We do not grill enough vegetables and it is a sin. We should be grilling it as much as we do meat. Why? Vegetables might not be the first thing that you think of when you are thinking about grilling. However, it is one of the most important side dishes that helps you enjoy the meat even more. Our mothers always used to tell us that we need to way vegetables and this is one of the best way to ensure that you can get the best flavor of the barbecue. We have a lot of people asking about how to grill the perfect vegetables. Take a look at what you need to do.
Guide To Grilling Every Vegetable
We have a guide here that can help you grill practically any vegetable that you want. So let us begin with the preparation of the vegetables at first.
How to Prepare The Vegetables?
You need to prepare different vegetables in a different way. However, you need to understand that it is very important to move around the vegetables because the more surface area you give them, the more you are going to get the flavor of the grill. The char marks are also going to be better with the surface area.
Bell peppers - seed then and the cut them in quarters.
Onions - peel them and then quarter them.
Yellow squash, eggplant and zucchini - cut length wise into steak like rectangles.
- Asparagus - trim the woody ends.
- Tomato - you should get the small tomatoes on the vine as a grilling vegetable.
Brush the vegetable with oil after cutting them so that you can grill without worrying about the vegetables sticking to the grill.
How Long Should I Cook The Vegetables?
It totally depends on the size and shape of the vegetables that you are cooking. You can cook the meaty vegetables at the hot spots of the grill so that they can cook faster. They can handle the heat. You should start with starting with the peppers and onions first and then followed by the eggplant, squash, zucchini, mushrooms; then asparagus; and finally, the tomatoes.
This is the amount of time that you should be cooking your vegetables.
- Bell peppers and onions: 8 to 10 minutes
- Yellow squash, zucchini, eggplant, and mushrooms: 7 to 8 minutes
- Asparagus, green onions, and tomatoes on the vine: 4 to 6 minutes
Best Way To Serve
The grilled vegetables are perfect to eat by itself but you can just add a bit of salt and a squeeze of fresh lemon to add to the flavor more. If you want to go for something extravagant then you can go ahead and add a dressing for your food. However, this is going to take some time to prepare so prepare the dressing before grilling the vegetables, if you are making. one.
If you have left over grilled vegetables then you can just go ahead and chop them up to little pieces and add them to the salads and pasta later on. They add a lot of texture and taste to the food that they combine with. None of the vegetables are going to waste.
Instructions on Grilling
First you need to clean the grill. When you are done with the cleaning process, you have to turn to medium or high heat according to the settings of the grill. You then need to prepare the vegetables. It is better if you have already done it but if not then you can go ahead and prepare them now. You need to cut them into pieces and drizzle them with oil and salt to make them taste better.
Now you need to grill the vegetables. Put the hearty one first and then you need to go ahead and put the lighter ones that might not take that much time to cook. Be very aware of the hotspots of the grill. Once you are done with the smoking you can see the grill marks on the vegetables. Serve it with the dressing if you want or you can go without it. That's all there is to it. Be aware of the cooking time of the vegetables we mentioned.
Conclusion
Thank you so much for giving this article here a read. There is not much that you need to do to get the perfect grilled veggies. We have been asked a lot of people if the grilled vegetables are worth it. The answer is yes. They also act as good palette cleansers so you can enjoy the taste of the meat more. The vegetable are healthy too so you are going to want a balanced mean and make your grandmother proud. Thank you so much for sticking to the very end. Now you should be able to make the perfect vegetables for your barbecue party. Do not forget to share the good food with your friends and family. Happy grilling!