Grilling Asparagus
Nice thing about grilling asparagus is that it doesn't take a long time. You can trim and clean the asparagus spears in 5 minutes, and have your grilled asparagus cooked and ready to eat in less than 10 more minutes. Fifteen minute asparagus, start to eat.
I often grill asparagus indoors on either my George Foreman grill or my old timey cast iron grill pan. But I believe the best flavored spears come off of my charcoal grill. Don't get me wrong, gas grills cook great asparagus, but charcoal adds something extra.
Grilling Asparagus Over Charcoal
My favorite charcoal grill is my large Weber kettle. By arranging the charcoal I can have three different cooking areas - a hot area for quick cooking and browning over high heat, a medium area for cooking things a bit more slowly and gently, and a no-heat area, where I can place foods that are cooking too quickly or done cooking.
To do this, I arrange a double layer of charcoal briquettes on one-third of the grill grate, with the next third covered with a single layer of coals. The remaining one-third of the grate is left free of charcoal, providing a cooler resting area. Heat output of charcoal can vary from brand to brand, which is why all grilling times are just estimates.
With your whole, fresh asparagus spears trimmed, cleaned and seasoned, place them first over the hot part of your charcoal grill. Arrange them so they run across the bars of the grate, which prevents them from falling through, and makes some nice looking grill marks on the stalks. Leave some space between the spears, too. Grill for about 4 minutes, turning once after 2 minutes. They should have some nice browning showing up now. Taste one to see if it's done enough. If not, move the grilling asparagus spears over to the middle, low heat section of your grill. Give them another minute or two on each side, moving them to the no-heat section of the grill when done. Repeat the process, and when all the asparagus is finished, transfer to a serving platter and commence to eatin'!
Grilling Asparagus on a Gas Grill
With a gas grill, you'll really save time cooking your asparagus. With the charcoal, you'll be waiting up to 30 minutes or more for the grill to preheat. With gas, you can turn it on just before trimming the asparagus, and it'll be ready to go 5 minutes later when the asparagus is seasoned. If you have a three burner grill, you can set it up with high heat, medium heat, and no-heat sections. If your grill has just two burners, set one on high, the other left off. Grill the spears over high heat first, about 4 minutes total, then check for doneness. If not done, but browned nicely, finish over the medium burner, or place over the no-heat area and close the grill to finish indirectly.Asparagus Grilling Tips
Here are a few tips that will make your asparagus grilling trouble free.
- To make the asparagus easier to handle, arrange a few stalks on a pair of skewers, one near the asparagus tips, and the other near the base. Much easier to turn and a cool way to serve.
- Another arranging tip - tie stalks into bundles of four. They'll take a bit longer to cook, but you can place more on the grill at one time this way.
- Coat the grill lightly with oil before cooking, and rub the asparagus with oil to prevent drying and shriveling.
- Cover the grill while the asparagus is cooking. It's more efficient.
- Don't be afraid to try asparagus that's crisp-tender, like stir fried vegetables. Asparagus spears can become limp after just a bit of overcooking.
Another great thing about grilling asparagus on your outdoor grill is that you can cook it as the main course meat rests. Your grilled asparagus spears will be piping hot when the meal begins.
