But sometimes food just cooks too fast on a hot grill. Once off... Well the kitchen is a mess and my priority was to eat. This came out so good I just want to share. I hope you can follow along in your mind's eye.
SWMBO is Roman Catholic so we need meatless meals on Fridays for Lent. Last Friday I grilled up some salmon so I didn't want fish again. We have a half marathon tomorrow so we need to stoke up. Pasta! But not ordinary sauce. Instead I'll oil up some veggies and grill them to toss with the pasta. And there's those huge shrimp (U8 - 8 to the pound) I've been saving for the right occasion. Today was the right occasion.
Equipment: For stuff like this, there is nothing better than my magic cast iron grate. Perfect fit on a 22 kettle. (I do have a picture of that.)
This grate has two important virtues. First, it is massive. The bars are about 3/4" high. They're higher than they are wide. Once hot, they produce great grill marks. Second, the spaces between bars are about the same width as the bars themselves. This works very well for things that otherwise like to slip between the bars and find their way into the fire. When I use this, it is invariably a direct fire.
Before I started the fire, I prepped the now thawed shrimp. After peeling them I slit along both top and bottom to clean them and expose a little more area to the seasoning. I put a couple tablespoons of peanut oil in a small bowl and mashed several (or more
) garlic cloves into it. I microwaved that for about 15 seconds (measured at 175°F) to release the garlic flavor into the oil. Then I mixed in about a teaspoon or two of Old Bay seasoning and tossed the shrimp in the mix.
Then I turned my attention to the other veggies.
One red and one green pepper. I sliced the sides off them to get pepper pieces about 4" long and 2" wide. These were coated with olive oil and sprinkled with some Kosher salt.
One medium onion. I peeled it and sliced it across the grain to make three thick slices (about 3/4" thick.) They got the oil and salt treatment as well.
What was left of a head of broccoli (that has contributed to several recent salads) was cut into quarter to dime size florets. Then ... wait for it ... oil and salt!
About this time I got the fire going. There was less than half a chimney of lump left from the previous cook and I topped up with Stubbs briquettes.
The last vegetable was a zucchini about 8" long and 3" diameter. I quartered it lengthwise, coated in oil and sprinkled with salt and fresh ground black pepper.
Once the coals were lit, I spread them out in approximately the shape of the CI grate and put the lid on to get that CI hot. Once it was there, I started putting food on and had to work quick. Zucchini went on first with one cut side down. By the time I headed in to bring out the pepper slices, the zucchini was ready to turn onto the other cut side with some nice browning on the parts in contact with the grate. I spread the peppers out and headed in for the onions and broccoli. With those on and I had a moment to catch my breath.
Before I could really relax, it was time to flip the peppers since they were starting to brown on the side facing the fire. The onions got their first turn as well and I moved the broccoli around. The zucchini got its last turn with the skin side down. I headed in for the shrimp. The veggies pretty much covered the CI grate at this point but the peppers were ready to come off and make space for the shrimp. Another minute or two and I was taking the rest of the vegetables off and flipping the shrimp. I turned the onions a couple times and they were browned nicely on both sides. And then everything was inside and ready to assemble dinner. I sliced the onions in half and the peppers into about 1/2" strips. Broccoli was already the right size and I quartered the shrimp because they were so big. The zucchini was served on the side. I just piled the shrimp and the other grilled veggies on some pasta and sprinkled on a healthy amount of grated Romano cheese.
I've made this before, just grilling whatever was on hand, and I've always been happy with the results. This time the flavor was just over the top! I had seconds and only held off on thirds to same some room for desserts. While I was grilling our neighbor stopped by with some cookies his wife had just baked. That was first dessert. And they were still warm! Second dessert was chocolate tiramisu I had picked up at the grocery to celebrate Pi Day.
I may not be competitive in tomorrow's race. Training has not been going well. But lack of nutrition is not likely to be an issue.
Topic: Wish I had a picture... (Read 1265 times)
