grilling suggestions

[JJG]

well I'm headed out to the folks house for the weekend. Unfortunately, they won't be there I know, I sound like a teenager (I'm 30) but it's not like I'm throwing a kegger. I just want to get out of the city, enjoy the pool, some cigars, and make some good food on the grill.

My girlfriend, who works about 5 minutes from where I'll be, is joining me out there so no gratuitous man-food recipes. As much as I'd like to make a bacon-wrapped blue cheese burger, I need to consider the female palate.

My ideas so far were to

-get some shrimp and vegetables and do skewers. I've tried this before but I don't know what I'm doing and the shrimp always get stuck to the grill.

-do burgers (she loves a good hamburger) but unfortunately I don't have good luck with burgers either. I'd love some good burger recipes if you've got'em

-I could do bratwursts or a nice boudin but I cook these all the time.

The only things I don't want to do are ribs or chicken. Chicken on the grill is always too dry for my tastes, and hers. and even though I like ribs, I'm not willing to put in the commitment for something difficult or time consuming.

so fire away guys! but keep in mind, I suck at cooking and this is a gas grill which I also suck at using.

thanks in advance,

-Jeff G.

[Smoking Dragon]

I do scewers a lot on the grill. To keep them from sticking, brush on a light coat of oil before you place the scewers on the grill. No brush? easy, papertowel w/ tongs do just fine.

Sarge

[AD720]

Originally Posted by sergeant smoky

I do scewers a lot on the grill. To keep them from sticking, brush on a light coat of oil before you place the scewers on the grill. No brush? easy, papertowel w/ tongs do just fine.

Sarge

Or step it up with one of these:

http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00004SPZV

That is my kitchen gadget MVP.



If you are having bad luck with burgers my guess is you are maybe trying to cook them too fast, on high heat, pushing on them, moving them around a lot...

Just toss them on there on MED heat and don't touch them until the pink juice is jumping out of the top, then flip them and don't touch them again until the juice is running clear.

I really like a nice flank steak on the grill. It is a really inexpensive cut but you can do a lot with it. Unwrap it, rinse it with some cool water and toss it in a large pyrex dish with just a bit of olive oil.

Marinade:
Worchestershire sauce
chopped garlic
dash of hot sauce
glob of horseradish
salt, pepper


I also cut an onion into rings and toss them on top of the steak. Then cover the pan with a plastic wrap and let it sit in the fridge for a couple hours.

Then get the grill going on MED, use a little olive oil as described by the Srg and toss that steak on there. I also grill the onions at the same time.

[ActionAndy]

Originally Posted by AD720

Or step it up with one of these:

http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00004SPZV

That is my kitchen gadget MVP.



If you are having bad luck with burgers my guess is you are maybe trying to cook them too fast, on high heat, pushing on them, moving them around a lot...

Just toss them on there on MED heat and don't touch them until the pink juice is jumping out of the top, then flip them and don't touch them again until the juice is running clear.

I really like a nice flank steak on the grill. It is a really inexpensive cut but you can do a lot with it. Unwrap it, rinse it with some cool water and toss it in a large pyrex dish with just a bit of olive oil.

Marinade:
Worchestershire sauce
chopped garlic
dash of hot sauce
glob of horseradish
salt, pepper


I also cut an onion into rings and toss them on top of the steak. Then cover the pan with a plastic wrap and let it sit in the fridge for a couple hours.

Then get the grill going on MED, use a little olive oil as described by the Srg and toss that steak on there. I also grill the onions at the same time.

Flank steak is awesome. Slice it nice and thin across the grain.

For skewer's I recommend a very quick marinade. I either make my own or buy bottled, but for chicken and veggies, I almost always go with tequila-lime. I think Lawry's is the one I usually use. just alternate sweet onion, chicken, and a variety of bell pepper.

[kaisersozei]

Originally Posted by JJG

My ideas so far were to

-do burgers (she loves a good hamburger) but unfortunately I don't have good luck with burgers either. I'd love some good burger recipes if you've got'em

You could always cheat and go with Bubba Burgers, if they're sold in your area. Frozen, 100% Angus beef patties, all you have to do is flip them once the juices start to bubble-up. Very easy and .

Originally Posted by JJG

The only things I don't want to do are ribs or chicken. Chicken on the grill is always too dry for my tastes, and hers.

A secret is to marinade the chicken in a brine, like this one:

http://www.epicurious.com/recipes/fo...Sauce-3-232201

Or this one, which is a little easier:

http://www.ichef.com/recipe.cfm/reci...categoryid/200

I add a 1/4 cup of bourbon or Captain Morgan's to the brine, and only let it set for a couple hours. Very tasty.

Good luck!

[AD720]

Originally Posted by kaisersozei

You could always cheat and go with Bubba Burgers, if they're sold in your area. Frozen, 100% Angus beef patties, all you have to do is flip them once the juices start to bubble-up. Very easy and .

is right.

