How vegetables can be easily added to your grilling routine
It’s often overlooked yet one of the most important parts of the meal, the vegetables! When folks think of using the grill or barbecuing, they usually don’t think of throwing on some veggies. However, fresh grilled veggies taste great. Plus they are healthy for you and can be varied with a number of spices and marinades.
Here are a number of ways to BBQ those vegetables.
You don’t want to just throw plain veggies onto a grill. They can dry out from the heat, so toss them in a light coating of oil or make sure there is a bit of oil in the marinade. You can let the prepped veggies sit in a marinade for 20 minutes or so to absorb flavors or coat them with a flavorful dry spice rub. You can also brush additional marinade on the veggies during cooking and right before serving for an added dose of fresh flavor.
Make sure to grill the vegetables starting with the heartier peppers and onions, working with the hottest area of your grill, followed by some of the smaller vegetables and lighter vegetables. Some examples of the smaller examples that might need extra attention include eggplant, artichokes, and asparagus.
The flavor of the vegetable intensifies when it has been grilled. Because a lot of the moisture evaporates from the vegetables as they are grilled, the flavor becomes more concentrated and the sugars become more condensed, which increases the sweetness and flavor of the vegetables. Some vegetables can be cut into pieces and some can be grilled whole. Others vegetables, such as winter squash, should be precooked before they are grilled. The veggies are done when they are tender and have those beautiful grill marks.
There’s always the option to make foil packets for your veggies. Lightly coat a long piece of foil with cooking spray. Place thinly sliced vegetables on the foil and fold the edges over and pinch them together, making a packet. Place the packet on the grill.
The nice part of grilling vegetables are the endless possibilities. You can enjoy them year round in San Diego and they accompany your meat entree very well. Plus there are several ways to turn up the heat, creating wonderful flavor.
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