Is "grilled" the same thing as "pan seared"

I mean what exactly is "grilled chicken"? this whole time I just thought it was kind of the same thing as pan-seared chicken breast since I don't think anyone actually goes out to grill a chicken breast on their fire grill daily. But other websites are saying differently, saying that grilled chicken is actually not the same thing as pan seared and you need to get a special type of grilling pan if you want to have actual grilled chicken at home. I'm confused.

Replies

  • ainokea8
    ainokea8 Posts: 95
    oops I posted this in the wrong section. I thought I was in the food & nutritions board. Sorry!
  • mediamogulsteve
    mediamogulsteve Posts: 115 Member
    Short answer anyway: NO.
  • jmc0806
    jmc0806 Posts: 1,444 Member
    no, pan searing uses high heat to lock in the juices
  • DawnieB1977
    DawnieB1977 Posts: 4,248 Member
    We have an inbuilt grill in our oven. It has bits that heat at the top. If I make bacon that's how I cook it.
  • TNChef
    TNChef Posts: 1
    No, Pan Searing is cooking in a pan on High Heat with addition of an oil, usually.
    Grilling is over an open flame or other heat source.
  • Acg67
    Acg67 Posts: 12,142 Member
    no, pan searing uses high heat to lock in the juices

    Myth
  • Grill in the Uk - I believe - is broiling in the U.S.

    And pan seared is where you fry it on high heat to brown the outside - this will still leave the inner undercooked. Pan searing is usually used to brown meat before slower cooking i.e. casserole etc.
  • Cranquistador
    Cranquistador Posts: 39,744 Member
    :tongue:
  • cwolfman13
    cwolfman13 Posts: 41,865 Member
    No, it is not the same thing. The closest thing to grilled would be broiled.

    Also, I have a gas fired grill and use it at least 5 nights per week, even in winter...I prefer to grill most of my meat/poultry/seafood. I even cook my Thanksgiving turkey on the grill outside using indirect heat.

    I'm grilling salmon filets tonight...last night I grilled a pork tenderloin...I love grilling.
  • DawnieB1977
    DawnieB1977 Posts: 4,248 Member
    So grilling in the US is like BBQing?
  • sjohnny
    sjohnny Posts: 56,142 Member
    I mean what exactly is "grilled chicken"? this whole time I just thought it was kind of the same thing as pan-seared chicken breast since I don't think anyone actually goes out to grill a chicken breast on their fire grill daily. But other websites are saying differently, saying that grilled chicken is actually not the same thing as pan seared and you need to get a special type of grilling pan if you want to have actual grilled chicken at home. I'm confused.

    Your thinking is incorrect. I use at least one of my grills several times a week. Year round.
  • sjohnny
    sjohnny Posts: 56,142 Member
    So grilling in the US is like BBQing?

    Grilling is cooking on fire (usually directly). BBQing is cooking slowly with smoke and fire.
  • bcattoes
    bcattoes Posts: 17,299 Member
    I only say grilled when I mean cooked over a flame or embers (gas grill, camp fire, charcoal grill, etc.).

    Pan seared is food seared in a pan, regardless of the heat source for the pan.

    Now the difference between roasted and baked is much more blurry in my world.
  • Rak0ribz
    Rak0ribz Posts: 177 Member
    Well, from left to right:
    Yes. No. Yes. No. Yes. No...
  • siobhan478
    siobhan478 Posts: 21 Member
    Out of interest do US ovens/cookers not have grills? In the UK the grill is sometimes at the top of the main oven and sometimes a separate section of the oven, but the flame is directly above the tray that the food is on, usually the tray has a rack inside it so that the fat and grease drips off the food and into the bottom of the tray which is a healthier way of cooking. So to me grilling is cooking this way. But I appreciate that different countries have different words and different ways of cooking.
  • Rak0ribz
    Rak0ribz Posts: 177 Member
    Out of interest do US ovens/cookers not have grills? In the UK the grill is sometimes at the top of the main oven and sometimes a separate section of the oven, but the flame is directly above the tray that the food is on, usually the tray has a rack inside it so that the fat and grease drips off the food and into the bottom of the tray which is a healthier way of cooking. So to me grilling is cooking this way. But I appreciate that different countries have different words and different ways of cooking.

    US stove tops don't generally have grills. The mechanism you describe is usually called a broiler over here. I think USians generally mean "cooking on a grate over an open flame" when they talk about grilling.
  • cwolfman13
    cwolfman13 Posts: 41,865 Member
    So grilling in the US is like BBQing?

    Grilling is cooking on fire (usually directly). BBQing is cooking slowly with smoke and fire.

    word....

    grilling.jpg
    Grilling^^^^

    Propane_smoker.jpg
    BBQ^^^
  • sjohnny
    sjohnny Posts: 56,142 Member
    So grilling in the US is like BBQing?

