Broiling and baking both work off dry heat. Each method uses this dry heat just a little bit differently. Both are similar and can be used to cook many of the same foods. However, what they are not, is interchangeable.
Broiling Explained
On most of your conventional ovens you’ll find they have an oven for baking things, and underneath the oven you have the broiler. Broiling uses direct heat to cook your food, very similar to grilling out on your barbecue. However, where it differs from grilling is that your heat source is coming from above the food rather than from underneath.
Most broilers come with a broiling pan. It is usually already in its place when you get your stove set up. There is where you place your food and close up the broiler door. This allows the heat from over-top of the food to cook it from above. Broilers can heat up to around 550 degrees Fahrenheit. They are good for ‘searing’ your food.
Baking Explained
When you bake food it cooks by all the hot air from the oven surrounding it. Most anytime you bake something it requires a baking pan or a sheet of some kind. Sometimes you can place a pizza or a potato directly onto the rack without anything. An oven usually heats up to around 170 to 500 degrees Fahrenheit, depending on where you set it. Baking takes longer than broiling. A lot of meats and other dishes require the use of a food thermometer for determining if something is fully baked.
Important Things to Consider
Because both baking and broiling use dry heat, they tend to work best when you’re cooking moist foods. The foods that broil the best, because of the quickness of searing the outside and not the middle, are the ones that are thin. That means foods like chicken wings, breasts, and thin beef cuts that are thinner, can come out nice.
Baking works a little slower and can cook the meat, cookies, pies, or cakes, all the way through because it reaches through to the interior. The main difference with baking foods that some people like to broil, is just an adjustment of the time you allow for it to cook.
Both of these methods are healthy ways of cooking food, mainly because they require no cooking oils or butter to cook your food. There are certain foods that baking will lower the nutritional value of (lowers the amount of Vitamin C in your veggies and B1 in your meats). Baking meat for too long takes the moisture out of it and makes it tough.
When you bake foods you are exposing the food to heat from all sides – top, sides, and bottom. The food is totally immersed in hot air set at a certain temperature. The hot air comes at it from all directions. When you broil the heat is applied directly to the top of the food. To put it simply, in baking you use indirect heating, and when broiling you use direct heating.
Broiling will produce food that is crispier on the outside and tender. When you bake food, all of it cooks the same, from top to bottom and to the inside. Broiling also requires a lower energy consumption, while baking takes more energy.
Time and Equipment for Broiling
If you are going to broil your food you’ll need a metal pan (broiling pan). Some of these are made of cast iron, some aluminum, and some of steel. It is not recommended that you ever place any type of glass or synthetic pans beneath your broiler because its high temperatures beating down direct heat onto them can shatter even glass that is oven-proof. It can melt silicone cookware.
Again, it takes less time to broil. So you preheat the broiler and center your pan underneath the flame (or heating element). Stick close-by when you’re broiling to keep an eye on the food and check it regularly. It is not recommended that you include any kinds of marinades that contain oil because they can cause splattering and put you at risk for fires.
Healthier Chicken
A chicken breast is one of the healthiest sources for animal protein you will find. Frying has never been the best way to go if you’re cooking chicken as far as health is concerned.
When it comes to deciding whether to bake or broil, there are too many factors to be considered (like draining the fat or leaving the skin on, etc.). However, making the choice to do one of these as opposed to frying is definitely a good move health-wise.
Even the American Heart Association states the broiling is a much healthier way of cooking than simply frying. Frying adds calories and fat to your food. This leads to weight gain as well as coronary heart disease. Broiling is fast, cheaper, and you don’t need any extra appliances that tend to clutter up your kitchen.
You Eliminate Fat and Eat Healthier All Around With Broiling
When you broil meat, your broiler is designed for allowing the fat and grease to drip down into the pan. This is because it hits the food with direct heat, and melts the fat. It lowers the amount of some saturated fat found in red meats, and that spells good news for your arteries.
If you want your food cooked fast and easy, broiling is the way to go. It works well on beef steaks, fish steaks, swordfish, tuna, skinless chicken, shellfish, and chops. It’s great for vegetables as well, particularly peppers, tomatoes, and chilies.