Grilled Artichokes

This was one of those recipes where I let what the grocery store had in stock determine my meal.  I had settled on a steak for dinner and was looking for something to go with it as a side or an appetizer.  This could be either.  It’s probably better suited for an appetizer, but I ate it like a side.  How you serve it is up to you.  Also what’s up to you is what sort of dipping sauce to serve with it.  I chose some pesto, but I will list some other options at the end of this Grilled Artichokes recipe

Grilled Artichokes Ingredients:

• Artichokes
• Salt
• Black pepper
• Olive oil
• Dipping sauce of your choice

That’s it.  Nothing to this dish, but it’s great.  While the ingredients are basic, the prep of the grilled artichoke takes a little work. I started with two artichokes:

The first step is to snip off the pointy, and tough, ends of the the leaves (keep in mind, these process shots are from a couple different cooks):

Don’t bother with snipping off the tips of the leaves on top:

Because you will lop off the top:

Now they should stand easily:

Grilled artichokes need to be steamed before they can go on the grill or they will be really tough.  I filled my steamer pot with about an inch of water. And added the steamer and the two artichokes:

If you don’t have the steamer piece, just stand them up in an inch of boiling water for 15 minutes.

Some people suggest squeezing half a lemon into the water to help keep the artichokes from browning.  These were going straight on the grill once they were prepped so I wasn’t worried about it.

Once the artichokes have steamed for 15 minutes, place them on a cutting board to cool. Then slice them vertically from the center of the stem:

How to De-Choke Artichokes

Now for the last bit of prep.  It’s time to remove the choke which is here:

A melon baller works wonders here:

And here we have not yet grilled artichokes de-choked. Or is it unchoked?:

Some coarse salt, fresh black pepper and a little olive oil on both sides:

How to Make Grilled Artichokes

Now they are ready for the grill.  Some of you are thinking this is a lot of work, but honestly, it took less than 5 minutes of work to prep these.  And while they steamed I was able to start a fire, open a beer, watch some football, drink some beer, etc.

I have a hot fire here, so time for some grilling.  Looking like more than 500 degrees on the surface of the grill on one side with no heat on the other. Then add the artichokes, leaves side down:

After six minutes I checked the backs of the artichokes, and with some nice browning, I went ahead and flipped them over:

Another 4-5 minutes on the flesh side down and the artichokes were ready to serve.  I highly recommend a dipping sauce:

Grilled Artichokes Summary

The outer pieces are edible, but are only good when they are really hot.  Once they cool a little they get tough and chewy.  I pealed a few off when I flipped them over while I was grilling them as I was starving, but once they were inside for a couple minutes they were really tough.

You don’t have to do a dipping sauce.  You can eat the layers plain.  They taste really good on their own.  But if you want to get creative or offer your guests more than one kind of sauce, here are some other options:

Herb Mayonnaise
1 cup mayonnaise
1 tsp each of chopped parsley and chives
1/4 tsp tarragon

Curry Mayonnaise
1 cup mayonnaise
2 tsp curry powder
2 tsp butter

Sun-Dried Tomato
1/4 cup plain yogurt
1/4 cup sour cream
2 tbsp minced sun-dried tomatoes
1 tbsp minced green onion
1 to 2 tsp chopped fresh basil or oregano
salt and freshly ground pepper to taste

Garlic and Herb Butter
1/2 cup melted butter
1 small shallot – peeled and minced
1 clove garlic – peeled and minced
2 to 3 tbsp chopped fresh herbs
1 tbsp fresh lemon juice

If you have any questions about the grilled artichokes, in particular if you have any recipes for dipping sauces for after the grilling, feel free to comment below or shoot me an email, and I will add your dipping sauce to the post and give you full credit for it…

If you would like to see other sides and appetizers click here.  And if you would like to see other vegetarian dishes click here.

Also, you can follow us on our GrillinFools Facebook page and Instagram.

Print Recipe

Grilled Artichokes

Grilled artichokes dipped in your favorite dipping sauce

Prep Time20 minutes mins

Cook Time10 minutes mins

Total Time30 minutes mins

Course: Appetizer

Cuisine: BBQ

Servings: 4

Ingredients

• 2 artichoke
• salt and black pepper
• olive oil
• your favorite dipping sauce

Instructions

• Lop off the top inch of the artichokes
• Snip off the pointy, and tough, ends of the the leaves
• Fill a steamer pot with about an inch of water and place the steamer in the pot with the artichokes standing on their newly cut off top and put the lid on
• Steam for 15 minutes
• Place the steamed artichokes on a cutting board to cool
• Slice them vertically down the middle into two halves
• Remove the choke with a spoon or mellon baller
• Drizzle with olive oil, salt and black pepper
• Prepare the grill for high heat, direct grilling
• Place the artichokes over the coals leafs side down for 4-5 minutes
• After some nice browning, flip the artichokes over for another 4-5 minutes
• Remove from the grill and plate
• Flip the artichokes over and peal the inner layers out and dip in the sauce or eat plain

Scott Thomas

Scott Thomas, the Original Grillin’ Fool, was sent off to college with a suitcase and a grill where he overcooked, undercooked and burned every piece of meat he could find. After thousands of failures, and quite a few successes, nearly two decades later he started a website to show step by step, picture by picture, foolproof instructions on how to make great things out of doors so that others don’t have to repeat the mistakes he’s made on the grill.

See Full Bio

BBQ Grilling

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This article was initially published on: October 4, 2010