Planning a Memorial Day cookout? Fire up the grill and give one of these recipes a try.
- By America's Test Kitchen
Well-marbled steak tips, with their beefy flavor and tender texture, proved the best choice for our grilled beef kebabs.
We created a robust marinade using several key elements: Beef broth and tomato paste added rich, umami tones, salt helped brine the meat and keep it moist, a bit of sugar helped with caramelization, and rosemary and lemon zest added bright aromas. (For a spicy North African variation, we used cilantro, paprika, cumin, and cayenne.)
We cut the meat into large pieces and packed it tightly onto the skewers to help keep it moist and tender while grilling and also patted it dry to help prevent steaming. We paired our beef with a trio of firm and flavorful vegetables that came into their own when grilled: peppers, red onions, and zucchini.
If you can't find sirloin steak tips, sometimes labeled "flap meat," substitute 2 pounds of blade steak (if using, cut each steak in half to remove the gristle). You will need six 12-inch metal skewers for this recipe. If you have long, thin pieces of meat, roll or fold them into approximate 2-inch cubes before skewering.
Grilled beef kebabs with lemon and rosemary marinade
Servings: 4-6
Start to finish: 1 hour and 15 minutes, plus 1 hour to marinate
INGREDIENTS:
Marinade:
1 onion, chopped
1/3 cup beef broth
1/3 cup extra-virgin olive oil
3 tablespoons tomato paste
6 garlic cloves, chopped
2 tablespoons chopped fresh rosemary
2 teaspoons grated lemon zest
2 teaspoons salt
1 1/2 teaspoons sugar
3/4 teaspoon pepper
Beef and Vegetables:
1 1/2 pounds sirloin steak tips, trimmed and cut into 2-inch pieces
2 zucchini or yellow summer squash, halved lengthwise and sliced 1 inch thick
2 red or green bell peppers, stemmed, seeded, and cut into 1 1/2-inch pieces
2 red onions, cut into 1-inch pieces, 3 layers thick
DIRECTIONS:
For the marinade process all ingredients in blender until smooth, about 45 seconds, scraping down sides of blender jar as needed. Transfer 3/4 cup marinade to large bowl and set aside.
For the beef and vegetables place remaining marinade and beef in 1-gallon zipper-lock bag and toss to coat. Press out as much air as possible and seal bag. Refrigerate for at least 1 hour or up to 2 hours, flipping bag every 30 minutes.
Add zucchini, bell peppers, and onions to bowl with reserved marinade and toss to coat. Cover and let sit at room temperature for at least 30 minutes.
Remove beef from bag and pat dry with paper towels. Thread beef tightly onto two 12-inch metal skewers. In alternating pattern of zucchini, bell pepper, and onion, thread vegetables onto four 12-inch metal skewers.
- For a charcoal grill: Open bottom vent completely. Light large chimney starter mounded with charcoal briquettes (7 quarts). When top coals are partially covered with ash, pour evenly over center of grill, leaving 2-inch gap between grill wall and charcoal. Set cooking grate in place, cover, and open lid vent completely. Heat grill until hot, about 5 minutes.
- For a gas grill: Turn all burners to high, cover, and heat grill until hot, about 15 minutes. Leave primary burner on high and turn other burner(s) to medium-low.
Clean and oil cooking grate. Place beef skewers on grill (directly over coals if using charcoal or over hotter side of grill if using gas). Place vegetable skewers on grill (near edge of coals but still over coals if using charcoal or on cooler side of grill if using gas). Cook (covered if using gas), turning skewers every 3 to 4 minutes, until beef is well browned and registers 120 F to 125 F (for medium-rare), 12 to 16 minutes. Transfer beef skewers to serving platter, tent loosely with aluminum foil, and let rest while finishing vegetables.
Continue to cook vegetable skewers until tender and lightly charred, about 5 minutes; transfer to platter. Using tongs, slide beef and vegetables off skewers onto platter. Serve.
