We recently ate with our friends Bob and Trisha Branch. Bob grilled some wonderful chicken breasts while Trish brought out a basket of veggies, which Bob cooked directly on his gas grill. They were delicious. Nice and crunchy, not over done, the way veggies ought to be.
Immediately, I went out and bought one of those baskets. It’s made of porcelain and manufactured by Char-Broil. They cost about 6 or 7 bucks. I have seen them often on the cookout section aisles at big box stores, but never paid them much mind. I have a basement full of barbeque accessories, many I have never taken out of the box. But this grill basket is a game changer.
There is practically no limit to the assortment of vegetables you can put in the basket, just use your imagination.
My first experiment turned out well. I used what veggies I had in the fridge – yellow squash, zucchini, baby carrots, yellow peppers, asparagus and baby potatoes.
I’m not a fan of hard, crunchy potatoes, so I put those in the microwave for a minute or two to soften a bit. Next, I mixed all the other vegetables, tossed them in a bag of olive oil, added kosher salt and coarse pepper, and then plopped them in the grill basket. While my chicken breasts were cooking, I tossed the veggies about in the basket, so they browned slightly and cooked to perfection. About the only thing you can do wrong is get the flame too hot. You don’t want to burn the veggies.
Other interesting vegetables for the grill basket would include broccoli, cauliflower, red onions, mushrooms (not really a vegetable, but damned good on a grill), fresh green beans, radishes, and Brussels sprouts.
The porcelain basket cleans up easily and is dishwasher safe. When cooking both the meat and veggies on the grill, it makes the entire cleanup process super easy, and the food super good.
Grilled Mixed Veggies
1 Char-Broil Grill Basket
Olive oil
Kosher salt
Coarse pepper
Whatever assortment of vegetables you like
