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Summer is here, which means it is officially grilling season! Grab a great bottle of extra virgin olive oil, your favorite meats and veggies, and fire up the grill. Did you know that high quality extra virgin olive oil is the perfect ingredient for your grilling recipes? From start to finish, extra virgin olive oil can play a role in every part of your grilled meal.

The First Step - Preparing to Grill

Before you put any meat on the grill, consider how you’re going to season it and the role olive oil may play. For dry rubs, adding a touch of extra virgin olive oil can ensure that the dry rub sticks, and as an added bonus it imparts an extra layer of flavor. If you’re planning to marinate your meat or vegetables first, using extra virgin olive oil helps pull fat-soluble flavors out of marinade ingredients like shallots and garlic and helps impart those flavors into the meat or veggies. No matter how you’re planning to prepare your ingredients for the grill, reach for a bottle of our high quality extra virgin olive oil to ensure good depth of flavor.

Grilling with Extra Virgin Olive Oil

A bottle of California Olive Ranch Extra Virgin Olive Oil sitting on the side countertop of an open grill. Once you’ve fired up the grill, brushing your grill with olive oil can prevent sticking. It’s a common misconception that olive oils smoke point is too low to grill with, but high quality extra virgin olive oil has a smoke point of over 410°F. While you don’t want to have oil dripping into the flames, a light brushing will do wonders in keeping your foods from sticking. One great grilling trick is to mist your meats with an extra virgin olive oil spray several times as they are grilling. This creates a glaze on your meat and adds yet another layer of flavor. Another way to infuse your food with flavor as it grills is to tie together a bunch of fresh rosemary or thyme, then use it as a brush to baste your foods with olive oil as they grill. Alternatively, you can tie fresh herbs straight to your brush and infuse their flavor that way.

Completing Your Meal

Olive oil can be a great way to finish off your meats and veggies. Whether you give them a quick brushing before you take them off the grill, or drizzle them with extra virgin olive oil once they hit your plate, it’s hard to go wrong. Now that you have a better understanding of how to grill with olive oil from start to finish, grab a bottle of our Everyday extra virgin olive oil and get to grilling! What are your favorite dishes to grill? Tag us in your photos @CAOliveRanch.

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