How to Grill Creme Brulee

METHOD: Indirect grilling

It may seem odd to include this exquisitely creamy dessert in a book on grilling. But the original crème brûlée was “burnt” (caramelized) with a flame-heated iron, and today chefs use the ultimate live-fire device—a blowtorch—for caramelizing the sugar. The whole notion of a live-fire dessert set me thinking how to make crème brûlée even more fiery. So, to spice up the recipe, I added chipotle chiles to the mix and smoked the custards on the grill, using the indirect method. The process may sound a little involved, if not weird, but the chiles and smoke actually make the custards taste richer and sweeter.