How to Grill Vegetables

Step 1

The key to cooking most vegetables on the grill is to lightly coat them in vegetable or olive oil. It prevents them from sticking on the grill and drying out, enhances grill marks, and allows seasonings to adhere better. Unless otherwise noted below, coat all vegetables in oil before grilling and season with salt and pepper. When the coals are ready, clean, preheat, and oil your grill grates. Grill the vegetables directly over the coals on a medium-hot [two-zone fire], moving the cooked vegetables to the cooler side of the grill as the others finish.

Step 2

In the husk or out? Everyone has an opinion on this popular grill favorite. Both work, but removing the husks and silk is the way to get grill marks, caramelization and smoky flavor — all the things you love about grilled food, right on the cob. Set up a medium hot two-zone fire. Remove the husks and silk from the corn, brush the corn with vegetable oil, season as you like and place it directly over the coals, turning often to cook it evenly and prevent burning (about 10 to 13 minutes total). Grilling the corn in the husk provides more of a steam cooking. Learn how, here.

Step 3

Slice off the artichoke top (about ¾ of an inch) and steam in a pot until tender but not overly soft. Then, using a large knife, slice it in half from top to bottom, place it over the coals, and grill until the inner side of the leaves are tender and the outer part of the artichoke is lightly charred.

Step 4

The easiest way to grill rounded vegetables such as onions and eggplants is to slice them into ¼- to ½-inch disks to increase the surface area (for elongated vegetables such as squash, bell peppers, and zucchini, slice them lengthwise). Turn two or three times while grilling, and remove when tender and lightly charred.

Step 5

The most common method of grilling small mushrooms is to skewer them or place them in a grilling basket. Large mushrooms such as Portobello mushrooms can be grilled directly on the grate. Remove the stem, place the cap over the coals, and flip it two or three times until tender and charred — about five minutes for smaller caps and eight minutes for very large ones.

Step 6

First, trim the woody bottoms from the stalks. Place the stalks directly on the grill (perpendicular to the grate) and cook until just tender but not mushy. Asparagus cooks quicker than most other grilled vegetables, so be sure not to overcook them.

Step 7

Small tomatoes such as cherry tomatoes are best grilled on a skewer. For larger tomatoes, trim the ends off, slice the tomato in half, and grill with the flat side down. Grill tomatoes briefly so they don’t get too soft.