Grilled Strawberry Bourbon Lemonade
Kick up your summer lemonade with bourbon and robust hardwood smoke in this Grilled Strawberry Bourbon Lemonade.
Ingredients
1 Pint fresh strawberries, washed, stemmed and sliced
1/2 Cup turbinado sugar, divided
16 lemon, halved
1 Cup granulated sugar, plus more as needed
1/2 Cup honey
2 Sprig mint, plus more for garnish
1/2 Cup turbinado sugar
1 Cup bourbon
fresh strawberry slices, for garnish
lemon slices, for garnish
Instructions
When ready to cook, set Traeger temperature to 400 °F and preheat, lid closed for 15 minutes.
Toss the sliced strawberries with 1/2 cup turbinado sugar and place them in a foil-lined ovenproof pan in one even layer. Reserve a few fresh strawberries for garnishing at the end.
Roast strawberries for about 10 minutes, or until they soften and start to release their juices. Remove and allow to cool.
Meanwhile, dip the lemon halves, cut-side down, in the other 1/2 cup turbinado sugar. Mix together any remaining turbinado sugar plus the granulated sugar in an oven-proof dish along with honey, 2 cups of water and sprigs of mint.
Place lemons on the Traeger, cut-side down, and cook until they’re soft and start browning, about 5 to 10 minutes. Also place the sugar, honey and mint on a pan on the grill and let it heat up until the sugar is completely dissolved (about 5 minutes), stirring occasionally.
Remove from grill and allow the lemons and the simple syrup to cool. Grab a pitcher and squeeze in the lemons through a sieve to catch all the seeds and pulp. Place the cooled strawberries in a blender or use an immersion blender and purée until smooth.
Pour the strawberries into the lemonade pitcher. Add in the simple syrup, bourbon and three additional cups of cold water and stir to combine. Taste the lemonade and add more sugar and water as needed.
Add in some ice then pour into glasses. Garnish with lemon slices, strawberry slices and a few mint leaves. Enjoy!
Recipe and photo from Traeger.
