As a Lowes Creator, each month I am issued a fun challenge! For June & July, we were instructed to make our outdoor space more appealing, more fun and more memorable. I thought about creating a cabana, putting up outdoor curtains, designing some type of water feature, sprucing up our alleyway, but then I decided that what we REALLY need for our outdoor memories to begin is a grill! Our old grill died two years ago, and we haven’t been able to afford to replace it. What is summer without grilled food? Not very memorable, or fun, or appealing for that matter. Yes that settles it; we needed a new grill!
I told Matt my plan for summer fun and he wholeheartedly agreed. A grill it is…yay! However on the way to Lowes we started discussing what kind of grill we had in mind and learned that we were picturing two completely different grills. I wanted a shiny, stainless steel gas grill and Matt wanted an old-school charcoal grill. Sigh. This is the story of our marriage…”you say either and I say either…”
When we arrived at Lowes, I spotted this beast dual charcoal and gas grill and knew it was a strong contender! I love the taste of charcoal burgers, but I find messing with charcoal and flames cumbersome. I want to be able to easily ignite the grill and do it all myself. I also like to grill fruit and don’t want charcoal taste in everything I’m grilling. Matt loves experimenting with flavored wood-chips and really had his heart set on a charcoal grill.
We looked at all of the grill options and decided that since we didn’t really have to compromise in this situation why should we? Let’s get the grill that seems to be made for us!
Matt fired up the charcoal and started on the burgers while I made a blueberry and peach pie. I told him I wanted to get a picture of him grilling and he did a weird, backhanded dump of the charcoal for the camera. Eek! Always wear protection when dealing with hot coals.
I have to admit that nothing beats the smell of burgers on a charcoal grill!
Perfection indeed!
Next, it was my turn to put on dessert! I have never grilled a pie before so was excited to try.
I mixed two sliced peaches, a small container of blueberries, 2 Tablespoons of sugar, and 2 Tablespoons of flour in a bowl.
Next, I folded a piece of tin foil in half and spread out a (defrosted) Mrs. Smith’s pie crust onto the foil. I patted the crust into an even circle and placed the filling in the center. Then I folded up the edges of the crust and pinched it into place. I brushed the crust with egg white and sprinkled it with sanding sugar before placing it on the grill.
I preheated one side of my grill to about 400* and placed the pie indirectly from the heat source. I closed the lid and fifteen minutes later I had a delicious pie!
The bottom of my pie did get burnt a bit, however it didn’t ruin the taste for us. Next time, I’ll place it on the top rack and grill it longer.
What kind of grill do you prefer? Gas or charcoal? Have you ever grilled a pie before? Any favorite grilling recipes to pass along? Talk to me!
For more creative outdoor summer fun ideas, be sure to sign up for the Lowes Creative Ideas Magazine!
Cori says
Hi Beth. The pie looks awesome. If you have a baking stone for tthe oven, you can use it on the grill too. I’m making grilled calzones for dinner tonight as a matter of fact. Happy grilling!
Daune | Cottage in the Oaks says
Yum…I have to try this!
Kassi @ Truly Lovely says
This sounds delicious! And like such a fun recipe to make!
Kim @ Sand & Sisal says
Yum! This sounds so good! I’ve never seen a duo-grill! That does provide the best of both styles! Great choice!
debbi says
We bought this grill last month from Lowes and we absoutely LOVE It !!! Cant wait to try your blueberry peach pie it looks great ! 🙂
Kim B. says
That IS a great compromise! I LOVE a charcoal grll, but since I live ins SoCal we grill ALL year long so does make more sense to have a gas grill in our backyard. The nice thing is that we do camp & tailgate a lot too so when we camp/tailgate Jeff pulls out the charcoal grill & I’m in heaven 🙂 An easy dish that I grill is salmon. I dress it up with some seasoning, butter & lemon wedges & then wrap it in foil & grill on both sides for about 5 minutes. Jeff’s favorite thing to grill is chedder cheese stuffed burgers. We also do bleu cheese/steak sauce stuffed. The possibilites are endless! LOVED your pie! I never thought about doing a pie on the grill & will be attempting that 🙂 GREAT idea!
Beth says
Oh my yum! Those recipes sound amazing!
Cassandra says
We have the same grill for the same reason!
Beth says
Ha! Glad to know I’m not alone :).
Kristina says
Great post – exactly what I’m looking for! What brand, model/name, and price?
Beth says
Hi Kristina :)! Oops, Details, details, LOL! I can’t believe I forgot to mention what grill we bought after all that. It is called the Char-Griller Duo and it was on sale for $249.
Elena @ `a casarella says
Oh my goodness… that pie looks amazing and needs to be pinned immediately!!
Beth says
Thanks Elena!!
SheilaG says
Ooh, what a great idea- I didn’t know you could get a combo grill. Your pie looks super yummy- I can almost taste it. With ice cream. ~sigh~
Emily says
Ibought this grill for my hubby for his birthday 2 years ago, along with the side attached smoker box and he lies it! The best part is that we can quickly grill something after work on the gas side and spend more time on the weekends with the charcoal side. Enjoy!!
Beth says
We were thinking about getting the smoker box! Good to know you all like it two years down the road!
Sheila @ Sheila's Potpurri says
What a great compromise! I didn’t even know such grills existed! Have never grilled pie but have grilled pizza and it’s delish!
Beth says
I’m excited to try grilled pizza! Hoping I can keep the crust from burning :).