How to use a Simogas plancha?

How to use a Plancha

With the trend of eating well that has exploded in recent years, it is difficult to miss this new way of cooking that is cooking on the grill. Healthy and tasty par excellence, grilled cuisine offers you a new way of cooking varied and balanced dishes, and this with ease. Ideal when you pay attention to your line or your health!

Simplified use

Unlike barbecue, to start a plancha is very fast thanks to its ignition through electronic piezo. Then, simply spray a thin layer of oil with a spray bottle and wait for the plancha to heat up for a few minutes.

Since the temperature rises very quickly, you don't need to turn on your plancha too early if you're not ready to sit down to eat.

So you no longer have to spend hours in front of the barbecue waiting and waiting for the charcoal to become embers. Now you can enjoy your guests and your evening without waiting.

A wide variety of foods

One of the main advantages of the griddle, be it gas or electric, is that it allows you to cook any type of food. Meat, fish, vegetables or even fruit ... Grilling is no exception and allows you to prepare a complete meal from start to dessert.

Unlike barbecue, small foods also have their place on the grill. Very useful when you want to accompany your meat with a julienne of vegetables or prepare anchovy tapas.

Unlike enamelled cast plancha plates, plates made of laminated steel, ground steel or hard chrome being impact resistant nothing prevents you from breaking down certain white wine dishes like seafood to give them more flavor and taste.

The plates also accept all kinds of marinades and sauce preparations, such as seafood mussels or pasta dishes.

Optimized cooking

For successful cooking, you need to know these tips to become a true griddle professional:

When the previously oiled plate is hot, place your food on the plate and wait a few minutes before turning them so they don't stick to it.

Once the food is charred on both sides, it will be necessary to lower the thermostat or move the food to a less hot area on the griddle to finish cooking when necessary. This will allow you to get caramelized food on the outside and soft on the inside.

If you want to chain cook with different foods, no problem, just deglaze with cold water or ice cubes the baking sheet and scrape the leftovers with a spatula into the grease trap. Then grease the plate again and repeat the operation incessantly!

Preserved flavors and nutritional benefits

Whether you're paying attention to your health, your weight, or even if you're a gourmet, grilling allows you to quickly brown low-fat foods so they retain all their juices and flavors, but also its nutritional benefits (vitamins, fibers, trace elements, etc.).

Also, since food is not in contact with fat and burned flames, as is the case with barbecue, there is no carcinogenic risk to health.

Temperatures and cooking tips

If you are a novice or a kitchen expert, you already know that cooking temperatures are not the same when you want to cook a fillet or a fish fillet. This principle also holds true for cooking on the grill. Therefore, the griddles are equipped with thermostat knobs that allow you to effectively control cooking temperatures.

As a general rule, the temperature should not be 270 ° for most products. Food first burns at high temperatures and, if necessary, you can extend the cook time to a lower temperature to keep food soft.

Below you will find the recommended cooking temperatures for each type of product:

  • Fruit: 180 ° for fruit

  • Vegetables: 220 ° for vegetables

  • White meats: 240 ° at the start of cooking and then 100 ° when the meat is charred

  • Red meat: 250 ° at the beginning of cooking and then 220 ° when the meat is charred

  • Whole fish: 260 ° at the beginning of cooking and then 220 ° when the fish is charred

  • Fish fillets: 220 °

Flesh tip

When you cook meat, either in the pan or on the grill, the cooking process contracts the meat and concentrates the juices inside the meat. To make the meat more tender and tasty, it is recommended to let it rest for a few minutes at the end of cooking. In practice, it is enough to heat a plate to serve in the oven and place the meat on it when it is cooked by wrapping it well in aluminum foil. For an individual format, 2/3 minutes is enough, for a larger piece of meat count ten minutes.

Fish tip

Certain foods such as fish fillets are more delicate to cook due to their fine and brittle meat. To avoid the possibility of your fish ending up as lint on the plate, it is quite possible to use parchment paper to insert it between the baking sheet and the fish. Again it will lightly grease the plate, but also the face of the paper that will accommodate the fish. However, be careful not to use the parchment paper on an plancha that is too hot, as it may burn more than 240 °.

Vegetable tip

When it comes to tubers, which require longer cooking than conventional vegetables, you have two options:

  • You can blanch the sliced ​​tubers for a few minutes in boiling water. Drain them before placing them on your hot, greased griddle. Remember to turn the thermostat down when the vegetables are cooked, or you will end up with charred vegetables.

  • If the vegetables are cut into thin slices and you do not want to go through two cooking stages, it is very possible to brown them quickly over high heat on the griddle. Then lower the thermostat, deglaze it with a jet of water and cover everything with a hood. The cushioning will allow you to melt the vegetables.


Now that you have all the keys in hand to succeed in your grilled recipes let your imagination and be creative. You will surely be amazed at the number of plancha recipes you can make, all in no time.