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Your Best Side Dish Secrets!
Myth-Buster # 3:
Myth: A charcoal grill works for meat only; all vegetables, side dishes, and desserts should be made in the kitchen.
Reality: A charcoal grill is essentially an outdoor oven. Its glowing embers can roast vegetables, smoke fish, cook pizzas, and even bake desserts. Say hello to modern charcoal grilling.
If a steak is the George Clooney of the grilling world, a great barbecue side dish is like Stanley Tucci or Steve Buscemi—the perfect complement to the main attraction. So who is your supporting cast when you're grilling? Is it a great potato salad? Or maybe it's baked beans or corn bread? Share your ideas and your recipes!
If you've had bad luck with grilling vegetables in the past, Jamie has five tips that should turn you into a pro:
- Expose as much surface as possible. Cut each vegetable to give you the biggest area to put in direct contact with the grate. For example, rather than cutting a zucchini crosswise into round circles, cut it lengthwise to expose more of the interior.
- Use good oil. Neutral oils like canola oil will do the job fine, but an extra virgin olive oil improves the flavor of virtually every vegetable.
- Season generously. Some of the salt and pepper will come off during the grilling so use more than you usually would. For more flavor, marinate the vegetables at room temperature for 20 minutes to an hour in olive oil, vinegar, garlic, herbs, and spices.
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Baste now and then. The water in vegetables evaporate quickly on a hot grill – which is great for intensifying flavors – but some are prone to shrinking and drying out. So if they start to wrinkle, brush them with a little oil.
- Stay in the zone. Just about everything from asparagus to zucchini tends to cook best over direct medium heat (between 350 and 450 degrees F). And like meat, turn them as few times as possible.
Now it's your turn! Share your side dish secrets by clicking on the "Reply to this post" link below.
About Jamie:
Jamie Purviance is a graduate of the Culinary Institute of America, he's been a guest chef of the James Beard House, and he's a certified judge on the barbecue circuit. He is also the best-selling author of Weber's Art of the Grill, Weber's Big Book of Grilling, Weber's Real Grilling, and his latest book is Weber's Charcoal Grilling. Jamie is also a TeeBeeDee member and we've asked him to help us stop burning our barbecue.
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Posted: Jun 29, 07 11:12am
My recent obsession is with Giada DeLaurentiis's grilled caesar salad. You actually put the romaine on the grill for a few minutes and it adds a smokiness and different texture to your typical green salad. It's really good:
Dressing:
3 garlic cloves
4 anchovy fillets, chopped
1/4 cup fresh lemon juice
1 tablespoon Dijon mustard
1/2 cup olive oil
Salt and freshly ground black pepper
3 small heads (or 2 large heads) romaine lettuce, halved lengthwise
1/2 cup drained oil-packed sun-dried tomatoes, cut into thin strips
1/2 cup pine nuts, toasted
1 1/2 ounces shaved Parmesan
To make the dressing: Finely chop the garlic and anchovies in a food processor. Blend in the lemon juice and mustard. With the machine running, gradually blend in the oil. Season the dressing, to taste, with salt and pepper.
Prepare the barbecue for high heat. Grill the lettuce until lightly charred, about 2 minutes per side. Cut the lettuce into bite-size pieces.
On a serving platter, mound the grilled chopped lettuce. Decoratively scatter the sun-dried tomatoes and pine nuts. Drizzle with enough dressing to evenly coat. Sprinkle Parmesan and scatter the warm polenta croutons over and serve immediately.
Posted: Jun 29, 07 11:31am
Yes, yes, yes! Grilled greens are terribly underused and underappreciated. And they don't even need to be green. Recently, I made a "slaw" from finely shaved pieces of grilled romaine, grilled red cabbage, and grilled scallions -- all tossed with a sherry-mustard dressing. Very nice side for a grilled seafood dish. It will be in the August issue of Bon Appetit.
Posted: Jun 29, 07 12:38pm
I was at a Moroccan restaurant recently (I think it was Moroccan) and they had the best appetizer for our grilled meat dinner. I've tried reproducing it at home with pretty good results. I don't know what it's called so this is my name for it:
Rosemary salted watermelon!
Use seedless watermelon... red and yellow if you can find it. Presentation of the watermelon is kind of important... I slice the watermelon into thin-ish triangles and arrange nicely on a plate.
Sprinkle rosemary salt (if you can't buy it, just mix sea salt with finely chopped up rosemary).
Drizzle just a little fruity olive oil and a little bit balsamic vinegar -- JUST A LITTLE.
And that's it. It is SO GOOD.
Posted: Jun 29, 07 2:23pm
Now that sounds GREAT! Can I steal this recipe for my next book? I wonder what would happen if you used different herbs. Mint is the obvious choice, but I'm thinking basil or maybe even dried lavender.
Posted: Jun 29, 07 3:51pm
Wow, it would be an honor! steal away...