Here’s a holiday side dish that is a total snap, can be prepped ahead of time, and will leave your guests feeling extra special– baked (or smoked) onions cooked right on the grill.

One of the nice things about using this as a side dish with holiday meals is that everyone gets their own onion. Another is that because they can be prepped early in the day and just thrown on in the last half hour or so of cooking, they are relatively stress-free.

This isn’t a precise recipe– I’m always tweaking things. You can add your own touch to these pretty easily.

To Prepare:

Cut both ends off of a medium onion so it rests flat. Use a melon baller or small knife to make a well a little less than a 1/3 of the way into the core of the onion. Add one beef bouillon cube (I like to use a low or no salt brand, like Herb-Ox), a splash of soy sauce, pinch of black pepper and one pat (approx. 1 Tbsp) of butter.

At this point, you can wrap it in foil and bake it alongside of your bird for about a half hour or so and serve it, or you can put it on the grill unsealed on a square of foil for about a half hour to pick up smoke, then seal up the packet and cook another half hour or so until it is tender. Easy and tasty!