Before You Fire Up the Grill

There is a little bit of preparation involved before you actually grill your eggplant, and you don’t want to skip out on any of the preparation! The first thing to know is that when you grill eggplant, you do not need to peel it! This may seem like common sense, but since eggplant is often peeled before preparing it in other ways, many people don’t realize that they shouldn’t do so before grilling it.

Also, salting an eggplant is very important for taste. You add salt to an eggplant because this will “pull out” the bitter juices hiding within, and also, because it will help your eggplant to not absorb oil and become very greasy while grilling. You aren’t really salting it to add a salty taste, but instead to receive these other benefits.

Since you don’t want to peel your eggplant, you can salt it by cutting it into slices. The size of the slices is really up to you, though of course grilling time will be slightly longer for larger slices. Let them sit in a colander for about an hour, and then rinse them with water, making sure to squeeze most of the moisture out with your hands before patting the eggplant pieces dry. If you leave in too much moisture, your eggplant will be greasier than you would want.

Grilling Eggplant Correctly

Grilling eggplant is very simple once you have done the preparation of the slices. Here are some tips and guidelines to follow:

• Heat your grill up to a medium-high heat level. With charcoal, it is a little less precise, but with a gas grill, this is easy to do.
• Before grilling your eggplant, make sure that you brush each slice with oil. A medium amount will do. Remember that if you have not salted your eggplant, it will absorb way too much of the oil.
• It is important not to undercook eggplant. You want the eggplant to be soft, so you will know that the eggplant is done cooking when it achieves such a texture.

You can marinate your eggplant beforehand also, if you prefer. Also, some people prefer to add seasoning or butter to their eggplant before eating, but you should probably allow your guests to do this, unless you know their preferences. Your friends and family will definitely be surprised when you add this tasty and underrated grill food to the menu during your next cookout! Follow the previously outlined directions, and you should have no problems.

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Preparing Your Corn for the Grill

One of the biggest keys to grilling any type of food, including corn, is the preparation of the food. Before the corn is even placed on the grill, there are a few steps that you should take to ensure that everything goes as well as you would hope. First of all, do not peel off all of the husks; you want a couple of layers for protection while the corn is on the grill.

Then, you will probably want to soak the cobs of corn in cold water for awhile, perhaps about 15 minutes or so. You will be glad that you did this extra step, as it will help to provide necessary moisture for when you cook the corn! Of course, shake off any extra water when you are ready to put the corn on the grill. Then, brush the corn kernels with olive oil or butter before placing the husks back over the kernels, and you are ready to grill!

Grilling Corn the Right Way

You will want your grill to be at about medium heat for the purpose of grilling corn. While you are grilling your corn, make sure to rotate it to ensure that you don’t give too much time to any one side. You will turn it a few times, then place it away from the flames on one of the sides of the grill, and close the cover to let the corn slowly cook.

It will need to cook like this for about fifteen minutes. You will be ready to take the corn off the grill when juice shoots out of the kernels when they are pressed. If you cook the corn too long, it will become mushy, which you definitely do not want!

When you remove the corn from the grill, you will simply want to carefully hold it with some sort of protection for your hand (such as an oven mitt) and peel away the husks. Then, rinse off the grilled corn, and you are ready to serve it up with some butter!

Grilling corn does not have to be difficult. It is just like anything else; if you know the right way to do it, the process itself is actually quite simple. With these tips and instructions in mind, you are more than ready to serve some grilled corn at your next cookout as a delicious side item to go with grilled steak, chicken or fish!

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Before You Fire Up the Grill

First of all, great grilled asparagus starts with finding the right asparagus to put on the grill in the first place! You always want to find nice, fresh asparagus with brighter colored green stalks. When checking asparagus at the store, you need to look for firm stalks with closed tips. It helps to store them in the refrigerator with a dampened paper towel around the stalks, as well.

Before you get ready to grill them, make sure that you rinse your asparagus stalks fairly thoroughly. Then, snap off the bottom of the stalks or use a knife to cut them. You want to snap it right about where the stalk goes from soft to stiff. This gets rid of the more bitter part of the stalks, which will help a lot with the finished product. Then, use a light amount of oil or some kind of marinade to coat the stalks, leaving them for about a half an hour. Drip off the excess amount, and you’re ready to grill.

