We’ve tried (I think) all the different tricks for asparagus on the grill: impaling a bunch onto three skewers to form a kind of raft that can be turned at one move and won’t fall through the grids – a neat trick, and it DOES work; but prep is fussy and then you have all these stabbed asparagus spears to deal with at the table…
It goes on.
Much better, I think, to just invest in a grill pan, some decent oil, and a bit of salt and pepper. Oh, yes, I peel my asparagus too – you don’t really have to, but Rich prefers his peeled, so I take the extra couple of minutes after trimming the ends to shave the buggers.
And, while we’re on the subject of trimming asparagus: I read an interesting article somewhere this spring that suggested the traditional ‘bend the spear ‘til it snaps’ method of disposing of the tough, woody ends is a load of hooey. Far better, so this article suggested, to simply cut off the bottom, visibly woody bits from the end of the spears. Well, that works for me, AND, I am tossing out a lot less bits of asparagus!
Once I’ve trimmed and peeled my asparagus, I toss it with a little coarse sea salt, pepper, and a bit of nice oil – for this batch I played around a bit and sprinkled on some roasted garlic and zesty lemon grapeseed oils – NICE!
Spears well and truly ready, I pass them off to Rich, who pops them on our well-used grill pan, which he had just rubbed with some olive oil, and closes the lid – just for a bit. Still, you do what you want.
QuickLikeABunny (OK, after two or three minutes), open the lid, turn the spears with some tongs, then close the lid for another short interval.
Transfer the spears to a platter and serve. We had ours with some cunning little lamb chops (tomorrow’s subject) and a nice tossed salad.
Rich thought he might could’ve grilled the spears just a wee, tiny bit less, but I thought them mighty fine.
Mmmmm, asparagus…