What's on your grill?

[Island]

Tis the season and I could use some new grill recipes.

What are your tasty "go to" grilling recipes that are always a hit or do you have a stand out you'd try again? Anything goes, especially if everyday fool proof or crowd pleasing.

Any favorite marinades, condiments or rubs would be appreciated too!

Thanks!

[Peaces]

We bought some Bison Burgers from http://www.frontiermeats.com this past week and grilled them on our electric grill. We mixed a dry rub of lemon pepper, garlic, oregano and paprika then lightly glazed the top with worchester sauce.

We made sure not to over cook the meat and they turned out tasting incredible.

[Barbara76137]

I tried grilling sugar snap peas tonight for the first time and they turned out great. Tossed them with a combination of fresh grated ginger, toasted sesame oil, evoo, soy and hot chili oil. They were the side for a petite lobster tail I found in the freezer. I threw that on the grill as well.

[jnk]

Just made thick (about 2 inches) boneless pork chops last night. Simply done with just salt and pepper and a couple of small chunks of apple wood. Let them cook until 155 degrees. Tender, slight smoke flavor. Delicious.

[Island]

Yum. Hubby loves pork chops, but thick ones on the grill always turn out tough and disappointing for us. Probably overcooked, but maybe temp too high and/or tough meat to begin with? Not sure what our problem is! Any tips?

[thew]

brine them

[Cheez62]

I will second the brining. Along with that (or even without), try a reverse sear, and yes, beware of the overcooking. In case you hadn't heard, the USDA has issued new guidelines for internal temps for pork. 145 degrees is all you need...no more overcooked dry pork! Cook to that, rest a few minutes before cutting. use an instant-read thermometer until you get a feel for the doneness you desire.

[thew]

what temp would you cook to internally before cranking up the heat to sear? how long would you sear on each side/

[jnk]

I would only cook to an internal temperature of either 145 - 150 because the carryover cooking will take it up to 160-165.

[Cheez62]

So sorry thew, I guess I forgot about this thread.
I cook a lot of things with some sort of reverse sear. I'm afraid I don't know temps, I guess I just do it based on experience. I also seem to time it based upon how nice it is outside and how much I am enjoying my wine, but that probably doesn't help you ;-) That said, I would maybe take it to 130 or so, before searing. I like to build a fire on one side of my Weber kettle, no coals at all on the other. Add a lump or two of your favorite smoke wood (hickory is great for pork) on top of the coals. No soaking, please! Place chops on grill opposite the fire, put the lid on with the vent over the food, away from the fire. Cook to the approximate temperature mentioned above, or to the temp that seems to work for you after a couple of tries. I usually turn them once while on the indirect side, though that may not really be necessary. It does give me a chance to peek to see that things are going as planned. After that, I finish with just a couple of minutes over the high heat. I often leave the lid off then, to get the fire as hot as possible, or put the lid on but leave it "askew" so more air gets in but flare-ups are lessened. I love a nice char on the outside of a chop, but not at the expense of an overdone inside. Try it, and adjust as necessary to make it work for you!

[Island]

I've never brined anything. Can you recommend a simple works for all (or most) method?

[jnk]

I grilled mine to an internal temp of 155. I started the chops off on direct heat to create a crust on each side, and then moved them to indirect for the rest of the cook. I left the probe in the thinest of the 3 chops and used that as my temp. They were all about the same.

[Becca Porter]

I just saw a recipe on ATK that looked crazy good. Thick bone-in rib chops skewered together so that the bones made their own rack, smoked over indirect heat, then glazed with homemade sauce over direct heat. They looked amazing.

[jnk]

I didn't feel like getting the smoker going so I used the gasser to make a smoked bbq turkey meatloaf. Regular ground turkey, fresh breadcrumbs, carmelized onions, ketchup and egg. Put it in a loaf pan and spread bbq sauce on top. Make up a foil packet of woodchips (i used apple)and place over lighted part of the grill. Use indirect heat for this cook, I lit the front two burners and left the back burner off, that's where I placed the loaf pan. Cook to 160 f. Fantastic.

[Barbara76137]

I grill year round, and today I did sweet corn drizzled with evoo and s&p and also flour tortillas since I made soft shrimp tacos with a black bean/corn salad. I love my little grill!!

[c oliver]

We live in snow country and grill year round. Tonight's 'just' lamb chops. But it's not unusual for all or most of the meal to be done on the grill. When we live where it gets hot in the summer, that was the rule.

