Grilled broccoli is in itself a great starter or side dish. It may not sound like much, but when done right it is superb. The broccoli must be fresh, it doesn’t work with frozen broccoli. There are a few simple tricks to getting it right, here’s how. Learn how to either grill it or smoke it.
Servings 4
Ingredients
- 2 bouquets of fresh broccoli
Vinaigrette
- 6 tbsp olive oil
- 1 lemon (the juice)
- 1 tbsp white wine vinegar
Sauce
- 1 cup thick greek natural yoghurt
- 1 tbsp honey
Instructions
- Mix the vinaigrette ingredients in a small bowl, and whisk well.
- Rinse the broccoli with cold water. Cut the broccoli lengthwise repeatedly so the trunk is being used also. You want each bouquet to have a long ‘stem’ attached. That way there’s no waste.
- Now heat your grill to around 160-200° C / 320-400° F, using indirect heat. If you’re using a kettle grill (like the Weber), it is essential to add a water pan. If using a kamado grill (like the Big Green Egg, Kamado Joe or other), you can safely ignore the water pan, as they keep air enough moist as is. If you need a water pan, take a regular aluminum pan used for storing foods, place it on the grate over the hot coals, and fill it with hot water.
- When the grill is warmed up and ready, place the broccoli on the grate, on the indirect (cooler) side, and close the lid. Let them cook for 20 minutes.
Grilled Broccoli
- If you ‘just’ want to grill the broccoli, just leave it as is on the grates. Once done, remove the broccoli and brush them all over with the vinaigrette. This adds a fresh lemony flavor.
Smoked Broccoli
- In order to smoke broccoli there’s a simple trick: add fat. In this case we brush them with the vinaigrette before placing them on the grill. When they’re thinly coated with oil the smoke will stick much better than the raw broccoli itself.
The Sauce
- This is a simple cold yoghurt sauce, that goes really well with the warm, grill flavored, broccoli. Mix the yoghurt with honey and stir a little. Taste, and add some salt if needed.
- Now serve the broccoli on a sharing platter, dip the bouquets in yoghurt and enjoy!
YouTube Video
Here’s how I grill broccoli on the Big Green Egg: