From burgers and dogs to chicken, vegetables and of course s'mores, there's nothing we don't want to cook on a grill come summertime. But did you know that you can actually cook eggs on the grill? Yep, it's a fairly simple method and the results are a smoky, savory egg that you'll want to make again and again.
Putting a whole, intact egg on the grill will give you similar results to a hard-boiled egg, depending on how long you leave it on, but the flavor from the grill is what really makes this method worth trying.
To start, fire up your grill and make sure it's nice and hot. Using a tongs, carefully place your eggs on the grill and let them cook for about 10-20 minutes, depending on their size and how firm you like your eggs.
Once you remove the eggs from the heat, they'll continue to cook, so be sure to have an ice bath ready, and pop them in for a few minutes to stop the cooking process. Fun fact: This also makes it easier to peel them! Now you're left with a more flavorful egg than the ones you hard-boil on the stove top. Use these smoky, delicious eggs in your next spring salad, or just eat them as-is for a high protein snack.
You can also cook perfect fried eggs on the grill in a heavy skillet, or try making eggs in foil. Form shallow cups using heavy-duty foil, then fill them with fillings (such as diced ham, green onion, roasted peppers or cheese) and beaten eggs. Pop them on the grill and cook until set, which is usually about 10 minutes. This method will create something closer to an omelet.
"Here you have an ingredient that’s totally commonplace — many of us eat eggs every day. But it would never occur to most people to grill or smoke an egg," Steven Raichlen, author of "How to Grill Vegetables: The New Bible for Barbecuing Vegetables over Live Fire" told TODAY Food in an email.
Raichlen said that in countries like Vietnam and Cambodia, grilling eggs is common, especially in a popular street dish that consists of eggs grilled in the shell. "When you do grill eggs, the flavor and texture are utterly transformed by live fire," he said.
As for the way Raichlen cooks eggs on a grill, the sky's the limit.
"There are so many ways you can grill eggs," he said. "Fire-roasted in the shell, sizzled in oil in an egg spoon over a wood fire, slow cooked in the ashes of your fireplace, hard-boiled then smoked. I love them all, but my hands down favorite is smoked deviled eggs — which takes a commonplace, even plebeian dish and transforms it into something haunting and majestic. Mashed, they make a hell of an egg salad!"
From fried to deviled, cooking eggs outside will definitely elevate you to grill master level!
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