[Island]

I was craving doctoring up some lamb burgers after a couple of you mentioned them here. Never made them and haven't found any ground lamb after a few stops at some large markets. Do my markets just suck or do you go to speciality markets/ meat shops or grind your own?

[somervilleoldtimer]

I get it all the time at local markets, but I'm in the Boston area where there's always lots of lamb because of all the Irish folks around. You might want to buy some shanks and have them ground by the butcher.

[CapreseStacy]

Last night we did scallop kebabs, with zucchini, shrooms, peppers and onions. I wrapped the scallops in proscuitto and par-cooked the veg a little before skewering them so they'd finish at the same time as the scallops. A little lemon garlic butter for basting. Orzo salad on the side.

[bagofwater]

Wings. I lightly dust them with BBQ rub, and put them on the grill. Cook them over direct heat for a couple minutes per side, in order to crisp the skin a bit. Then fully cook the wings using indirect heat. Finally, hit the wings up with a little more direct heat, if you need to get some better texture on the skin (usually not necessary).

After that, toss them in your favorite sauce, and serve. I like tossing mine with buffalo wing sauce. The slight smoky flavor from the grill really marries well with the buffalo sauce.

[rabaja]

Thank you for posting this. I have all of the above including some nice wings for this weekend and I really didn't want to fry them. Do you add butter and/or honey to your wing sauce at the end?
I just got a free sample of Penzey's BBQ mix this week, so this is perfect. Thanks.

[bagofwater]

Typically, my wing sauce consists of: hot sauce (Frank's, Texas Pete, or similar), butter, honey, garlic, and Worcestershire (just a dash). Maybe with a couple other spices thrown in, depending on my mood.

[rabaja]

Excellent. I may have to pick up more wings, this sounds so great!

[Chocolatechipkt]

Yesterday: grilled corn and cheese cakes
http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/gi...

[thew]

tonight: pulled chicken sandwiches with North carolina style sauce/slaw

[weezieduzzit]

For dinner tonight I'n thinking of taking some anaheim chilis from the garden, charring and removing the skin and seeds and then stuffing them with cheese and maybe sausage, wrapping them in smoked bacon and cooking them on the grill. I'm still thinking through the stuffing....

If I'm successful it'll be a kind of deluxe version of jalapeno poppers.

[c oliver]

http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi...

If you scroll down through this article, you'll find the recipe I've been using for many, many years for stuffed Anaheims. This is for "raw" and baked in the oven but seems like it would be a snap to modify. This is one of my favorite ever dishes.

[weezieduzzit]

Thanks, c oliver. Chorizo and I don't get along but I'm sure I could apply that recipe to turkey sausage and have it still be yummy.

[c oliver]

I've used different types of sausage definitely. And change around the seasonings to suit.

[Chocolatechipkt]

Have you tried chicken chorizo? I've found it's a pretty good substitute (not the same, but good).

[Island]

Weezie sounds great; what did you end up stuffing them with?

[weezieduzzit]

Island, I ended up with turkey sausage, orzo, chicken stock, a couple of huge handfuls of spinach, queso fresco, spices (a little of this a little of that as cooking the stuffing and tasting...) and probably something else I'm forgetting. I wish I had taken a picture because they were really beautiful when done and all plated up with shredded lettuce, tomatoes, salsa and sour cream. They didn't last long enough, though- they were really delicious! There's nothing like fresh out of the garden produce!

Its definately a recipe we'll be playing with all summer. These were just the first 6 chilis from my plants (6 plants.) They aren't even in full swing yet- by midsummer we have more than we know what to do with and char/peel/freeze them for the winter months.

Chocolatechipkt, I haven't tried it. I'm a little leary because I'm not exactly sure what it is about chorizo that doesn't agree with me.

[Island]

Mmmmm sounds great; wish you did take a photo!

[c oliver]

Peaches or the pit fruit of your choice. Either as a side dish or with ice cream for dessert.

[LUV_TO_EAT]

Cedar planked salmon. Grilled veggies.

[Monica]

yes, i should do this.i picked up some grilling planks from costco recently.

[Island]

Always see recipes or restaurant entrees for cedar planked salmon, but I hate salmon. Have you tried it with any other types of fish?

[LUV_TO_EAT]

Cedar planking is really just another method of introducing a smoky element to your food. You can cedar plank other things...perhaps shrimp, scallops, chicken, steak. Use your imagination.

BTW the grates get pretty hot under the plank. Use that heat for quick sear after you're finished planking if you want some color/marks on your food.

