Grilled pears are great alongside grilled pork or sausages, but they’re even better when served with ice cream, whipped cream, or frozen yogurt for dessert. The smokiness of the grill highlights pears’ natural sweetness to fabulous effect.
Depending on how you’re going to serve them, plan on cooking one pear per person. However, half a pear can suffice, too, especially if you’re going to serve them for dessert with ice cream after a big meal.
Ingredients
- 4 whole pears
- 1 tablespoon canola oil, or another neutral-flavored oil
- 2 tablespoons brown sugar, optional
Methods
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Gather the ingredients.
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Cut the pears in half lengthwise and use a melon baller to scoop out the seeds. Drizzle the pear halves with oil and use a pastry brush to spread it over the pear flesh.
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Prepare a gas or charcoal grill to medium hot heat. You should be able to hold your hand about 1 inch above the cooking grate for 2 to 3 seconds before pulling it away from the intensity of the heat. Apply additional oil to grill grates.
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Put the pears, cut-side down, on the grill. Cover and cook until they’re grill-marked, heated through and tender, about 10 minutes. You can turn them to grill-mark them on the other side or continue cooking them for even more tender fruit.
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If you want to use the brown sugar, sprinkle it on the pear after cooking one side, and let the sugar melt into the pears while the second side cooks. Finish with a sprinkle of kosher salt.
Tips
- Any variety of pear works just fine on the grill, even notoriously juicy Bartletts. However, choose one that’s still firm and not overly soft and ripe.
- Instead of using oil, drizzle the pears with melted butter before grilling.
- Serve the grilled pears hot or warm as a side dish or with ice cream or whipped cream for dessert. Let the pears cool slightly so the ice cream doesn’t melt quickly. You may also want to consider serving these lovelies with some homemade buttermilk ice cream.
- Instead of halving the pears, you can also slice them into 1 1/2-inch rounds. If you slice them too thinly, the pears will get mushy. Grill each side of the round for approximately 2 minutes each.
- Make sure the cooking grate on the grill is clean and well-oiled.