The Cook's Illustrated Cookbook (244 page)
Read The Cook's Illustrated Cookbook Online
Authors: The Editors at America's Test Kitchen
Tags: #Cooking
SERVES 4
The shrimp and sauce (recipes follow) finish cooking together on the grill, so prepare the sauce ingredients while the grill is heating. To fit all of the shrimp on the cooking grate at once, you will need three 14-inch metal skewers. Serve with grilled bread.
1¹⁄ | pounds extra-large shrimp (21 to 25 per pound), peeled and deveined |
2–3 | tablespoons olive oil |
Salt and pepper | |
¹⁄ | teaspoon sugar |
1 | recipe sauce (recipes follow) |
Lemon wedges |
1.
Pat shrimp dry with paper towels. Thread the shrimp onto 3 skewers, alternating direction of heads and tails. Brush both sides of shrimp with oil and season with salt and pepper. Sprinkle 1 side of each skewer evenly with sugar.
2A. FOR A CHARCOAL GRILL:
Open bottom vent completely. Light large chimney starter filled with charcoal briquettes (6 quarts). When top coals are partially covered with ash, pour evenly over half of grill. Set cooking grate in place, cover, and open lid vent completely. Heat grill until hot, about 5 minutes.
2B. FOR A GAS GRILL:
Turn all burners to high, cover, and heat grill until hot, about 15 minutes. Leave primary burner on high and turn other burner(s) to medium-low.
3.
Clean cooking grate, then repeatedly brush grate with well-oiled paper towels until grate is black and glossy, 5 to 10 times. Place disposable pan with sauce ingredients on hot side of grill and cook, stirring occasionally, until hot, 1 to 3 minutes. Move pan to cool side of grill.
4.
Place shrimp skewers sugared side down on hot side of grill and use tongs to push shrimp together on skewers if they have separated. Cook shrimp until lightly charred, 4 to 5 minutes. Using tongs, flip and continue to cook until second side is pink and slightly translucent, 1 to 2 minutes longer.
5.
Using potholder, carefully lift each skewer from grill and use tongs to slide shrimp off skewers into pan with sauce. Toss shrimp and sauce to combine. Place pan on hot side of grill and cook, stirring, until shrimp are opaque throughout, about 30 seconds. Remove from the grill, add remaining sauce ingredients, and toss to combine. Transfer to serving platter and serve with lemon wedges.
SUPERIOR SKEWERS
Over the years, we’ve learned a lot about which skewers were the best and worst for grilling. Though wooden skewers are necessary in some cases (as in
GRILLED POTATOES
), when the skewers go in the microwave, they are generally our least preferred since they can burn and break once over the high heat of the grill. Turning to metal skewers, we were frustrated by how food (especially shrimp) flopped around on round metal skewers. Our favorite are flat metal skewers, which never burn, last forever, and hold food in place.
MAKES ABOUT
¹⁄
2
CUP, ENOUGH FOR 1 RECIPE
GRILLED SHRIMP SKEWERS
You will need a 10-inch disposable aluminum pie pan for this recipe.
4 | tablespoons unsalted butter, cut into 4 pieces |
¹⁄ | cup lemon juice (2 lemons) |
3 | garlic cloves, minced |
¹⁄ | teaspoon red pepper flakes |
¹⁄ | teaspoon salt |
1 | (10-inch) disposable aluminum pie pan |
¹⁄ | cup minced fresh parsley |
Combine butter, lemon juice, garlic, pepper flakes, and salt in aluminum pan. Cook over hot side of grill, stirring occasionally, until butter melts, about 1¹⁄
2
minutes. Move to cool side of grill and proceed to grill shrimp, adding parsley just before serving.
MAKES ABOUT
¹⁄
2
CUP; ENOUGH FOR 1 RECIPE
GRILLED SHRIMP SKEWERS
You will need a 10-inch disposable aluminum pan or pie pan for this recipe.
¹⁄ | cup extra-virgin olive oil |
1 | small red bell pepper, stemmed, seeded, and finely chopped |
¹⁄ | cup finely chopped red onion |
3 | garlic cloves, minced |
1 | teaspoon paprika |
¹⁄ | teaspoon ground cumin |
¹⁄ | teaspoon cayenne pepper |
¹⁄ | teaspoon salt |
¹⁄ | cup minced fresh cilantro |
2 | tablespoons fresh lemon juice |
Combine oil, bell pepper, onion, garlic, paprika, cumin, cayenne, and salt in aluminum pan. Cook over hot side of grill, stirring occasionally, until vegetables soften, 5 to 7 minutes. Move to cool side of grill and proceed to grill shrimp, adding cilantro and lemon juice just before serving.
MAKES ABOUT
¹⁄
2
CUP, ENOUGH FOR 1 RECIPE
GRILLED SHRIMP SKEWERS
You will need a 10-inch disposable aluminum pie pan for this recipe.
