5 replies to this topic

[The Average Joe]

With grilling season upon us getting into full swing, I was thinking we could share some grill recipes.  I am always looking for something other than the ol standbys.

 

I'll start. If you need a line by line instruction, this probably won't be to your liking as I'm more of a by look and taste kind of cook. It's fun to experiment as well!

 

For grilling, I have two. One is vegetable and one is chicken

 

For veggies, I like to slice up red bell, portobello mushrooms and onions, put them in a gallon freezer bag, and add a bit of olive oil and your favorite balsalmic. Coat  the pieces well. Then use a grill or fish  basket and cook on medium heat  Yummy!  You can of course add other vegetables and salt or garlic,and I have, but for me, simple is tasty enough.

 

For chicken, my favorite changes from time to time, but current favorite is chicken in a citrus cilantro marinade.  It's a very light dish that you can do in so many ways. For the citrus juice, you can use whatever you like.  I have used fresh limes, lemons, tangelos, and cuties for the juice. I like cuties best, but use what you have!  Figure about 1 cutie per piece of chicken. You can use whatever chicken cut you like. I prefer breast, but others like thighs. Add chopped cilantro to the juice. You can add salt, garlic, onion, cumin, oil  and citrus zest if you like. Again, I usually keep it simple with just cilantro, citrus juice, light salt, and pressed garlic. SOmetimes onion as well.  Marinate chicken in this. You can do this for as short as half an hour or as long as 24 hours. Pop them on the grill and cook till done. Pull them off and enjoy!  I did a grill test with lemon pepper breasts, next to marinated soy vey breasts, next to citrus cilantro marinade breasts. The citrus took much longer to cook. That may have been a one off situation, but they do seem to take longer than usual, so don't be surprised if that happens.

 

For pellet grill, I have my go to of pulled pork.  Not much work involved other than the pulling. The seasoning is kind of generic, but I keep it that way so that it can be versatile. I usually do 7-12 pounds at a time, and it goes fast. Some like it with bar-b-que sauce on Hawaiian Rolls. Some like it with green chilis, salsa and pico  on a tortilla. It can do well with either.  Get yourself Either a pork butt or picnic roast. You can do a whole shoulder if you go to a butcher, but most common in grocery is the picnic. I get a half dozen of those and get busy. Take them out 45 minutes before your grill will be ready. Pat dry.  I like to start my rub with a brushing of mustard. It's a bit messy, but adds a nice tang to the bark.  Then I mix up salt, paprika, brown sugar, pepper, ground mustard,and garlic powder. You can add onion powder, cumin, and cayenne if you like. But if you do that, you might as well go full mexican flavor and that would limit your meat for sliders slightly. Although you could slap a green chili on the bun rather than cole slaw and that would probably be pretty tasty as well!

Mix rub ingredients and coat pork. I usually make a pretty big batch of rub and keep the rest for the next time.  Once pellet grill is between 225 and 250 put the meat on.  Use whatever pellet flavor you like. I have tried fruitwood as well as hickory and mesquite. I really can't pick a favorite!  I set grill at 235, put the temperature probe in and go do tend tos like emptying the beer fridge.  I have the grill set to go into keep warm mode when the meat reaches 195 degrees. that takes  about 6-7 hours. You can turn the meat if you like after a couple hours, but pellet grills work more like convection ovens so it isn't a  necessity.

Once the meat is to temperature, pull it off, let it rest for a bit and then pull the pork apart. Slap some bar-b-que sauce on a hawaiian bun with some cole slaw on top and BAM! pulled pork sandwhich. Mmm, mmm good!  Add sides of your choice.

If you are doing a lot of shredding/pulling, you MUST get you some bear claws

Now who's next? I'm getting hungry!

[mrdavex]

Here's my simple recipe for Tri-Tip

 

1.  Buy the best possible grade.  The best one I've gotten in town was at Costco-USDA Prime.  Haven't checked out the tri-tip at Adam's yet.

