Grilled Green Bean Casserole Is Your New Fall Side Dish
Welcome back to Sunday Sus maintenance! We’re fast approaching roast season and I’m still grilling like it’s July. I’m ready for the roast beef with all the toppings, but it was too hot for the oven for most of the four hours.
Like you, many of my favorite foods and side dishes require oven temperatures above 70 ℉. Thanksgiving or Christmas? Forget it. This oven is for most of 5 hours and I have neither the time nor the place to do anything else. And given the weather conditions, I really don’t want the oven to run longer than necessary. So what’s the solution?
Large surface area? Check. Cooking with indirect heating? Check. The outdoor oven, also known as The Grill, was built to save the day, but what better side dish to eat in season than a green bean casserole?
There is only one GBC recipe for me, and that is Alton Brown’s . Of course, I have a soft spot for the back of the canned version and who doesn’t, but it’s time to step up our collective game.
Best Green Bean Casserole
Recipe courtesy of Elton Brown / Food Network
For the filling :
2 medium onions, thinly sliced
Glasses of all-purpose flour
2 tablespoons panko bread crumbs
1 teaspoon kosher salt
For beans and sauce:
2 tablespoons plus 1 teaspoon kosher salt, divided
1 lb. fresh green beans, washed, chopped and cut in half
2 tablespoons unsalted butter
12 ounce mushrooms, cut into ½ inch chunks
1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
2 cloves of garlic, minced
¼ teaspoon freshly ground nutmeg
2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
1 cup chicken stock
1 cup halved
Now, according to Alton’s original recipe, you cover the baking sheet with non-stick spray and fry the filling for 30 minutes at 475 ℉. This would actually turn my apartment into a piece of hell, so grab a cast iron skillet.
Preheat the grill to the target temperature of 500 ℉ to compensate for the loss of heat when the lid is opened. Lightly grease the skillet with a highly heat-resistant oil, such as light olive oil or safflower oil. Not a puddle, just enough to cover the inside of the pan. I have a 12-inch skillet that will give me a decent amount of onion space and have about ½ tablespoon of oil used to cover it.
Combine onion, flour, panko, and salt in a large bowl and stir to combine. Place them in the skillet and the skillet on the wire shelf. With the lid down, adjust the temperature to 475 degrees for 30 minutes or until crisp, stirring 2-3 times during cooking. I suggest that you quickly remove the pan from the grill to the nearest rack and keep the grill closed rather than leaving the lid open all the time. Heat loss isn’t all bad indoors, but it’s a real threat to outdoor cooking. When they’re done, remove them from the grill and set aside. Wash the pan and lower the grill temperature to about 425 ℉. While the onions are cooking, use your free time to cook the beans and sauce. Bring a gallon of water and 2 tablespoons of salt to a boil, then add the beans and cook for 5 minutes. Pour into a bowl of ice cold water to keep them from cooking anymore – blanching will prevent them from turning into raw bean rolls when all is said and done.
Take the cast iron skillet you bought earlier and melt the butter in it over medium to high heat. Add the mushrooms, the remaining teaspoon of salt and pepper, and stir from time to time until the mushrooms begin to secrete liquid – about 4-5 minutes. Add garlic and nutmeg, cook for another 1-2 minutes. Dust the mixture with flour and stir until a coating is formed, cook for another minute, then add the broth, stirring occasionally, and cook for another minute.
Reduce heat to medium-low and add half. Cook until thickened, about 6-8 minutes.
Since the skillet is now hotter than the Mount Duma fire, carefully remove it from the heat and add ¼ of the onion and all the green beans. Top with leftover onions that you definitely didn’t snack on and place the skillet on the cool side of the grill. Once it turns on, lower the hotplates to keep the temperature around 400 ℉ and “bake” until bubbles form for about 15 minutes. While you can serve it right away, I suggest letting it rest for 5-10 minutes because I appreciate the palate of my mouth.
There are a few things to keep in mind when grilling. First of all, temperature control will be much more difficult than it would be with a thermostat-controlled oven. Gas grill owners will find this method much easier than charcoal users. And while most modern grills come with a thermometer built into the lid, I still recommend having one with an oven / grill clip just in case. My favorite model has a timer, but more importantly, it allows you to set a min / max temperature alarm, which is an incredibly useful feature for long and slow frying.
Plus, many of these casserole-style dishes are traditionally cooked in glass or ceramic dishes – DO NOT use them on the grill unless you hate both the grill and the skillet. Thermal expansion is a real thing, and even indirect heating can be too intense for them. Stick to cast iron or disposable aluminum pans.
Attention is drawn to the disgusting phrase “turn off half of the burners.” Although I own a 2017 Weber, they have yet to come up with a 3 burner model that only allows me to use a portion of one burner. Instead, use as many burners as you need to maintain the set temperature while maintaining indirect heating. However, some 3-burner grills will not offer much space for cooking and indirect cooking. In this case, place a piece of sturdy aluminum foil under the pot to dissipate the heat. Cooking times will vary slightly depending on this method, so be sure to use a thermometer to check the degree of doneness if possible.
Oven grilling is without a doubt a great way to show guests your own culinary skills and versatility. If you’re a fan, stay here – I’m going to take a look at a few more recipes using this method this season.