[arp29]

Our absolute favorite thing to grill is pizza, but another thing we've been on a kick with lately is grilled stuffed portabella mushrooms. I marinate the caps in a garlicky vinaigrette and then stuff with a mixture of:
- panko
- scallions
-small bit of finely minced garlic
- cheese (cheddar, mozzarella, parm, gouda....etc.)
-melted butter
- a bit of the mushroom marinade for moisture
Cook on the closed grilled until everything gets all melty, crispy and delicious!

[Monica]

Do you grill the pizza right on the fire or do you put it on a pan?

[arp29]

I grill the pizza right on the grate. I stretch it out pretty thin and brush it with olive oil and then flip the oiled side onto the heated grill. I brush the side facing up with oil and close the lid to let it cook for a few minutes. Once the bottom has started to crisp up, I flip the pizza and quickly apply the toppings (should be relatively few since the crust is pretty thin) and close the lid again to let the cheese melt. You should have all of your ingredients prepared and nearby because the process goes quite quickly.

[natewrites]

Just to chime in on arp's pizza. In case you're using charcoal--that's all I use, I don't throw the dough on until the coals are about 2/3rd's spent. Then I throw on the pizza dough that's already tossed to fit my grill. Tip: oil the grill top before you put the dough down. Then flip, do as Arp says, then add toppings and cover. By that time, the coals are just about spent, just enough to let your pizza cheeses melt and flavors meld. The big thing is not too high of a heat (watch it closely), or your pizza will burn.

[Island]

I;ve grilled marinated portabellas, but never tried stuffing them. Mmmm going to give that a try!
2 posts here on grilled pizza. Never tried that either. Do you also use a charcoal grill? Make your own dough? Thanks.

[arp29]

I use a gas grill and sometimes I use homemade dough and sometimes I use dough from a local bakery. Either way works great!

[relizabeth]

We tried making pizza on the grill for the 1st time last sunday! It is sublime and so easy and delicious! I made our dough, roughly based on Joy of Cooking recipe at 2am Sunday while kinda drunk on campari's + soda, and may or may not have substituted buckwheat flour for a certain % of the flour. Worked fine though. We have a tiny bucket bbq, without a lid. So after the first 5 pizzas had only semi melted cheese, I ran upstairs and got the wok lid that helped retain heat.

[Becca Porter]

Yes, I am making CI's awesome recipe for grilled pizzas tonight. Thin crusts, garlic/crushed pepper oil, fontina/parm, seeded/salted fresh tomatoes.... and then basil when it comes off. You can't beat it or at least we haven't.

[nofunlatte]

Blue-cheese stuffed bison-bacon burgers. Cook up some bacon and chop it up, add to bison, season with salt and pepper, form into a patty with a tablespoon of blue cheese in the middle. Also, pesto marinated tuna steaks.

[valerie]

I love this Martha Stewart recipe for grilled lemon oregano chicken. Very flavorful. I generally use boneless, skinless breasts.

http://www.marthastewart.com/332676/grilled-chicken-with-oregano-and-lemon

Also, I often make this yougurt marinated chicken from MMRuth. I make it on the grill, rather than in the oven.

http://chowhound.chow.com/topics/452147

[Val]

I have a lovely pot of oregano out front that isn't being affected by the heat at all, so I'm making the Martha lemon-oregano recipe right now...with thighs! Thanks!

[valerie]

Not sure how it turned out for you, but last night, I went to make that recipe and realized that they had changed it (or put a new recipe in there for chicken with lemon and oregano)!

This is the one that I make over and over again...similar, but slightly different.

http://67.23.14.187/recipe/grilled-ch...

[Val]

It actually was very good! I added finely chopped onion and crushed garlic to the lemon-oregano marinade...I used thighs and we loved the flavors! So thanks again!

[fara]

ground lamb stretched with some whole grain bread, cumin, and za'tar and cilantro. also excellent is slices of eggplant with a little olive oil or roasted peppers cooked until black and peeled.

[agoodbite]

Tonight it will be semi-boneless quail that I'm going to marinate in some lemon and orange juice, olive oil, fresh thyme sprigs, shallots and salt and pepper for a couple of hours. I'm also going to toss some planks of green and yellow zucchini and crookneck squash w/ a little olive oil, salt and pepper. The starch will be a pilaf of basmati rice with shallots, fresh thyme and toasted pecans (cooked stovetop, of course).

