Before we began to explore and dive into the world of cooking, there was one thing that always pissed us off – our food falling through the grates. At first, we thought that it was the fault of a grill since it had such wide grates, or maybe it was us, and we made the mistake of making the veggies and meat too small. And only after further investigation did we realize – the whole reason our food kept falling through, is because we didn’t use a grill mat. Now that bewildered us since not only did we had no idea how to use a grill mat, but we didn’t even know what that is (aside from some guesses, of course).
So naturally, we’ve started to gather more and more information about what is a grill mat and how to use it properly, and wouldn’t you know it – it actually did help solve the annoying issue of our food falling off.
But that was a while ago, back when we were just taking our first steps in the BBQ world; but now we think that it would be useful to share all that knowledge on how to use grill mates, to help anyone avoid our mistake, and make any barbeque event a lot easier and convenient!
What Is a Grill Mat
Before learning how to use grill mats, it’s important to understand what it is, exactly.
So basically, this is a non-stick mat that you need to put on your grill to cook delicate food items. The major benefit of grill mates is that they prevent the food from falling through and making your food a lot juicier. That is because grill mats are very compact, and you can roll the meat in them or even cut them, and they will hold all the juices in. However, they will also do it if you just place them on a grill.
What Are Grill Mats Made of?
This product has a cloth covering made of fiberglass. And if you’re wondering – are grill mats safe to use? – then you should know that they have a non-stick coating made of PTFE. so it’s safe on gas, charcoal, and electric grills. Most non-stick parts of the product are made of perfluorooctanoic. Most of these perfluorochemicals are in Teflon, which is the main ingredient in non-stick cookware. Teflon is a name given to man-made chemicals mainly PTFE, which is present in this item.
Key Advantages of Grill Mats
- Convenient: When you know how to use grill mats, the cooking process becomes much more comfortable – the mat will stop your food from falling through the grates. Thus, you save a lot of time cleaning them.
- Hygienic: These are clean and hygienic products that will keep your food safe. For example, when you’re not sure if the grill you’re using is clean you can put the mat on top and just start cooking.
- Easy to use: People often damage their product because they don’t know how to use bbq grill mats. But that only happens with a lack of knowledge. Because anyone who learned how to use grill mats properly will tell you how easy it is. Just put it on top of the grill grates, and you’re all set.
- Easy to clean: You can easily put your grill mat into the dishwasher and you’re all good. Or you can just wash it manually, it won’t take much time.
- Reusable: You can reuse your mat pretty easily – just properly wash it with soapy water and you’re all good.
Things to Make on Grill Mats
There are several delicious foods you can make on a grill mat, like:
- Cooking small foods: When you know how to use grill mats, you won’t have any problems grilling small pieces of food, if you need appetizers. So feel free to toss vegetables, shrimps, and small meat pieces without the fear of the mess.
- Grilling pizza: You can make anything just by putting grill mats on top of the grates. You can even make a pizza if you just own a gas grill. You can put the non-stick sheet on top of it and cook the dough. Then put your favorite toppings and cheese and cook until your pizza’s ready.
- Grilling meats: Grill mat will help you grill meat of any size – from smaller bacon pieces to a full-on steak. And the best part is – your meat will remain juicy and delicious since the mat holds in all the juices.
- Making eggs in a basket: Pretty self-explanatory – you can make eggs in the basket. It’s a delicious recipe where we cut a circle on a piece of bread and gently cook the egg on this circle. Butter both sides of the bread and put it to toast. Then put crack eggs in the center and cook them slowly
Tips to Use Grill Mats
- Never let the sheet be exposed to over 500 degrees temperature.
- Don’t use utensils with sharp edges as they’ll cut through the sheet.
- Wash the sheet manually, with mild soap.
- Don’t scrub the sheet; it can damage the PTFE coating.
- Don’t forget about the proper temperature, depending on what you cook.
- If you’re washing in a dishwasher, put the grill matt on the top rack.
- Always take safety precautions.
Conclusion
And that’s pretty much everything on how to use grill mats properly! So keep these tips in mind, and soon your BBQ experience will become a lot easier, faster, and, most importantly, delicious!
