

You’ll want to put them on perpendicular or slightly diagonal to the grill grates for the best grill marks. 500 degrees Fahrenheit or more is ideal.Īfter the grill is preheated, just lay down your romaine hearts on the grill, cut side down. But if you’re cooking something else on the grill on medium high that’ll work too. You just want to sear the cut side, not cook the whole head of lettuce, so the hotter the better.
Romaine hearts cracked#
Turn the halves cut-side down and pat them dry with a kitchen towel, or leave them to dry while you prepare your other food.īrush the cut sides liberally with some olive oil, sprinkle with kosher salt and some freshly cracked pepper, and preheat your grill to medium high or high. Romaine hearts can get a little dirty especially around the base of the leaves, so focus around that area when rinsing. Rinse each half under some water, gently encouraging the water in between the leaves. Remove any floppy outer leaves or leaf fragments that aren’t hugging the head of lettuce after the cut.
Romaine hearts how to#
How to grill lettuceįirst you’ll want to slice your romaine hearts in half lengthwise, leaving it attached at the base. It just won’t be quite as compact and pretty when you’re done grilling. That said, if you can only find romaine hearts with lots of floppy leaves, go ahead and get them anyway. The whole heads (and even some hearts of romaine, as you can see below) have a lot of floppy leaves around the edges, whereas you want a nice tightly-packed heart so it will stay together on the grill.Ĭhoose good romaine hearts by gently squeezing the lettuce head: it should feel relatively firm rather than airy, meaning there are a lot of densely-packed leaves in there. You want the romaine hearts rather than the whole heads of romaine. Or you can even go as simple as squeezing a fresh lemon or a sprinkle of vinegar over top, since the grilling adds a lot of flavor to the lettuce on its own. You can drizzle on some homemade creamy honey balsamic vinaigrette, some Olive Garden dressing, or Greek salad dressing. Okay, you might say there are five ingredients if you count your dressing of choice. You won’t have to think about it beforehand because there’s almost no prep, but I promise you it’s so delicious you’ll be thinking about it for weeks afterward! If you’re already firing up the grill for some blackened salmon or turkey burgers, grilled lettuce is an easy thing to throw on in the last couple minutes of cooking or immediately after for a side dish you hardly have to think about. Since coming home a couple weeks ago, I’ve been throwing some romaine on the grill whenever I make a grilled entree for dinner, which, in the summer, is quite a bit.

The whole meal was delicious and memorable, but the grilled romaine hearts made a big impression on all of us! This year, my sister Jessica and her husband made homemade pizza in the pizza oven, grilled vegetables, and grilled romaine lettuce. Not only is it delicious, but it helps get me out of whatever cooking routines I’ve been in lately. Spending time with my mom and stepdad, my sisters, and their families is always so special, and one of the highlights of the trip is that each of our families takes over a night of cooking for everyone - all 18 of us! I recently came back from spending a week in the mountains near Asheville for my family’s annual summer get-together. As an Amazon associate, I earn from qualifying purchases. That means if you click on the link and make a purchase, I will receive an affiliate commission at no extra cost to you.
