From a very young age, my curiosities led to many interesting
things on the grill. I was always experimenting with how the
intense heat from the grill cooked things, made sear marks on
things or burned things. Looking back, I had no idea that my fun
with cherries on the grill would become such an interesting
concept.
From a very young age, my curiosities led to many interesting things on the grill. I was always experimenting with how the intense heat from the grill cooked things, made sear marks on things or burned things. Looking back, I had no idea that my fun with cherries on the grill would become such an interesting concept.
We are very fortunate in our area to have many cherry farms where we may purchase cherries directly from the farm or the farmers market. The bounty is endless with the variety of flavors, color and sizes. This is the way it used to be when purchasing fruit in our area. Prior to the development of Silicon Valley, our area was known as the “Valley of Heart’s Delight.”
Over time, though, people began to prefer one-stop shopping at the local supermarket. Unfortunately, because of shipping and shelf-life requirements at many supermarkets, the quality of many different fruits has declined.
Just like strawberries, tomatoes and peaches, cherries are one of those fruits that should not be purchased at the grocery store when they are in season. I find that a little extra money spent at a farm stand or farmers market is a small price to pay for absolutely superior quality.
Many supermarkets feature fruit that is not tree- or vine-ripened, so the fruit lacks the true flavor and lusciousness that they are suppose to have. Spend a little extra money and seek out local cherries with true flavor, color and texture. It is well worth it. Not only are you purchasing a superior product, you are also supporting your local family farmer.
When selecting cherries, make sure that the fruit is firm. Some varieties, such as Tartarian, are softer. Check the stem and if it is bright and seems moist, the cherry is freshly picked. If the stems on cherries are wilted looking, shriveled, wrinkled or brown, the cherries are not fresh. The older cherries with stems in this condition have started to lose their sugar, too. This year’s cherry season started about 10 days ago, and it has only about 10 to 15 days left. Take advantage of local cherries now or miss out until next year.
I think I was about 9 years old when I first placed a cherry on the grill. I was curious about what would happen. It was only on there for a few minutes, but its skin had sear marks, it caramelized a little and it became very hot. Since it still had the stem on it, it was easy for my father to remove it from the grill. It was like eating the cherry filling out of a hot cherry pie, but without the crust. I had no idea at the time that the popularity of fruit on the grill would come 10 to 15 years later.
I decided to create a grilled cherry dessert just for this column. I drew upon the inspiration from the first time I put a cherry on the grill. I remembered that it would have made a very nice topping for ice cream. Extra liquid was needed to make a true cherry topping.
For the cherries and sauce to grill correctly, you will need to create a grill packet. I have only used grill packets for a few years, but they are fantastic for cutting time in the kitchen. It is also a simple way to prepare a warm dessert after the main course is removed from the grill. With the addition of a few ingredients, cherries become a fantastic and exciting accompaniment to vanilla ice cream.
When choosing ice cream, make sure you select one of the premium varieties. The extra creaminess of the premium ice cream and its cold temperature blend very well with the warm cherries and sauce.
When writing this recipe, I list Bing cherries because that is the variety most people are familiar with. I also tested the recipe with a mix of Bing and Rainier cherries, which produced very good results with two colors. Feel free to substitute other varieties of cherries, too.
Grilled Cherry Sauce
for Ice Cream
From Mitch Mariani
Serves 4
1 cup Bing cherries, quartered and pit removed
1/3 cup brandy
1 tablespoon sugar
1 tablespoon butter, melted
1 pint premium vanilla ice cream
Step 1: In a bowl, combined brandy, sugar and butter. Mix until sugar is completely dissolved. Mix with cherries until they are thoroughly coated.
Step 2: Transfer mixture onto a large piece of heavy-duty aluminum foil. Fold foil into a packet. Do this by bringing two opposite edges together; fold and crimp the edges. Fold and crimp the open ends just like the top. The packet should not leak any of the sauce.
Step 3: Transfer the packet onto a grill of medium heat and close the lid of the grill. Grill for about 10 minutes, then shake the packet to sir the contents a little. Continue grilling for an additional five minutes.
Step 4: Divide the ice cream among four bowls. Open the packet with caution. Divide the cherries among the four bowls. Pour the sauce directly from the foil packet over the ice cream and cherries.
