Who dreams of having soft vegetables that taste the same? Nobody.
And yet… there are still many people who cook their food on the BBQ in a papillote. Tut, tut, tut… ☝️😔
Yes, today I decided to stand up for the poor vegetables that get mistreated every year (yes, I surprise myself… 😅 but hey… apparently there are people who eat that 😜). Today, I'm here to tell you the real deal.
Clearly, no one wants to have a slow cooker on their BBQ, so what's the point of steaming vegetables in aluminum foil and taking away all their flavor? 😫
Why avoid papillotes
Already, the basic concept of papillotes, which is to put together lots of vegetables that do not cook together and not at the same time in aluminum foil, because we think that they will cook together, that makes no sense.
Then, not only do papillotes remove all the flavors from the food (because, obviously, if you wrap them with sauce, they'll end up all charred), but they're also not good because you can't even see the cooking. By wrapping your food, you can't see anything and end up with "party mix" ingredients: there will be cold ones, hot ones, burnt ones... And if your aluminum foil cooks too long, it might even melt on your food. Yuck! (Plus, you're not saving the planet by making papillotes, because you're literally wasting aluminum. And if you're a little "wise guy" who says to yourself "Ah ha! I use butcher paper!" Yes, it's better, but the principle of papillotes remains the same and not recommended.)
And... in the end, let's face it, making a papillote is one more step, which is complicated and serves no purpose. So... what's the point of doing that?
What to do instead
The "best of the best" is really to grill/cook your vegetables individually. It's the easy, quick and logical way to work. (In other words, it's the "common sense" method.)
Depending on your vegetables, some are better grilled, and others cooked. Here's what I recommend:
- Vegetables to grill: beans, asparagus, peppers, zucchini…
- Vegetables to cook: pumpkins, tomatoes (technically tomatoes are a fruit, but hey, we'll let that pass for now 😜), potatoes, onions, rutabagas, celeriac, beets, carrots...
In fact, the larger and denser the vegetable, the better it is to let it cook slowly on the BBQ and let it soften. I'll let you judge for yourselves which category your food falls into.
That said, if you still want to make papillotes, it's not the end of the world, but I don't recommend it. One thing is for sure, however, is that if you do, you should not put sauce on your food before wrapping it. Instead, opt for a fat that will burn at a lower temperature, like olive oil or butter. Also, please, place your papillotes in an indirect cooking zone (the vegetables will not be sexier in black! 🙅♂️)!!! For faster cooking and at a higher heat intensity, place them on the top rack, then for slower cooking, at a lower temperature, on the bottom rack. I can, however, forgive you more if you only put one type of vegetable in your paper.
Anyway, that's it. That's what I had to say on the subject (and it feels good to get it off your chest from time to time! 😌).
Happy BBQ! And… if you want to eat vegetables, that’s fine by me, it’s more meat for me, so treat yourself! 😜