If anyone ran analytics on this sort of thing, my guess is they’d find that grilling and fruit are both at their peak about now. Unfortunately, they’d probably also find that the two rarely intersect.
That’s a shame, because grilled fruit is one of the absolute joys of summer. Grilling fruit is also one of the easiest ways to expand your grilling repertoire.
And it’s a nearly effortless crowd-pleaser at a dinner party.
My first encounter was years ago, when a friend threw thick slabs of watermelon quarters on a grate over the coals. I looked askance. He left them over a medium-hot fire for only a couple of minutes, then turned them, like steaks. When he pulled them to a platter, they even looked like steaks, their thick red “meat” lined with grill marks and oozing juice.
In their own way, they were as delicious as steaks. Still crisp. Still sweet. Actually, sweeter, because the fire caramelized them, intensifying their flavor. My skeptical palate was convinced.