Grilled meals taste like summer to me. I love cooking outside – enjoying the summer weather and not heating up my kitchen. Also, grilling is usually a quick way to prepare food. Here are some of my favorite things to throw on the grill.
I am a big fan of grilled vegetables.
Gather some fresh summer veggies. I like putting corn, tomatoes, and asparagus on the grill. Also good are onions, zucchini, and mushrooms.
Preheat the grill to high heat (or one setting lower than high heat, if you prefer). My grill takes about 15-20 minutes to get good and hot, which is just the right amount of time to prepare the veggies for grilling.
For the asparagus, trim the tough ends, sprinkle with salt and freshly ground pepper, drizzle some olive oil over, and you are ready to grill.
For the corn, if the corn is still in the husk, leave it in the husk. Just wash it, then soak in cold water while the grill preheats (like in the above picture). Once the grill is ready, take the corn out of the water and it’s ready to go. If the corn is not still in the husk, then wrap in aluminum foil before putting it on the grill. You can add a pat of butter to the foil if you want, too.
For the tomatoes, make a pouch out of heavy-duty aluminum foil. Just take a large piece of heavy-duty foil and fold it over to make a double layer. Put in cherry or grape tomatoes, fresh basil, salt, pepper, and olive oil.
Fold up the foil to make a pouch, cinch the top to close it, and it’s ready to go.
By now, your grill should be hot, so put the veggies on the grill.
The asparagus usually only takes about 10 to 15 minutes. Turn them halfway through cooking.
Halfway through cooking the corn, flip them over; halfway through cooking the tomatoes, shake the pouch with tongs to mix the contents.
The corn should take 20 minutes (maybe a bit longer if the ear is particularly large). The tomatoes also take about 20 minutes.
But what’s for the main course?
How about some pork tenderloin?
First make the marinade:
In a zip-top bag, combine the pork tenderloin, a few smashed cloves of garlic, about 1/4 to a scant 1/2 cup of light brown sugar, and low-sodium soy sauce to cover and wet everything. Seal the bag and place in a dish (in case the bag leaks), and put in the fridge for at least two hours.
P.S. This marinade also works well on chicken.
When you are ready to grill – the grill is already hot – put the pork tenderloin on the grill and discard the marinade (the zip-top bag makes this easy to do). I use the “7-6-5” cooking time explained here – it works like a charm. Cook the first side for 7 minutes. Then turn the tenderloin over and cook the other side for 6 minutes. Then turn the grill off and let it sit in the hot grill for 5 minutes.
Remove, then let it rest for 5-10 minutes before slicing to let the juices redistribute.
Meat not your thing? How about salmon?
I just like salt and pepper on my grilled salmon, but you could baste it with your favorite barbecue sauce, too, and it’s yummy. The trick to grilling salmon is NOT to turn it.
Get salmon fillets with the skin still on. Do not take the skin off – it’s going to help you here.
Season the skinless side of the salmon fillet and place on a hot grill with the skin side down.
Cook for 10 minutes without turning it. Don’t move it. Just let it sit and cook. Honest – this works.
When you are ready to remove the fish, take a spatula and wedge it between the meat and the skin.
Take the fish off the grill, leaving the skin on the grill.
Then you can either remove the skin, or just keep the grill on a few extra minutes and let it burn away. It’s the perfect way to ensure your salmon doesn’t stick to your grill.
And there you have it – easy grilling meals to enjoy summer!
What’s your favorite meal on the grill? Share in the comments!
