Can You Use Aluminum Foil In The Broiler?

Aluminum foil is one of, if not the, undisputed champion of pantry kitchen supplies. Since it's introduction to households in the 1920s, it's become essential for use in baking, grilling, covering, and storing food of many types. Aluminum foil uses even exist beyond direct food prep, such as being a material you can use to mimic a roasting rack. With such a multifaceted capability, you might find yourself wondering if there's anything aluminum foil can't do. How does it hold up when put it under your oven's hottest setting, for example, and how much heat can aluminum foil actually take? These are reasonable question to ask, and they have simple, sensible answers: Yes, aluminum foil can be used when broiling.

The average oven broiler generally reaches 500 to 550 degrees Fahrenheit. As well as being an incredibly tough material and, despite its malleability, aluminum foil is well within its range to handle the high heat of a broiler. At 1,220 degrees Fahrenheit, it has a melting point over double the average temperature your broiler can reach. In terms of how to use it, one of the best tip for broiling with aluminum foil is to employ the material as a pan liner, where it can catch grease or drippings from beneath meat or vegetables and prevent these messes from burning onto your pan. That said, different grades of culinary aluminum foil exist, and which one you select can determine how well your broiling goes.

When considering culinary aluminum foil for your broiling, your choice will often depend on the balance between flexibility and strength. A standard household foil (most often between 0.0006 and 0.0007-inches thick) works well for a light lining. That said, its thinness makes it easier to puncture, particularly if you're using it while placed directly on oven racks or underneath heavier foods. Standard household foil also has lower ductility, meaning there is a greater chance they break, rip, or lose the intended shape you've molded underneath your dinner.

Instead, when broiling, you might consider using heavy-duty foil. This stuff is closer to 0.0009 inches thick, and it has better durability. Its thickness gives means it's less likely to collapse or bend, which is highly important when handling ultra hot foods.

Although aluminum foil is generally safe to use when broiling, a study from the journal of Food Science and Nutrition has shown that at excessive and prolonged high temperatures, aluminum foil can leach into foods. Although the amount is microscopic and nontoxic in its concentration, it's possible that repeated use of the same aluminum foil while broiling could result in compounding amounts of leaching in your food.