Remember the George Foreman Lean Mean Grilling Machine? When I first met my husband, he swore by that thing. I’m pretty sure he mourned it when it finally stopped heating up to grill his favorite things. These days, we’re doing most of our indoor grilling on a cast iron beauty from Iwachu:
The Genghis Khan Grill Pan is concave at the base and lifts in the center to allow you to lay whatever you’re grilling on the grooved slope. This allows fat (or in the case of my oyster mushrooms, water) to run off, and crisp up your choices faster and with more flavor.
What I love about this pan (in addition to the fact that it gets hot… like, REALLY HOT) is that it’s so easy to maneuver and clean. The handles make it easy (and safer) to remove from the heat. And you clean it much like you would any cast iron cooking pan: wipe clean (never submerge in water), and season if needed.
It works well with my favorite thing to grill (oyster mushrooms). I just have to press them as they are laid up against the pan to really get all of the water out. Once that water is gone, they grill up beautifully. This pan also does great with sliced fruits and veggies like pineapple, bell peppers and zucchini.
Recently hubby and I saw a preview for the new George Foreman movie. He suddenly remembered that he had that electric grill, and we shared a nostalgic laugh. This pan uses old-world techniques (iron and fire), to get the same (and perhaps even better) results than its electric counterparts. Sometimes the best way forward is to honor the past.