Grilled Apple Cider

Name: Grilled Apple Cider
Prep time: 5 min
Cook time: 2 min 30 s
Total time: 7 min 30 s
Yield: 10
Ingredients: 6 apples, assorted sweet and tart, quartered; 1 orange, quartered; 2 cinnamon sticks; 1” knob fresh ginger, sliced; 1 tsp cloves; 1 tsp whole allspice; 8-ish cups water; 1/4 Tapped Maple Syrup

Oct 17, 2024 • Tom Jackson

This Grilled Apple Cider recipe is perfect for fall, offering a warm, spiced beverage with smoky depth. Start by grilling quartered sweet and tart apples along with an orange until nicely charred. Then, combine them with cinnamon sticks, fresh ginger, cloves, whole allspice, and water in a pot, simmering for two hours until the apples are soft. After mashing the fruit and simmering for an additional 30 minutes, strain the mixture and stir in maple syrup to taste. This cider can be served warm with a cinnamon stick and orange slice garnish, and for an extra kick, it's delicious spiked with bourbon.

WHAT YOU'LL LOVE

The grill makes all the difference: Charring the apples and oranges at 450°F before simmering develops a caramelized, slightly smoky depth that stovetop cider simply can't replicate — it's the one step that makes this taste like something you'd pay for at a cidery.
Warm spices, scratch-made: Simmering whole spices with charred fruit and water for 2+ hours extracts every bit of flavor into the liquid — no cider concentrate, no shortcuts, just the real thing.
Optional bourbon spike: A splash of bourbon stirred in before serving takes this from a cozy fall drink to a proper cocktail — and the warm fruit and spice flavors pair perfectly with the oak notes.
The whole house smells incredible: Between the charred fruit on the grill and the spiced simmer for two-plus hours, this recipe is as much an experience as it is a drink.

Grilled Apple Cider

Tom Jackson

Rated 5.0 stars by 1 users

Servings

10

Prep Time

5 minutes

Cook Time

2.5 minutes

Calories

119

Get ready to cozy up with a cup of fall in a glass! This Grilled Apple Cider takes your favorite autumn flavors to the next level by grilling apples and oranges to add a smoky twist. With a mix of warm spices, a splash of maple syrup, and the option to spike it with bourbon, this cider is perfect for chilly nights or gathering around the fire with friends—don’t forget the cinnamon stick and orange slice garnish for that extra bit of charm!

Print Recipe

Ingredients

6 apples, assorted sweet and tart, quartered
1 orange, quartered
2 cinnamon sticks
1” knob fresh ginger, sliced
1 tsp cloves
1 tsp whole allspice
8-ish cups water
1/4 Tapped Maple Syrup

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Directions

Preheat your Yoder Smokers YS640s Pellet Grill to 450ºF, set up for direct grilling.
Grill the apples and oranges to char.
Combine all ingredients in a pot and cover with water. Bring to a simmer over high heat, then reduce the heat to medium-low. Cook until apples are soft, about 2 hours.
Mash the apples and oranges. Cook for another half hour.
Strain through a fine mesh strainer into a container, pressing the ingredients as the liquid drains.
Mix the maple syrup into the liquid and adjust the flavor to your taste.
Optional: Served spiked with Bourbon.
Serve warm with a cinnamon stick and orange slice for garnish.

Recipe Note

Recipe FAQ

Why grill the apples and oranges before simmering?
Grilling at 450°F direct caramelizes the natural sugars in the fruit and adds a subtle char that translates into a deeper, more complex cider flavor during the long simmer. Ungrilled fruit produces a clean, bright cider — still good, but missing the smoky-sweet layer that makes this recipe distinctive. A cast iron skillet on the stovetop at high heat is the indoor equivalent if you don't have a grill.

What apple varieties work best?
A mix of sweet and tart apples produces the most balanced cider. Honeycrisp, Fuji, or Gala provide sweetness; Granny Smith or Braeburn add acidity that prevents the finished cider from tasting flat or candy-sweet. Avoid very mealy varieties like Red Delicious — they break down to mush quickly and cloud the final liquid more than necessary.

How do I know when the cider is done?
The apples and oranges should be fully soft and breaking apart when you mash them at the 2-hour mark. After the additional 30-minute cook post-mash, the liquid should be a deep amber color and smell intensely of warm spice and fruit. Taste before straining — if it tastes thin or raw, simmer uncovered for another 15–30 minutes to concentrate it further.

Can I make this ahead and reheat it?
Yes — this cider stores well in the refrigerator for up to a week in a sealed container. Reheat gently on the stovetop over low heat; avoid boiling, which can muddy the spice flavors. The flavor actually deepens overnight, so day-two cider is often better than freshly made.

Can I make this indoors?
5 out of 5 — Perfect for indoor or outdoor cooking. Char the apples and oranges in a cast iron skillet at high heat or under a broiler, then simmer on the stovetop. The results are virtually identical. The pellet grill adds a very faint ambient smoke character that is pleasant but not essential to the recipe.

Recipe Highlights

Char first, simmer second — order matters: The charring step is not decorative. The Maillard reaction on the cut surfaces of the apples and oranges produces new flavor compounds that dissolve into the simmering liquid over the following 2+ hours. Adding raw fruit to the pot and hoping for the same result produces a noticeably flatter cider.
Cover with water, not cider: The recipe starts with plain water over the charred fruit and spices — the cider flavor builds entirely from the fruit itself during the long simmer. Starting with store-bought cider is redundant and can make the finished drink too sweet or too tart depending on the brand.
Mash before the final 30 minutes: Mashing the softened apples and oranges at the 2-hour mark releases the pectin and remaining juices trapped inside the fruit, adding body and intensity to the liquid for the final half-hour cook. Skip this step and you'll leave a significant amount of flavor behind in the fruit pulp.
Strain and press — don't just pour: When straining through a fine mesh strainer, press the solids firmly against the strainer with a spoon or the back of a ladle. The last liquid pressed out is the most concentrated and flavorful — pressing thoroughly versus a quick drain produces noticeably more intense cider.