Spring at the DeYoung house means the grill comes out of hibernation and takes its well-deserved position right outside the kitchen door. It means the beginning of dinner parties, weekly cocktail nights, and fresh herbs and vegetables straight from the garden.
This year, thanks to Francis Mallmann, I've started paying attention not only to the ingredients used in a meal but the method and tools as well. For grilling, this means ditching the lighter fluid for an electric starter, traditional charcoal for All Natural Lump Coal, and integrating more wood chunks.
My typical grilling set up consist of a Weber Charcoal Grill with a single Char-Basket on one side holding the wood and the All Natural Lump Coal on the other side with space between. This set up allows the typical grilling directly over coals to achieve a nice flame broiled flavor, as well as passive grilling to absorb all the wonderful natural flavors of the wood and herbs without burning.
***Protip, soak the wood in a mixture of lemon and herbs prior to cooking to add additional flavors***
Below are three recipes for sides that can be mixed and matched for any grilling needs and complement traditional BBQ chicken or Burgers very well. I also used this Grill Topper to make clean up and transportaion more managable.
Grilled Potato Chips
Ingredients
3 Red Potaotes
1 Tbsp Onion powder
1 Tbsp Garlic powder
1 Tbsp Sea Salt
1 Tbsp White Pepper
6 Tbsp Butter
Directions
- Thinly slice potatoes the about the thickness of a quarter
- Melt butter and combine spice in a small bowl
- Brush potato slices with spice & butter mixture.
- Place on grill and cook 4 minutes per side. (cooking time may vary depending on grill temp. The goal is to get the edges slightly crispy but not burnt)
Chili Pepper Corn
Ingredients
3 Fresh ear of Corn
1 Tbsp Sea Salt
1 Tbsp Ground pepper
1 Tbsp Chili Powder
1/3 cup Olive Oil
Directions
- Combine spices and oil in a bowl
- Cut ears of corn in half
- Cover corn in spice mixture
- Place directly over coals
- Rotate roughly every 3 minutes, or when dark spots start to appear.
- Corn should take 10-12 minutes to cook all around.
***Spice mixture is meant for 4 ears of corn***
Lemon Ginger Asparagus
Ingredients
1 bunch of Asparagus
1 lemon
1/3 cup Olive Oil
1 Tbsp Sea Salt
1 Tbsp Ground pepper
1 Tsp Ginger powder
Directions
- Combine Spices and oil in a bowl
- Cover Asparagus in spice mixture
- Place on the sides of the grill, not on direct heat
- Cook 6 minutes and rotate.
- Asparagus should be tender so a fork can easily go through.