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How to Get Perfect Grill Marks on Steak using an Indoor Grill
One of the goals, while you cook a steak on the grill, is to get excellent grill marks. You must master this skill on any grill if you want to stand out always. In today’s cooking culture, the way you present cooked foods is important as the flavor.
Can I get perfect grill marks on my indoor electric grill? Yes, you can attain perfect grill marks on an electric grill when you do it right. All matters are the timing, heat, and positioning on your grill. This article is a guide on how to get perfect grill marks on steak using an indoor electric grill.
Why do Grill Marks Matter?
Whether grill marks matter or not, it’s a matter of personal opinion. Some people believe that steak with grill marks is better, while it doesn’t matter to others.
However, grill marks matter to someone who wants an enhanced flavor on their grilled steak. Grill marks are a result of Maillard's reaction. What exactly is this process? It’s a chemical reaction between proteins and reducing sugars that gives browned food a distinctive flavor. In this case, when the steak touches a hot grill plate, the proteins in the steak are broken down into amino acids; thus, it leaves food with grill marks and a unique flavor.
Besides, how steak appears at first will highly influence your appetite and determine whether you like it or not. Therefore, perfect grill marks on steak matter.
6 Tips on How to Get Perfect Grill Marks Using an Indoor Electric Grill
1. Keep the grill clean
Do you want efficiency on your indoor electric grill? Cleanliness is among the important ways to achieve it. Before your steak hits the grill’s cooking surface, ensure it’s clean and that there are no build-up food particles on the ridges/groves.
Cooking on a clean grill plate ensures you achieve perfect grill marks. In contrast, a dirty grill plate will make you struggle to achieve grill marks and even cause the steak to stick to the cooking surface.
2. Preheat the grill
A well-preheated grill will give incredible results on your steak. A hot grill will leave perfect and clean grill marks on the steak. A poorly heated grill won’t form excellent grill marks and might even cause your steak to get ripped while flipping it.
Preheat your grill for approximately 15 minutes before you start cooking on it.
3. Select an indoor grill with a non-stick cooking surface
Grill with a non-stick cooking surface prevents steak from sticking and form clean grill marks. Because of this reason, most electric grills, such as the Atgrills indoor grill, comes with such surfaces.
However, if your indoor grill isn’t non-stick, you’ll have to season it with a coating of cooking oil.
4. Season the steak
Seasoning your steak comes with several benefits, such as a good flavor and enhanced grill marks. Therefore, season your steak about an hour before you start grilling. Avoid seasoning the steak a few minutes before grilling because it will pull moisture off the steak and won’t form perfect grill marks and crustiness on the exterior.
5. Lightly press the steak on the grill plate
If you want your grill marks to be highly visible on the steak, you can lightly press it on the grill plate. Use a spatula to press.
Avoid pressing the meat extremely hard because it causes the steak to drain all essential juices and moisture for good taste.
6. Let the steak grill
Achieving perfect grill marks on your steak needs your patience. Therefore, let your steak grill for a reasonable time before flipping it. Frequent flipping or turning your steak doesn’t allow an adequate period for the grill marks to form perfectly on the steak.
However, you should monitor the temperature of your steak using a meat thermometer to ensure you attain the ideal internal temperature for the right doneness. It also prevents undercooking or overcooking.
What are the Different Grill Mark Patterns?
You can make two main grill mark patterns on the grill, i.e., line sear marks and diamond grill marks. They are also referred to as the single strip and the crosshatch grill markings.
Regardless of the grill pattern you choose, the whole process starts at a 45 degrees angle to the grate. If you go for the single strip, that’s all. You’ll only turn the steak to achieve a similar pattern on both sides of the steak.
However, if you want a crosshatch grill pattern, you will turn the steak from 45 degrees angle once it’s done to a 90 degrees angle for searing. Once the second phase of grill marks are formed, you should flip the steak and repeat the process on the other side.
Check out Atgrills indoor electric grills and griddles to cook steak on a cookware with natural stone coating.
