Tom Saaristo Marinades for Grilled Fruit

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Marinades for Grilled Fruit

There are any number of sauces that you can marinate fruit in before grilling, brush on during grilling, and/or serve with the fruit after grilling. Among the simplest may be a purée of the fruit you’ve grilled, augmented with a little lemon juice, and drizzled over the fruit after grilling. At the other extreme is a spicy hoisin sauce for grilled fruit. An even simpler approach is to bypass a sauce and sprinkle the fruit with brown sugar, cinnamon or ginger.

Here are a few sauces to try:

Bourbon Caramel Sauce [for apples]

Ingredients
1/4 cup of butter [1/2 stick]
1 cup packed brown sugar
1/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/4 cup bourbon
6 tablespoon heavy cream.

Method
Combine the first four ingredients in a sauce pan and boil for 2 minutes. Off the heat, stir in the cream. Brush a bit of the sauce over the apples in the last two minutes of grilling, and drizzle more over the apples just before serving.

Orange-Vanilla butter Sauce [for pears]

Ingredients
1/4 cup of butter [1/2 stick]
3 tablespoon frozen orange juice concentrate, thawed
1/2 teaspoon pure vanilla extract

Method
Warm the ingredients in a sauce pan. Brush a bit of the sauce on the pears before grilling. Serve the pears cut-side up and drizzle the rest of the sauce into the cavity of the pear. A dollop of sour cream or creame fraîche on top, and a hint of orange zest will boost the flavor.

Spicy Hoisin Glaze [for plums]

Ingredients
1/4 cup hoisin sauce
2 tablespoon soy sauce
2 tablespoon white vinegar
2 tablespoon ketchup
1 tablespoon minced chile of your choice
salt & pepper to taste

Method
Mix ingredients thoroughly in a bowl. Brush grilling plum halves with the sauce in the last 30 seconds to 1 minute of grilling. Remove from heat and drizzle with the remaining glaze.

Asian Fruit Marinade [for any fruit]

Ingredients
2 tablespoons lemon or lime juice
1 tablespoon honey
1 teaspoon grated ginger

Method
Combine ingredients in a screw-top jar. Shake to mix. Brush over the intended fruit, which you cover and refrigerate for 10 minutes. Then drain and grill.