How do I best grill an artichoke?

Question

I have always boiled artichokes. Lately I've heard people talking about how good grilled artichokes are. There's some variation in recipes: some say to boil, some say to steam; some say to cut in half before that and some say after. I don't need a recipe for dipping sauce or anything like that. I'm simply looking for the basic technique on how to grill them. What is the best way to do it? Is there anything else I need to know to make sure they come out well?

Answer 1

I trim the stem and remove the outer leaves till they snap to get to the fresh inner core and steam them the night or morning before grilling so they are cold and moist. I prefer steaming because I want all of the nutrients to remain in the artichoke. I cut them in half for the grill, remove the choke and brush them with grapeseed oil where they come into contact with the grill. First, facing down grill them till they feel hot on top then; flip them over to keep the yummy inner side tender. fill the cavity with garlic butter and... lemon if you wish. I prefer the brown color to the lemon flavor. I cook them till the butter melts. I like mine barely smokey because artichokes take on the smoke too easily and will taste burned. You can't taste the flavor of the artichoke if it gets too smokey.

Answer 2

Here is what I tried from a combination of google results. They turned out great.

Rinse the artichokes.

Remove any leaves from the stem of the artichoke and any that may fall off during cooking.

With kitchen shears, or sharp scissors, remove the thorny tips from the leaves.

Cut about an inch off of the top of the artichoke.

Rub lemon on the exposed areas so that they don’t turn brown.

Cut an inch off of the stem.

Peel the outer skin from the remaining stem.

Cut the artichoke in half from top to bottom.

Rub lemon on cut sides.

With a spoon scrape out the choke from the center.

Boil or steam until tender. About 30 minutes.

Grill artichokes on medium heat cut side down for about 10 minutes.