I remember my mom making pineapple baby beets when I was a kid. I never ate them because I was afraid of them. Beets? Ewwwww! I could understand the pineapple. But those weird little red things that stain everything they touch? Why would you ever eat them? Well, the answer I now know is that they are GREAT!
You can use fresh beets if you wish when you make these pineapple baby beets. Just cook them first, and let them cool for a bit before quartering and adding in to the mix. You can also use fresh pineapple. Just chop it fairly small and add it in along with any accumulated juices. Either way, pineapple baby beets are delicious!
You can use fresh pineapple if you desire. Just core it and chop really well. Try to get some of the juice too.
Wow. I love beets, but I really wasn’t expecting these smoked beets with balsamic glaze to be so amazing. The perfect combination of flavors, starting with just a hint of smoke and ending with goat cheese drizzled with a fantastic balsamic glaze. The more I cook, the more I find myself using balsamic vinegar in my dishes, and it certainly was a star in this one.
If you don’t have a smoker you can still make these beets. Just toss them in a 375 F oven and roast them until tender. They won’t have that light smoky flavor, but they will still be great with the glaze and cheese.
In a pinch you can skip using fresh beets when you make these smoked beets with balsamic glaze. Grab canned or jarred, slice and serve with the remaining ingredients. Or just make my non-smoked beet but-still-really-great beet salad.
I recommend that you use a grill basket when smoking these beets. It makes cooking easier and you don’t have to worry about anything falling through the grates. And cleanup is easier too!
Wow. I love beets, but I really wasn’t expecting these smoked beets with balsamic glaze to be so amazing. The perfect combination of flavors, starting with just a hint of smoke and ending with goat cheese drizzled with a fantastic balsamic glaze.
If you would’ve put beets in front of me when I was a kid I would’ve said “Ewwwww” and pushed them away. Now, I find that I really like them, specially when roasted. Or pickled. Or even better, spiralized, roasted, and pickled! The aroma as the beets roast is fantastic. Spiralized roasted pickled beets are amazing.
The shallots and rosemary combine with the beets for something really special. They then go into jars with a brine, but not a normal pickling brine. The addition of red onions and tarragon add so much to the beets. Even beet haters will love them!
Make sure you wear kitchen gloves when handling the beets, and clean your spiralizer (and cutting board) immediately after using them. Roasted spiralized pickled beets can be messy.
I also learned quickly that you want to use beets with a little ‘give’ to them – not too hard. A few that I grabbed were hard to spiralize, and I ended up turning them by hand instead of using the crank. No worries, they still came out fantastic! Lesson learned!
If you would’ve put beets in front of me when I was a kid I would’ve said “Ewwwww” and pushed them away. Now, I find that I really like them, specially when roasted. Or pickled. Or even better, spiralized, roasted, and pickled! The aroma as the beets roast is fantastic. Spiralized roasted pickled beets are amazing.
Course Side
Cuisine American
Keyword beets, roasted
Prep Time 15 minutesminutes
Cook Time 3 daysdays2 hourshours
Total Time 3 daysdays2 hourshours15 minutesminutes
Note: I like to cut a small slit down the sides of the beets. This produces a single half moon spiral.
Spiralize the beets. Tougher beets can be difficult to spiralize. Make sure you put the root side into the spiralizer first and have the stem side towards the crank.
Wash your spiralizer to keep it from staining.
Place beets onto a large piece of foil. Top with the shallots, sprinkle with rosemary, and drizzle with oil.
Seal the foil tightly and place into the oven for 30-40 minutes or until tender but not mushy. Be careful opening the packet as the steam will be hot.
Let cool completely before pickling.
For the picking brine
Bring vinegar, tarragon, salt, sugar and water to a boil in a medium saucepan. Stir until the sugar is dissolved. Remove from heat and let cool completely.
Alternative beets and onions in jars.
Pour in the brine. Add more water if necessary to completely cover the beets.
Seal and store in the refrigerator for at least 3 days before serving.
Now, sure you can roast beets in your oven. Or even on your grill. But if you have a Char-Broil Big Easy, you should use it instead. The Big Easy is one of the best and easiest outdoor cookers you can find. No mess. No fuss. Perfect for everything from chicken to pies to yes, beets. Just brush the beets with a little oil, vinegar and spices and into the cooker. An hour or so later, perfectly roasted beets on the Char-Broil Big Easy.
After the beets cooled I peeled them and sliced them for topping a great side salad. These Roasted Beets on the Char-Broil Big Easy were perfect!
Using beets that are roughly the same size will ensure that they all get done at the same time, a big plus.
To make these beets on the Char-Broil Big Easy I used a bunk bed basket. It lets me double or even triple the amount of cooking space I have.
Note: This recipe was developed using the Char-Broil Big Easy Oil-Less Fryer. If you are cooking using the Char-Broil Smoker-Roaster Grill you should cook with the lid open and the temperature set to High. You might also need to adjust the cooking time.
As simple as this roasted beet salad is, it is packed full of great flavors. The roasted beets have such a wonderful sweetness to them. The balsamic vinegar and oil dressing really quiets all that sweetness. Last, the tang of Feta cheese finishes it all off perfectly. As soon as I took my first bite I grabbed my phone and added this recipe to my Thanksgiving meal to-do list. Of course, you can make this salad any time of the year, but I can definitely see it quickly becoming a holiday favorite.
I keep a spreadsheet on Google docs for any menu ideas that hit me. That way, no matter where I am at, I can make a note about a recipe that might be good to make in the future. Like this roasted beet salad, which I just added to my Thanksgiving menu!
Make sure that you whisk the vinegar and oil mixture well before pouring it over the beets.
As simple as this roasted beet salad is, it is packed full of great flavors. The roasted beets have such a wonderful sweetness to them. The balsamic vinegar and oil dressing really quiets all that sweetness. Last, the tang of Feta cheese finishes it all off perfectly.
