While most restaurant owners often look for the latest in oven and gas grill technology to fill their kitchens with, many chefs are starting to look towards the past for inspiration. Wood-burning grills haven’t always been the most popular choice for cooks in the last few decades, but they’ve started to make a resurgence in professional restaurants recently. As you start thinking about what appliances you want for your business, you should understand why more culinary experts are starting to rely on older techniques to cook their latest menu items.
Adds More Unique Flavors and Textures
Food cooked over a commercial wood-burning grill has a distinct taste that sets it apart from food cooked in ovens and on gas grills. Cooking meats and vegetables over wood-burning grills gives it a more distinct flavor and texture. Whereas, ovens and stovetops are used to give foods a soft and tender texture.
The biggest advantage a wood-fire grill has over the other options is how you can incorporate the smoke into your menu items. The smoke from the burning wood acts like an additional seasoning. There are several variations of wood you can choose from that all have their unique, smoky tastes. You can experiment with different types such as alder, almond, hickory, mesquite, and more to give each of your dishes their own distinct flavors. You’ll find for certain dishes that some woods work better than others. For example, the earthly flavor of mesquite wood goes well with dark meats while the sweet almond wood is typically paired with seafood.
Many chefs often char vegetables such as cabbages or leeks while grilling to give the main dish a more sweet and organic taste. Others try to enhance their meats by cooking over carbonized bones. Several cooks often cook with wood and charcoal, but you’ll need to be careful about how much you use so that you don’t take away too much of the wooden flavor.
A Simpler Setup
Wood-burning grills don’t require restaurant owners to put a gas line into the kitchen. Not only can this save you a lot of money, but it can also give you more control over where you want the grill and any additional equipment. You never know when you might have to rearrange your setup before and after your restaurant opening, so it’s nice to have some flexibility.
While wood-fire grilling may be an older tradition, recent designs have made it an easier process than it was before. You could get a grill that has multiple cooking surfaces and enclosed spaces to help you maintain the heat on every grate or rotisserie you plan on using for your food. You can still find ways to keep consistent cooking temperatures even if you don’t have a dial attached.
As the popularity of these commercial wood-burning grills continues to increase, now would be a great time for you to think about how you can incorporate them into your restaurant. Champion Tuff Grills offers a wide variety of wood-fired and charcoal grills that can give your recipes that savory, smoky taste they deserve. Contact them today to see what options they have available for your restaurant’s kitchen.
