The Key To Indoor Grilling Is Having The Right Equipment — Here's What You Need

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As soon as the weather warms up, grill recipes start sprouting faster than dandelions. It seems like the rest of the world is out there barbecuing everything from watermelon to grilled pickles to smoked cocktails — in fact, just about everything but dandelions. (Use these weeds to make a floral syrup instead.)  What if you live in a rainy climate, though? Or, worse yet, have no access to outdoor cooking facilities? Not everyone has a yard or even a patio, after all. Well, there's no need to wallow in FOMO, because with a few pieces of kitchen equipment, you can adapt many grill recipes to be made indoors. To help get you started, we asked Scott Groth for his recommendations. Groth, who blogs and shares recipes at I'd Rather Be a Chef, has one favorite piece of indoor grilling equipment, something he calls a double burner grill pan. (We recommend the Lodge LDP3 cast iron rectangular reversible grill/griddle, available from Amazon for $34.90.)

"When it's raining or too windy outside to grill," said Groth, "I love moving the party inside." When using his stovetop grill pan, he heats it slowly, then turns off one of the stove burners to create a hot zone and a cool zone. As he said of this kitchen tool, "Convenience and control all in one pan." He did add a caveat, however, warning that such a pan requires a well-ventilated kitchen. He also suggested minimizing the use of oil to produce less smoke in an indoor environment.

If you don't have two stove burners to spare for indoor grilling, you can instead purchase a grill pan, which is essentially a square cast-iron pan with ridges. These pans don't tend to be expensive (you can purchase the 10.5-inch Lodge L8SGP3 cast iron square grill pan from Amazon for $19.94), and they make a convenient way to grill small portions meant for just one or two people.

If you have a larger get-together in mind, you might like to invest in a freestanding electric raclette grill with a heated stone. (The Artestia 1500W raclette cheese grill is selling for $90.39 on Amazon.) Scott Groth has a raclette grill, and he told us, "I love grilling food on the stone with friends and heating the cheese in the coupelles ... not much better than meat and cheese!" Of course, you need not limit yourself to making raclette with this gadget. In addition to its eponymous après-ski treat, a raclette grill can also be used to cook a wide range of meats, fish, and vegetables, as well as prepare Korean barbecue.