ACORN SQUASH- SWEET & SMOKY

The stages of cooking acorn squash on the grill-stuffing with brown sugar-cooking over wood on the gas grill-finished product!

One of the most popular winter squash that can be found pretty much anytime of the year, acorn squash is rich in fiber and potassium.  Time to take this squash favorite and smoke it on the gas grill with cherry wood chunks.  But first, we’ll give it some flavorful stuffing to make this exceptionally sweet.

Clean the Acorn Squash

Most acorn squash weigh between 1-2 pounds.  After cleaning the outside under running water, cut off the pointed end and ensure the bottom is flat so the squash won’t tip while cooking.  Now, scoop out the seeds and membrane until clean, just like you would do with a pumpkin.  The seed-free squash is going to be our ingredient vessel that will make the acorn squash so sweet and full of goodness.

Sweeten Things Up

Once the acorn squash is clean of seeds and membrane, it’s time to stuff it.  The ingredients are simple: brown sugar mixed with cinnamon and butter.  That’s it!
First put approximately ¾ stick of softened butter into the acorn squash center.  Then pack in the brown sugar-cinnamon mix.  And I mean pack it in!  Be sure to press down so the butter and brown sugar mix combine.  Once filled, I sprinkle a bit extra of the sugar mixture on the cut top.  Now place the acorns in a pan that will be heat safe on the gas grill.  Time to prepare the gas grill.

Smoking on the Gas Grill

I’ve turned two burners to “on” of my 4-burner grill.  I add two SmokinLicious® Single Filet Cherry Wood Chunks to one of the heat shields on my grill.   Next, I add the acorn squash to a roasting pan and set it on the grate of the grill that has the burners turned “off”.   This is known as an indirect method of cooking.  The squash will cook until tender all the way through.  Depending on the size of the squash, this will take between 1-1/2 to 3 hours.  Then get ready for the sweet, buttery smooth squash meat!

A Side Dish or Dessert

Even though the butter was placed to the bottom of our squash and the brown sugar mix on top, the lighter weight of the butter will rise to the surface while the brown sugar mix sinks to the base.  These ingredients will mix during cooking to sweeten the squash meat.  Once tenderized, remove and allow to cool before handling.  Then scrap out the squash meat with the cooked butter-brown sugar mix, combine, and enjoy.  This is sweet so you can enjoy it as a side dish or as a dessert – a spoonful on pound cake or puffed pastry is define.