Nutrition information per serving: 260 calories; 110 calories from fat; 12 g fat (3 g saturated; 0 g trans fats); 67 mg cholesterol; 462 mg sodium; 11 g carbohydrate; 2 g fiber; 6 g sugar; 26 g protein.
For more recipes, cooking tips and ingredient and product reviews, visit https://www.americastestkitchen.com . Find more recipes like Grilled Beef Kebabs with Lemon and Rosemary Marinade in "The Complete Mediterranean Cookbook ."
- By America's Test Kitchen
Sausage and onions are a classic pairing that sounds tailor-made for the grill. But the reality is usually onions that are both crunchy and charred and sausages that either dried out or — even worse — catch fire.
We wanted a foolproof method for grilling sausages and onions simultaneously that would produce nicely browned links with juicy interiors and tender, caramelized onions.
Microwaving the onions — with a little thyme, salt, and pepper — for just 4 minutes jump-started the cooking process and allowed them to finish cooking evenly and thoroughly on the grill.
We adapted a ballpark technique, first cooking the meat with the onions away from direct heat in a disposable pan and then finishing the sausages directly over the flames.
Keeping the onions cooking on their own in the pan for an extra 5 to 10 minutes allowed the liquid to evaporate and the onions to caramelize to a deep golden brown while the sausages finished up brown and crisp on the grill.
Grilled sausages with onions
Servings: 4
Start to finish: 1 hour
INGREDIENTS:
2 large onions, sliced thin
1 teaspoon minced fresh thyme leaves
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon pepper
1 (13 by 9-inch) disposable aluminum roasting pan
2 pounds sweet or hot Italian sausage (8 to 12 links)
DIRECTIONS:
For a charcoal grill: Open bottom vent completely. Light large chimney starter filled with charcoal briquettes (6 quarts). When top coals are partially covered with ash, pour evenly over grill. Set cooking grate in place, cover, and open lid vent completely. Heat grill until hot, about 5 minutes.
For a gas grill: Turn all burners to high, cover, and heat grill until hot, about 15 minutes. Turn all burners to medium-high.
Meanwhile, microwave onions, thyme, salt, and pepper in medium bowl, covered, until onions begin to soften and tips turn slightly translucent, 4 to 6 minutes, stirring once halfway through microwaving (be careful of steam). Transfer onions to disposable pan. Place sausages in single layer over onions and wrap pan tightly with aluminum foil.
Clean and oil cooking grate. Place disposable pan in center of grill, cover grill, and cook for 15 minutes. Move pan to 1 side of grill and carefully remove foil. Transfer sausages directly to grill and cook (covered if using gas) until golden brown on all sides, 5 to 7 minutes.
Transfer sausages to serving platter and tent with foil. Cover grill and continue to cook onions, stirring occasionally, until liquid evaporates and onions begin to brown, 5 to 10 minutes longer. Serve sausages, passing onions separately.
Chef's note: This recipe will work with any raw, uncooked sausage. Serve the sausages as is or in toasted rolls.
Nutrition information per serving: 611 calories; 480 calories from fat; 53 g fat (19 g saturated; 0 g trans fats); 129 mg cholesterol; 1536 mg sodium; 6 g carbohydrate; 1 g fiber; 2 g sugar; 25 g protein.
For more recipes, cooking tips and ingredient and product reviews, visit https://www.americastestkitchen.com . Find more recipes like Grilled Sausages with Onions in "Master of the Grill ."
- By America's Test Kitchen
Spicy, smoky Jamaican jerk is one of the world's great barbecue traditions. Meat (traditionally chicken or pork) is rubbed with an intensely flavored liquidy paste made from fiery Scotch bonnet chiles, allspice berries, herbs, and spices, and then it is smoked over pimento wood.
Our jerk marinade has plenty of bold ingredients, including habanero chiles (in place of the Scotch bonnets), scallions, garlic, lime zest, and mustard for zingy brightness, and brown sugar, nutmeg, and ginger for warm sweetness. It's potent enough to infuse the chicken in just 30 minutes.
