The Grills That Restaurants Use

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Restaurants Grill Types

When new restaurants are born, a lot of pre-planning is done to decide on various things; and one of them is the grills that they will use to cook all, or most of their foods. When they make their decision, it really is based on the philosophies of the corporation running the restaurant as a whole.

Most restaurants buy their grills based off of what would ultimately make their guests the happiest in the end. Many establishments believe that the happiness of their customers is the most important thing. This means that they will pick grills for cooking their food that are the most efficient and effective, regardless of the cost.

Speed of service isn’t always the most important thing. Some restaurants have made the decision to buy their grills based off of other factors too, like quality and entertainment. Guests have always been mesmerized by the cooking techniques that restaurants use. Some establishments buy grills to put their guests in awe of the power of the chef, while they are preparing their food.

Almost every type of grill is used in restaurants. Sometimes the location and the culture in the area inspires the selection of cooking equipment used by chefs. No matter what type of grill that the restaurant is using, it is typically bigger and better than any grills that anyone has at home or in their backyard.

What are the grills called that restaurants use?

The general name for the larger grills that restaurants use is “commercial grills”. These grills are bigger, but usually also more efficient than their little siblings. They have extra space for cooking large portions of food at one time. Some commercial grills specialize in efficiency more than size, and are bought in pairs or more to satisfy the restaurants needs. These grills are sometimes even lined up beside each to make a massive grill that can cook hundreds of food items at one time.

Types Grills That Restaurants Use

There are 3 main types of commercial grills that restaurants use the most:

  • Electric Commercial Grills
    • These are grills that are plugged into an outlet to run off electricity for power. Electric grills are great options because they start up easily with the push of a button or the flip of a switch after they are plugged in.
    • Some of them do not smoke as much as other types of grills would, so they are great for indoor usage. This however doesn’t mean that they can only be used for indoor usage. Because they run off of electricity, it means that commercial electric grills can be moved to other indoor locations, and started up immediately by simply plugging them in. They don’t use gas, so this means they have an infinite power source.
    • Electric grills heat up pretty fast, and can maintain a high stable temperature when cooking with them.
  • Gas Commercial Grills
    • Gas grills are used by restaurants to cook steak and other poultry, along with vegetables. The coolest thing about commercial gas grills is the ability to set different temperatures for the sections on the same grill. This means that an entire meal can be cooked on the grill all at the same time. It is also useful for cooking steak at different temperatures by moving it to other sections of the gas grill when necessary.
    • Gas grills need a propane tank to start up, or they need to be connected to a gas line in the restaurant. This means that they will either suffer from mobility if hooked to a gas line, or possibly running out of gas on propane if it is running low. If it is hooked to a gas line however, the problem is solved.
  • Charbroiler Commercial Grills
    • Charbroilers can be either electric or gas grills, and have sections that can be heated up independently to cook full meals at one time. Steaks and other poultry are often cooked on these things, and they cook them extremely well.
    • Commercial charbroilers are some of the largest grills, which are capable of cooking hundreds of steaks at the same time.
    • Charbroilers use burners that rest underneath each section of grates, with the front of that section of the grill using a knob to regulate the temperatures. The burners heat up the grates above the burners where the food rests. The temperature of charbroilers can climb past 600 degrees Fahrenheit and have fire coming up in between the grates, cooking the food. They really make a chef look and feel like a chef.
    • The best feature of charbroilers, and why a restaurant might pick this grill over another, is the smokey flavor that it can give to the food it is cooking. Charbroilers require a lot of ventilation.
  • Commercial Flat Top Grills
    • Flat top grills are a popular choice for restaurants as well, and highly favored in Asian restaurants. These are the same grills used by Itamae (Japanese chefs), the same chefs that do acrobatics with your food while they cook it in front of you (they never listened to their mom when she said not to play with your food at the table). These grills do not have an opening at the bottom of them for fat and food residue to leak down into. All of the food is cooked on a heated flat sheet of metal that heats up with electricity.
    • Just like other grill types, there are some flat tops that are capable of cooking different foods in the sections of the grill at the same at different temperatures, so it is possible to effectively cook steaks.
    • Commercial flat tops can be used to cook breakfast foods like pancakes by pouring the batter directly unto the grill. Flat top grills can cook all types of food, just like other types of grills, including poultry (including eggs). Think of flat top grills as frying pans with a lot more space.

All of the grill types used by restaurants can get the job done for cooking all types of food fast and effectively, but it really is up to the restaurant itself on which ones they prefer to use for cooking their foods. Some types might be a hassle for one, but a treasure for another, depending on how they look at it.

All of the grill types are fun to use in restaurants, and still require some experience cooking the specific foods more than anything else when it comes to making excellent food for their guests.

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