Grill pan on Induction range?

13 years ago

Will a long rectangular grill pan work between two burners on an induction range? Will it mess up the sensors?

We are redoing our kitchen; originally, I was looking for (semi)-pro style gas range with grill/griddle, then became aware of induction. I'm typically not an "early adopter"; I usually wait a few years for the bugs to be worked out and the price to come down with economies of scale. However, we are doing our kitchen this year; induction has been around a long time overall, and is more popular in Europe and Japan. On the other hand, not sure about the track record in terms of reliability. We have a 6 & 8 year old and the advantages of safety, cleaning, and performance have strong appeal. I am not much of a cook at all; my wife is, but not at a super sophisticated level. I used to be a high end furniture maker, and am designing the kitchen. I look for fit and finish and clean style. I prefer to drive a stick shift and I prefer knobs and dials to digital touch panels. That being said, I saw the Electrolux Slide In Induction Range in real life and I was smitten. I had seen photos and it didn't do anything for me, but in real life it is beautiful -- a real head turner. However, I am not looking for a high maintenance low performance "trophy" range. I am looking for a long term relationship built on trust and respect...(all things being equal, beauty certainly doesn't hurt).

FYi, I am thinking of going with Bosch for Frig and DW. For gas range, I am looking at NXR 36 w/griddle (can you get a grill accessory?)

Featured Answer

plllog

13 years ago

Short answer is yes, maybe, but you probably shouldn't do it unless you have a bridge element or "zoneless" even if it works. I can put my cast iron long grill over two paired smaller rings on my induction cooktop, and they'll turn on and heat it, but it would take a long time to bring the in between portion up to the temperature of the area over the elements. Multi-ply stainless would probably heat faster, but I still think you'd have hot spots. Additionally, I think in a recent induction thread, I read about the Elux range having less tolerance for sizes of pans that are very different from nominal for each element.

Almost all of us who have induction really adore it and aren't tempted to go back to gas. (I have part induction and part gas, and only use the gas for special applications--which could easily be done on an outdoor grill if one had one of those.) I wouldn't discount the induction because of cookware. Unless you're trying to grill whole, big fish or tenderloins which just don't fit in smaller pans, it would be worth getting a couple of smaller grill pans instead. And if those are the things you were thinking of, you might ask yourself how often you want to do them, and if an outdoor grill would work for you, or if you might consider broiling, instead. If you're determined to grill long things indoors on induction, you'll be best off finding one of the few tops that have a bridge, or getting zoneless (though that's mostly in Europe), and a separate oven.

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Comments (13)

cookie08
13 years ago
a couple of options for you:

1. LG has an induction cooktop with a bridge element
http://www.lg.com/us/appliances/cooktops/LG-induction-cooktop-LCE30845.jsp

2. Frigidaire has a hybrid cooktop with a bridge element
http://www.frigidaire.com/products/kitchen/cooktops-stovetops/fpcc3685ks
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larsi_gw
13 years ago
I have a 36" Miele 5 burner Induction Cooktop, and I just bought a Le Creuset 10" square cast iron grill pan at Williams Sonoma. It works perfectly on the largest (center) burner, even though the grill pan is slightly larger than the burner ring/outline. Heats fast, evenly and no warnings from the cooktop that something is "out of bounds.
cj47
13 years ago
:-)
I also have the 36" Miele 5 burner induction cooktop and I just bought a Staub 12 inch grill pan at Williams Sonoma (20% off sale, how could I resist?). Works just fine on the large burner. It only hangs off a little on the corners, and those areas get hot after awhile anyway. The cooktop doesn't complain and I love the pan.

Cj
larsi_gw
13 years ago
@ cj47...I got mine at Williams-Sonoma today!! I almost got the Staub, because I loved the colour (it was this awesome deep bluish-purple). The Le Creuset was also on sale, although it was $9.99 more than the Staub. I went with the tradt'l. red Le Creuset, since I already have 3 pieces of red Le Creuset...and while I wanted that blue Staub, the "logical" me came through, and got the one that matched what I have at home!

