Put your peaches on the grill!
I love fresh peaches. I cobble ‘em, I crisp ‘em, I pie ‘em, I eat ‘em up while I can. Now, I grill ‘em, too, and damn, they’re tasty! Even better, they can be a side dish to a pork chop just as easily as they can be a dessert. They’re easy, too– they prep in mere minutes, and cook at about the same rate as zucchini, give or take, depending on the coals.
The spices I coat them with are a general baking mix I use on most fruits. I adjust the proportions and sometimes add or drop an ingredient, depending on the specific task at hand, but I don’t bother mixing up a big of a batch of it. Instead, I just keep all the ingredients together, and shake them out each time. That way, I’m better able to adjust the ratios as need be.
GRILLED PEACHES
Serves: as many as you’ve got peaches.
spice mix (enough for three-six peaches):
- 1 Tablespoon cinnamon
- 1 teaspoon ginger
- 1/2 teaspoon allspice
- 1/4-1/2 teaspoon salt
- 1/4 teaspoon mace or nutmeg
Directions:
Cut the peaches in half and remove the pits
Arrange them on a platter or in a baking dish and sprinkle with the spice mixture. About ten minutes before you want to serve them, place them peel-side-down on the grill over direct heat. Keep an eye on them so they don’t burn. There’s no sugar in the spice mix, so they shouldn’t drip too much onto the coals, but you still want to be careful, especially if the fire is still vibrant. A couple of minutes should be plenty, if not too much.
Turn the peaches over and move them to the cooler side of the grill to finish cooking. When you’ve got a nice mark etched in, rotate the peaches about ninety degrees, so that the cut side is still down but the grill crosses it in the opposite direction. Leave them down long enough for another mark to be etched in. If you do it correctly, you should get a nice hatch mark branded onto the peach. It makes for a nice presentation, plus it allows you to leave the same side facing the grill for a longer time without worrying about dark black carbonized ruts being singed into what you’re about to eat.
Leave the peaches on the grill for about 8-10 minutes. When the peaches are done cooking, the peel will remove easily. Simply grasp onto a corner of it with your tongs and pull away slowly. It will come off in a single piece with very little resistance.
If you want, mix whatever spice mix you have left with some melted butter (a tablesppon to a tablesppon and a half) and a little bit (about 2 teaspoons or so) of sugar, and pour it over the peach when you serve it. It’s a nice sauce to finish the dish, especially if you’re serving it for dessert.
August 17th, 2006 at 5:48 pm
can I “grill” peaches on the broiler, or should I invest in a grill pan? my nasty evil landlord (he’s not THAT bad, I guess, just stingy with the out-of-doors) won’t allow me to bbq outside.
August 17th, 2006 at 11:44 pm
i’m intrigued….but can i do this on a cast iron griddle, too? mine has raised grill markings, but i have to wonder if it’s about more than just my grillish figure…awww geez, sorry- if you can just address the first part of my reply, that’d be fine.
August 18th, 2006 at 8:17 am
If you’re comfortable with your broiler and know how it’s going to behave, sure! go ahead and use it. Otherwise, a plain old cast iron skillet would work OK–though a cast iron grill pan would allow you to add the hatch marks to the presentation. Either way about it, the main thing to watch when you’re cooking them on the stove is the heat– not so hot that the outside sears and gets crisp before the inside is cooked; not so cold that they never cook: rather the Goldilocks temperature where you get a nice sizzle. Also, make sure you rub a little oil on the pan before you drop the peaches on it to help make sure they don’t stick.
December 13th, 2006 at 11:12 pm
[...] Take another look at the grilled peaches post before you try to follow it. I went back and revisited my work and realized that my instructions needed improvement on a couple of points: [...]