New Jersey’s 8 favorite foods to grill this weekend

You'll thank me later for this delicious list.

Salmon

This fish is so flavorful it needs very little to make it taste great on the grill, but the trick is to use a little bit of charcoal powder spice (available online) if you don’t have actual charcoal and only have a gas grill. A spritz of olive oil, salt and pepper are all you need.

Lobster

Grilled lobster is one of the easiest summer foods to grill. It’s hard to mess up (although overdoing it can surely make it rubbery according to our listeners) a little olive oil, salt, pepper, and some Cajun spice and a quick char is one of the Jersey's favorite ways to grill up lobster.

Fruit

Surprisingly, New Jerseyans are fond of grilled peaches, apricots, nectarines, and even pineapple on the grill. Spray the grill with vegetable oil or use a grilling basket so that the fruit doesn’t stick to the rack and serve it with ices or ice cream on the side Yum.

Corn on the cob

It’s no secret that corn on the cob tastes great on the grill but according to most New Jerseyans, it’s the spices in the flavors that make it amazing. Wrap it in foil, slather with butter and add either a pesto topping, lime and chili powder, or basil, lemon and Parmesan cheese.

Ratatouille

Make a yummy grilled ratatouille by putting together peppers, onions, tomatoes, sliced zucchini and whole garlic cloves, drizzle with olive oil, then salt and pepper and place it in a grill basket on the grill. The char on these vegetables enhances the flavor tenfold. Plus, it’s a light summer treat.

Grilled s’mores

One caller regaled us with his tales of making S'mores with his kids when they were growing up. Yes – S'mores on the barbecue. You can either lay a piece of foil over the upper racks of the grill or use a grill basket to do the typical Smore‘s sandwich: 2 graham crackers with marshmallows and some chocolate in between. Sounds like heaven and even more so when it’s grilled.

Brick chicken

Put a whole chicken on work surface, skin side up. Press firmly on breastbone to flatten
the wings under breast. Place chicken on grill, set bricks on top, and grill until skin is golden and crisp, 25–30 minutes. Using tongs, remove bricks; turn chicken, skin side up. Replace bricks and continue grilling until chicken is cooked through till thermometer reaches 165°, or 25–30 minutes longer.

The perfect medium rare burger

The trick is to handle meat delicately... do not pack it tightly when forming patties- and make a depression in the center of both sides of the patty. This will prevent the burgers from shrinking up into hockey pucks. Medium to high heat for FOUR minutes on one side THREE minutes on the other. No more no less. If you want to be fancy-schmancy and make the crosshatch char marks you can, halfway into the timer on each side, turn the burger 1/4 turn to the right or left. Other than that, Don’t touch it, don’t press it, don’t check!

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