This recipe is taken directly from Weber’s recipe library: the How to Grill Asparagus recipe on weber.com. It has just three ingredients, which makes it a useful baseline for anyone learning to cook vegetables over direct heat. We have not tested it ourselves; the method below is a paraphrase of Weber’s published steps.
Weber lists it as serving 4, with about 5 minutes of prep and 6 to 8 minutes on the grill. Everything that matters happens before the spears touch the grate: trimming the woody base, coating each spear evenly, and cooking on a clean grate.
Ingredients
- 1 pound asparagus (about 450 g, our conversion)
- 2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
- 1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
All three ingredients are plant-based, so the recipe as Weber writes it is vegan. That changes as soon as you add the toppings covered further down.
Method
- Set up the grill for direct cooking over medium heat, 375-425°F (roughly 190-220°C, our conversion).
- Trim the spears. Weber’s technique is to hold each spear by both ends and bend it gently until it snaps at its natural break, which it says is usually about two-thirds of the way down. Discard the tough bottom piece. If the spears are thick, use a vegetable peeler to take the outer skin off the bottom half of each remaining spear.
- Lay the spears out on a large plate, drizzle with the oil and salt, and turn them until every spear is evenly coated.
- Brush the cooking grates clean, then lay the asparagus across the grate so the spears run perpendicular to the bars. Close the lid as much as you can.
- Cook for 6 to 8 minutes, turning now and then, until the spears are browned in spots but not charred. Serve warm or at room temperature.
What the Recipe Is Telling You
Weber’s finish line is a visual one: “browned in spots but not charred.” That is a useful instruction because spear thickness varies from bunch to bunch, and the 6 to 8 minute range is a guide rather than a guarantee. Check early, and pull the spears when the browning looks right rather than when the timer says so.
Two other details are easy to skip. First, the peeling step is only for thick spears; it is not needed on every spear. Second, the recipe keeps the lid closed as much as possible, and it pairs that with moderate direct heat of 375-425°F.
Two Weber Variations, and What They Change
Weber publishes at least two more asparagus recipes that build on the same basic method. Both add animal products, so neither is vegan or vegetarian.
With prosciutto and orange mayonnaise
The Grilled Asparagus with Prosciutto and Orange Mayonnaise recipe uses the same medium direct heat of 375-425°F. It seasons 1 pound of asparagus with 1 1/2 tablespoons of olive oil, 1/4 teaspoon of kosher salt and 1/8 teaspoon of black pepper, and cooks the spears for the same 6 to 8 minutes. Then 4 ounces of thinly sliced prosciutto go on the grill for 2 to 3 minutes, turned once, until crisp, and are cut into 2-inch pieces. The sauce is 1/3 cup of mayonnaise with orange zest, orange juice, lemon juice and cayenne pepper. Weber lists 8 to 11 minutes of total grilling time.
With sherry-bacon vinaigrette
The Asparagus with Sherry-Bacon Vinaigrette recipe reverses the order of operations. You cook 4 slices of bacon in a skillet first, about 8 to 10 minutes until crisp, and keep 3 tablespoons of the bacon fat. Thyme, garlic, sherry vinegar, salt and pepper go into that fat to make a warm dressing. The asparagus is coated with the vinaigrette before it goes on the grill, and the recipe sets the grill at 350-450°F, a slightly wider range than the basic recipe. The spears are cooked for 6 to 8 minutes, then topped with the chopped bacon and thin slices of red onion.
Keep reading
- Food Network Kitchen’s Grilled Zucchini
- Weber’s Grilled New Potatoes, Plus the Parboil Tip
- Grilled Peaches with Blackberry Sauce (Weber Recipe)
- Weber’s Grilled Swordfish with Jalapeño-Mint Butter