Grilling indoors question

[treacheroustexan]

Hey guys, just a quick question. My girlfriend knows I love to grill, but we live in an apartment and we can't grill on our balcony. Well, we could but its technically in our lease that we shouldn't so I'm trying to respect that.

She got me this last Christmas: (without the legs so it looks like a little counter top grill)

http://www.amazon.com/dp/B004VQBRGA/?tag=skimlinks_replacement-20

I have never used it because I didn't want to break the rules of our lease. Grilling season is upon us, so my question is, what would the harm be using it indoors (even though it says outdoor use) if I put it on the stove and run the fan for ventilation? Or should I just break the rules and use the balcony? haha.

 

[thekraken]

A Texan in Ohio forced to resort to asking permission to grill... indoors, with electric... I'm so sorry

First I would check the terms of the lease to see if it said gas/charcoal specifically. If not, then ask the landlord about electric grills. If that doesn't pan out then put that sucker on top of the stove, under the vent, and let her rip! Worse case the grill makes too much smoke for the vent hood and you have to turn it off (and maybe a few smoke alarms).

 

[MatIPluto]

It looks like it runs on electric. I believe as long as you aren't burning fuel indoors (gas, propane, charcoal) you should be fine without ventilation. They probably wouldn't care if you used it on your balcony either

 

[treacheroustexan]

A Texan in Ohio forced to resort to asking permission to grill... indoors, with electric... I'm so sorry

First I would check the terms of the lease to see if it said gas/charcoal specifically. If not, then ask the landlord about electric grills. If that doesn't pan out then put that sucker on top of the stove, under the vent, and let her rip! Worse case the grill makes too much smoke for the vent hood and you have to turn it off (and maybe a few smoke alarms).

The lease just says cooking on balcony prohibited. Doesn't specify gas, electric, etc. But, about the Texan thing I'm just a Houston Texans fan and not from Houston unfortunately haha. I figured it indoors would be okay, if I take out the smoke alarm battery... but I just wanted to get others input before hand.

 

[schematix]

I'd hardly call this grilling.

Many municipalities don't allow grilling in apartments, or other multiple family dwellings, for fear of fires. I used to roll my weber kettle out to the parking lot when i lived in apartment. Used to use tons of lighter fluid too. Went down to check on it one time and the fire department was there saying they got a call about a car on fire. I laughed and threw my steak on. Well within the rules.

Since it's electric i'd just do it outside on the balcony. If they say anything i'd tell them it's electric and there is no risk of fire. If they don't apply common sense, I'd still do it. Probably wouldn't be that bad inside though. This is little more than an electric griddle.

 

[treacheroustexan]

I'd hardly call this grilling.

Many municipalities don't allow grilling in apartments, or other multiple family dwellings, for fear of fires. I used to roll my weber kettle out to the parking lot when i lived in apartment. Used to use tons of lighter fluid too. Went down to check on it one time and the fire department was there saying they got a call about a car on fire. I laughed and threw my steak on. Well within the rules.

Since it's electric i'd just do it outside on the balcony. If they say anything i'd tell them it's electric and there is no risk of fire. If they don't apply common sense, I'd still do it. Probably wouldn't be that bad inside though. This is little more than an electric griddle.

Thanks for the advice! I'm just dying for a burger that isn't on a pan on the stove.

 

[JonM]

Try burgers under the broiler. It works really well if you can't get a proper grill going. If your oven is electric, it's pretty similar to the Cuisinart grill you've got. If the oven is gas, the broiler is essentially an upside-down gas grill.

 

[Hoppy2bmerry]

In the video for the product, they show it being used indoors without the legs. I guess you just need to know how hot the outside gets, and not put it near anything flammable of course. If you use it on the balcony sure enough someone will call to complain, though it should be perfectly safe with reasonable attention.

 

[Maylar]

Use it on the outside deck and bring it back inside when you're done. No muss, no fuss, no evidence. If that is too risky, then yes you can use it indoors as long as you ventilate the smoke. No different than broiling in the oven.

 

[fatherdan]

its an outdoor grill....

see if she has the receipt...sorry

weber makes a far better electric grill if your lease allows

 

[emcfarden]

This thing puts out just over 5,000 BTUs, and a standard gas burner on a stove puts out around 7,000 BTUs. Don't worry about running this thing inside, its no different than you frying bacon in a skillet. Just flip on your vent hood if you don't want too much smoke.

I would take the risk and run it outside though, grilling just isn't the same if you're not outside enjoying a cold one flipping burgers.

 

[treacheroustexan]

Update. 30 degrees and snowing last night, we wanted burgers. I put the grill outside and ran the cord through the door and had no issues at all. The burgers turned out awesome!