Healthy Steamed Vegetables on the Barbecue Grill

Most people know that almost anything can be cooked on a barbecue grill. But what about steaming? Steaming vegetables on your grill can be a great way to balance out your meal. The other great part is that you basically take everything directly from the fire to the dinner plate. Preparing healthy steamed vegetables on the grill is fast, easy and oh so tasty.

How Do I Steam Over a Fire?

Obviously fire and water don’t mix too well. Over time a few innovations have come to light regarding how to steam over an open fire.

The old school way of doing this is by encasing the vegetables in aluminum foil. Simply take a square of foil and place the veggies in the middle – don’t pile them too high – take the foil and make the top and bottom meet in the middle – leaving some overlap – then fold and scrunch the ends upwards. Open a small hole in the overlap to add water or olive oil. Once all the ingredients are inside simple scrunch up the middle overlap and it’s ready to toss on the grill. I know it sounds a little complicated, but once you try it you will find out it’s pretty easy. On a side note; never place the foil packs directly over the hottest areas, your veggies will either get overcooked or end up sticking to the foil.

The new school method is to go out and buy a steamer designed specifically for the grill. They usually come in two or three separate pieces; the water pan, the steaming plate and lid. Simply put some water in the pan, place it on the grill then set the steaming plate loaded with your favorite veggies over the water pan and viola.

Favorite Recipes

I have taken the liberty of including some of my favorite recipes to help you along with your Grill Master repertoire. They are very simple and easy to make and are a great accompaniment to your other bbq delicacies.

Corn on the Cobb

Ah, the good old American standby veggie for grilling. I have a couple ways of preparing these. You can either soak them in water with the husks still on for thirty minutes before cooking or you can shuck the corn, wash them and wrap them in tin foil. I like to add a couple pats of butter inside the foil. Mm mmm good! You will need turn theses constantly son they don’t burn and let them cook for about 30 minutes on a cooler part of the grill.

Vegetable Medley

You can use any veggie combo you like but I like to use red and green peppers, white onion, green beans and chopped garlic. I thinly julienne the peppers; cut the onion into 1” squares; leave the beans whole and toss in chopped garlic. I place all this into a bowl, add a ¼ cup olive oil and then sprinkle on some lemon pepper. Mix this all up and place it in portions into foil packs. After that they are ready for the grill and only take about 15-20 minutes to cook.

Asparagus

Much like the medley recipe but I cut a good portion of the lower stalk off. The sauté recipe is exactly the same except I add some real lemon juice – a teaspoon at most – to the mixture. Cooking time is roughly the same.

Keeping it Healthy

Choosing what to steam or sauté the veggies in is up to you. Water can be used and so can butter, it all depends on how healthy you want to make it. I found out the hard way on items that don’t work out so well and so will you.