 For most Americans, Labor Day is the signal to clean up the grill and stow it away for next year, but this is Kansas, Dorothy. Our good weather could last for months so don’t put that barbecue grill away yet!
Anyone with a flair for grilling knows how to burn, no, expertly sear a KC strip steak or tenderly crust a tasty chicken breast. Hot dogs, hamburgers — even the most novice among us can use a barbecue grill. There are books, cooking shows and experts a plenty, who can tell you what type of grill to use, firewood to light and what temperature to use to get the level of doneness you want.
That’s all well and good, but what do you do with leftover watermelon?
Pretty much anything can be grilled. Even watermelon.
At last year’s Old Town Farmer’s Market Iron Chef grill-off, winning chef Dave Wirebaugh of the Hyatt showed us how to take a juicy, sweet watermelon and turn it into something sublime. He took a steak-thick slice of watermelon and grilled it for a few minutes, just long enough to get grill marks. Then he brushed the pieces with a sauce made by melting butter with sugar and then adding wine, balsamic vinegar and cinnamon basil. The watermelon grilled by itself is amazing, with or without the sauce.
Peaches, asparagus, romaine lettuce, baby new Peruvian potatoes and more, become meal additions you grill; and as summer slips into fall, patty pan squash, broccoli, pizza and pears all become more delicious fodder for the grill.
With asparagus so plentiful, even out of season, it’s always a perfect vegetable to grill. Snap off the ends of a pound of fresh asparagus. Wash and dry them and place in sealable bag. Add 2-4 tablespoons of olive oil, a teaspoon of kosher salt, a turn or two of freshly ground black pepper and squeeze of lemon. Set aside for 15 minutes to an hour.
After you have grilled your main course and the coals are dying down (or turn your propane down to low), put the asparagus on the grill perpendicular to the grill surface. Turn after a minute or two, depending on the thickness of the spears. Char lightly but do not overcook. They can be served immediately or at room temperature.
Pizza lovers with a recipe for their own dough, or not, can make use of the grill and help use the season’s fresh tomatoes, green peppers, onion and spinach. Using the grill for pizza is relatively easy but be aware. Food Network’s Tyler Florence uses a hot grill, then brushes the crust with a thin layer of olive oil and lays it oil-side down on the hot grate. Once the dough looks set, turn it over and put the toppings on, close the grill lid and cook until the cheese is melted.
Greg Rowe, local foodie and pizza-on-the-grill maker, says he has found that using a heavy duty cast iron grate that has wider grates works best. The wider space allows the heat to flow better. He also says to use lighter toppings, sparingly, so they don’t bog the crust down making it soggy and hard to handle.
Make the most of your grill the rest of this summer and into fall. Be adventurous. Eat well.
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