    Grilling is cooking on fire (usually directly). BBQing is cooking slowly with smoke and fire.

    word....

    grilling.jpg
    Grilling^^^^

    Propane_smoker.jpg
    BBQ^^^

    That's what's up!
  • Ataraxia81
    Ataraxia81 Posts: 63 Member
    I mean what exactly is "grilled chicken"? this whole time I just thought it was kind of the same thing as pan-seared chicken breast since I don't think anyone actually goes out to grill a chicken breast on their fire grill daily. But other websites are saying differently, saying that grilled chicken is actually not the same thing as pan seared and you need to get a special type of grilling pan if you want to have actual grilled chicken at home. I'm confused.

    Pan searing is cooking the outside of a meat (or other product), at a high temperature for a short period of time, browning the item. The item is usually then placed in an oven to finish cooking at a low temperature for a longer period of time. Pan searing basically ensures that the juices stay inside the meat.
  • meganjcallaghan
    meganjcallaghan Posts: 949 Member
    So grilling in the US is like BBQing?

    Grilling is cooking on fire (usually directly). BBQing is cooking slowly with smoke and fire.

    word....

    grilling.jpg
    Grilling^^^^

    Propane_smoker.jpg
    BBQ^^^

    That's what's up!

    see...in MY world that's called a smoker....not a BBQ. That's how you smoke meat.
  • zorbaru
    zorbaru Posts: 1,077 Member
    So grilling in the US is like BBQing?

    Grilling is cooking on fire (usually directly). BBQing is cooking slowly with smoke and fire.

    in the US.

    BBQ in australia usually refers to cooking snags (sausages), chops and steaks and any other random meats on a hotplate over a gas fire.

    low & slow BBQ is making some in roads here tho.
  • zorbaru
    zorbaru Posts: 1,077 Member
    also, pan searing has no effect on the moisture of the meat. infact, reverse sear is taking over as one of the preferred methods of cooking steak. cooked indirectly (oven or bbq) first then browned on a grill at the end.
  • cwolfman13
    cwolfman13 Posts: 41,865 Member
    So grilling in the US is like BBQing?

    Grilling is cooking on fire (usually directly). BBQing is cooking slowly with smoke and fire.

    word....

    grilling.jpg
    Grilling^^^^

    Propane_smoker.jpg
    BBQ^^^

    That's what's up!

    see...in MY world that's called a smoker....not a BBQ. That's how you smoke meat.

    smoking meat is BBQ...

    If you go to a BBQ joint, it's going to be slow smoked ribs, chicken, brisket, etc...not burgers on the grill. Of course, if you're from Carolina then true BBQ can't be anything except pig.
  • WinoGelato
    WinoGelato Posts: 13,454 Member
    I mean what exactly is "grilled chicken"? this whole time I just thought it was kind of the same thing as pan-seared chicken breast since I don't think anyone actually goes out to grill a chicken breast on their fire grill daily. But other websites are saying differently, saying that grilled chicken is actually not the same thing as pan seared and you need to get a special type of grilling pan if you want to have actual grilled chicken at home. I'm confused.

    Most of the time, in my kitchen - pan seared is done indoors, in a skillet, but usually there is oil or butter in the pan before the chicken is added. Then often finished in the oven to cook the meat the rest of the way through. The addition of the fat before searing it would add some extra caloires.

    Grilling is done outside, on a bbq grill (ours is propane gas) and it is meant as a grate over flame. There isn't fat added before I put the chicken on the grill, but often a marinade or seasoning of some sort (also calories). We grill often, even in the winter time.

    They do sell "grill pans" in the US but these are usually just for giving grill marks (stripes) and I don't think they closely replicate the same flavor of cooking over a flame, even though our flame is gas powered not charcoal or other wood.

    The UK "grill" described in this thread is called a broiler in the US.

    Also, to me the difference between BBQing and Grilling is debatable - could be the addition of BBQ sauce to the grilled meat, or it could mean the event itself, ie "I'm having a BBQ this weekend". When we have that BBQ we grill the meat.

    Confusing enough for you? :)
  • RecklezzBeauty
    RecklezzBeauty Posts: 16 Member
    I mean what exactly is "grilled chicken"? this whole time I just thought it was kind of the same thing as pan-seared chicken breast since I don't think anyone actually goes out to grill a chicken breast on their fire grill daily. But other websites are saying differently, saying that grilled chicken is actually not the same thing as pan seared and you need to get a special type of grilling pan if you want to have actual grilled chicken at home. I'm confused.

    i actually in rain snow or any weather go out and grill my chicken lol
  • sjohnny
    sjohnny Posts: 56,142 Member
    So grilling in the US is like BBQing?

    Grilling is cooking on fire (usually directly). BBQing is cooking slowly with smoke and fire.

    word....

    grilling.jpg
    Grilling^^^^

    Propane_smoker.jpg
    BBQ^^^

    That's what's up!

    see...in MY world that's called a smoker....not a BBQ. That's how you smoke meat.

    Yes. A smoker is what you use for barbecue.