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direct flame or coals, high, turning every 5 min

whole eggplant set straight on the burner grate — prick it first so steam escapes rather than bursting the skin. Keep going past the point it looks ruined: the skin must be uniformly black and papery and the eggplant must sag like a deflated balloon. Smoke flavor is deposited on the flesh through the split skin while the interior steams in its own water, so a half-charred eggplant is a raw eggplant with a burnt jacket.