Why We Love Grilling: BBQ ideas for all!
Grilling and smoking go way back. All the way back to our cavemen ancestors! It is no coincidence that our predilection for grilled and smoked foods has remained in our DNAs for generations. Grilling makes everything taste and smell better whether it is meat, veggies, or even fruit!
Let’s face it, who doesn’t salivate at the appetizing smell of smoked brisket, BBQ ribs, and smoked chicken wings? Don’t you automatically choose a BBQ food over any other kind of food? It’s our nature!
Plus, there are the extra perks of grilling: it just rules above any other kind of cooking. There is nothing more pleasurable than a gathering with friends and loved ones, sitting outside, while waiting for these delicious meals to cook at their own pace.
As for us, we just love grilling anything and everything. We want you, too, to love it just as much as we do.
This tutorial will give you some unique BBQ ideas to throw on the grill, ranging from veggies, to meats, to fruits! Just prepare, sit back, grill…and chill!
Unique BBQ Ideas: 4 foods you may have never tried on the grill
These BBQ ideas may not consist on your traditional BBQ items but, hey, give them a try!
A traditional Mexican botana, or appetizer, chiles toreados are essentially roasted jalapeno peppers. Too simple and spicy for BBQ? Not a thick enough BBQ idea? Not so!
Here is why:
• Jalapenos lose a lot of their spicy heat during the cooking process.
• For this recipe, you will need to split the peppers in half prior to roasting them. This means that half the seeds will likely be burnt or gone. You can even remove them!
• Finally, the flames partially char the pepper, changing its flavor altogether. It is not like eating a jalapeno in the raw. Instead, it is a much more pleasurable, buttery-sweet taste and tender texture.
Pro Tips: Charring veggies
Read this recipe from MyRecipe.com and learn all about charring multiple veggies.
To make restaurant-quality chiles toreados coat the peppers with butter, or olive oil, sprinkle pink Himalayan salt, and get them ready for the grill.
Do not be scared if the peppers look slightly burned. That is the whole idea. Look at a typical toreado here.
Cook the peppers until they reach your desired level of crisp, and serve them with guacamole or Mexican queso. Yes! You can use this toasty, mild pepper for dipping instead of corn chips. They are perfect for low calorie and low carb dieters!
The Kraft Kitchen website featured this awesome recipe where you can put together kebabs made of
• Plums (pitted and halved)
• Chunked pineapple
• Apricots in wedges
• Kraft’s Creamy Poppy seed Dressing
• And nonfat Greek-style yogurt, honey flavored.
Set your grill to medium heat, and grill for 6 minutes until brown. The dressing and yogurt serve as the seasoning and coating agents for the fruit. This is a great way to get your daily fruit servings in without even knowing it!
Dip the crispy, sweet fruit in yogurt, or add more dressing. It’s a delicious, savory-sweet treat. What other fruits would you use for a sweet kebab like this one?
Pro Tip:
Coating fruit with olive oil, and even coconut oil, will preserve the inside of the fruit intact, while charring the outside skin. For these kebabs, use fruits with a high water content and rubbery skin. Other options may include citrus fruits, nectarines, mango, and even watermelon!
It is all about how you coat the fruit, and keeping the fire at medium heat.
Brunch on the grill? You bet! The famous “trifecta” peppers are the red, green, and yellow. Orange peppers can also be used for this recipe. These peppers, unlike their spicy-hot cousins, are naturally sweet, juicy, and tender. They are not spicy at all, and they are hollow inside.
It is their hollow shape that makes them perfect for stuffing with virtually anything, from eggs, to ground beef, to bacon. The sky is the limit! What would you stuff them with?
For this BBQ idea from Community Table, the peppers are cut in half, with their stem on. After coating the peppers with olive oil, salt and pepper, you grill them on the cut side until they get charred to your liking.
Then comes the egg part.
• Crack one egg inside each pepper
• Mix with a cheese of choice
• Top with oregano to taste
Pro Tip:
When transporting the peppers back and forth, be sure to always cover the peppers with a lid at all times. You do not want changing temperatures welting the skin of the peppers.
Be as speedy as you can when cracking the eggs.
When you return the peppers to the grill, cook them in indirect heat. Close the lid of the grill until the egg is cooked and the cheese is melted.
Split a whole quail in half, then season each half with adobo, or your favorite seasonings, such as rosemary and thyme. The cool thing about eating quail is not just that it is low in fat and calories, but that it is also delicious and substantial.
They are also super fun to eat, with a mini version of everything you would get from a regular rotisserie chicken: wings, legs, breasts, and thighs; tiny ones, that is.
Pro Tip:
Be sure to coat your already-seasoned meat with olive oil to ensure a nice crisp of the skin. Use medium heat for cooking, and continuously brush the meat. It only takes about 7 to 10 minutes to cook the quail. You can be bold and try to cook the whole quail on a stick, rotisserie style. Either way you choose, you will find it fun and delicious. You may never go back to traditional BBQ chicken again!
Did you like the BBQ ideas featured in this article?
These recipes for veggies, fruits, and quail are perfect for people who love grilling but wish to add a twist to their favorite hobby. You can choose alternative items to grill, and make combinations that can create great, new meals. The secret to make just about anything fit to a grill is knowing how to coat the food ahead of time.
Also, it always helps to understand your grill’s “quirks.” Everyone’s grill is different.
For instance:
• Does it get hot really quick?
• Does the metal tend to stick to the food?
• Does it tend to produce too much smoke?
Keep all these variables in mind when grilling to make the most out of your experience.
Did you enjoy this article? Let us know a little bit about your own, unique grilling favorites. What are your BBQ ideas? Write in the comments section, and let us know. For now, enjoy your grill time and make each grilling time a truly special occasion.
Feature Photo by Vincent Keiman on Unsplash
