Should You Skewer Your Asparagus for Better Grilling?
When I finally shake off the winter doldrums each spring, one of the first things I do is fire up the grill. Truthfully, I’m not opposed to using the grill any time of year—there may even be a photo of me shoveling a pathway on my dad’s deck from the door to the grill and nowhere else—but my commitment to grilling kicks into high gear, when I have access to all the seasonal green veggies: ramps, garlic scapes, and, of course, asparagus.
The only problem with these spring grill-ables is that they all have a not-so-nifty habit of falling right through the grate. Sure you could save your asparagus by cooking them on a grill griddle if you have one, but what if you don’t want to occupy the grate real estate? A grilling basket is another option, but it comes with its own downsides (more on that below). So, I decided to try out a hack that’s been going around TikTok in which multiple stalks of asparagus are skewered through each end to for an asparagus raft. The goal of this trick is to prevent them from falling through the grate as they grill. Spoiler alert: This hack is very annoying to execute.
Why the Raft Is a Technique That Sinks
The skewers do not easily slide through the asparagus, especially the thick asparagus that work best for grilling. Plus, keeping everything lined up while skewering both sides of each stalk is tricky. When I created my rafts, I found it difficult to keep the spears aligned. You also run the risk of poking yourself when trying to wrangle two skewers at the same time. Additionally, when you’re ready to serve your lovely charred asparagus, you’ll have to deal with removing the skewers. Maybe you were using fancy metal skewers and this is easy peasy, but if you were using wooden skewers and they got charred, then this part will be very annoying.
Is it Better to Just Use a Grill Basket?
Possibly, but I had a few issues with the tool. When I put my asparagus inside the basket, everything appeared secure, but as they cooked, they shrunk a bit, and when I moved the grate from the grill, a few stranglers fell right through the holes of the basket and almost plummeted through the grates. It’s not the end of the world, but it kind of defeats the purpose. A basket with smaller holes would solve this problem, but do you really need another grilling contraption? Plus, a basket crowds the asparagus, which can inhibit even browning.
There Must Be a Better Way to Skewer
Why yes, there is a better way, the Japanese way—yakitori-style. Proper yakitori—Japanese-style grilled chicken skewers—requires a specialized setup, not your standard grill, but the skewering technique works perfectly for asparagus. Cut the asparagus into bite-sized pieces and slide them perpendicularly onto pre-soaked skewers, instead of creating one giant raft. Individual skewers take a little longer to assemble but are so much easier to serve. No need to remove the skewers before plating, and you can eat your food right off the skewers.
For my skewers, I cut asparagus, portobello mushrooms, scallions, and pork belly into half-inch pieces. Then I threaded them all onto the soaked skewers (don’t forget to soak to prevent fires!), alternating meat and veggies in a different order on each skewer. I fired up the grill to high and placed the skewers on the oiled grates. Little flare-ups gave the skewers a nice char as the fat rendered from the pork.
Even with the addition of the pork belly, it took less than four minutes on each side for the skewers to cook. The smell was barbecue bliss—smoky and sweet. The asparagus was charred on the outside and tender on the inside, and the pork was tender, mingling well with the sweet scallions and umami-forward mushrooms. Now you could make your own teriyaki sauce or even a more complicated tare, like in this tsukune recipe, but I went with something. A squeeze of Bachan’s Japanese-style miso barbecue sauce after cooking hit just right for me. The bottom line—skip the asparagus raft and grill up some yakitori-style asparagus.
