Grilled Eggplant

One of the easiest, mess-free, and most delicious ways to prepare summer veggies is on the grill. This grilled eggplant, very simply seasoned with salt, pepper, and olive oil, is a lifesaver of a side dish. When it is just too hot to bear standing over a stove or cranking up the oven, an outdoor grill provides some solace to overheated cooks. It can provide a fresher, lighter take on fried eggplant or eggplant parmesan. Whether you're turning sausages, flipping steaks, or brushing sauce on grilled chicken, the eggplant quickly cooks up alongside the protein for a gorgeous grilled dinner. Serve it up with pesto, chimichurri, hummus, tzatziki, or by itself for a beautiful and deceptively easy side dish. 

Do you have to salt grilled eggplant for 30 minutes?

While it won’t ruin the meal, eggplant that hasn’t been treated with salt prior to cooking runs the risk of being soggy, under-seasoned, and even bitter! Salt is the most powerful ingredient in this dish. It draws out the excess moisture in the eggplant, concentrating that lovely, naturally sweet flavor. It also keeps the interior melt-in-your-mouth tender while the skin and outer part of the eggplant remain crisp from the grill. While eggplant is not as bitter as it was when it was first cultivated, there is sometimes a lingering bitterness that salt squashes with ease. So if you have the time, sprinkle that salt!

Do you peel an eggplant before grilling?

The peel on the eggplant gives it some structure, holding it together for easy flipping. Leaving it untouched on the grill for at least 3 minutes also keeps the eggplant from sticking. If grill marks appear on the surface of the eggplant, the peel will be plenty cooked. Some people might not like the slightly chewy texture, so the skin can easily be trimmed off of the tender, cooked eggplant prior to serving.