Thanksgiving is almost here. Have you thought about your list of desserts yet? Desserts are always one of the highlights of the Thanksgiving feast. For a fun twist, here are some tips on how to bake desserts on your grill.
Napoleon Grill Option
Just about anything that you can bake in your oven can also be baked on your grill. To start, you should preheat the grill to about 25 degrees higher than the recipe says. You will probably lose a little of the heat when you open the grill to place your item inside. When baking in the grill, you are using indirect heat. If your gas grill has more than one burner, you will want to leave some of the burners off and place whatever you are baking above those burners that are off. Or, you can use all of the burners to get the grill up to the desired temperature. Then, turn the burner(s) off where your dessert will be situated. Adjust the other burners to maintain the desired temperature.
How Should You Bake?
You will need some type of pizza stone or cast iron piece to put on the grill underneath the baking dish. A cast iron pan works great for baking on the grill. It is best to use some type of metal pan instead of a glass baking dish. Make sure that your room-temperature baking dish is well greased with butter or coconut butter. The baking time will differ slightly for each grill because every grill cooks a little differently. You might have to change the temperature setting if it seems to be baking too fast or too slow. It might take a little longer for the dessert to bake on the grill than it would in the oven.
Try to keep the grill closed as much as possible. The first couple times, you will have to keep a close eye on it. But, the longer you keep the lid closed, the faster it will bake.
You might want to start out with something fast and easy to do some trial and error before you get serious about baking on the grill. Once you have tried two or three different things, you will know the settings needed for your grill. Desserts that are high in fat work best for baking on the grill.
The Big Green Egg Option
The Big Green Egg also works well for baking desserts. It holds a consistent temperature better than some other grills do. It is more like a brick oven. The instructions for these grills are different than for gas grills. You put charcoal in to get it going. Then, put the convector in, followed by the cooking grid. Things bake at the same temperature as they would in an oven on the Big Green Egg. Use caution when opening the Big Green Egg after it has been used at higher temperatures. Open it just an inch or two a couple of times before opening it all the way. The Apple-Walnut Crostata with Caramel Sauce is sure to be a crowd-pleaser.
Call Energy Center-Manhattan Pool today at 785-776-5118 or 1-800-287-5118 to get your grill in time to do that Thanksgiving baking.
