Must-Grill Foods That May Surprise You

If someone were to ask you what your must-grill foods are as a student in an online culinary school, your first responses may be brats, cheeseburgers or steaks. However, there are plenty of other foods, such as eggplant and oysters, that are just as tasty over a fired-up grill. In fact, you may never want to try them another way again!

Eggplant
For a delectably tender way to serve eggplant, you’re going to want to increase the heat of your charcoal grill by using hardwood lump coal. Once the coals burn down to glowing embers covered in an ashy white dust, nestle your eggplants next to the coals to cook these purple fruits whole. Don’t remove the skins before roasting because it will act as protection for the inner flesh, trapping most of the juices and keeping the vegetable tender.

After ten minutes, use a pair of tongs to place the eggplant on a cooling rack and allow some of the excess juice to drain. Once the eggplant has become cool enough to handle with your bare hands, peel away the blackened and brittle skin over a bowl and let the fleshy insides sit for a few more minutes. As the skinned eggplant sits in the bowl, juices will begin to seep out and pool around it. If they taste bitter, you can discard them in sink, otherwise save the smoky-flavored liquid to cook the rest of the meal.

Oysters
Students attending cooking schools may think these popular shellfish hardly need improvement. The complex and unique flavors build up over time in the shells and are almost too good alter. Toss them on the grill, though, and the smokiness of the fire will be just what is needed to take these mollusks to the next level.

Fire up the grill to a medium-high heat and give the oysters a good scrubbing before placing them whole on the grill. After about two minutes, the shells will begin to open because the heat of the fire causes pressure to build up inside the shells before popping open to release the gases and moisture into the air and they’ll need to be immediately removed from the flame. Use an oyster knife or screwdriver to pry them open the rest of the way and discard the empty half of the shell. Drizzle with warm butter and serve with either citrus-flavored dip or hot sauce.

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