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Testing: The KitchenAid Gourmet Grilling Skillet
Into my cart it went, and once home, it joined my Isle of Misfit Kitchen Toys in the back of a dark cabinet. Above, the crafty Target deities smiled.
Testing: The KitchenAid Gourmet Grilling Skillet
Glanced from Target's "outdoors" aisle of stringable lotus-blossom lanterns, garden-hose charmer boxes and mammoth fire pits, the KitchenAid Gourmet Grilling Skillet seems like just another trifle of HGTV's four-car garage/in-ground pool set. I had to have it.
Wide and deep with a fine mesh bowl and a handle long as a Charleston Chew, the stainless-steel beauty gleamed between sacks of charcoal. I stood there and debated a good 10 minutes, mentally navigating the differences between "need" and "want," twisting their meanings to suit my agenda. Would I use it? Definitely! I told myself. All the time. Just like the espresso pot I bought in Rome and have not used since, the hopelessly complicated OXO mandoline I abandoned after a week and something called "The Perfect Pancake" I purchased off an infomercial when I was half-drunk.
I still had more important things to buy for the new house than this: a desk, for example, or a coffee table. It was extravagant and unnecessary and $25. But into my cart it went, and once home, it joined my Isle of Misfit Kitchen Toys in the back of a dark cabinet. Above, the crafty Target deities smiled.
Last week, the girl and I began grilling, in that ever-so-fleeting period before the soul-crushing humidity galumphs in. Baby bok choy from the garden. Chicken breasts that had been marinating in smoked paprika-spiced yogurt all day. And a gorgeous volleyball-sized head of oyster mushrooms the color of cream soda. The grill-unfriendly 'shrooms were the only other veg we had in the house, and it bugged me to have to turn on the stove to cook them.
But wait! I’d already forgotten about my grill basket. Dumb of me. I yanked it out of the cabinet, broke down the mushrooms and tossed them in some oil and herbs and loaded them in the grilling skillet, which I set on direct heat over the charcoal. Barbecued portobellos, those compulsory vegetarian staples ("It’s just like steak!" No, it's not) aren't uncommon — but oyster mushrooms, with hems as frilly and delicate as a wedding dress? Not so prevalent. Thanks to Kitchen Aid, they came out incredibly: cooked through and lightly charred, with a smoky character that complemented the earthy, elbows-in-the-dirt backdrop.
I’ve used the grilling skillet several times since. For greens. For shrimp. For spring asparagus so skinny they'd slip through the grates to meet their makers. What I tried to convince myself actually turned out to be true: This is a useful piece of equipment. Go get your own, then make those mushrooms with the recipe below.
Go Get This:
-1 lb oyster mushrooms
-2 tbsp. extra-virgin olive oil
-1 tbsp. rice wine (or other white) vinegar
-3 sprigs rosemary
- Pinch red chili flake
- Salt and pepper to taste
Now Do This:
Once your coals are gray and hot, drop two of the rosemary sprigs into the coals. They’ll burn up and scent the smoke you’ll be cooking the mushrooms in.
In a big bowl, whisk the oil and vinegar together until emulsified. Add mushrooms and toss to coat in the vinaigrette. Finely chop the third sprig of rosemary and add it to the mushrooms. Season with salt, pepper and chili and toss to distribute.
Set your grilling skillet in the center of the grates over direct heat. Add the oiled, seasoned mushrooms and saute as you would on a stove, leaving an extra minute between tosses for the mushrooms to really pick up the smoke and char. They’re done in about seven minutes.
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