Grilling veggies

[austin87]

I can either roast veggies (split zucchini, squash, eggplant, etc) indirect or burn the crap out of it direct. I never get "nice" grill marks on veggies... They are either blackened or indirect roasted and moved direct later, but I can't grill veggies over direct heat. My main theory is that I'm cooking too hot (dome therm between 400-500).

How do I direct grill on veggies?

[1buckie]

Just some possible thoughts....

A lot of times, I go with those last...they usually are the shortest cook time & by the time other things (read: meat or heavier, denser foods) are near ready, the coals are less intense, hence, you get a nice settled down heat to cook with.....

the meats & such can be either taken off or set to the coolest part of the grate to sort of 'hot hold' while the vegs cook....

Here's a whole dinner on an 18"......shows, kinda, the sequence or rotation to get things done up together......

http://weberkettleclub.com/forums/grilling-bbqing/previous-don't-really-need-all-those-kettles-just-one-18-12'-5/msg7900/#msg7900

A thing BBcue-Z was talking about the other day made me stop & think.....vegs are mostly water so they get treated differently when cooking.....

http://weberkettleclub.com/forums/bbq-food-pics/grilled-chicken-wwhite-bbq-sauce-and-lamb/msg148130/#msg148130

Here's another of his....this fine fellow is quick with the tongs, I guarantee ya.....

http://weberkettleclub.com/forums/bbq-food-pics/horseradish-steaks/

In looking at his stories, you'll a lot of times see the vegs on a different grill or an area setup up separately on a grill also......that can help.......
Here's a demonstration of concept:



All the coals are under the meat-based skewers, the shrimps are still in the heat & will cook, but need much less.....



I'll use a 22 for main stuff & 18 for vegs & accessories quite often.....

One other thought might be...what are your coatings / marinades?

Some things with olive oil will tend to burn quick....maybe test out herbs / spices with little or no oil just to see if it gets you a better handle on it..... 

[Tim in PA]

I have been having a lot of success with the Weber veggie basket. I put a small coating of oil (usually avocado due to smoke point) on the basket and then let it warm up a little bit on the grill with direct heat. After about a minute or two I put the veggies in and just check it every so often to make sure nothing is burning. I often move the basket around on the grill depending on how fast it is cooking and will try to keep the lid closed as much as possible. Below are a few pictures of recent cooks with the basket. It does take up a lot of space though which is the downside. I wish I had a 26"!

[BBcue-Z]

Thanks 1buckie

I direct grill veggies for few min until I get the grill marks or some char on them, and then move them away from the fire. Finish them indirect until tender. Some veggies have higher content of sugar like squashes and tend to burn faster if left too long over the fire.

You can also smoke roast them in a pan like this

My favorite way is using skewers, since the are constantly rotated, and they brown evenly on all sides

[austin87]

Thanks all. I have a veggie basket and have seen some avocado oil in the pantry (would also like a 26er!). It sounds like most people are getting some grill marks on them then moving indirect. Sugar content of the veggies is also a good point to think about. I do more high heat cooks for the average dinner - either searing something or using the grill at high indirect heat like an outdoor oven.

I'll play around with the techniques mentioned here and also see if I can get down low-medium direct heat. Maybe before I get the 26er I should pick up and 18 designated for veggies. Thanks!

[Troy]

sounds like you do a lot of high heat cooks. I went through a phase of this and ran into the exact issue you're having with veggies.

Here's how I solved it.
- keep your coals on one half of the grill. half hot, half cool.
- when you put your veggies on, put them directly over the coals
- as soon as all your veggies are one, rotate the grate so all the veggies are in the cool zone.

You'll get marks, because the grates are HOT from being over the coals.
But your veggies will cook indirect, so they won't burn up.

[1buckie]

@austin87

Perhaps, after seeing your description,  a good way might be how Tim's going about it.......a separate container like that can then get them off the grill faster before burning / charring happens.............

I was going to put something in about that, but don't really do that often enough for any good ideas.....
The wife has found a few different baskets, but I've yet to get good with & begin to like them.....

Nate was using a flat pizza screen here:

http://weberkettleclub.com/forums/bbq-food-pics/low-carb-dinner/

......and.....Troy's idea solves quite a lot too !!!!!!

[austin87]

@Troy - thanks I really like that idea of rotating the grate. I always have the coals on about half of the lower grate so that should work well for me. How did you evolve away from the phase of high heat cooks?

And @1buckie - always good advice - I like the idea of a grate to pull everything at once

[Jammato]

I used to do them direct over the coals, last while meat was resting and had good results, then I switched to a vegi grill pan I had bought at Bed Bath and Beyond, I am sold on the pan now, it has a detachable handle so I can set it in the kettle and close the lid. I usually open and turn every 3 or 4 minutes for around 12 to 15 minutes and the vegies are done to perfection. I like them just a bit al dente.