Monday, May 14, 2012

My intentions were good

Pin It but I think this recipe needs work...
What is this, you might ask?  It would be barbecued butternut squash (oh and quinoa and chicken, but I'm sure you can actually recognize those!)

I had this brilliant idea to BBQ my butternut squash tonight...why not?  Ok, so as you can see it does not look pretty.  I think I would make this again, but I need to find a different approach.  I brushed the squash with a mixture of raspberry balsamic vinegar and sugar free syrup (pancake-type) before grilling (I also brushed this on my chicken for good measure...yummmm).  The squash took quite a while to cook and ended up blackened (as you can see) on the outside, but was still quite firm on the inside.  The taste was good overall, but...a bit dry.  I'll do more research on this and will try again before the summer is over.  I am wondering if I should have left the skin on and simply cut it in half and placed flesh-side down on the BBQ...anyone tried this before?

4 comments:

Shondi said...

Looks 'well done'! :)

Maybe you need to mostly cook the slices ahead of time and then throw them on to get caramelized and grill marked?

Tanya said...

Yeah, I think you're right! Somebody else suggested parboiling them :)

Angela Pea said...

Yes!! I grill squash all the time!

I use a grill basket, but it's okay if you don't have one. Just slice the squash thick enough to NOT fall through the grate. You want to put the squash over slow heat, not over direct flame. Scootch all the charcoal to one side and put the squash on the cool side, or turn the gas very, very low. Spritz with a bit of oil, salt and pepper, then put them on the grill. Turn frequently until the slices start to soften. During the last few minutes of cooking brush on your glaze, marinade, vinegar, whatever, and raise the heat a bit to quickly caramelize.

I've also diced the squash and tossed them in a cast iron skillet on the grill. Just sautee with chopped onions and jalapeno peppers until tender, add a splash of chicken stock and cumin, and serve.

Tanya said...

Might have to go with the skillet option (once I buy one!)...I've got one of those newer hateful BBQs without any briquettes :( It only has the burner plate or whatever they call it. I hate it :(