Grilling Basics Part 3: What Not To Grill
It's almost true that anything you can cook inside can be also be cooked on the grill. But some items are just best when done in the confines of a kitchen. We suggest keeping these items indoors for cooking:
- Cakes, cookies, and most baked goods. Baking is much more of an exact science than most direct heat cooking, so for consistency and edible results, keep your baked goods safe inside an oven.
- That goes for bread too. While flatbreads and pizza crust do well on grill grates, larger loaves need the comfort of conventional ovens. Feel free however to take your baked buns, muffins, and biscuits to the grill for a little toasting.
- Corn on the cob is grilled world-wide, but early in the season we say stick to blanching indoors instead of going right to the grates. Throwing those ears into a pot of boiling water will help break down the woodiness in the kernels. Feel free to toss them on the grill for a char after cooking.
- If it's smaller than your fingers, think again. While you can grill cipollini onions, asparagus, mushrooms, and shrimp, you'll need to either wrap them in foil or slide them onto skewers. If you don't have time to skewer or if you're out of foil and don't want to make a trip to the store just to buy some damned tin foil, you'll be better off getting these little guys into a pan to sear and caramelize.
What items do you cook inside rather than on the grill? Let us know in the comments