When we grill out, we frequently save the grill for the meat and make the other dishes inside. Usually we do this because it spreads out the work — one cook mans the grill, another tends to the sides.
But if you do want charred, grilled vegetables to go with your steak (or if the vegetables are the main event), you might look into getting a grill basket. See our thoughts, below...
We can think of two immediate reasons why this tool is a good idea. One, the grates on some grills are far enough apart that pieces of vegetable too easily fall through and are swallowed up by the flames. Two, flipping individual vegetable bits is tedious and tricky. Grill baskets let you shake and toss over the fire.
There are a lot of versions out there — open-top baskets, grill woks, even a fish basket serves the same purpose.
The ones above are:
Non-Stick Grill Grid, $12.95 from Crate and Barrel. (left)
Chefmate Nonstick Adjustable Grill Basket, $9.99 from Target.
Anyone have tips for using a grill basket? Do you think they're helpful?
Related: Hot or Not: Monogrammed Steak Brand
(Images: Crate and Barrel; Target)
Copyright © 2008 Apartment Therapy
I strongly recommend baskets without handles - I use grill grids, not baskets. If you use a gas grill, it is well near impossible to close the lid of the grill when you used a "handles" basket.
That said, I use them for grilling asparagus and mushrooms - it's so much easier to toss the veggies in than to skewer them. When they are done, you can just lift the whole grid off the heat (with potholders of course!).
view Sunday Cook's profile
I love the grill basket for making fajitas. I slice the bell peppers and onions and put them in the basket on the grill. That way, you get the nice, charred, smokey flavor that you can't get from a saute. Sometimes I do saute them first and then finish on the grill.
view bananaface's profile
we love grilling veggies! We use a large-ish wok looking thing with holes. peppers and onions tossed with some olive oil and plopped on the grill in that thing always come out tasting like candy.
view lz256's profile
I have a basket with a removable handle - it lets me close the grill but also lets me flip the basket easily. The only problem I do have is that the veggies can stick to the grate, so I spray the grate with oil before cooking.
view GlennG's profile
We have a grill wok that we really love using, not so much for vegetables as we usually put those on kebabs, but rather for cut up little new potatoes seasoned well and tossed in olive oil. We used to broil the potatoes, but grilling them is just so much better.
view slushlily's profile