[Monica]

I am Korean, so it's either Kalbi or pork ribs marinated in spicy hot pepper paste sauce.
Also, I like to grill marinated squid(in lemon juice, olive oil salt & pepper), shrimps, chicken gizzard(I marinate them with hot pepper paste and they are so chewy and crunchy...so tasty and so cheap, they are almost like eating popcorns, yumm) and I love corn so I almost always grill corns too.

[Island]

Monica do you make your own hot pepper paste or can you recommend a favorite brand? Thanks.

[jhuston]

Hi Island, thought I'd jump in and offer up my Mom's spicy pork rib marinade - very easy and delicious. I'm Korean too and I wouldn't be surprised if each household has different variations on the theme but here's ours:

2 heaping T kochu jang paste (I usually buy Assi brand, comes in a rectangular red plastic tub with a snap-on flip lid and the label reads "Hot Pepper Paste")
½ T sugar (brown sugar)
1 T soy sauce
1 T water
scallions, chopped
Garlic powder (my mom is fond of garlic powder, I usually sub in minced fresh garlic)
A few drops of sesame oil (optional)

The thick and meaty country pork spareribs work best, but I've used butterflied pork tenderloin for a much leaner version and it's still amazing. Sometimes I just dump it in a crockpot with the sauce for a delicious winter variation. Good luck!

[Island]

jhuston thanks for the the red pepper paste info AND the recipe; that sounds great!

[magiesmom]

whatever veggies are around, now the last of the asparagus. sweet potatoes are my favorite grilled thing, along with swordfish or scallops.

[mrsbuffer]

The other night I took some cod, marinated it briefly in olive oil and a little garlic, and grilled it quickly, diced it and made fish tacos with fresh pico di gallo in hard corn tortillas. Yummy!

[xIcewind]

Chinese cumin lamb skewers

(Lamb marinated in paprika, cayenne, cumin, salt, pepper, soy sauce, cooking wine) grilled over charcoal.

[shaebones]

Grilled salmon. This a regular meal in my house all summer. Super easy and delicious. Had it last night.

http://www.epicurious.com/recipes/foo...

[CapreseStacy]

Last night, trout fillets with jalopeños, chives and lemons in foil packets, zucchini halves, re-heated rosemary bread loaves. Tasted like summer.

[sunflwrsdh]

Boneless, skinless chicken breasts, almost daily, because I marinate them in some marinade or other, and grill them ahead of time. Love having them ready to toss in a salad, or with some pasta, and a quick sauce. Also sirloin steak, and less often, burgers. Oh, and the other night, corn, grilled and then a wedge of lime squeezed over it and sprinkled lightly with chili powder.

[shrimp13]

Skirt steak marinated in lime juice, soy sauce, olive oil, garlic and black pepper - 4 minutes a side over very hot coals, rest and slice thinly against the grain. Great with salsa made form grilled veggies and fresh flour tortillas!

[Val]

We love this epicurious one for chicken...Southwestern Lime Chicken with Ancho Chili sauce....(hint: if you make the ancho chili sauce, it is MUCH easier to sub in some canned chipotle peppers instead of going thru the whole dried ancho chili steps...MUCH more flavor with the chipotles, in my opinion):
http://www.epicurious.com/recipes/foo...

[Island]

Val I made this last night with the canned peppers and it was so good! I'm bummed that there weren't any leftovers. Definitely a keeper. Thanks!

[Val]

Great, so glad it worked for you!

[steakman55]

Although usually it is a prime dry aged NY strip or ribeye from Lobel;s for me, I "invented" some lamb patties for my daughter who loves lamb. Take a pound of ground lamb, and in a bowl mix in feta cheese crumbles, chopped sweet onion, and some chopped fresh rosemary along with black pepper. Form into 2-3 oval patties per pound and grill. I use lots of feta and onion. It is delicious.

[somervilleoldtimer]

Add some fresh mint leaves next time!

[natewrites]

I grilled the other night: a veggie burger, mushroom burger and garlic chicken breast. I cook ahead when grilling to not waste charcoal.

Frankly, one of my faves, is BBQ black bean vegetarian pizza on the charcoal grill. LOL. I think I get fatter just daydreaming about it.

[bagofwater]

If you want to save a bunch of charcoal, get yourself a Weber Smokey Joe. When I'm just making a couple burgers, or another small-scale cook, I use mine almost every time. 10-15 briquettes will supply ample heat to cook what I want, and usually I'm able to re-use the coals for another meal.