I'm off today and I am counting the minutes until I can light grill and have some lunch! A couple bubbas are going to go down nice.

[JJG]

hmmm I might look for those bubba burgers. I live in Houston and I'm not sure if they're sold here or not. time to consult the internets

[GreekGodX]

The key to grilling any kind of meat on the bbq is to heat up the bbq on high. Then sear the meat (chicken, beef whatever), after a good searing on each side (2 min ea side), cook the meat on low heat. You will avoid any dryness and won't abuse the meat. Avoid lots of flipping. Cook one side thoroughly then flip.

For chicken marinating in plain yogurt and adding spices is my favorite. Leaves the chicken very moist and lots of flavor.

[MadAl]

I make my burgers like meatloaf, an egg and some oatmeal (or breadcrumbs) help bind it. I throw in A-1, some chopped onion, spicy mustard, a little hot sauce. Once you put the patties on the grill leave them for 5 minutes, mess with them too soon and they fall apart.

[kaisersozei]

Originally Posted by MadAl

I make my burgers like meatloaf, an egg and some oatmeal (or breadcrumbs) help bind it. I throw in A-1, some chopped onion, spicy mustard, a little hot sauce. Once you put the patties on the grill leave them for 5 minutes, mess with them too soon and they fall apart.

Watchu need eggs fo'?!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bxIYUMxiraE

[68TriShield]

Bacon wrapped Shrimp is easy on the grill.
Partially cook the Bacon,wrap the Shrimp and grill for a few minutes.

[Shaerza]

Originally Posted by 68TriShield

Bacon wrapped Shrimp is easy on the grill.
Partially cook the Bacon,wrap the Shrimp and grill for a few minutes.

I make this all the time. Big scallops wrapped in bacon are great too.

[JJG]

Originally Posted by Shaerza

I make this all the time. Big scallops wrapped in bacon are great too.

oh hell yeah,

decision made: bacon wrapped shrimp and scallops it is! I know, I know

In the original post I did say I was trying to avoid wrapping stuff in bacon but I doubt I'll hear any complaints from my lady.

I may try and find those bubba burgers too

thanks for all the suggestions guys

[SmokinDuck]

Originally Posted by MadAl

I make my burgers like meatloaf, an egg and some oatmeal (or breadcrumbs) help bind it. I throw in A-1, some chopped onion, spicy mustard, a little hot sauce. Once you put the patties on the grill leave them for 5 minutes, mess with them too soon and they fall apart.

My mother's meatloaf was never really any good. Last month I was over there for dinner and the meatloaf was FANTASTIC. So I just had to comment on all the years of her meatloaf tasting like crap and making her feel better by saying that what I just ate was the best she ever made. Egg yes, oatmeal no...she added a packet of prime rib seasoning to the mix.

Last week I made myself some burgers for the grill, no egg, just the prime rib seasoning.

WOW, nothing more to say.

Although you need to have the proper proportion of meat to seasoning otherwise it will be too much seasoning. I mixed up enough meat to fill a meatloaf pan and squished in the seasoning, made patties out of all of it, grilled a few and froze the rest.

GOOD stuff.

Take your shrimp skewers and use the oil suggestion above to keep them from sticking to the grill..

now, I like the shrimp fine by itself but some of my friends like to have a little teryaki glaze brushed on them. I make my own:

worcestire (not important enough to look up the spelling!)
soy
garlic
pineapple juice
toasted sesame seeds
mix it all together and add some brown sugar...let simmer until it thickens a little..personal preference, but the brown sugar helps to make it more of a glaze than a marinade.

Or, you can pick up a ready-made teryaki glaze. I like to use the Soy Vay brand, a little pricey though!

[AD720]

Originally Posted by jlaker

Take your shrimp skewers and use the oil suggestion above to keep them from sticking to the grill..

now, I like the shrimp fine by itself but some of my friends like to have a little teryaki glaze brushed on them. I make my own:

worcestire (not important enough to look up the spelling!)
soy
garlic
pineapple juice
toasted sesame seeds
mix it all together and add some brown sugar...let simmer until it thickens a little..personal preference, but the brown sugar helps to make it more of a glaze than a marinade.

Or, you can pick up a ready-made teryaki glaze. I like to use the Soy Vay brand, a little pricey though!

That sounds great!

[BeerAdvocate]

I posted my favorite recipes for grilled shrimp and hamburgers in the recipe section.
Check them out!!

The bacon blue cheese burger sounds GREAT right now!!


As for the shrimp, Old Bay Cajun. Just olive oil um then dust um with that stuff. Ummmmm

[BigCat]

For burgers, take your index and middle finger and put an indent in the middle of the paddy before throwing it on the grill. It will prevent it from expanding up too much and allow it to cook more evenly so you don't end up with those burger balls that are charred on the outside and dried out on the inside. I have found my burger grilling skills have improved greatly since I started doing that.

[dunng]

Bubba Burgers in TX - http://www.bubbafoods.com/texas.html

We've stored for them a bit here in the NE, great burgers!