When we talk about planning meals often, we imagine cutting vegetables to use in salads and stir-fry meals, having farro or cooked rice available to use in cereal bowls, and portioning out fruit to snack on. But in summer (or any time you cook on the grill, one of the most efficient methods to prepare for the next meal is to put lots of other ingredients to grill even though there isn’t a plan for how you will use them.
I realized this while at home with my sister Colin with his entire family. The family was grilling hamburgers to eat for dinner that evening. After lighting the charcoal grill, Colin looked at the food items in the fridge and the menu plan for the next week (my niece, Lindsay she, is a brilliant planner). While we sat down to enjoy our burgers outside, Colin added a couple of chicken breasts to the grill, which was still hot. He explained that they’d use the chicken breasts for sandwiches and salads later in the week. I realized my brother was planning meals with little effort.
Utilizing your grill for preparing meals can be a great idea using any grill, but it is mainly in the case of my brother and I using the Green Egg or any charcoal grill. It’s a waste of effort to ignite the charcoal and then wait for it to become softer until it’s grey and ashy. Then use it for 15 minutes to grill some steaks. In addition, the Green Egg or other Kamado grill can hold its temperature for an extended period and is a great way to take advantage of the heat to make your day more enjoyable.
I always have an extra set of vegetables to grill when I get my fire up. Sometimes I have a strategy for the meal I’d like to prepare like slow-burning charred eggplant to make charcoal-grilled Eggplant Salad. However, even if I don’t have a specific plan, I know that a few grilling onions, peppers, and zucchini will be well-loved when I’m hungry and isn’t sure what I’m going to cook for dinner. I can put them on sandwiches, cut them to make salads, spin them over pasta, bake them in frittatas, or make the vegetables into tacos.
Vegetables aren’t all that I grill. I may grill a few handfuls of nuts in a cast-iron pan until they’re toasty and, as a bonus, somewhat smoky and ready to be served with a salad or bowl of Ice cream. Also, I’ve discovered ways to cook meat that has been pre-grilled, as well as seafood and fruits also. Here are some ways to grill your dinner tonight and eat it throughout the week.
Char vegetables are great for salads, dips, sides, and more.
A second slice of onion to grill is an easy choice; I store the pieces in the fridge and use them in everything from tacos and pasta to tacos. Sometimes, I grill lightly diced red onion and take it and pickle it to add a hint of smokey taste to the pickles. It’s one of many things you can cook ahead of time. Try grilling fennel peppers, eggplant, and zucchini to make an antipasto-grilled summer vegetable platter with some sauce or even two. Grill some ears of corn, and then you can make the corn salads and salsas, the cornbread muffin, and tacos in just a few minutes.
Remember to grill vegetable salads as a dinner idea, such as this charred cabbage salad, this asparagus salad grilled, and grilled potato salad. Okra salad that you examine or this grilled radicchio salad.
Stephanie Izard grills green tomatoes to make her tomatoes grilled salad, which she topped with mozzarella and unagi. However, even if I’m not too confident, it’s easy to thread cherry tomatoes onto the skewer, grill them briefly, and then store them in an olive oil jar to drizzle over toasty bread for a simple appetizer.
Sliced or halved sliced eggplant is an excellent alternative to grill-grilled eggplant parmesan or grilled eggplant salad. A leisurely grilling time is perfect for those who want to grill a whole eggplant or two for Baba Ganoush. I plan to provide poblano, and Hatch chili peppers the same method by examining them all at once and wrapping them in plastic wrap to store in the freezer, ready to make green chili and enchiladas as well as burritos and soups all through winter. A handful of charred scallions is excellent to keep in the fridge to prepare a charred Green Goddess dressing at any time.
Smoke fish and meat to make sandwiches and dips
Slow cooking for meat is often the best option when you’re cooking ahead and not waiting for dinner. I’ll grill a Pork butt or the South American style of steak ribs or a leg of lamb to enjoy throughout the week-long on sandwiches, in salads, or tacos. When it comes to seafood, this is a great occasion to smoke a piece of salmon to make next-level bagel sandwiches and smoke trout to make dips or chowders, and grill shrimp to make a grilling of shrimp cocktails.
The grilling of fruit means that dessert is waiting for you at any moment.
We’ve all heard it’s possible to grill your dessert as you eat dinner. Add some fruits as your grill cools down, then gently probe it. Grilled peaches are a cinch to add to salads such as Linton Hopkins’ Grilled Peach, Onion along with Bacon Salad or a dessert such as the delicious Grilled Lemon Cake topped with peaches and cream. It’s also a delightful dessert by itself or served with Ice cream. Pears, figs, and pineapples are perfect for grilling as desserts or breakfast with toast or yogurt. Grilling fruits can take it to a more savory place, like Josh McFadden’s Grilled Strawberry Toast with Avocado. Pay attention to the advantages of grilling fruits to make cocktails. Try grilling some thick slices of lemon for your next drink or grilling pineapple to make the Grilled Pineapple Tequila Punch. It’s a great way to make a toast to your grill and create a week’s worth of meals.