Grilled Stuffed Grape Leaves
Filed Under Appetizer, Pork, Recipe, Vegetable | Printer Friendly Page
When I first started to work on this recipe I wanted to include feta cheese but I found out that my wife, Kris could not eat that since she was pregnant … well … she was pregnant a few days ago 
. I changed things up from what I had originally planned and it tuned out nicely after a few runs in the test kitchen.
A few notes and tips:
- Make sure you soak the grape leaves in water for at least 15 minutes otherwise they may be very salty. I kept them in water while i was rolling them. This also makes sure they stay moist.
- Try not to let the grape leaves get to dry before grilling them so they don’t burn and crumble.
- Don’t over cook the rice. I like to cook mine with a little bit of butter as this helps keep the grains separate. Fluff the rice a few times so it cools off nicely. You don’t want a big clump of glutinous rice.
Ingredients:
- 1/4 cup Dried Cherries (unsweetened), chopped
- 1 small red Onion , minced
- 1/4 cup Fresh Parsley, Finley chopped
- 1 cup diced [tag]Tomatoes[tag]
- 1-2 cloves of Garlic, minced
- 3/4 cup grated Parmesan cheese.
- 1 teaspoon Kosher [tag]Salt[tag]
- 1 pound of Ground Pork.
- 3 cups cooked Jasmine Rice, room temp
- Juice of 1 Lemon
- Lemon Zest, from one lemon.
- 30 Brined Grape leaves, rinsed
Mix everything but the pork , grape leaves and half of the salt in a large mixing bowl. Taste the mixture and adjust the seasoning. If you want to go meatless you can skip the next step with the pork. Some kalamata olives would be great instead.
Combine the other half of the salt with the pork separately and mix the pork and the rice stuffing together. This just ensures that everything gets evenly seasoned.
Lay a grape leave flat and place a log of the stuffing on it. To roll it up, fold the back over first and then fold each side over.
Now just roll it up tight.
Place the stuffed grape leaves on the top rack of your grill with the seam side down. Cook them this way at ~400 degrees for 25-30 minutes or until cooked all the way through. There is raw pork in there so make sure it is completely cooked.
Flip them half way through the total cooking time.
You can serve them with a drizzle of good extra virgin olive oil and touch of lemon juice over the top. I have also added some finely diced red pepper and fresh parsley.
Okay, first things first, since your wife is not pregnant anymore, does that mean you are a proud dad?
Andy, I’ve never had grape leaves before, what do they taste like?
Yes I am a proud new dad of 2 now!
I am not really sure how to describe the taste of grape leaves. Since they are brined they have a salty, briny note to them almost like a caper. When they get grilled like this they take on a whole new flavor.
Awesome recipe…and Congratulations!!!
Congratulations on fatherhood 2X!!! I would never have thoughtof grilling the dolmades, nut I am for trying new things now that my BBQ is up and running!!!!
Congrats Andy!!!! My best wishes for you and your family during this special time!
As for the grape leaves - I love them! I would have to say you are the grill master! You grill everything and these grape leaves look great!!
Thanks everyone! If you like grape leaves then you will really like them grilled like this.
Oh, neat! Next time I make my dolmas I’ll have to try grilling them.