Oven broiler temperatures?

[Chopstix]

I find that most, if not all, cook books don't ever specify broiler temperatures. They just say to place the food under the broiler until cheese is melted and so on.

Problem is, my oven broiler is the type where you have to specify the temp. So I've been having difficulty gratineeing my French onion soup -- either the cheese turns oily from too much heat or takes too long to brown. Or I want to broil fish but the cook book does not specify the temp.

Can someone give me the temp settings of the broiler for gratineeing onion soup, broiling fish, toasting bread, browning gratins? The temp settings might be different for each purpose. Many thanks in advance.

 

[Andy M.]

That's a tough one. Most broilers in the US don't have temperature settings. I assume that's why settings aren't mentioned in recipes. Mine just has a high and low setting.

I think you have to either choose one temperature to work with and experiment with cooking times and distance from the flame, or choose a rack position and experiment with temperatures.

 

[mcnerd]

Mine just says "Broil" which turns on the top element only. Temperature knob is also "Broil". I guess any of the lower temperatures would work, but never needed or thought about it.

 

[GB]

Mine just has one setting too (broil). You adjust the intensity by raising or lowering the rack the food is on. US broilers are typically very high heat so if your broiler has settings then I would say use the highest setting and then look to see if the recipe talks about how far from the heat the food should be. Recipes often say something like broil 4 inches from the element or something like that.

 

[Chopstix]

Thanks folks for your answers. Very sorry about late reply. I am currently traveling abroad and have limited access to Internet.

Does someone have any idea what the temperature of a typical US broiler setting is? I think my oven goes all the way up to 500 F. TIA!

 

[mcnerd]

500°F. Some newer stoves may actually go higher.

 

[RPCookin]

I find that most, if not all, cook books don't ever specify broiler temperatures. They just say to place the food under the broiler until cheese is melted and so on.

Problem is, my oven broiler is the type where you have to specify the temp. So I've been having difficulty gratineeing my French onion soup -- either the cheese turns oily from too much heat or takes too long to brown. Or I want to broil fish but the cook book does not specify the temp.

Can someone give me the temp settings of the broiler for gratineeing onion soup, broiling fish, toasting bread, browning gratins? The temp settings might be different for each purpose. Many thanks in advance.

Mine just has High and Low, but I mostly use the High setting and the cooking rate is controlled by how far the food is from the heating element. It mostly just takes practice to learn how yours works.

 

[Callisto in NC]

My oven goes up to 550 and then Broil so I would imagine the broil setting is at least 550 degrees.

 

[LadyCook61]

My broiler is just high and low , my oven goes up to 550 .

 

[Andy M.]

One significant difference between the broiler setting and the highest oven setting is that, with the broiler setting, the heat source never shuts off.

When your oven is set to bake at the highest temperature on the dial, the heating element/burner goes on until the set temperature is reached then it shuts off. Then the heat cycles on and off to maintain that set temperature.

When you switch to broil, the heat comes on full blast in most stoves and stays on until you shut it off.

 

[GB]

One significant difference between the broiler setting and the highest oven setting is that, with the broiler setting, the heat source never shuts off.

When your oven is set to bake at the highest temperature on the dial, the heating element/burner goes on until the set temperature is reached then it shuts off. Then the heat cycles on and off to maintain that set temperature.

When you switch to broil, the heat comes on full blast in most stoves and stays on until you shut it off.

I am not sure if that is always true Andy. I have seen numerous chefs on TV talk about leaving the oven door open a crack (even balling up some aluminum foil and sticking it between the oven and door to keep it open) so that the heat does not build up to a point where the heat source turns off.

 

[Andy M.]

I am not sure if that is always true Andy. I have seen numerous chefs on TV talk about leaving the oven door open a crack (even balling up some aluminum foil and sticking it between the oven and door to keep it open) so that the heat does not build up to a point where the heat source turns off.

My point is that the heat does not cycle on and off automatically to maintain a set temperature as with the Bake cycle. Ovens also have a safety cut off where the oven shuts off when a dangerous temperature is reached. I think that feature is why you leave the door open a crack.

 

[GB]

I always understood it differently. Thanks for the education.

 

[Chopstix]

Thanks for the additional inputs folks! Really appreciate the help. Will be more aggressive with my broiler temp settings in future. (I've never set it to above 350F before!)