August 6, 2026
When you say "grill," most people automatically picture pork neck, sausage, chicken, peppers, or zucchini. The tried-and-true classics have their place, but a grill can do much more. It's precisely the ingredients we know from traditional cooking — yet often forget about in modern kitchens — that can surprise us over an open flame.
What about other honest, if perhaps slightly forgotten, flavors? As Gabo Kocák, Executive Chef and ambassador for METRO Slovakia, points out, good food doesn't have to rely on expensive ingredients or complicated techniques. Sometimes it's enough to take the foods previous generations cooked with, prepare them in a new way, and give them their moment on the grill.
Generations of flavor: ingredients returning to the grill
Simple, honest, and once-common ingredients are coming back to the fore. Root vegetables, sauerkraut, onion, rutabaga, but also less traditional cuts of meat, such as chicken hearts or turkey necks. "These aren't ingredients we automatically associate with grilling. But all it takes is looking at them a little differently, and we discover flavors we might never have expected," says Gabo Kocák.
Vegetables that reveal a new character on the grill
One example is kohlrabi. Most people associate it with vegetable soup or a crunchy snack, but on the grill it can surprise you. Just cut it into thicker slices, blanch it briefly, and sear it over high heat. After brushing it with a mixture of butter, white miso, and rice vinegar, it takes on a sweet-savory glaze and a lightly caramelized surface. Rutabaga is similarly interesting. Once a common root vegetable, today it feels almost forgotten. After roasting it softens, sweetens, and can be blended with butter, lime juice, and a little honey. The result is a delicate purée suited to meat, fish, and grilled vegetables alike. Sauerkraut can also take on a new dimension on the grill. We most often know it from traditional dishes, but after searing in a hot pan it caramelizes and develops a crunchy, sweet-and-sour taste. The ordinary onion has great potential too. Roasted whole with its skin on, it stays juicy and sweetens naturally. It can be blended with butter and herbs into a smooth purée for meat or vegetables. Even the dried skins can be put to use — for an aromatic onion powder with a subtly smoky flavor.
Less traditional cuts of meat deserve a second chance
But it's not only vegetables that count among forgotten ingredients. The generations before us knew how to naturally make use of cuts of meat we often overlook today. Many know turkey necks mainly as a base for broth, but with slow cooking or roasting they stay exceptionally juicy. All you have to do is finish them briefly on the grill afterward and brush them with a bold glaze of hoisin sauce, garlic, or smoked plums.
Chicken hearts, in turn, are ideal for quick preparation over glowing coals. In Japan they're among the popular grilled specialties known as yakitori. Just marinate them briefly, thread them onto skewers, and sear over high heat. With a sweet-savory glaze they stay juicy and full of flavor. "Real flavor doesn't need a premium cut. Fire can turn an ordinary ingredient into something exceptional," adds Gabo Kocák.
And grilling doesn't have to end with the main course. Fruit can go on the fire too. Blueberries, apples, and plums take on a sweeter taste and lightly caramelize thanks to the heat and smoke. They pair wonderfully with yogurt, quark, or ice cream.
Traditional flavors in a modern form
New culinary discoveries don't have to come from the other side of the world. They often hide in ingredients we've known our whole lives — we just keep using them the same way. METRO not only offers these ingredients in its range but also provides inspiration on how to use them more creatively and discover their potential in new contexts. In this way, traditional ingredients can find a new place in the modern kitchen and bring fresh ideas to summer grilling, among other things.
