Creative grilling recipe ideas for vegetable and seafood eaters

Oct 14, 2023

I have not been cooking outdoors much the last few years. I blame our teenage son.

About three years ago, he became a pescatarian. He will eat fish or shellfish, but no beef, pork or chicken. Overall, his new diet has made us all eat more vegetables and seafood. That's good. But beef, pork and chicken are what I like to barbecue and grill.

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This summer, I’ve vowed to make more use of our Weber kettle. While I might clear a Saturday to tend a brisket for 10 hours or cook some jerk chicken for a party, my goal is to find tasty dishes to grill and smoke that my son can also enjoy.

What is better than a shrimp charred slightly from an open flame? One of my favorite summer dishes is grilled shrimp coated in a simple paste of olive oil and smoky Spanish paprika. Shrimp cooks in minutes, so you won't be preoccupied with the grill while everyone else is having a good time. It's easy to know when shrimp is done just by looking. Skewer the shrimp and your guests can eat them without having to put down their drinks.

Think about grilled shrimp dishes you’ve had at restaurants that could be easily done at home. What about Vietnamese-style shrimp marinated in lemongrass, fish sauce and lime? Have a pescatarian fajita night, with shrimp rubbed with chile powder. Instead of jerk chicken, what about jerk shrimp?

I lived many years in New Orleans, where chargrilled oysters are a staple at restaurants and catered parties. Oysters on the half shell are filled with seasoned, melted butter, which splashes over the side and sends fragrant flames into the air. Top them with shredded Parmesan cheese just before serving. Even people who cannot handle raw oysters often love them chargrilled.

Oysters are alive until you cook them. That means even if you live far from the water, you can buy fresh oysters — although you might pay dearly. Other bivalves, like mussels and clams, are also sold alive.

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"The Barbecue Bible" by Steven Raichlen, originally published in 1998, is the outdoor cookbook that has never failed me. My copy is heavily stained from rubs and sauces that I’ve enjoyed over the years. Raichlen traveled the globe to gather recipes for the book. This summer, I’m finally going to try his French-style grilled mussels, grilled clams from the West Indies and oysters with horseradish cream.

Corn is common enough on the grill. Potatoes tucked into foil packs with seasoning is a trick any good Cub Scout knows. And I’ve come to love sliced broccoli brushed with olive oil and grilled over a hot fire.

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Last year, a Cherokee chef showed me how to roast squash stuffed with beans and wild rice under coals. That recipe could easily be done on a grill.

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As I think about what I’ll find this summer in the farmers market, I’m already planning ways to cook that bounty outside. Okra cooked quickly does not get slimy. Tomatoes can be grilled and then blended into a cold gazpacho soup. And peaches, drenched in honey and collapsing after slowly roasting over a grill's dying embers, are my favorite way to end a summer meal.

This summer, I hope to keep the heat out of the kitchen.

Todd A. Price writes about food and culture in the South. He can be reached at [email protected].