What are the best fruits for grilling season and how to cook them perfectly
Sweet! We’ve been waiting all year for the delicious flavors of summer and now the time is finally here. Take advantage of the delicious produce piled high in the super market and give your family all the healthy goodness you can pack into the menu.
Fruit season is definitely the happiest time of the year, at least when it comes to outdoor cooking. If you are ready to make the jump to adding grilled fruits to your menu, recteq is here to guide you! Want to know the best way to preserve the juicy goodness and flavor while adding a smoky twist to your favorite fruits? These easy grilled fruit recipes are the stuff of summer dreams! Let’s get to the good stuff: some DO’s and DON’T’s of fruits on a pellet grill!
DO: Choose denser fruits, cut in generous chunks
Chef Greg recommends choosing a hearty, dense fruit for the best grill-ability. Consider pineapples, pears, peaches, apples, and tomatoes since they will stand up well to the heat of the grill. High heat will allow the fruit’s natural sugars to caramelize, taking these from delicious to dessert-worthy.
DO: Add spices, sweet and smoky
Make the natural flavor of the fruit POP with a little heat and some carefully chosen spices. When it comes to seasoning your fruit for the grill, think spices that you’d use in fruit-based recipes such as cinnamon, cloves, lemon, and brown sugar. For pineapple and other tropical fruits, our Jody's Asian Persuasion Rub gives an incredible taste. Fresh-ground black pepper is also a great choice to contrast with the sweetness and use fresh mint or basil to get just a little fancier!
DO: Take advantage of heat and always pre-heat
You want a higher-heat to sear in those juicy flavors and caramelize the outside of the fruit. If you throw them on before the grill has preheated, the slices are more likely to fall apart and make a mess so be sure to warm those grates up first!
DO: Bring in Grandma’s heavy-duty Dutch oven
Pie fillings are perfect cooked slowly in an enameled cast iron pot or skillet (and you don’t have to bother with a crust for a gourmet dessert)! Blackberries, blueberries, peaches, and apples are amazing when lightly tossed with lemon juice, sugar, and spices and cooked low and slow. Don’t forget the butter to balance out that flavor.
DON’T: Go with small, soft, or over-ripe fruits
Whatever fruits you choose, they should be on the less-ripe side. You want them to maintain their crispness and not become mushy. Small fruits like grapes will be harder to manage unless you are cooking them in a skillet or skewering them. (Grapes also have high water content, so might taste more steamed and less grilled. You’ve been warned)
DON’T: Use too much smoke
Smoky flavor can really overwhelm the fruit, so we recommend grilling or searing for most of these options. The exception would be if you are cooking a skillet dessert with slow smoked apples, pears, or peaches. In that case, the slow and smoky flavors along with just the right spices will add to the dish’s natural sweetness rather than overwhelming it.
If you’re trying to steer your family away from consuming processed sweets, grilled fruits are a delightful alternative they will love. Pair these sweet treats with your favorite grilled proteins and you can’t go wrong for a summer meal!
Don’t forget to capture your colorful fruit based cooks with photos and tag us on social media.
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