .
When it comes to shape your primer coat beef cattle patties , Goerke recommend a portmanteau of Angus Og and sirloin . It ’s not as much about the grade of bitch as it is the fat - to - lean proportion . Since you need those beefburger to be juicy and flavourous , he suggests going for 75 - 80 % fat . “ Anything thin is snuff it to lend itself to a little bit of a drier or hard burger , ” he sound out . Of naturally , if turkey or black bonce burgers are more your speed , they still ferment with the grill press , too . It might also be helpful to use a grillpress with edgesthat help contain the patties when they ’re pressed .
Photo by Kristen Loken for Chef’s Press
work your ground beef cattle into broadly packed patties to help their spreadability once they ’re smashed . The second you place the patty on the hot open , constrict down on them with your grill mechanical press , and then time of year fully with salt and black pepper ( and other seasonings of your choice ) .
“ Once it start out percolating , it take the seasonings and it break up them and it melts all of that season into the burger , ” says Goerke . “ So by convey that consistent heaviness , it set aside us to achieve consistent cooking , which helps convey all of the tone and the seasons back into the Warren Earl Burger . ” pitch your burger — just once!—and top with high mallow and you ’re done .
Other meats you can use with a grill press
But grill crush are versatile tools beyond just burgers . Todd Ginsburg is an Atlanta - based chef and one of the encephalon behindRye Restaurantswhich includes conception like the sandwich jointFred ’s Meat & Breadand barbeque spotWood ’s Chapel — and he uses a grill insistence at all of them . “ You get a much more consistent , golden crispiness , grain , and vividness when you habituate these weight , ” he says .
Spatchcock chicken is one of Ginsburg ’s pet dishes to make using grill presses . He ’ll typically get a pan hot over high heat and warm up up some oil ( think grape seed for a gamey smoking detail ) before putting the chicken in the goat god cutis side down .
“ When you lay the wimp down in a pan , you ’re going to weigh it . Then you ’re going to turn your cooking pan down to medium , medium - gamy , and just let it get a slightly short flake of golden around the outside , ” says Ginsburg . Then he ’ll pop the genus Pan into a 450 - degree oven on the lowest rack for about 17 minutes before taking it out , removing the weight , and flipping the wimp over before peradventure cooking it another minute or so .
Smashburger
The grill wardrobe is also a breakfast whiz . Ginsburg , who uses the putz for crispy pastrami at his deli conceptThe General Muir , allege that it ’s a slap-up way to keep bacon flat while prepare . Just place it on top of the bacon while it cook in your cooking pan and you ’ll have an equally cook breakfast meat in no time ( fillip point for rock-bottom splatter , too ) .
Use a grill press for sandwiches, veggies, and fruits
Your summer yield veggie can get a boost from the grill imperativeness , too . Bruce Hill , a chef and the inventor of theChef ’s Press , is a full-grown proponent of using grill wardrobe on vegetables . Just like some proteins necessitate to be kept insipid while fake for an even sear , so do some veg . mound likes to use it on asparagus , which are thicker on one side than the other and therefore prostrate to not cooking equally . Pineapples , sliced onion ring , common pepper , and snow pea also can also benefit from the use of the grill press .
“ Cauliflower is another one that ’s really , really good because cauliflower is so dumb . It needs some weighting to hold it down , ” says Hill . “ We always love to urge cauliflower steak for people that are grill . ”
To prepare a Brassica oleracea botrytis steak using the grill closet , slit it through the core into about 4 pieces . surface it in a thin layer of olive oil and season with the spice of your choice . Then come in the cauliflower on a hot cookery aerofoil and direct the exercising weight on top to help it cook evenly .
Pastrami, pimento cheese, and pickled green tomato sandwich|The General Muir
Hill actually fabricate his version of the grill insistence to cook grilled cheese sandwiches . “ Any kind of sandwich that you want to wassail on the outside , the Chef ’s Press is amazing for that because you ’re going to get a nice even browning , ” he tell .
If the sandwich is soft , just one grill press will do . A bigger , hearty sandwich might call for extra presses for extra pressure . On Instagram , for example , food content creator Owen Han , whipped up a bresaolasandwich on a baguet . He placed the interior of the baguet on the genus Pan and used a Chef ’s Press to drink the interior before assembling the sandwich .
Of course , you could do this with any grill press at domicile , too , with any meet you desire .
Photo by Kristen Loken for Chef’s Press
