Tonight I’m grilling up gorgonzola burgers, where I mix the cheese into the meat. I’m baking homemade rosemary and red onion focaccia buns to go with them, and I fully intend to butter and grill those too! I’ll be roasting asparagus (although I’ve grilled it before, to great effect), and dessert will be a variety of poached pears with honey and exotic fruit sherbet (although I may just grill those too, instead of poaching them).
Sounds awesome Lou! I vote for grilling the pears, use a flavorful liquor and it’ll be great.
we slummed it tonite; spiced boneless chicken thighs and grilled peppers and onions. Slice it, toss it on a tortilla with some shredded extra sharp cheddar and it’ll take care of you.
It certainly helps that the weather has decided to behave like spring for a change.
Not to cast aspersions (or asparagus), but educate me on this.
I’ve frequently seen this sort of recipe specified ---- wrap everything firmly up in foil, seal it, and then toss it on the grill.
When I grill, I’ve always considered the whole purpose of the deal was to get some of that yummy smoke/charcoal flavoring in the item I was cooking. It seems to me that carefully sealing everything in a bag of Reynold’s wrap would prevent any of the smoke from eating your food. So what, then, would be the difference in cooking this on the grill, versus just carefully wrapping up your foil packet and shoving it underneath the broiler on your electric stove?
I’ve never gotten around to trying it just because, if I’m going to the effort of firing up my grill, I really want to taste the flavor of the grill. Am I missing something here?
And for what I like to grill lately (other than steak):
Take boneless, skinless chicken thighs. Get a meat mallet, and pound them until they’re uniformly thin — about a quarter inch or so, or until you’ve worked off your frustrations. Drizzle olive oil on them, and season with sea salt and ground pepper on both sides; add a bit of fresh rosemary. Grill and enjoy.
Also, I have a grilling pan with holes similar to this. I pick up a packet of mixed baby peppers from the store, and I cut a few chunks of onions, add a couple of mushrooms, and then I cut disks of chicken sausage (usually italian flavored) in there. I throw it all on the grill, and stir occasionally. Kielbasa would likely work nicely as well.
I understand your concerns and once wondered this myself. However, it does grill in a way that is obvious that it has been grilled even when the food has been wrapped in foil. This applies to all grills, even propane ones. The only real difference is grill marks but you sometimes even get those through the foil. It has big advantages in preventing scorching and more even heating. You can’t get the same effect no matter what you do with ovens and stoves.
Heh. Not until reading the quote in your post did I note my typo.
I meant to say “smoke reaching your food”, not “eating your food.”
That sounds a bit too much like the smoke monster on “Lost” or something.
I’ll have to give this method a try sometime.
You have to try a beer butt chicken! It’s an awesome way to roast a whole chicken! Pour out (or drink!) a third of a beer. Oil up a whole chicken, and season with salt and pepper and whatever else you can think of. I usually use powdered garlic and dried rosemary.
Shove a half a lemon inside the cavity, then place the chicken on the beer can. You can put stuff int eh beer can too, like a rosemary sprig. I like to put it on a pie pan or something for stability, and to catch the grease. Baste ( I use a spray bottle) occasionally. Should take about an hour or two depending on temp and size of chicken. I generally cook at medium heat, around 325 or so. Use a probe thermometer and test the thigh to 165 or so. Let rest around 15 minutes to redistribute juices.
There are tons of recipes out there, and we just bought a gadget to replace the can and pie pan set-up.
Y’all don’t don’t grill year round?
Heck, I even grill in the blowing snow!
NEVER GIVE UP
NEVER SURRENDER
Grill the biggest jalapeños you can find. Even burn some just a tad. Use as yet another side veggie or add cream cheese stuffing for use as an appetizer.
Grilled pineapple is great!
Chicken breasts marinaded in lime juice and garlic is a tasty bird. Serve as is or slice up for fajitas.
My experience is a little different. The only item I make in foil on the grill occassionally is taters. To me, foiled chicken doesn’t taste any different on the grill than in the oven. YMMV, and obviously it does. There is, of course, nothing wrong with cooking this way. It’s low stress, steamed veggies are yummy, anyway. However, I disagree that it has any sort of grilled or fire flavor, at least not that I can detect.
Well, all right, as it came out quite tasty, I will share the marinade. My boss[sup]2[/sup] went on a business trip to China recently and brought me back a container of green tea. I brewed the tea double strength, and smashed up some walnuts. To the walnuts I added curry and mustard, about 1:1 with the curry and 1:10 with the mustard. I reheated the tea with the walnut curry and the mustard on the stovetop with a teaspoon of molasses, till it was steaming. I marinaded two 10-oz. ribeye steaks for two days in it, and grilled them with gas, on high.
Bulgarian kebabs. I know, everyone swears by Roumanian kebabs, but for my money the Bulgarians are much more subtle and flavorful. They’re also a whole lot more sociable - no garlic, after all.
I personally like the Serbian/Croatian kebabs (chevapi). What goes in the Bulgarian ones?
OK. I live out in the desert, when grilling is nearly always preferred. In the winter, why not? It’s so nice out…in the summer, I don’t want to heat up the kitchen. So, comments on all:
Asparagus: spray with pam or roll in olive oil. Salt & pepper. Place, yeah, perpendicularly on the grill. Leave alone. After about 3-4 minutes, when you get grill marks, roll them a bit to get grill marks on the other side. Pull off with tongs. Skinny ones cook faster than fat ones, so watch for the grill marks. Y’know?
