Why You Should Keep Leafy Greens Far Away From The Grill

The grill is a pretty versatile appliance. With how creative chefs and home cooks have gotten, it seems like you can cook anything on there. Yes, you have the steaks and burgers that are the backbone of grilling season, but the veggies are an important part of many grilled meals as well, and there are even many types of desserts that turn out well on the grill. But for Matt Abdoo, Executive Chef and Co-Founder of Pig Beach BBQ, a restaurant with locations in New York, Boston, and Florida, there's one type of food that doesn't belong on your grill: leafy greens.

"You should normally avoid putting single leafy greens on the grill," Abdoo explains, "because typically all that will happen is a burnt leaf that doesn't really eat well at all." The intense, direct, dry heat of the grill is great for things like meat and hardy vegetables, but greens just don't take to searing all that well. Because of how thin they are, all of that dry heat quickly draws all of the moisture from the greens. This leaves them dry, crumbly, and prone to catching fire — definitely not what you are looking for in your grilling side dishes.

Now, given that you want to avoid the direct dry heat, you might be tempted to toss the greens in a cast-iron. Unfortunately, that's a no-go as well. Vegetables like spinach don't cook well in cast iron as they sap the seasoning from the pan and turn an ugly grey color. But if you are dead set on cooking greens on your grill, there are a few exceptions to this rule.

While leafy greens generally don't do so well on the grill, there has been a growing trend around grilled lettuce. In this case, we aren't really talking about cooking the leafy greens, just slapping them on for a minute or two. "Grilling up a head of romaine that is split in half and slightly oiled and seasoned with salt and pepper, offers an opportunity to add that delicious charred flavor," Abdoo says, adding, "The slight wilting of the lettuce will create a very enjoyable flavor and texture." It really is a simple hack to make your Caesar salads better, adding an interesting touch of char as well as a slight variation in texture. Once the romaine is grilled, drizzle it with dressing, give it a sprinkle of parmesan and a few croutons, and you're good to go. Or you can take it to the next level and add some protein, like in this grilled chicken Caesar salad recipe.

Tightly-packed heads of lettuce like romaine aren't the only greens that you can toss on the grill, Abdoo admits. You just need to be careful with the timing and the variety. "Sometimes a quick grill or char to a more sturdy leafy green like kale creates an enjoyable flavor and texture," he explains, "as the hardiness of the leaf doesn't burn and disintegrate as quickly." He does note, however, that again, this is not about fully cooking the greens. You only want to toss them on long enough to add some char around the edges. "Cooked too long," Abdoo warns, and "it will just turn into a burnt mess."