Range & Wall Oven - Oven Door Position During Broil (2024)

FAQs

Range & Wall Oven - Oven Door Position During Broil? ›

For many, many years it was a standard practice to leave the oven door slightly ajar when broiling. However, this has changed over time and most newer ovens require the oven door to remain closed when broiling.

A general rule of thumb is that you leave the oven door open when broiling in an electric oven, but closed to broil in a gas oven. Here's why: A gas oven broils at a higher temperature, which can cause more smoke.

It is a good idea to use closed door broiling when cooking in an oven where controls are above the door. This helps protect the controls from getting too hot. If you have a gas wall oven, the door must remained closed for safety.

Broiler Best Practices

In most ovens, this will be the top rack position of the oven. If your oven has a drawer broiler the rack won't be adjustable, though it has likely been designed to be at that four- to five-inch distance already.

The broil element will not come on if the door is open. If the oven door is opened during broiling, the broil element will turn off immediately and come back on once the door is closed.

The normal practice is to leave the oven door slightly ajar. This allows heat to escape and forces the broil element to stay on rather than cycling off and on. Open door broiling is good for when you are broiling for short periods of time, like cooking thinner meats, top browning or searing meat.

Find the “Broil” setting on your oven console and turn it on. If available, select the temperature setting based on what you're cooking: higher for thinner, fast-cooking foods and lower for thicker foods that may take longer to cook through. Let the broiler preheat for at least 5 minutes.

Which rack position is hotter: top or bottom? Since heat rises, the top of the oven is often hotter than the bottom. The top rack is ideal for quick cooking methods like broiling or browning the outside of food.

Broil on upper-middle rack.

Transfer pan to upper-middle oven rack and broil steaks, flipping every 2 to 4 minutes, until meat registers 125 to 130 degrees (for medium-rare), 6 to 16 minutes. Just remember: The steaks cook faster than you'd think.

Should you broil on the top shelf? ›

Broiling creates a char on meats, vegetables, or anything covered in cheese. In most ovens, the broiler is at the very top of the oven. You need to place the rack at the highest setting, closest to the heat source.

We know the temptation to check on your cake is high, but we're here to give you one of our top tips: don't open the oven when baking. This is a common mistake, and can cause your cake to collapse because the rush of cold air stops your caking from rising.

Most foods will be done in five to 10 minutes, after which it can quickly go from nicely seared to burned. Since you're really only cooking the outer surface of the food, this is why thin cuts of meat, quick-cooking fresh vegetables, and foods that are fairly tender to start with are ideal for broiling.

It's a good idea to keep the oven door closed when cooking. This is because modern ovens are designed to trap heat efficiently with the door shut. If you keep the door open, there might be unnecessary energy consumption with the food not cooking evenly.

Some ovens will have one broil option, which is typically 500°F to 550°F, while others will let you select between low, med and high or even key in the temperature yourself. Low is usually 400°F, medium 450°F and high ranges from 500°F to 550°F.

A broiler is an element in your oven – usually located near the top – that provides high, direct heat much like a grill. Broiling places food close to your oven's heating element so that it can quickly cook, brown, char or caramelize.

If your broiler offers a low and high setting, always use high. If the broiler rack is adjustable, position it about four inches from the heat source. And don't forget to preheat—allow a full five minutes for the heating element to reach its proper temperature.