Why does my broiler seem to be on the bottom?

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Rebam98

Assistant Cook
Joined
Jun 8, 2005
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I have read before that broiling in your oven means that the top burner of your oven gets turned on and it acts like an upside down grill.

I tried broiling some fish last night. When I looked in my oven, I can see flames coming from the bottom of my oven (underneath the bottom panel from a burner obviously) but I see absolutely nothing at the top.

As a result, I moved my fish from close to the top of my oven down to the bottom. When I did this, the fish started sizzling up and splattering. It appeared as though the broiler is indeed at the bottom of my oven and not the top.

Is it possible that certain types of ovens put the broiler on the bottom?

I looked on the label of my oven, it is made by GE. It has a website listed on it so it can't be that old. It says on their "waist high broiler (if so equipped)", not sure what that means. I have a drawer on the bottom with a pan for broiling, with a rack and pan underneath it to catch juices.

Anyway, I am just wondering if the broiler is on the top or bottom of my oven. I have read it is at the top but I only see a flame on the bottom. Is this common or not, or is the broiler in the oven not easily visible?
 
What you read is for an electric oven

Rebam98 said:
... I am just wondering if the broiler is on the top or bottom of my oven. I have read it is at the top but I only see a flame on the bottom...
It appears you have a gas oven. A typical gas oven only has one source of heat, and it is located at the bottom of the oven. To broil, the food needs to be placed on the very bottom rack.

Electric ovens have two heating elements - one at the top of the oven, and one at the bottom. The broiling element is the top one.

Hope this helps,
Tom
 
A lot of ovens that have the broiler on the bottom actually have a drawer on the every bottom. You need to open that drawer and put the food in there to broil.
 
GB, your right, I had a gas oven and the broiler was on the bottom with a drawer. In fact that kind of broiler takes away storage space under the oven.
 
The food goes into the little drawer under the oven. That way, the flame is above the food and will act like an upside down grill.

Newer gas stoves have two heat sources in the main oven. One under the floor of the oven to provide heat for baking and roasting and the other on the roof of the oven for broiling.

This change enables self cleaning for gas ovens. The two burners together provide the high heat needed for cleaning the oven.
 
A broiler always works from above.

It provides a direct heat source (either flame or coils). It can't work from below the food, since the cooking vessel would get in the way.
 
is a professional salamander the same thing as a broiler in a home oven, just more btu's??
 
GB said:
A lot of ovens that have the broiler on the bottom actually have a drawer on the every bottom. You need to open that drawer and put the food in there to broil.


Oh. Thanks!

Will fish actually taste any better/different if I broil it?

I'm also worried about how safe it will be. I have a fire extinguisher handy. I was instructed to coat my fish with a protective oil coating and I am worried about the splattering.

Should I broil with that drawer open slightly?

Thanks so much guys!
 
jennyema said:
A broiler always works from above.

It provides a direct heat source (either flame or coils). It can't work from below the food, since the cooking vessel would get in the way.


Ah. That makes sense.
 
rebam, the trick with a broiler is how close you put the meat or fish to the flame, and how long you let each side face the flame. closer will scorch the surface more, leaving the inside uncooked at first. farther away, and it will cook more like in the oven, with just a little browning - if any at all - on the top. some recipes will even tell you how many inches it should be from the flame.

i usually open the broiler drawer, slide out the pan and slotted tray, cover the tray in aluminum foil to help with clean up, then slide the pan and tray into the middle rails of the broiler drawer. there's usually a top, middle, and bottom position that it can go into. look into the drawer when sliding it in to see how far away from the flame the fish/meat is. then close the door unless you like to hear your smoke alarms going off from the escaping heat!

anyway, broil the fish/meat for just a few minutes, then check it by opening the door and sliding the tray out a little to see if it is cooking too fast on the surafce. if it's ok, turn it over to allow the other side to broil. (very thick fishes/meats will require more turns) slide it back in, close the door.

if the surface is getting too brown or black too fast, before it is cooking internally, then pull out the tray/pan and put it back in on a lower slot. if it isn't getting browned enough on the surface, then put it in a higher slot.
with a little practice, this will become a really good way of making fish, chicken, and steaks simply and easily.

and don't worry about a little splatter. you'll have to clean the tray and pan anyway, and eventually the oven too. the aluminum foil will help make that easier.
 
Last edited:
buckytom said:
is a professional salamander the same thing as a broiler in a home oven, just more btu's??

Yep! Sturdier construction, as well. Usually the "rack" raises up and down, as well as slides in and out. It has a pivoting lock mechanism to keep it from falling to the bottom setting while you're broiling.
 
You shouldn't have to worry about fire when broiling. You might get an occasional poof of flame when the product spits directly on the heat source, but it shouldn't actually be any sort of a fire hazard.

I broil often with many different meats and fish, and quite often I will lightly paint the cuts with oil (olive or vegetable, depending on what I think works best :rolleyes: ).... It both helps the food retain moisture and cook better, but it also helps to hold the herbs and seasonings on the meat while it's cooking. I've never had any sort of fire, even when accidentally overcooking something.
 
I'm in an apartment that has an old-style gas stove (Magee).

The oven has two burners. The one under it is for the oven itself. The one at the top of the oven is for the broiler. So the oven is also the broiler.

Plus there's another gas burner on the side for heat in the winter.
 
simple and cheap

When the broiler element is on the bottom not the top you cannot store stuff in that drawer under the oven because that is where you broil the food. You also have to be more vigilant because the food is quite close to the flame and food can burn if you do not keep a close eye on it. You cannot find a top broiler that does not have a computerized panel control for the oven. These computer panels make stoves more expensive, are awkward to use and they frequently break and when they do it is expensive to replace. I cook and bake every day and this is the best stove I have ever used and it is cheap!...not beautiful, just practical!
Hotpoint RGB530DET
 
You're very lucky to have gas stove with broiler. They actually work. I hate all my electric stoves they don't broil at all. Enjoy it!
 

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