Grilled Asparagus
Writing about grilled artichokes yesterday made me think about my next-favorite grilled vegetable,asparagus. I’d had grilled asparagus at restaurants but never tried it at home, because I figured the restaurants must have special grills with the grates really close together (how else would you prevent the asparagus from falling in between?) and the patience to turn each little stalk as it roasted.
Then last year I learned a trick that was one of those Duh! moments. To efficiently grill asparagus, skewer them like so:
Skewer the bottom third of five or six spears with a little space between each one. Add two more skewers a couple inches apart. Not only are they easy to flip over when you do it this way, but you won’t lose any from falling between the grates.
Before you skewer, them, though, prepare the asparagus for cooking by snapping off the end of each stalk where it is tough. Hold the asparagus near the top and bottom and bend the stalk. It will naturally break off in the right spot. Clean the asparagus thoroughly.
Grill the asparagus along with your meat on the grill. turn when they just begin to char. I like to baste mine in melted butter with a little lemon juice or garlic. They are also very good basted in olive oil. Sprinkle them with a little salt after they are done. They are done cooking when they are tender-crisp. Remove them from the skewers before serving.
Note: I always thought the proper way to store asparagus was upright in the refrigerator with the stem ends in water. This month’s Everyday Food magazine says that if you do that, it might cause the stems to open. The magazine suggests storing them in a plastic bag in the crisper away from apples and pears and other ethylene-producing fruits (I didn’t know my pears were producing anything–live and learn!)