# Cooking Paninis on a flat-top gas griddle?



## paxi (Oct 9, 2012)

Hi! I currently operate a small restaurant where we have a pretty huge gas griddle - that at most times is underutilized. We're thinking of using the same griddle to cook Paninis, so that we don't have to pay additional fees for buying the panini machine and don't incur the additional cost in running the machine. 

I was wondering if i can use the heat from the Gas griddle to cook the Paninis? I guess if there's a tool, that has two metal plates on either side - i can place the Sand which inside it, clamp it and place it on the griddle - using the heat transfer to heat my sandwich? Do you think this could work? Has anyone tried this before.


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## paxi (Oct 9, 2012)

So using something like this:





  








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Could this work on a flat top griddle?


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## kingfarvito (May 7, 2012)

I would just use the weight from your second picture, or a cast iron skillet, or a brick wrapped in foil, or a #10 can 1/4 full of cement, or a sheet tray with #10 can on it, or anything else moderately heavy.


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## paxi (Oct 9, 2012)

kingfarvito said:


> I would just use the weight from your second picture, or a cast iron skillet, or a brick wrapped in foil, or a #10 can 1/4 full of cement, or a sheet tray with #10 can on it, or anything else moderately heavy.


Wow. Thanks i tried what you've suggested and it's working pretty well! Excited to experiment with various different recipes now.


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## panini (Jul 28, 2001)

We have narrowed down to couple of Panini's but your welcome to steal, just hit the website and go to bakery. we have more we do seasonal.

We also do a mac & cheese burrito Panini. LOL It sell out all the time


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## chefdrewwatkins (Sep 8, 2014)

I love using big griddles for a panini. Great way to mass out some hot sandwiches. Make sure you keep that hand panini press very hot so you can heat both sides quickly for increased speed. We've been using a parmesan butter on the outside of bread for some paninis and its great. Nice parmesan flavor and a great crust.


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## wlong (Aug 2, 2011)

@ChefDrewWatkins

What temperature are you using?


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## chefdrewwatkins (Sep 8, 2014)

wlong said:


> @ChefDrewWatkins
> 
> What temperature are you using?


. As hot as I can get it without burning oil rapidly so around 400, and I kinda work hot spots and lows for different thickness sandwiches


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## panini (Jul 28, 2001)

@ChefDrewWatkins,

Question on the parm butter. I tried some today on a panino and had trouble with the cheese, it melted then blackened. Can I ask what type of cheese and the % with butter. I'm intrigued by this.


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## chefdrewwatkins (Sep 8, 2014)

panini said:


> @ChefDrewWatkins,
> 
> Question on the parm butter. I tried some today on a panino and had trouble with the cheese, it melted then blackened. Can I ask what type of cheese and the % with butter. I'm intrigued by this.


I think the recipe was something like 1lb butter, 1 cups extra super fine parmagiano, 1 cup american parmesan, couple hits of granulated garlic, parsley optional. If you are going to be using it for a panini you must have the filling ex, italian meats, already heated up and apply a thin layer of room temp butter to bread and it will grill very fast. When its time to flip use a thin metal spatula to scrape the sandwich off in a smooth motion because its gonna stick something awful, but after a few you will get the hang of it. It should be golden brown and have a nice crunch.


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## panini (Jul 28, 2001)

@ChefDrewWatkins,

Ok I got ya. I've not preheated the meats before. I used an aluminum bottom so it was pretty hot. I think I'm going to try another one today with cast iron. On the way home from church I'm going to pick up some capocolla, genoa and cheese, ciabatta, etc. I like a tapenade inside.

We do Panini's at the shop but it's with a machine that has the grill marks. I really like the idea of flavoring the bread. So if I'm not mistaken, your method is more of a toast on the panino then cooking it? thx


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## chefdrewwatkins (Sep 8, 2014)

Yea, for speed you can throw the meat on the griddle while you butter the bread, assemble, grill and serve. Just with this one because the parm butter gets toasty before the meat filling


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## panini (Jul 28, 2001)

@ChefDrewWatkins,

Thanks for your input. I enjoyed the panino today. It was more of a toast though. We brush with a little olive oil on the Panini's at the shop, but I think I will steal you idea if ok. I just pulled

a bunch of parm rinds out of the freezer. I'm going to try to infuse some oo with the parm. I would add garlic but I don't want to turn off customers at lunch time. thx again


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## chefdrewwatkins (Sep 8, 2014)

panini said:


> @ChefDrewWatkins,
> 
> Thanks for your input. I enjoyed the panino today. It was more of a toast though. We brush with a little olive oil on the Panini's at the shop, but I think I will steal you idea if ok. I just pulled
> 
> a bunch of parm rinds out of the freezer. I'm going to try to infuse some oo with the parm. I would add garlic but I don't want to turn off customers at lunch time. thx again


Go ahead, its all been done before me. For a cheap side you can just butter both sides of bread and grill, cut into pieces and garnish with parsley for a nice addition to many soups etc


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## lawrence (Mar 6, 2012)

I have always wondered why since Panini is Italian for sandwiches, why do people write in effect "sandwiches's"


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## chefdrewwatkins (Sep 8, 2014)

Lawrence said:


> I have always wondered why since Panini is Italian for sandwiches, why do people write in effect "sandwiches's"


It's just an American thing I guess. We think panini is a technique rather than a product. And often we use Pullman sliced bread and throw it on a sandwich press and call it panini


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## panini (Jul 28, 2001)

In our house growing up a panino was a loaf of bread stuffed with goodies and pressed. Panini was the plural. If the bread was sliced it was a toasted sandwich.

just sayin


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## kid d (Sep 26, 2014)

kingfarvito said:


> I would just use the weight from your second picture, or a cast iron skillet, or a brick wrapped in foil, or a #10 can 1/4 full of cement, or a sheet tray with #10 can on it, or anything else moderately heavy.


I have always loved the foil wrapped brick works well


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## brianshaw (Dec 18, 2010)

I've done it both ways, but I swear that panini with lines taste better than panini without lines.  Without lines htey are just a fancy grilled cheese sammy.


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## panini (Jul 28, 2001)

We have a Panini grill that has the grill marks. We don't do any Panini on sliced bread, it's always on a loaf form. A grilled sandwich with sliced bread seem like anything you can get at a diner.

Italians do not call this Panini or a panino. It's a grilled sandwich. Toasted sandwich. Just sayin

I think the single loaf or cut loaf has to have the right crumb for a panino. The heat has to penetrate from both sides. The weight will condense the crumb

and add that extra special crunchy plus cook the internal part.


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## lawrence (Mar 6, 2012)

Most Italians I meet don't speak enough English to use the words "grilled" or "toasted" let alone the word sandwich, I do live in Europe, but just saying..
(I wish I knew how to get an emoticon for tounge in cheek)


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## spoiledbroth (Sep 25, 2014)

Panino is a real term used by real Italians, Napoletano anyway. I know they speak quite differently in the north.


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## panini (Jul 28, 2001)

Lawrence said:


> Most Italians I meet don't speak enough English to use the words "grilled" or "toasted" let alone the word sandwich, I do live in Europe, but just saying..
> (I wish I knew how to get an emoticon for tounge in cheek)


@Lawrence, I know most think Italians speak with their hands, but we just don't point to things, the language has words for toast and grilled(I wish I knew how to get an emoticon for tounge in cheek)/img/vbsmilies/smilies/lol.gif.Panini panino it's all the same. In Italy during my honeymoon decades ago I told my wife that if I ever started a bakery I would call it panino (little bread) I changed it to

Panini bakery almost 20 yrs ago and haven't looked back.


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