Asparagus is a wonderful side dish for any cookout, which makes it a perennial favorite around the grill each year. Not only is grilled asparagus very tasty, but it is also quite healthy for you. Even better, cooking asparagus on the grill does not strip away any of the nutritional value of the popular vegetable. Instead, grilling asparagus merely preserves the healthiness while really bringing out the flavor!
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!