Breakfast on the Grill

During the weekends, the pace becomes a little slower and no one is rushing off early to work on just a small breakfast and a quick cup of coffee. It's the perfect opportunity to cook a good hearty breakfast consisting of bacon (and/or sausage), eggs, potatoes and toast. However, during the summer months, when cooking in the kitchen can mean heating up the entire house for the day, with every burner on the stove operating (one pan for the bacon, one pan for the eggs and yet another to heat up the hash browns or potatoes), it might still be too tempting to opt for that quick easy breakfast of cereal and coffee. So, why not just cook breakfast on the grill, out on the patio?

Don't restrict your grill to just steak, hamburger and hot dog barbeques. They're excellent for cooking breakfast too!

Maybe one reason many don't think to do this, is because it's rather hard to think about slapping bacon on the grates, or worse yet, breaking your eggs over one. The grease from the bacon would drip into your burners, eventually clogging them up.... not to mention the flames that would create. Of course, there is just no way to crack an egg over an open flame. There is such an easy solution to this dilemma. You can either use a cookie sheet or a non-electric griddle (which is what I use). Add about 2 table spoons of olive oil on the griddle. You'll find that your food has less of a tendency to stick to the pan using olive oil rather than the usual cooking oils.

Starting with your bacon, place each strip on the griddle. Then you can either slice or dice some potatoes (adding desired spices) and allow them to cook slowly over the heat, turning them occasionally. When these are done, put them into another pan or wrap in tin foil (one less dish or pan to clean) and set them on the upper rack of your grill to retain their heat while you now cook your eggs. The eggs shouldn't take too long to cook, as your grill and griddle are well heated by now.

Lastly, you can even make toast right on the grill, but be sure to keep an eye on it and turning over periodically as not to burn, then butter as usual. Slice up a tomato and serve, along with a cool glass of orange juice. It's a fun way to eat breakfast during the hot summer mornings. It's almost like camping out and you haven't messed up the kitchen in the least (you've only dirtied one pan in the process). You can even enjoy your breakfast out on the patio or deck. It definitely feels less hectic and is a much more relaxing way to start off your weekend, with a good breakfast to give you energy for those weekend chores or activities.

The neighbors are sure to be a little envious, as the sweet aroma of freshly cooked bacon and eggs wafts through the neighborhood.