Q. I saw a show on television for grilling fruits, like peaches, mangos, and pineapple. I can't seem to find the recipe (the show was Grilling Maestros). They cooked the fruit on the grill with just olive oil and poured a sauce over it. Any suggestions on how to make a sauce for grilled fruit, and would you use olive oil? It looked delicious, but I'm not sure how it would taste with a very flavorful olive oil.
A. Marcel Dasaulniers, Chris Schlesinger and Fritz Sonnenschmidt, the humble Grilling Maestros (Canada, UK), would love for you to buy their cookbook. But you certainly don’t need it to participate in the great fruit-grilling movement that is sweeping the country.
Firm fruits like apples, pears and pineapple are delicious and easy to grill. Softer fruits like mango, papaya, peaches and nectarines require special attention since they cook quickly, and if overcooked, will reduce to a mush. These fruits need only to be heated and not "cooked." You might also like to try bananas, tangerines and pineapples grilled in their skins.
Many fruits, including bananas, pineapples, peaches, plums, apples, and pears can be cut in half, pitted or cored, and grilled. Oranges and other juicy fruits do best cut into thick slices. In general, leaving the skin or peel on the fruit helps it maintain its structural integrity as it cooks.
Place large pieces directly on the grill and smaller pieces on skewers or a grill pan. To prevent their sticking to the grill, baste items very lightly with melted butter, a non-stick vegetable oil spray, or an oil-based marinade.
On the olive oil question, it is a matter of personal taste. There are some very flavorful olive oils that might overpower even robust fruit. There are much more modest olive oils that might be completely overshadowed by an potent fruit. In some cases, even a more assertive oil could be a great complement to certain fruits, but you might not like any olive oil with any fruit. Try a subtle oil, see if you like it, and go from there.
There are any number of sauces that you can marinate the fruit in before grilling, brush on during grilling, and/or serve with the fruit after grilling. Among the simplest may be a purée of the fruit you’ve grilled, augmented with a little lemon juice, and drizzled over the fruit after grilling. At the other extreme is a spicy hoisin sauce for grilled fruit. An even simpler approach is to bypass a sauce and sprinkle the fruit with brown sugar, cinnamon or ginger.
But if it’s sauces you want, sauces you’ll get. Here are a few to try:
Bourbon Caramel Sauce
(for apples)
Ingredients:
1/4 cup of butter (1/2 stick)
1 cup packed brown sugar
1/4 tsp ground cinnamon
1/4 cup bourbon
6 Tbsp heavy cream.
Preparation:
Combine the first four ingredients in a sauce pan and boil for 2 minutes. Off the heat, stir in the cream.
Brush a bit of the sauce over the apples in the last two minutes of grilling, and drizzle more over the apples just before serving.
Orange-Vanilla butter Sauce
(for pears)
Ingredients:
1/4 cup of butter (1/2 stick)
3 Tbsp frozen orange juice concentrate, thawed
1/2 tsp pure vanilla extract
Preparation:
Warm the ingredients in a sauce pan.
Brush a bit of the sauce on the pears before grilling. Serve the pears cut-side up and drizzle the rest of the sauce into the cavity of the pear. A dollop of sour cream or cr&egrav;me fraîche on top, and a hint of orange zest will boost the flavor.
Spicy Hoisin Glaze
(for plums)
Ingredients:
1/4 cup hoisin sauce
2 Tbsp soy sauce
2 Tbsp white vinegar
2 Tbsp ketchup
1 Tbsp minced chile of your choice
salt & pepper to taste
Preparation:
Mix ingredients thoroughly in a bowl. Brush grilling plum halves with the sauce in the last 30 seconds to 1 minute of grilling. Remove from heat and drizzle with the remaining glaze.
Asian Fruit Marinade
(for any fruit)
Ingredients:
2 Tbsp lemon or lime juice
1 Tbsp honey
1 tsp grated ginger
Preparation:
Combine ingredients in a screw-top jar. Shake to mix. Brush over the intended fruit, which you cover and refrigerate for 10 minutes. Then drain and grill.
