Three Spring & Summer Grilled Fruit Hacks!

By Kent Whitaker – Three Amazing Grilled Fruit Hacks for Spring and Summer

Nothing seems to beat the wide variety of fruit that comes into markets during Spring. Everything from fresh picked strawberries to apricots and even Kiwi! Then, the flavors keep coming as peaches, oranges and even bananas at their peak flood into grocery stores and produce stands.

So, it stands to reason that grilling gurus across the land should add some of these tasty fruit flavors to our recipe collection! It could be a simple as a quick-and-easy fruit flavored infused sauce to grilling a couple of slices of your favorite fruit. Here’s three spring & summer grilled fruit hacks~

Grilled Coconut Rum Bananas

I have a buddy that’s a rum expert!  He knows classic rums, white, dark, brands, history and even enjoys the new fruit flavored rums that are gaining in popularity. He suggested using some coconut flavored rum for a Caribbean inspired recipe! This recipe hack is inspired from Cuban and Caribbean style grilled plantains.

Slice the banana lengthwise and keep them in their peals, brush with melted butter or use butter flavored non-stick spray. In a small bowl, combine some coconut rum, melted butter and little bit of honey. Grill the sliced banana – in their peels – over medium high heat. Fee free to use foil or a grilling griddle. The banana will start to cook and pull away from the peel around the edges.

Baste evenly with your rum mixture. Remove from the peel and serve with your favorite ice cream topped with toasted coconut shavings.

Grilled Fruit Cobbler

Chances are that you probably have a favorite cobbler recipe. Don’t worry if it’s a quick-and-easy recipe or one that requires more than just dumping a few ingredients in a baking dish. Both will work on a covered grill. Basically, all you’re doing is using your covered grill like an oven. You can use foil pans, cake pans or even cast iron – but, I would avoid using glass baking dishes!

Make your recipe, cover with foil, cook on an upper rack in a covered grill, and rotate the pan as needed to ensure even cooking. The last few minutes you can uncover, baste the crust with butter and sprinkle with sugar and allow the edges to become golden brown.

Grilled Peaches and Cream

I live in East Tennessee just a few feet away from Georgia, Alabama and a day drive through the mountains to South Carolina. Why am I telling you this? Because every summer regional fresh peaches explode onto the area’s culinary scene. And, I was once asked if I had ever grilled a peach! Of course, my answer was “yes!” This is the fool-proof way I grill peaches.

Start by selecting peaches that are not too soft. You’re looking for something that’s a bit firm that will hold up well when on the grates and when rotated. Rinse the peaches, slice them in half, remove pits, brush the tops with soften butter, and grill butter side down over medium high heat.

Allow them to cook for a few minutes, then turn, and continue to grill for only a few minutes more. Brush with additional butter, sprinkle with brown sugar and a dash of cinnamon. Serve hot off the grill with a scoop of Vanilla ice cream.

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Kent Whitaker is a culinary writer, cookbook author, and winner of the Emeril Live / Food Network Barbecue Contest. He’s known as “the Deck Chef” as he specializes in easy recipes for back-yard grilling and barbecue.

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