I first saw the Beefy boys doing burgers on a plancha, early this year I started to see a few people cooking on the smokerig plancha I thought to myself that looks like a cool bit of kit and promptly bought one.
When it arrived I was impressed with how heavy it was, 11kg and 6mm carbon steel which is supposed to conduct the heat very effectively. Before cooking on the plancha you need to wash and season the surface to create that natural non-stick coating. This is the same process as seasoning a steel wok or cast iron cookware. The seasoning process is the baking of a thin layer of oil into the surface of the metal. Repeating the process helps build up the layers of baked oil and gives the steel a dark tanned shiny appearance.
Once seasoned I couldn’t wait to do my first cook, I have always had a guilty pleasure of McDonalds McMuffin for breakfast and I thought the plancha would be perfect for recreating them. My Recipe is on the website if you want to give it a go. http://ukbbqweek.com/recipes/mcmuffin/
I lit ¾ of a chimney of charcoal and when it was ready to go I tipped it into the bbq leaving an area with no charcoal, this would mean that one side of the plancha where the coals where, would be very hot and the other side with no coals under would be cooler. I put the plancha on and the lid of the bbq and waited about 10 mins. I then tested the temperature with an IR Thermometer. The plancha definitely conducts heat effectively.The hot side was about 250c and the cooler side was 180c. If you want, you can put an even layer of charcoal under the plancha and obviously less charcoal means less heat if you need to cook something more slowly.
As well as the McMuffin, I have cooked steaks and fajitas and smash burgers , the size of the plancha means you have so much more cooking space than you would on a griddle pan and the solid surface helps create a great crust on your steak or burger. You can see some pictures of my cooks below. I know some of the rest of the team have cooked, pancakes, drop crumpets, a full English breakfast and philly cheese steak. So all in all the plancha is a well-made bit of kit which has quickly become an essential and I can see myself using for many years to come.
When it comes to cleaning the plancha this is very easy, while it’s still hot I scrape the surface with a metal scraper or spatula and wipe down with a paper kitchen towel. If there are any burnt bits stuck to the surface I spray water and scrape again. Before storage and to help build the non-stick surface I add a film of oil before storing away.
My Plancha is for the 57cm Weber kettle but Smokerig BBQ are currently developing a range of planchas for a variety of bbq’s. I also believe there is a pizza steel currently in the testing stage and I am looking forward to seeing peoples thoughts
Plancha available from https://www.smokerig.co.uk/