Other veg: slice bigger than the grill spaces, spray/roll in oil, salt/pepper, grill until marks. to finish cooking (zucchini, eggplant, mushrooms, onions) the easy way: remove to plate when grill-marked, cover with foil, let steam for a couple of minutes. They soften right up for you.
Corn that is grilled in the husk isn’t grilled corn…it’s steamed corn. I boil the suckers for 5 minutes, then oil and pop on grill to get smokin’. Remove when grill marks are dark enough for you. Eat with lime and chile powder, or wuss out and use butter and salt.
Pizza: Preheat grill on high. Oil grill with paper towel and olive oil, held in tongs. Use dough from Trader Joe’s if available. It’s only a buck… roll out to desired size (but, hey, no bigger than your grill is wide…you may recognize the voice of experience in this) with flour on the board. Pick up and carefully place on grill. It will not slip through, I promise! Note: whatever shape it is when it lands on the grill, that’s the shape of your pizza. I always get comments if I score “round” rather than “vaguely triangular.” No matter. Grill with lid closed for about 2 minutes. Use tongs to pop bubbles…may be huge. Sprinkle your board (I use a big cutting board for my “pizza peel”) with cornmeal so it won’t stick. Remove pizza, RAW SIDE DOWN, to board. Take into kitchen and decorate. Tip: use very little sauce in the middle, that’s the part that tends to get soggy. I use very little sauce all around, because that’s how I like my pizza. If you wish, brush cooked side of crust (which is now on top) with olive oil. I don’t usually, but it does prevent some sogginess. Then, sauce: cheese: toppings: a bit more cheese for topping glue. Then back out to the grill…slide pizza back on grill. Turn down to medium or low so crust doesn’t burn, cook about 1 minute, then turn off gas & leave cover down until cheese is melted, maybe 3 minutes more. Slide pizza back onto board, and serve.
(Notes: watery veggies like onions, mushrooms, or peppers will sog up your pizza unless cooked first. We like prosciutto, pineapple, and black olives. If you use fresh herbs, add them after cooking…basil will turn black when heated. Ick.)
…or you could, you know, make hot dogs and hamburgers. Also good. 
I totally love chicken this way. Rub the skin down with oil and spices, put some herbs in the cavity and put a beer can 3/4 full up in the cavity, and stand it with the base of the can and legs to support it. If you have a grill with 3 burners, put the chicken in the middle, and only use the 2 outside burners. No direct heat under the bird.
Just make sure your grill lid is tall enough to handle a standing up chicken, and be careful when removing the can+chicken. If you spray the can with PAM or something; it comes out easier and you have less worries about boiling beer spillage.
Note: if you use a really big chicken, say >4.5 lbs, or if you use one of those “enhanced with broth” chickens, your entire forearm holding the beer will disappear inside the chicken’s cavity and it won’t stand up on the grill. Also, cut the tail off or it will catch fire. Spectacular, but…!
I love beer-up-the-ass chicken. I pour out about 1/3 of the beer can, and throw a couple whole cloves of garlic into the beer before insertion. Mmmmm.
For around a dollar, you can buy a simple metal stand to simplify the beer can chicken logistics.
On some of the foods mentioned in this thread:
Asparagus: I toss with olive oil & balsamic, S&P, and I have a “vegetable tray” that I put it in and toss on the grill. It’s kind of iron, and has holes all through it the size of quarters. It’s effective.
Pineapple: Cut a fresh pineapple into rounds. Sprinkle with a little black pepper. Grill. Serve with a scoop of vanilla ice cream.
Pizza: interesting, but not worth the effort.
Corn: I soak and then leave ONE layer of husk. You still get grill marks, and caramelization, but not too much. Sort of a buffer.
One of my favorite things to do on the grill is any crazy combination of fajitas. . .shrimp, chicken, beef, fish.
Grill tomatoes, corn, jalapenos, onions, and make a grilled vegetable salsa.
Grill the fajita shells till they get toasty and puffed up.
Grill onions and peppers. . .not really grilling exactly, but I’ll put them in a pan with butter and sugar, cover with foil, and steam them on the grill. I have the grill going, so why not?
You can make pesto with cilantro instead of basil (and a little lime juice maybe) that goes great with grilled fajitas.
Oooooh, that’s just not right! (Can I say how excited I am you quoted that movie?)
Wow, there are enough suggestions here to last a summer. I didn’t grill this weekend because neither of my roommates were home. We’re all here tonight, so tonight’s the night! I’ve just got to decide which suggestions to try first!
I bought some dill hummus by error, and discovered that is is great on grilled squash; will try it with other vegetables next time.
I vote husks on the corn, soaked in water, skewers on the asparagus, easier to handle.
Oh, and if you’re doing shrimp…
Start with raw, not already cooked/frozen/thawed shrimp. You can marinate, but I don’t even bother. Olive oil, salt, pepper, & on the grill they go. To set up: use two narrow skewers (the bamboo kind that bartenders use for the fruit in mai tais works well), lay the shrimp facing the same direction, kind of “nesting” in each other. Use TWO skewers side by side. Takes no time at all if you place the shrimp on a plate, then run one skewer in at a time while holding the shrimps in place with your other hand. EZ flipping!
And I do peppers & onions by just using big pieces. No grill basket. Onions, 1/2" think slices. Peppers, half- or quarter- peppers, then cut as needed after they come off the grill.
Making me hungry…