¹⁄ | cup extra-virgin olive oil |
1 | large tomato, cored, seeded, and minced |
1 | tablespoon minced fresh oregano |
¹⁄ | teaspoon salt |
4 | ounces feta cheese, crumbled (about 1 cup) |
¹⁄ | cup kalamata olives, pitted and chopped fine |
2 | tablespoons lemon juice
|
3 | scallions, sliced thin |
Combine oil, tomato, oregano, and salt in aluminum pan. Cook over hot side of grill, stirring occasionally, until hot, about 1¹⁄
2
minutes. Move to cool side of grill and proceed to grill shrimp, adding feta, olives, lemon juice, and scallions just before serving.
Pass skewer through center of each shrimp. As you add shrimp to skewer, alternate direction of heads and tails for compact arrangement of about 12 shrimp. Shrimp should be crowded and touching each other.
WHY THIS RECIPE WORKS
For great grilled asparagus, we opted for thicker spears, which combined maximum char with a meaty, crisp-tender texture. A simple medium-hot fire worked best—the spears were on and off the grill in less than 10 minutes. We tried adding flavor with zesty marinades but because asparagus has a naturally tough outer skin, most of the flavor was left in the bowl or on the basting brush. The answer was as simple as brushing the asparagus with butter, rather than oil, before placing it on the grill. The spears tasted nuttier and more flavorful, and were crispier and browner than spears brushed with oil. Our final step was to create some flavored butters. Garlic was an obvious choice, as were the fresh, tangy flavors of lime and orange zests—especially when combined with pungent spices or fresh herbs.
SERVES 4 TO 6
Use asparagus that is at least ¹⁄
2
inch thick near the base. Do not use pencil-thin asparagus; it cannot withstand the heat and will overcook. Age affects the flavor of asparagus enormously. For the sweetest taste, look for spears that are bright green and firm, with tightly closed tips.
3 | tablespoons unsalted butter, melted |
3 | small garlic cloves, minced |
1¹⁄ | pounds thick asparagus spears, trimmed |
Salt and pepper |
1A. FOR A CHARCOAL GRILL:
Open bottom vent completely. Light large chimney starter three-quarters filled with charcoal briquettes (4¹⁄
2
quarts). When top coals are partially covered with ash, pour evenly over grill. Set cooking grate in place, cover, and open lid vent completely. Heat grill until hot, about 5 minutes.
1B. FOR A GAS GRILL:
Turn all burners to high, cover, and heat grill until hot, about 15 minutes. Turn all burners to medium-high.
2.
Combine butter and garlic in bowl. Brush asparagus with butter mixture and season with salt and pepper to taste.
3.
Clean and oil cooking grate. Place asparagus in even layer on grill and cook until just tender and browned, 4 to 10 minutes, turning halfway through cooking. Transfer asparagus to serving platter and serve.
Substitute 1 teaspoon grated lime zest, ¹⁄
2
teaspoon chili powder, ¹⁄
4
teaspoon cayenne pepper, and ¹⁄
8
teaspoon red pepper flakes for garlic.
Substitute 1 teaspoon grated orange zest and 1 teaspoon minced fresh thyme for garlic.
Reduce garlic to 2 cloves and add 1 teaspoon grated lemon zest, ¹⁄
2
teaspoon ground cumin, and ¹⁄
2
teaspoon ground coriander to butter.
WHY THIS RECIPE WORKS
Grilled corn on the cob is one thing. Grilled corn on the cob that’s as juicy as boiled corn is another. We wanted to find a way to caramelize the outer corn kernels and infuse them throughout with that delicious smoky flavor without drying or charring them to death. We found that grilling the corn with only the innermost layer of husk still on keeps the corn from burning while at the same time allowing the smoky grilled flavor to come through. In short, we had stumbled across a perfect hybrid: the steamed-grilled ear of corn.
SERVES 8
If you are certain that you have a supersweet variety of corn, remove the husks entirely, then follow instructions below, grilling until kernels are light caramel brown, 5 to 7 minutes.
8 | ears corn, husks on |
Unsalted butter | |
Salt and pepper |
1A. FOR A CHARCOAL GRILL:
Open bottom vent completely. Light large chimney starter three-quarters filled with charcoal briquettes (4¹⁄
2
quarts). When top coals are partially covered with ash, pour evenly over grill. Set cooking grate in place, cover, and open lid vent completely. Heat grill until hot, about 5 minutes.
1B. FOR A GAS GRILL:
Turn all burners to high, cover, and heat grill until hot, about 15 minutes. Turn all burners to medium-high.
2.
Meanwhile, remove all but innermost layer of husk from each ear of corn (kernels will be covered by, but visible through, last husk layer). Use scissors to snip off long silk ends at tips of ears.
3.
Place corn on grill and cook until kernels have left dark outlines in husk and husks are charred and beginning to peel away at tip to expose some kernels, 8 to 10 minutes, turning every 2 minutes. Transfer ears to serving platter and remove and discard charred husks and silk. Season corn with butter, salt, and pepper to taste and serve.