This recipe is taken from Weber’s own site — the How to Grill French Toast guide published on weber.com. Weber’s own framing for it is that it works equally well on bare grill grates or on a flat griddle set over the grill, so it’s a solid method whichever setup you’re cooking on.
Ingredients
- 6 large eggs
- 1 1/2 cups whole milk
- 1 tablespoon pure vanilla extract
- 1 tablespoon ground cinnamon
- 2 tablespoons granulated sugar
- 1/8 teaspoon kosher salt
- 8 slices country-style white bread, each about 3/4 inch thick
- Canola oil spray
- Confectioners’ sugar, butter and maple syrup, to serve
Method
Whisk the eggs, milk, vanilla, cinnamon, sugar and salt together in a large bowl. Lay the bread out in one layer in a baking dish and pour the egg mixture over it, then let it stand at room temperature for 10 minutes, turning the slices occasionally so both sides get a chance to soak.
While the bread sits, set the grill up for direct cooking over medium-low heat, roughly 350 to 400°F, and brush the grates clean. Tip each slice of bread on its edge briefly to let excess liquid drain off, spray both sides lightly with oil, and lay it on the grill. Cook over direct medium-low heat with the lid closed as much as possible, turning once, until both sides are firm and golden brown — Weber’s timing is 6 to 8 minutes total. Pull the slices off, dust with confectioners’ sugar, and serve immediately with butter and syrup.
Why the Soak Time Matters
Ten minutes of standing time, with the slices turned partway through, is what separates French toast from bread that’s merely been brushed with egg. Country-style white bread is specified because it’s dense enough to hold together through that soak; a soft sandwich loaf tends to fall apart before it reaches the grill. Draining the excess custard off each slice before it hits the grate is the other detail worth not skipping — too much liquid dripping onto a hot grate or griddle just steams and smokes instead of helping the bread brown.
Grate Marks vs a Flat Griddle
Cooking directly on the grates gives French toast the same char-striped look you’d get from grilled bread, but it also means part of each slice never touches metal, so those parts brown more slowly. A flat griddle set over the same medium-low heat solves that unevenness and is closer to a stovetop result, at the cost of losing the grate-mark presentation. Weber’s own guide notes both options work; which one to use comes down to whether you’re after the visual or the more even cook.
Cooking the Egg Custard Through
Because the bread is coated in a raw egg and milk mixture before it hits the grill, this dish is functionally an egg dish, not just toasted bread, and needs to be treated that way. USDA guidance for raw eggs is to cook them “until yolk and white are firm,” and for egg dishes generally it lists a target internal temperature of 160°F. The 6-to-8-minute grill time is meant to get every slice there, but grill heat varies more than a stovetop’s does, so don’t pull a slice that still looks wet or glossy on the surface — give it another minute rather than going by the clock alone. Once it’s plated, French toast falls under the same general USDA rule as any other cooked dish: don’t leave it sitting out for more than 2 hours, or more than 1 hour if it’s above 90°F outside.
Serving Notes
Weber’s recipe keeps the toppings simple — confectioners’ sugar, butter and maple syrup — which lets the cinnamon-vanilla custard carry the flavor rather than competing with it. Because the bread is already fairly rich from the whole milk and six eggs in the batch, this is one grilled breakfast that doesn’t need much dressing up beyond that.
Keep reading
- Weber’s Ham and Egg Breakfast Sandwich on the Griddle
- Weber’s Ricotta Pancakes on the Griddle, Step by Step
- Grilled Pineapple Upside-Down Cake: Weber’s Recipe
- Hey Grill Hey’s Smoked Cinnamon Almonds, Step by Step