Grilling Asparagus to a Tasty Finish

Now that your asparagus is ready, make sure the grill is nice and hot, and place the stalks in a bunch on the grill. It should only take a couple of minutes before you will need to turn them over, before grilling them for another couple of minutes on the other side. After that, they should be done, although you may require a little longer if your grill is not very hot.

While preparing asparagus on the grill, keep these things in mind:

• Tongs should be used to flip over asparagus, to ensure that none of the stalks are lost through the grill into the fire. Placing the asparagus sideways while grilling also helps.
• For extra flavor, you can add butter, some types of salad dressing or other little ingredients to accentuate and bring out the natural taste of grilled asparagus.

As mentioned earlier, grilled asparagus makes for a perfect addition to any grilled meal. It is a versatile enough vegetable that it will go perfectly well with grilled steaks, grilled chicken or even grilled salmon or other types of fish. The keys to preparing asparagus effectively on the grill for best taste include just keeping a close eye on them. They do not need very long to cook, but the flip side of that is that they are very easy to overcook if you are not attentive while you are at the grill! Keep all of these instructions in mind, and your grilled asparagus will be top notch!

Grilled Onions, Peppers, Corn, and Squash

You shouldn’t grill vegetables and eat them because they’re good for you—you should grill vegetables because they are easy to cook and delicious to eat. The healthy benefits are just an added bonus.

1. Choose your vegetables
2. Decide on a grilling method
3. Get them on there!

Grilling vegetables is a quick and easy, healthy, and mouth-watering proposition. The preparation involves cutting and some olive oil, the cooking may involve a flip of two, and the results are almost astonishing. Who knew vegetables could make your taste buds dance in appreciation?

1. It’s really quite simple. First, choose your vegetables. The ones that taste best on the grill are the vegetables that naturally have high water contents: asparagus, bell peppers, cherry tomatoes, eggplant, onions, mushrooms, summer squash, and zucchini. If you love vegetables don’t feel like you have to choose just one vegetable to grill. Live a little and use all of your favorite varieties at the same time. They are good for you, feel free to splurge.
2. Next, decide how you want to cook the vegetables on the grill. The possibilities are nearly endless with options including skewers, grill baskets, and tin foil, to name a few. Another option that is always available to you is to simply place the vegetables directly on the grill to cook (that’s how you get those trendy grill marks that are all the rage in the summer months). No matter which option you choose, though, keep in mind that all of the vegetables should be cut to be about the same size so that they cook in the same amount of time.
3. If you are grilling your vegetables on skewers, cut your vegetables using a golf ball as an approximate judge of size. If you’re having a social gathering, it may be a fun idea to pre-cut all the vegetables and allow your guests to create their own skewers to taste. After the skewers have been made, use a brush to lightly coat the vegetables in olive oil. You may also add kosher salt and pepper to taste—other spices are unnecessary. Keep a close eye on the vegetables after you place them on the grill on medium heat, turning occasionally until lightly browned, about five minutes. Follow the same steps if you choose to cook your vegetables on the grill with a basket of tin foil. Just place the mixed vegetables in your desired cookware and place on grill on medium heat until cooked thoroughly. Be careful not to burn your vegetables, as they tend to cook faster than you may think.
4. If you are grilling the vegetables directly on the grates, you must cut them in bigger chunks so that they do not fall through. After washing the vegetables thoroughly, slice onions (sweet Vidalia onions are particularly delicious), zucchini, and summer squash into about ¼- ½ inch thick rounds; slice bell peppers in half lengthwise and be sure to take out the core and seeds; Portobello mushrooms and asparagus are also great options and do not need to be cut, unless they are too big. Next, lightly coat the vegetables with olive oil and season with salt and pepper to taste, and then place on the grill. Grill on medium heat, 2-6 minutes on each side.

No matter how you decide to cook these vegetables, they are perfect every time. Just be sure to wash them, use olive oil, salt, and pepper, and to turn them frequently if you are worried about overcooking them. You will be surprised to find how delicious vegetables can be, and you will feel good about eating them because they are great for you and easy to prepare and cook. They also compliment almost any main dish. Enjoy!

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