When grilling large slabs of flavorful meat all summer long it can be hard to remember the other delicious food groups: like fruits. Putting your fruits on the grill alongside your pork chops and steaks can make all the difference from a great meal to an exquisite meal.
These grilled pears caramelize nicely and create the perfect compliment to a salty and slightly rare cut of pork chop. And the best part- they’re quick and easy to make, especially if you already have the grill going!
Grilled Pears
Ingredients:
Pickled Pears (or any Canned Pear from the grocery store)
Olive Oil
Tinfoil
The fresher the ingredients the better, which is why I always can my own pears. You can use the pickled pear recipe (link or below) or buy them straight from the store.
The pickled pear recipe is nice it allows you to pick pears that haven’t yet gone mushy- they hold their shape better through the pickling and then especially as you grill them.
Take the sheet of tinfoil and wrap it into a rectangle box, making sure to have each side up so the olive oil doesn’t spill out. A Tbsp. of olive oil should be plenty. It’s basically just there to prevent the pear from burning to the tinfoil.
Once your grill temperature reaches 375 to 400 degrees Fahrenheit you can place your pears on the grill. It’s a good idea to turn them once or twice so that all sides can evenly caramelize.
Serve hot on top of, or alongside of, your meat of choice. Pictured here with locally grown and butchered pork.
| Prep Time | 5 Minutes |
| Cook Time | 15 Minutes |
| Servings |
|
- 8 Pear Halves Pickled or canned
- 1 Tbsp. Olive Oil
Ingredients
|
|
- Preheat grill to 375 to 400 degrees. Place pears and olive oil in a box made out of tinfoil.
- Cook pears in tinfoil box on grill for 15 minutes, turning 1 or 2 times to perfectly caramelize.
- Serve warm alongside or on top of grill pork.
| Servings |
Quarts
|
- 6 lbs Pears, firm (between 12 to 20 pears depending on size)
- 4 Cinnamon Sticks
- 1.5 Tbsp. Whole Cloves
- 1 inch Fresh Ginger thinly sliced
- 3 cups Water
- 2 cups Distilled White Vinegar
- 3 3/4 cups sugar
Ingredients
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|
- Peel your pears, if they are small enough you can leave them whole, with the stems attached. If they are larger, slice them in half and core them.
- Tie the spices up in a spice bag or cheesecloth; cloves, ginger and cinnamon sticks.
- In a large, stainless steel pot mix together the water, vinegar and sugar. Then add in the spice bag and bring the syrup to a boil. Stir while boiling to dissolve the sugar, and then lower the heat. Allow syrup to simmer for about 5 minutes.
- Place a single layer of pears into the syrup. Note that you won't be able to cook all the pears at once.
- With the heat on low, cook the pears until they are barely tender; anywhere from 5 to 15 minutes, depending on the variety. Once pears are done, transfer the cooked pears to quart or pint mason jars.
- Repeat the last step with a new batch of uncooked pears. Repeat until you have cooked all the pears (batch sizes will depend on size of your syrup pot)
- When all the pears are cooked and packed into the mason jars, remove the spice bag from the syrup and pour the hot pickling liquid over them, leaving 1/2 inch of headspace in each jar.
- Wipe the rims of each jar and close with two-piece lids. Place jars in a boiling water bath for 15 minutes. Remove and allow to cool and seal for up to 24 hours. Store jars in a cool, dark place.