Get Your Grill On

This is my first post on Get Your Grill On! I’m pretty excited about being part of the Well Fed Network, and look forward to posting about stuff I like to do on the grill and the smoker. I like the traditional smoked meats (brisket, chicken, pork shoulder, ribs), but I also love doing a wider variety of things using wood smoke as flavoring. I’ll be sharing some of that in upcoming entries.

Grilling isn’t just for steaks; you can grill sidedishes, appetizers and desserts, too! I love using the grill or smoker for things people don’t expect!

For starters, it’s really tough to be stuffed peppers, known in the barbecue world as ABT’s (I won’t say what that stands for… just use Absolutely Best Tasting). The technique is actually pretty simple: core out the inside of a pepper, traditionally jalapenos, then stuff with good stuff and smoke until the peppers are soft. I like to try different peppers, and have found that Fresno and Hungarian Waxed Peppers are some of my favorite for taste. They also have a less known taste to them, so I can get away with stuffing them using different things.

Fresno peppers, to me, lend themselves to Italian flavors, so I like to stuff them with asiago cheese and sundried tomatoes wrapped in proscuitto and basil. Then I sprinkle the peppers with a bit of olive oil before smoking. For Hungarian Waxed Peppers, I like to do a sweet/spicy thing by stuffing the bottom with seedless blackberry preserves, then topping that with brie cheese. And I also do the more traditiona jalapenos, by stuffing with a mixture of browned chorizo and cream cheese, then topping with a slice of bacon.

There’s more information and pictures about other side dishes after the break…

For a salad that can be an opener or a main course, it’s simple to add grilled meat or veggies to the salad. Here, I took grilled salmon and added to mixed greens, topping it all off with a balsamic vinegar reduction and parmesan reggiano cheese. Great stuff!

For a pure sidedish, however, beyond the typical baked beans and coleslaw, I was given a recipe at an Edisto Beach, SC, restaurant for tomato pie! It sounds kind of odd, but it’s one of those dishes that just comes together to be more than the sum of its parts. The ingredients are simply tomato slices, a bit of sugar, salt and pepper, basil, orgegano, tarragon, cheddar cheese, mayo and saltine crackers. Layered into a pan and put on the grill for 20-30 minutes yields an amazing concoction that you’ll fix over and over again!

Many veggies do great on the grill, though none seem to take to it quite as well as asparagus. Whether alone or wrapped in proscuitto, asparagus that’s spent some time on the grate may become your favorite veggie! Then again, don’t forget to try onions cooked in coals… Quarter a sweet onion and wrap in foil so that there’s a bit of room on top (wrap from the botton, cupping the onion). Then splash a bit of balsamic vinegar on the onion, and put the package right down in the coals of your grill or over a high flame on a gasser for about an hour… My mouth is watering just thinking of it!

For desserts, it’s tough to beat things like smoked brie cheese with fruit. Just put the whole hunk of brie in a dish that can take the heat and smoke it for a while, then dip fresh fruit in the mess! Or cut up some fruit and grill it: apple rings, peach halves or bananas all take to grilling very well. No other fruit, though, transforms as magically as does pineapple! If you’ve not had grilled pineapple, make a promise to youself to get a fresh one, cut it up into large slices, and grill it. The caramelization that takes place is just short of a miracle!

Whatever it is you usually cook on the stove or in the oven, there’s a good chance it’s also great on the grill! (soups are a bit tough, I’ll admit!) We think of steaks and chicken and other meats as grilled, but that same grill can do just about anything you need for your meal, and you’ll love every bite. Think of something you’ve never grilled before, and just get it on the grate!