Disposable pans are one of the most underrated purchases a pitmaster can make. Grilling is an enjoyable and delicious way to cook, but it comes with its own set of challenges, especially when it comes to cleaning up afterwards. While it’s true that one of the best parts of grilling is the limited clean up required after cooking, it’s important to remember that there’s still plenty of prep work involved in getting the grill ready, keeping it clean, and managing leftovers.
If you’re someone who grills frequently, you likely know the importance of establishing a routine, minimizing the amount of cleaning required, and having a system in place to reduce the number of dishes that need to be washed after a big meal. That’s why we’ve taken a closer look at some of our favorite disposable pans for grilling, which can help make the clean up process easier and more efficient.
From classic aluminum foil to disposable pizza pans that have more uses than you might think, there are plenty of options available to help simplify your grilling experience. By using these disposable pans, you can reduce the amount of time and effort required to clean up after a meal, giving you more time to enjoy the food and the company of your guests.
Disposable Pizza Pans for the Big Green Egg
We’ll start with the obvious use case here. It’s pizza night in the backyard and you’re looking to fire out several pizzas for your friends and family. Pizza dough can be stubborn – especially transitioning it from your kitchen counter to the grill. These disposable pizza pans are a great way to have your friends assemble a pizza and keep it safe as they wait their turn on the grill – and the best part, once it’s cooked there’s no clean up. Either move it to a cutting board, or simply cut the slices directly in the pan. These disposable pizza pans are cheap, and offer a huge convenience.
Protecting your Plate Setter. Are you using a convEGGtor or Kamado Joe Plate Setter? One of the concerns we often hear is how can we keep it clean? Some folks will wrap it aluminum foil and dispose after each use, others will not wrap it at all and just scrap it off between uses. We’re here to tell you that there’s a better way! These disposable pizza pans fit perfectly on most plate setters and catch your drippings as you cook slow and low. As always, feel free to measure, but I can tell you with confidence that this version sits perfectly on a large BGE. After a long smoke, and the grill is cool to the touch simply grab the disposable pan for grilling and stick it directly in the trash.
Disposable Foil Pans for Food Prep… and Serving!
Once we incorporated the disposable pans for our grilling and smoking rotation, we never looked back. The obvious use would be for serving buffet or family style meals, and if you’re not doing this already, well then start doing it! It It’s one less dish to clean, and leftovers can be compiled into one container that you can wrap and stick in the fridge.
Dry Rub Prep. Let’s talk about some alternative use cases for the disposable pans. Whether we are prepping pork butt, ribs or a brisket, we always use a disposable pan for grilling. When we first started grilling, we’d attempt this on a cutting board – what a total mess. By placing the meat in the disposable pan, it is a great vessel to catch any seasonings and spices from your rubs. Containing the shaker is key to an easier clean up. Not only that, but you can reuse these pans! Once the meat is rubbed and ready to be smoked, or grilled, simply wash the pan after you start cooking your meats and veggies. As always, if you can reuse that’s crucial. One of these pans can be used for prep, as an extra plate to take meat off the grill, for shredding your pulled pork, and then serving the meat to your guests. When reusing make sure to wash thoroughly with soap and water when dealing with uncooked meats. Using the disposable pans for food prep is a great way to be more efficient in the kitchen, and has multiples uses for one afternoon.
Aluminum Foil for Grilling
This is a classic that can be found in every kitchen. While most people traditionally think of it as a way to wrap leftovers, there are several more practical applications that can help streamline your bbq experience.
Veggies. One of the challenges when grilling vegetables is that they can often times slip through the cracks and fall on the coals. One easy solution is to line portion of your grill grates with aluminum foil. Not only does it prevent slippage, but you can now spray it with a non-stick spray. We’re partial to avocado oil spray, but any vegetable based oil will do.
Pulled Pork. Everyone has their own way of prepping a pork shoulder. We typically apply some mustard and our favorite rub, then wrap it and stick it in the refrigerator overnight. Instead of using cling wrap, we use aluminum foil when wrapping. Foil has another use when it comes to smoking pork shoulder. If you haven’t tried it already – check out the turbo butt method. In short, midway through the cook, you wrap the butt in aluminum foil to accelerate the cooking time. When your short on time, give this trick a try and see if it improves your cooking speeds.
When it comes to cooking and preparing meals, it’s important to find ways to make the process as efficient and easy as possible. Whether you’re a seasoned home cook or just starting out in the kitchen, there are always new ideas and suggestions to be found that can help make food prep and clean up less of a hassle.
At our website, we are constantly on the lookout for new tips and tricks that can help simplify the cooking process and make clean up a breeze. We scour cookbooks, blogs, and social media for the latest and greatest ideas, and when we come across something that we think our readers will find useful, we are always eager to share it.
But we also recognize that our readers are a valuable source of information and inspiration, and that’s why we encourage them to share their own food prep tips and tricks with us. If you have a favorite method for chopping vegetables, a technique for keeping your cutting board clean, or a hack for organizing your pantry, we want to hear about it!
So please, drop us a note in the comments and let us know your food prep secrets. We’ll test them out and add the best ones to our post, so that all of our readers can benefit from your expertise. Together, we can make food prep and clean up easier and more enjoyable than ever before.