How to Get the Most out of Your Grill This Summer

After a cold winter spent cooking mostly indoors, Canadians crave the freedom and fire of an outdoor grill. It’s not that you can’t grill in the winter here – people do – but you might have to fish your tongs out from under a heap of snow as you wait for your chicken to cook.

This puts a lot of pressure on the summer. How can you make the most of your grill while the weather’s warm and the days are long? How do you maximize your BBQ time while still feeding your diners composed, complete meals?

Those are the questions this article plans to answer. Grab your favourite tongs, crack a cold drink and park that chair in front of the grill – here’s how to make the most of it this summer.

Who Says You Can’t Grill a Salad?

The best way to maximize your grill time this summer is to expand your definition of what is grillable. Take the salad, for instance. Not only does the grill make whipping up a side salad more convenient, but it can also be a fantastic opportunity to add flavour.

Add a quick char to either side of a romaine heart for a smoky take on the Caesar salad. Grill some new potatoes before introducing them to a spiky potato salad dressing of vinegar, Dijon mustard, olive oil and finely diced red onions. Or get creative with grilled strawberries, toasted pecans, smoked cheddar and peppery arugula.

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Weeknight Grilling? Try a Meal Kit to Make Life Easier

The grill isn’t strictly a weekend luxury. To make simple, delicious weekday meals over the fire this summer, try a meal subscription from HelloFresh – they offer easy-to-follow, grill-able recipes and pre-measured ingredients to help you get dinner together quickly.

Try their grilled barramundi and roast broccoli for a healthy start to the week. Get over the mid-week hump with a 30-minute recipe of Street-Cart-Style Shawarma. And splash out on Friday after work with grilled beef tenderloin, parmesan mashed potatoes and brown butter veggies.

Break Out the Cast Iron to Sauté, Simmer and Sear Outdoors

Everyone loves a good sauce and side with their grilled dinner, but few like trekking back and forth between the grill and the kitchen to complete the job.

The solution’s simple: bring your stovetop to your grill top. Your grill is like an oven and stove element rolled into one, offering direct heat from the bottom and – when the lid’s closed – indirect convection heat. Haul your cast iron pans outside to sauté vegetables, roast potatoes, simmer pan sauces and even finish searing meats.

You can start a teriyaki sauce on one side as you grill chicken on the other, marrying the two when the chicken is a few degrees shy of doneness. Or start your fajita veggies in a cast iron as you sear a skirt steak, then bring them together with some cumin, Mexican oregano and chilli powder. After your main course comes off the grill, you can even use indirect heat to cook desserts like cobblers and crisps – which should be ready just as you clear the dinner plates.

With a bit of imagination, a few work-smart cooking tips and the help of a great meal kit, you can maximize your outdoor grilling this summer.