Broiling: top heat, close range
Roasting heats food with hot air all around it. Broiling uses radiant heat from the top element, which hits the surface directly and weakens fast with distance. Food browns in minutes. It suits thin cuts, melting cheese and charring peppers.
Stay at the oven while broiling
Broiling goes from golden to burnt in under a minute, so stay close. Put thick pieces lower so the center cooks before the top chars, and thin pieces higher. Use a metal pan, since some glass and ceramic can crack under broiler heat.
Test yourself
Questions from the interactive lesson, with the answer and the why.
What makes broiling different from roasting?
It uses radiant heat from above. The top element radiates heat straight onto the surface.
True or false: Moving the rack closer to the broiler makes the top of the food brown faster.
True. Radiant heat is strongest near the element, so closer means faster browning.
What went wrong? You broil thick chicken thighs on the top rack, inches from the element. The skin chars black but the inside is raw.
They sat too close, so the top burned. Intense radiant heat at close range burns the top first.
Fill the blank: Broiling heats mainly by ___ heat from the top element.
Broiling heats mainly by radiant heat from the top element. The element glows and sends heat straight onto the food.
Why does distance from the element matter so much?
Radiant heat fades quickly with distance. Small changes in rack height change the heat at the surface a lot.