Today I’m going to show you how to fire roast pears on the grill. Most people probably wouldn’t think about putting pears on the grill, however they turn out really well, and make an awesome dessert. They are really simple to make and you can stuff them with all sorts of different things. Let me show you my favorite way to grill them.
You pretty much can use any pear you like. Some good ones are Comice, Anjou, and Bosc pears. Just use your favorite, or what is available to you. Just make sure that the fruit is ripe, but not soft. I’m going to smoke roast my pears and stuff them with a brown sugar, graham cracker sort of filling.
Here is what you are going to need:
6 large ripe pears
5 tbsp butter
5 tbsp brown sugar
5 tbsp graham cracker crumbs
1/2 lemon
1/2 tsp grated lemon zest
1/2 tsp ground cinnamon
1/2 tsp grated nutmeg
1/2 tsp ground cloves
1 tbsp rum
1 tsp vanilla extract
Once you have your pears, what I like to do is cut a thin slice off the bottoms and discard them. This will help them to stand upright on the grill. Also cut the tops off them, but hold on to them as we will be using them. When you cut the tops off, cut them into an inverted cone. With your lemon slice, rub the cut edge of the bottom of the pear and the tops. What this does is help prevent the pear from browning. Also squeeze a few drops of lemon juice into the cavities of the pears.
Now, using a melon baller like this one, scoop out the core and seeds of each pear. It is now time to make the filling. Using a mixing bowl and wooden spoon, beat the butter and brown sugar. Add in the graham cracker crumbs, cinnamon, nutmeg, cloves, rum, vanilla, and lemon zest. Beat those ingredients in as well.
Spoon this mixture into each of the pear cavities. Place the pear tops loosely on top. Place the pears into a lightly greased aluminum pan like this. Set up your gas or charcoal grill for indirect grilling over medium heat. If you are using a charcoal grill, rake the coal into two piles on opposite sides, leaving the middle free.
If you want to smoke these like I do, get yourself some wood chips and soak them for about an hour before grilling. I like apple, cherry, maple, or pear wood chips if you can get them. If you are using a gas grill you can use one of these for smoking.
One the grill is ready, place the wood chips on the coals, or if you are using a gas grill place the chips in the smoker box. Place the pan with the pears on the grill away from the heat. Grill for approximately 40 minutes to 1 hour. The pears will be brown and soft on the side when they are done.
Once they are done serve immediately. This is how to fire roast pears on the grill that turn out amazing. You can use all kinds of different fillings to make a really unique fire roasted pear, so feel free to experiment.
image courtesy of Joelk75/flickr