Vegetable Grilling

Whenever my family has a barbecue, we always include a few kabobs. Unfortunately, for the longest time, whenever I tried to grill the vegetables they never turned out the way I wanted. Usually they were too burned, too mushy, or too raw. That is, until I learned the "secret" to vegetable grilling. Below is a fantastic recipe that you can use the next time you pull out the old grill. Better yet, this recipe will work whether you are making kabobs or you are just grilling a few vegetables.

1. Choose. This may sound like a rather silly thing, but the first step in grilling your vegetables is to choose which vegetables you will be using. The best grilling results will come from using vegetables that have high water contents, but you will also want to ensure that the vegetables will be complimentary in taste. Use vegetables such as onions, zucchini, eggplant and so on while avoiding vegetables like carrots and cauliflower.
2. Prep grill. After you have chosen which vegetables you will be grilling, it is time to prepare your grill. Light your grill so that while you are preparing the vegetables it will be heating up to the proper cooking temperature. For a charcoal grill this is particularly important as coals are not immediately ready for cooking.
3. Cut. Wash your vegetables thoroughly. While it is true that the heat should cook off anything harmful, it never hurts to be a little extra cautious. Once you have washed the vegetables, cut them all into equal sized portions as much as possible. Whether you are using kabobs or not you will want to cut the vegetables to be larger than the slats in your grill so that they do not fall through.
4. Oil. To really keep your vegetables from getting burned and sticking to the grill, just use a little oil. The best kinds of oil to use will either be canola or olive oil. Olive oil is the preferred method though since it has a unique taste that usually enhances the flavor of vegetables. If you really want to experiment a little, try using some of the olive oil that is infused with other flavors, to give your vegetables a little extra kick.
5. Season. Typically when grilling vegetables, it is best to keep things simple in the seasoning category. This means sprinkling a little salt and pepper on both sides of the vegetables prior to grilling. Some other seasonings that can work great with grilled vegetables are things like onion powder, garlic powder, and parmesan cheese.
6. Grill. By now the grill should be ready to use so place the vegetables on and begin cooking. Allow the vegetables to stay on the grill for three to five minutes, and then flip. This will cook the vegetables to a medium soft consistency. Don't be afraid if there is some charring on the vegetables; that is normal and can actually help enhance the flavor a bit.

Once you are done with your vegetable grilling, remove the vegetables from the grill and allow them to sit for roughly five minutes. This will allow the vegetables to cool (just a tad) while also allowing the cooking process to finish. Since this recipe is open for experimentation there is no specific number of people that it can feed. The only limit to the number of people that you can feed lies in the amount of vegetables you are willing to cook.