2.  At least 2 hours before cooking, pat the meat dry with paper towels and trim off excess fat on the outside.

3.  Make a simple rub of coarse sea salt, coarse ground black pepper, and garlic powder.  I use 1/2 tsp each for every 1 lb of the meat.  Rub it on all sides of the meat

4.  Cover and put in the fridge to let the salt soak in for at least 2 hours

5.  Set the BBQ in indirect 2-zone mode.  Place a plan of 1.5" water above the hot zone grates to moisten the air.  Place a large pan with 1/2" water under the cool zone grates to catch the drippings.  Heat the grill to 225 deg F, as measured by a digital thermometer probe placed in the center of the cool zone, 1/2" above the grates

6.  Brush a light coat of olive oil on the meat.  Stick a digital meat thermometer probe into the center of the thicket part of the roast.

7.  Place the roast on the cool zone, making sure it is not touching the grate thermometer probe

8.  Wrap some dry wood chunks in foil, poking a couple holes in the foil.  Place directly on the hot zone coals or burner.  My favorite wood is bradford pear from the trees I cut down in my yard.

9.  Close the lid, maintain the grill temp at 225, and wait until the meat temp reaches 115.  Turn once halfway through,

10.  Remove the water pan above the hot zone grates, crank up the temp, and place the meat on the hot zone grates.  Turn the meat every 90 sec until the meat temp reaches 130.

11.  Take it off the grill, let sit for 2-3 minutes, and then carve it across the grain.

[Steve Heard]

My friend is giving me a pellet smoker. Not sure what I'll be smoking, but I'm gonna give it a whirl. 

 

As for grilling, one of my favorites, and a favorite of my guests, is my Sweet Asian Chicken Thighs. It goes something like this:

 

Boneless, skinless chicken thighs, trimmed of the major chunks of fat

 

Marinade:

 

Marinade ingredient amounts vary depending on your own tastes, and the how much chicken you're making. It's basically sweet sesame soy. Adjust to taste as you make it, but before you drop the chicken in it!  

 

So, let's say:

 

1 cup soy sauce

1 cup of 7 up

1/2 cup brown sugar 

1/4 cup sesame oil 

1 chopped onion, or a chopped bunch of green onion

1 chunk of ginger, maybe 2 inches, sliced

1 or 2 chiles (serrano or jalapeno) sliced

1/2 tsp black pepper

 

Marinate over night either completely submerged, or in a plastic bag

 

Grill it up. 

 

Note that the sugar will caramelize and can eventually burn, so watch your heat. That's why we use the boneless  thighs, they cook quickly.

 

To serve, I usually chop it up rather than serve individual pieces, and garnish with some chopped green onion and some sesame seeds.

 

Guaranteed to wow the crowd

[GrumpyOldGuy]

Simple one:

 

1) Costco Flank Steak

2) Marinate overnight in a large ziplock with 1/2 cup soy sauce, 1 cup water, 1/3 cup brown sugar, 1 TBSP dry mustard powder, 1 TSP ginger powder.

3) Preheat grill to medium/medium high.

4) Grill for 20 minutes, turning every 5 minutes.

5) Remove from grill to a platter, let rest for 5 minutes.

6) Slice thinly and serve.

 

Go withs:

 

Spinach salad with sliced strawberries, chopped walnuts, feta cheese, and raspberry vinaigrette dressing.

Baked sweet potato.  

Topping for potato - 1 cup plain Greek yogurt, 2 TBSP red wine vinegar, chopped chives (fresh if you have them).  Mix well.  Enough for 4 potatoes.  

[Steve Heard]

I made my Asian-style last weekend. Turned out great. 

 

I also wanted to give my wife's favorite recipe, again, using boneless, skinless chicken thighs.

 

A simple rub of olive oil, chopped rosemary, minced garlic, salt and pepper. It is also great for shrimp! 

[The Average Joe]

Y'all are making me hungry!!  Thanks for the tips!