Vegan-Friendly Grilling
(plus tips for grilling success)
Hi there friends and happy Friday! Welcome to our new subscribers. I’m so glad you’re here. For the next few weeks, we will be talking about grilling.
We are starting with vegan-friendly grilling. I know, it’s an unconventional topic. But, why should carnivores have all the fun? And since this is the first week of the grillfest, let’s also talk about essential grilling tips.
To give you a sneak peek: next week we delve into how to barbecue meat, poultry, and seafood. The week after that: Pizza! On the grill!
If you’d rather listen than read, the audio is posted above.
Grilling Success
Is “grilling season” a thing? Major retailers and TV food shows seem to think so. I get it, in many places, winter weather is just too cold to fire up a grill and cook outdoors (remember when I wrote about my friend Tangerine who lives in rural Canada?). However, in my corner of Southern California, grilling happens year-round thanks to our climate. I’d argue we have “oven season” when our weather finally cools off enough to turn on the oven.
Because grilling happens regularly here, my outdoor gas grill is like a second mini-kitchen for me. Anything and everything gets cooked on it. I’ve had my share of fiery charred disasters along the way but now I enjoy cooking on a grill almost more than cooking with a stove top or oven.
When people think of grilling, it usually defaults to a specific thing: meat. Things like hot dogs, hamburgers, chicken, and ribs. So I can understand how vegans and vegetarians feel left out. There are plenty of options now for our non-meat-eating friends, like veggie burgers, dogs, and sausages.
But what is it that really brings the BBQ experience? I’d say grill marks and smoky flavor. The recipe this week pairs that with a vegan-friendly ingredient: tofu.
Does the thought of grilled tofu scare you? Don’t worry my friend, I will hold your hand.
First, let’s look at some essential tips for grilling success.
Keep it clean. A greasy grill plastered with burnt-on food is a disaster waiting to happen: flare-ups, bacteria, and rodents. It is easiest to clean a grill when it’s hot, so I like to give it a quick but thorough scrape after cooking on it. A coiled wire brush makes this easy and fast. Some people like to lightly oil the grates but I usually forget to do that. You will also want to clean utensils like tongs, spatulas, and meat thermometers.
Make it hot. Just like you preheat an oven, preheat the grill. I have a gas grill so I set it to the highest flame, close the lid, and wait 10-ish minutes before checking the built-in temperature gauge. I’m looking for a 450F to 500F (230C to 260C) range to give whatever I’m cooking a good sear. Charcoal grills are in their own world and it’s one that I don’t live in. So, check elsewhere for help with that. Bottom line: regardless of what kind of grill, make sure it’s hot before adding any food to it.
Know the zone. Direct heat cooking means placing food directly over the flame. This works for items with a quick cooking time (less than 20 minutes). Indirect heat cooking is placing food near the flame but not directly over it. This works for larger pieces of meat with a longer cooking time (more than 20 minutes).
Cut veggies chunky. I’ve lost many a vegetable to the grill gods because I cut the pieces too small. Keep them big enough to prevent slipping through the grates. An example: cut bell peppers in half rather than quarters, cut zucchini or eggplant lengthwise rather than crosswise. Another option is to thread them onto skewers.
Deep clean once a year. This requires a few more tools like a metal scraper, brush, and hot soapy water. There are many tutorials online that walk you through how to clean a gas or charcoal grill, depending on what brand you have. If you clean your grill after each use, you will only need to deep clean once a year, twice at most.
Are you ready to grill tofu? Let’s go.
Recipes
BBQ Tofu and Veggies
Serves 2 generously
Time needed: 45 minutes
This is really delish and even meat eaters will like this one! The secret to success with grilled tofu is in the pressing. Get rid of excess water for a firm texture with a satisfying chew. Barbeque spices bring the flavor and simulate char on the tofu steaks. An alternative is cube them and thread them on skewers.
Ingredients
16 oz extra-firm block tofu, drained
1 small eggplant, trimmed and quartered lengthwise
1 red bell pepper, trimmed and halved
1 green bell pepper, trimmed and halved
1 portobello mushroom, cut into 1 ½-inch slices
Olive oil
BBQ spice mix
1 tsp granulated garlic
½ tsp brown sugar
½ tsp chili powder
½ tsp cumin
½ tsp kosher salt
½ tsp lemon pepper
½ tsp smoked paprika
Directions
Preheat the grill to high.
Place the tofu on a clean kitchen towel that has been folded two or three times. This will absorb the water from the tofu. Place paper towels on top of the tofu block, then weigh it down with a cast iron skillet. If you don’t have one, use a regular skillet and add several cans of beans or soup to add weight. Let sit for 30 minutes to extract the moisture.
While the tofu does its thing, drizzle about 2 tablespoons of olive oil over the cut veggies to lightly coat them.
Mix the spice mix ingredients in a small bowl. Reserve 1 teaspoon of the mix in a separate small bowl and set aside.
After 30 minutes, take the skillet and paper towels off the tofu. Slice the tofu in half crossways (meaning, cut it to make two thinner blocks of the original shape). Brush with a few teaspoons of olive oil and sprinkle heavily with the spice mix. Repeat with the other side.
Once the grill is hot, place the tofu slabs and the veggies on the grates and grill for 5 minutes. Turn and grill the other sides for 5 minutes. Remove from the grill. Take the reserved spice mix and add 2 or 3 teaspoons of olive oil and stir to mix. Brush the veggies and tofu with the spice oil mixture and serve.
Need something sweet after your grill sesh? I got you.
Banana Oatmeal Cookies
These vegan-friendly cookies are great for dessert or (get this) breakfast. If you need something sweet that is gluten-free, dairy-free, and delicious, these fit the bill. The recipe can be found here.
Tell Me
What are you grilling this week? I would love to know.
Coming next week: grilling everyone’s favorite meats, chicken, and seafood. See you next Friday!