I am infatuated and in love with my new Miele Induction Cooktop!! Tonight I made Moroccan chicken, and I had to brown the chicken in butter & olive oil. The cooktop was a mess with splattered oil everywhere. When I was done, I just wiped the cooktop down with a slightly damp microfiber towel...and voila--- Perfectly clean. No dealing with Iron grates, gas burners, special cleaners. It literally took me 30 seconds to shine and clean the Induction cooktop. In love!!!
larsi_gw
13 years ago
@ cj47

Sorry to hijack this thread...but how do you get the Auto Shutoff feature to work on the Miele Induction burner?

When I touch that little icon, that looks like a stop watch/timer...I can get the timer function to work, but I cannot assign a burner to auto shut off! What am I doing wrong? I have read the manual at least 5 times, and keep trying...but all I can do is set the timer!

Thanks a lot!
herring_maven
13 years ago
cookie08 wrote: "LG has an induction cooktop with a bridge element http://www.lg.com/us/appliances/cooktops/LG-induction-cooktop-LCE30845.jsp "

We have owned and used one of those for two years now. The LG induction cooktop is, in fact, shipped with a purpose-made steel griddle that fits over the three elements (two 7" round elements with an hourglass-shaped bridge element between them), but you could use any 17"x7" or "18"x8" or so griddle on the bridged elements. (The steel of the LG griddle is shiny and polished out of the box, but is easily abraded, and will look well-used the first time you put a spatula to it.)
stir_fryi SE Mich
13 years ago
I may be wrong but putting a rectangular grill pan across two burners would result in the center not getting hot enough wouldn't it? Years ago I had a long griddle I used on two electric burners -- I tossed it because I had to keep moving the food around to cook evenly.

I use a square cast iron grill pan (what a pain to clean! on my induction stove.

For a griddle I use a long electric plug in griddle -- I love it -- heats evenly and leaves the stove-top for the sausage and bacon!
oskiebabu
13 years ago
If you need a large grilling surface, I would recommend an electric griddle. I remember reading a Cook's Illustrated article and they had the highest rated one at $100.

There aren't any cooktops that are particularly great at bridging elements--be it gas, electric, or induction. Sure, one can buy a gas rangetop with a grill section, but as far as standard burners are concerned you are limited to large size fry pans.

If you make a lot of pancakes, waffles, etc. I would get a good size electric griddle.

Greg
herring_maven
13 years ago
oskiebabu write: "There aren't any cooktops that are particularly great at bridging elements--be it gas, electric, or induction."

I disagree. As noted in a post above, we own an LG LCE30845 induction cooktop. It is particularly good at bridging elements. It is.
oskiebabu
13 years ago
I wouldn't limit my induction cooktop choices based on having bridged elements. A top performing electric griddle is fairly cheap ($100) and would perform great cooking breakfast saqusages and pancakes. I would get the induction cooktop that I like the most, not necessarily the one with bridged elements, unless that is the most critical performance issue for you.

Greg
cj47
13 years ago
larsi, I'm sorry, I didn't think to check back on this thread and I did not see your question. I can't see how to send you a PM, so I'll answer here and hope that you see it.

To activate the auto-shutoff on a Miele burner, touch the timer button (the one that looks like a stopwatch) TWICE...you will see that a red dot flashes next to the burner that is 'on'. If you have more than one burner on, then keep tapping the timer till the red dot lights up next to the burner you want to set. Then set the timer. You don't have to do anything else, once it's set, it's set. If you want to also set the "regular timer" you can do that as well. It will not clear the original timer setting. If you do want to clear the timer altogether for a burner, push both the + and - buttons simultaneously.

Cleanup on this cooktop is a blast, isn't it? I also use microfiber--it does a stellar job of shining things up.

Hope this helps,
Cj
larsi_gw
13 years ago
Thanks CJ. I have been using the auto shut off feature, but did not know to tap it twice. I have been just holding it down until the light blinks. I do not know though, that I could use auto shut off for mutliple burners. Well, I mean I read you could do it..but did not understand how to do it. Thank you!

Seriously, I think I find myself trying to find more recipes that call for frying in oil or butter...since clean up is SO, SO, SO easy. I will NEVER, EVER go back to a gas cooker. Induction offers EVERY benefit of gas...even cleaner, faster, better, more control.

Grill pan on Induction range?

plllog

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