One of my favorite drinks to make in the summertime is fresh squeezed lemonade. And no, I actually don’t even mind squeezing the lemons for the lemon juice. It’s hard to explain but making a pitcher of lemonade means sitting down to enjoy it and somehow that makes the making of it relaxing to me. Plus, lemonade isn’t something you have to make like dinner is. That choice, is a choice to enjoy your self and spoil yourself a little. The second reason I love fresh squeezed lemonade is that it’s a blank canvas to add fruits, infused flavor or even a little grilled flavor.
That’s right, we’re going to make grilled lemonade today. All we really do different from plain lemonade is to grill some lemon halves before squeezing. This will caramelize the edges of the onion and add a little sweetness to the lemon flavor as well as the add a little grill flavor. It’s a simple little twist that surprisingly adds a complexity to the lemonade you wouldn’t expect. I honestly can’t remember where the idea for grilling lemons came from originally, maybe a cooking magazine? Wherever the inspiration came from, I can’t take credit for the idea but the recipe is my spin as whatever my source was is long gone.
Here’s what you need:
That’s right, just sugar and lemons. Well and water of course.
Start by making a simple syrup – for this lemonade, I’m using ¾ c each of water and sugar. All you do is bring it to a simmer until the sugar dissolves and allow it to cool to room temp. Check out pictures on my Strawberry Lemonade recipe if you want to see that process.
Cut a bunch of lemons in half, I had 9 small to medium sized lemons. We’re shooting for about a cup and a quarter of lemon juice when it’s all said and done.
Preheat your grill to medium high heat. I love my charcoal grill, but I used gas for this because you’re only going to grill the lemons for 3-4 minutes until they char – like the picture below. And waiting 20 minutes for coals seems like a lot of work – unless dinner is cooking right after the lemons.
Allow the lemons to cool enough to pick them up and put them in your lemon squeezer. (#CommissionsEarned) They juice super easily when they are warm! If you want to garnish the glasses with any lemon slices, cut thin slices from a couple lemons before you start juicing. Once you have a cup and a quarter, pour it through a strainer to remove the pulp and seeds.
Now combine the lemon juice, simple syrup, and some cold water in a pitcher and stir it up.
Of course like all of my recipes, taste and adjust. If you don’t like really sweet lemonade, hold back some of the simple syrup first. Or if you don’t like it so tangy add a little more water.
Serve over ice.
If that doesn’t taste like summer, I don’t know what does.
Actually I do, add some booze. Check back tomorrow for my next post to see my two favorite cocktails made with this lemonade.
- ¾ c sugar
- ¾ c water
- 9 small to medium lemons (to yield 1 ¼ c juice)
- 4 c cold water
- Bring sugar and water to a simmer in a small saucepan. Cook until sugar is dissolved and cool to room temperature.
- Preheat grill to medium-high heat.
- Slice lemons in half. Grill, cut side down for 3-4 minutes until cut sides are charred.
- When cool enough to handle but still warm, squeeze juice from lemons. You want about a 1 ¼ cups of juice. Strain juice through a mesh strainer or cheese cloth to remove pulp and seeds.
- In a pitcher stir together simple syrup, lemon juice and water.
- Serve over ice.
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