Why You Should Be Grilling Stone Fruit This Summer

In today’s world, you can have just about any food out of season. Bananas, tomatoes, apples, potatoes–these are all year-round staples in most locations. Stone fruit, on the other hand, might be available at your grocery store in the winter months, but out-of-season peaches, apricots, cherries, nectarines, and plums just don’t taste the same. So, you’d be understood for filling your kitchen with a bounty of peak-summer stone fruit and then wondering what to do with it. Our suggestion? Grill stone fruit to enhance the sweetness for easy desserts or to add smoky flavor for savory dishes. (If you do want to eat stone fruit out of season, the grill concentrates the flavor, coaxes out any excess moisture, and softens the flesh.)

WHAT IS STONE FRUIT?

Before we jump into recipe ideas for grilled stone fruit, let’s look at the entire family that peaches, apricots, and plums belong to: drupes. Drupes are types of fruit that contain a pit (or stone) that encases a seed. You might be surprised to learn that the drupe family includes more than the expected fruits: blackberries, coconuts, dates, mangoes, and olives are all types of drupes. Green almonds are drupes, too! The almonds we eat are in fact the pit of the stone fruit. For the purposes of this article, we’re talking about the sweet, large, fleshy stone fruits that are in season in the summer, including peaches, nectarines, plums, apricots, and cherries. Pluots and apriums—hybrids of plums and apricots—can be used interchangeably in recipes for their parent fruits.

6 SWEET AND SAVORY IDEAS FOR GRILLED STONE FRUIT

Both the Hybrid BBQ Grill Pan and Hybrid Pizza Steel are your friends when it comes to grilling stone fruit, as they keep small pieces from falling through the grates while still allowing the smoky flavor and heat of the grill to permeate the food. Whichever pan you’re using, it helps to preheat them before adding any stone fruit to avoid sticking. Brush or toss the fruit with olive oil or a high-heat oil like avocado oil, pecan oil, or canola oil, and season with freshly ground salt. Consider adding a grind or two of pepper as well if you’re making something savory.

TURN STONE FRUIT INTO A SAVORY SIDE DISH FOR PORK CHOPS OR STEAK

Stone fruit’s sweetness mellows into the perfect side for beef or pork. Basically any kind of stone fruit will work here: Grill wedges of nectarines, apricots, plums, or peaches until just tender and serve with grilled steak or pork chops. Or, if you’re happy to divide your cooking between the grill and the stovetop, opt for a Pan-Seared Ribeye with Smoky Chimichurri or Pan Seared Brined Pork Chops. If you want to make the grilled stone fruit into more of a side, transfer the grilled wedges to a medium bowl and toss with olive oil, lemon juice, freshly chopped basil, parsley, or oregano, and a sprinkling of chili flakes. 

UPGRADE OLIVES BY GRILLING THEM, FIRST

Olives have had a glow up in the last decade, and it’s easy to understand why. This savory stone fruit is packed with flavor and a dish of olives makes for an elegant appetizer on its own. Consider grilling olives in your Hybrid BBQ Grill Pan until they’ve got a little char and are heated through. From there, they can be used in any number of recipes. Toss them with olive oil, bay leaf, strips of lemon and orange zest, and a sprig of fresh rosemary for easy marinated olives. Or, let them cool completely and press into focaccia dough. Grilled olives are great chopped and made into tapenade or folded into salad, too.

MAKE A GRILLED FRUIT ICE CREAM SUNDAE

Perhaps stone fruits’ best-known grilling application is ice cream sundaes, and for good reason: grilling intensifies the sweetness while making the fruit even juicier. Brush halved peaches, plums, apricots, or nectarines with olive oil, season with a pinch salt, and place cut-side down on the preheated Hybrid BBQ Grill Pan and Hybrid Pizza Steel. Grill until soft, 4 to 5 minutes, then flip and grill until nearly collapsing, 3 to 4  minutes more. Divide between serving bowls and top with ice cream, a drizzle of olive oil, and a grind of freshly ground salt. If you want more toppings, consider adding toasted almonds or coconut (fellow drupes) to enhance the stone fruit flavor.

ADD STONE FRUIT TO YOUR GRILLED SKEWERS

Thread wedges of peaches, plums, apricots, or nectarines alongside vegetables and chicken on stainless steel skewers. Because you’ll want the chicken to cook fully through, it’s worth picking slightly under ripe stone fruit for the skewers so that they don’t fall apart while cooking. 

ENHANCE YOUR CAPRESE WITH GRILLED PEACHES

While peaches aren’t strictly necessary to enjoy a caprese, the Italian tomato and mozzarella salad, they are a nice remix of the classic. We love them in our recipe for Tomato, Peach and Burrata Salad With Chile-Lime Vinaigrette. Take the extra time to quickly grill the peaches to enhance the savory flavor in the recipe.

GRILL CHERRIES BEFORE PILING THEM ONTO RICOTTA TOAST

Draw out the savory flavors of cherries by quickly grilling them. They’re delightful piled on top of a schmear of ricotta and quickly grilled planks of homemade sourdough. Grilled cherries are also fantastic alongside grilled halloumi and grilled chicken.