Name: Grilled French Toast
Total time: 30 min
Ingredients: 2 large eggs; 1½ cups whole milk; 5 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted; 1 teaspoon almond extract or 2 teaspoons vanilla extract; ½ teaspoon ground cinnamon; ½ teaspoon table salt; 8 (¾-inch-thick) slices challah; 4 teaspoons sugar

Why This Recipe Works

Breakfast outdoors spells adventure, no matter where you’re cooking and eating it. This hearty French toast (yes, cook it right on the grill!) will please everybody, and it’s actually a cinch to prepare al fresco. Cut thick slices of rich challah, soak them in a simple egg batter enlivened with almond and cinnamon, and then grill them directly on the bars of the grill grate, which gives them irresistibly crispy stripes of caramelization.

Before You Begin

Serve the French toast with butter, maple syrup, and fresh berries and it’s a sure bet that everybody will be talking about this breakfast for the rest of the day. Creating nonstick conditions for the grill grate is key here. Here’s how to do it.

Instructions

Lightly beat 2 large eggs in shallow dish. Whisk in 1½ cups whole milk, 5 tablespoons melted unsalted butter, 1 teaspoon almond extract, ½ teaspoon cinnamon, and ½ teaspoon salt (butter will clump slightly).

FOR A CHARCOAL GRILL: Open bottom vent completely. Light large chimney starter half filled with charcoal briquettes (3 quarts). When top coals are partially covered with ash, pour evenly over grill. Set cooking grate in place, cover, and open lid vent completely. Heat grill until hot, about 5 minutes.FOR A GAS GRILL: Turn all burners to high; cover; and heat grill until hot, about 15 minutes. Turn all burners to medium.

Clean and oil cooking grate. Place 8 (¾-inch-thick) slices challah on grill and toast until light golden brown, about 1 minute per side. Working with 1 bread slice at a time, soak in egg mixture until saturated but not falling apart, 10 seconds per side. Using firm slotted spatula, pick up bread slice, allowing excess egg mixture to drip off, and transfer to rimmed baking sheet.

Using spatula, transfer soaked bread to grill and cook (covered if using gas) until bread is deep golden brown on first side and releases easily from cooking grate, about 2 minutes. Sprinkle top of each toast with ½ teaspoon sugar, then flip and cook until deep golden brown on second side and sugar begins to caramelize, 1 to 2 minutes. Serve.