Roasted peppers are probably my favorite grilled vegetable. Grilled peppers turn out soft and sweet, with a slightly smoky character. I love them as is, with a bit of olive oil, but they can also be added to other dishes to provide a sweet, smoky character.
Grilling peppers can be done on either a gas or charcoal grill. I’m a big fan of charcoal grills, so that is what I generally use to roast my peppers.
- Set your grill up for direct grilling. This means the peppers will be roasted right over the heat source. If you are using a charcoal grill create an even layer of hot coals.
- The peppers will be grilled over high heat. We are talking about temperatures at 450°F or slightly higher. If you are using a charcoal grill it will take about 5 – 10 minutes for the coals to reach this temperature. The coals should be bright orange at this point.
- Place the peppers on the grate and grill for approximately 5 minutes on each side. Each side should produce a nice char.
- After they have finished grilling place the peppers into a dish and cover with plastic wrap. Let the grilled peppers sit for approximately 20 minutes. This steams the peppers which helps loosen the skin from the flesh.
- After the roasted peppers have finished steaming, pull the skin off the peppers using a knife or your fingers. Don’t worry if you can’t get every last piece of skin off the peppers. A bit of charred skin will add to the flavor.
- Finally cut off the stem ends, slice the peppers open and scrape out the seeds.
You can grill pretty much any type of peppers you want, from your various colors of bell peppers to your different varieties of chili peppers.
Don’t feel that you have to char the skin black and remove them either. You can grill the peppers until the skin has reached a slight golden brown color on each side. At this point you can eat the peppers skin and all. The “skin on” method will produce flavors completely different from grilled peppers with the skin removed. Experiment with both types in your dishes.
If you have ever wanted to grill up a bunch of jalapeno peppers, your are going to want to check out the King Kooker 36 Hole Jalapeno Rack. This thing is really cool. I love jalapenos, and actually grow them in my garden, so I always have a bunch on hand. This rack is perfect for getting that smokey jalapeno flavor, plus it comes with a corer, which makes preparing them a snap.
It is stainless steel, and easy to clean. It works perfectly regardless if you want to roast them on your grill, smoker, or even your oven. If you like roasted jalapenos as much as I do, you will want to check it out >> King Kooker 36 Hole Jalapeno Rack