I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again.
I. Love. Cheese.
I also happen to love Mexican food, so it’s no surprise I have an affinity for quesadillas. But recently, my friend Devon introduced me to an idea I had never thought of previously: cooking them on the grill!
If you’ve never tried it, I highly recommend it for your next tailgate or barbecue. The key is to wrap them in foil so your toppings don’t tumble to a smoky death in the hot coals. The outside will still get brown and crispy and the inside will be a deliciously gooey utopia of melted cheese.
1/1/13: Most of the Authentic Eats links on the website seem to be broken, so
I’m posting the original recipe here).
Take your tortillas, and place on a plate, covered with a damp towel. Microwave for about 10-15 seconds until pliable. *Lightly* brush with a little oil or cooking spray and place oiled side down on a large piece of aluminum foil. (You just want a tiny dusting of oil to help them brown up.)
Place your cheese and filling (I went with a seasoned cooked shrimp) on one half of tortilla. Of course, you can put whatever you want in your quesadilla, as long as it has some sort of cheese in it. I found this Boar’s Head spicy colby jack cheese and went with that. So yummy…but extremely spicy, as it has jalapenos AND habaneros in it. So only buy that if you like heat!
Fold in half (like an omelette) and wrap each quesadilla individually in a piece of foil. (From here, you can easily transport to the tailgate). When ready to grill, place the foil packets over medium heat and grill about 3 on each side.
Cut into wedges, top with sour cream, cilantro fresh avocado, and serve!
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- 1 large tortilla (burrito size)
- 1-2 teaspoons olive oil
- 1 large sheet aluminum foil
- 1/4 to 1/2 cup freshly shredded pepper jack cheese
- 1/4 to 1/2 cup filling of your choice (veggies, grilled chicken, sauteed shrimp, etc)
- sour cream (I like to mix it with a little taco seasoning)
- 1 avocado, sliced
- cilantro leaves for garnish (optional)
- Place tortillas on a plate, covered with a damp towel. Microwave for about 10-15 seconds until pliable. *Lightly* brush with a little oil or cooking spray and place oiled side down on a large piece of aluminum foil.
- Place your cheese and filling (I went with a seasoned cooked shrimp) one half of tortilla. Fold in half (like an omelette) and wrap each quesadilla individually in a piece of foil. (From here, you can easily transport to the tailgate).
- When ready to grill, place the foil packets over medium heat and grill about 3 on each side. Cut into wedges, top with sour cream, cilantro fresh avocado, and serve!
Martin Gil
January 31, 2012 at 8:11 amYour tip about microwaving the tortillas under a damp towl made all the difference.
I have grilled 'dillas before, and they usually turned out okay, but that extra step really made a difference.
With the right kind of cheese you cannot go wrong.
I filled mine with my aunt's carne asada and some store bought Monterey Jack.
Keep it up!
jaymeesire
February 1, 2012 at 8:12 amMatin- So glad to hear that tip helped make them perfect. The carne asada sounds amazing! I need a good carne asada recipe.
Cloe Phillips
March 1, 2013 at 7:39 amIt is interesting to know that we can do a lot of things with a tailgate bbq grill!
Alisa Stevenson
November 8, 2017 at 10:31 amThanks