We substituted easy-to-find hickory chips for the traditional pimento wood, and we smoked allspice berries, thyme, and rosemary along with the wood chips to give our chicken a great authentic flavor that mimicked pimento's sweet, herbal smoke.
JERK CHICKEN
Servings: 4
Start to finish: 1 hour, 45 minutes
INGREDIENTS:
Jerk marinade
1 1/2 tablespoons coriander seeds
1 tablespoon allspice berries
1 tablespoon black peppercorns
1-3 habanero chiles, stemmed, seeded, and quartered
8 scallions, chopped
6 garlic cloves, peeled
3 tablespoons vegetable oil
2 tablespoons soy sauce
2 tablespoons grated lime zest (3 limes), plus lime wedges for serving
2 tablespoons yellow mustard
1 tablespoon dried thyme
1 tablespoon ground ginger
1 tablespoon packed brown sugar
2 1/4 teaspoons salt
2 teaspoons dried basil
1/2 teaspoon dried rosemary
1/2 teaspoon ground nutmeg
Chicken:
3 pounds bone-in chicken pieces (split breasts cut in half crosswise, drumsticks, and/or thighs), trimmed
2 tablespoons allspice berries
2 tablespoons dried thyme
2 tablespoons dried rosemary
2 tablespoons water
1 cup wood chips (preferably hickory), soaked in water for 15 minutes and drained
DIRECTIONS:
For the jerk marinade: Grind coriander seeds, allspice berries, and peppercorns in spice grinder or mortar and pestle until coarsely ground. Transfer spices to blender jar. Add remaining ingredients and process to smooth paste, 1 to 3 minutes, scraping down sides of blender jar as necessary. Transfer marinade to 1 gallon zipper-lock bag.
For the chicken: Add chicken pieces to bag with marinade and toss to coat; press out air and seal bag. Let sit at room temperature for at least 30 minutes while preparing grill, flipping bag after 15 minutes. (Marinated chicken can be refrigerated for up to 24 hours.)
Combine allspice berries, thyme, rosemary, and water in bowl and set aside for 15 minutes, until moistened. Using large piece of heavy-duty aluminum foil, wrap soaked chips and moistened allspice mixture in 8-by-4 1/2 inch foil packet. (Make sure chips do not poke holes in sides or bottom of packet.) Cut 2 evenly spaced 2 inch slits in top of packet.
For a charcoal grill: Open bottom vent halfway. Arrange 1 quart unlit charcoal briquettes in single layer over half of grill. Light large chimney starter one-third filled with charcoal briquettes (2 quarts). When top coals are partially covered with ash, pour on top of unlit charcoal, keeping coals arranged over half of grill. Place wood chip packet on coals. Set cooking grate in place, cover, and open lid vent halfway. Heat grill until hot and wood chips are smoking, about 5 minutes.
For a gas grill: Remove cooking grate and place wood chip packet directly on primary burner. Set grate in place, turn all burners to high, cover, and heat grill until hot and wood chips are smoking, 15 to 25 minutes. Turn primary burner to medium and turn off other burner(s).
Clean and oil cooking grate. Place chicken skin side up on cooler side of grill, as far away from fire as possible, with thighs closest to heat and breasts farthest away. Cover (positioning lid vent over chicken if using charcoal) and cook for 30 minutes.
Move chicken skin side down to hotter side of grill. Cook until browned and skin renders, 3 to 6 minutes. Using tongs, flip chicken pieces and cook until browned on second side and breasts register 160 F and thighs and drumsticks register 175 F, 5 to 12 minutes.
Transfer chicken to serving platter, tent with foil, and let rest for 5 to 10 minutes. Serve warm or at room temperature with lime wedges.
Nutrition information per serving: 430 calories; 214 calories from fat; 24 g fat (4 g saturated; 0 g trans fats); 160 mg cholesterol; 1723 mg sodium; 12 g carbohydrate; 3 g fiber; 4 g sugar; 42 g protein.
For more recipes, cooking tips and ingredient and product reviews, visit https://www.americastestkitchen.com . Find more recipes like Jerk Chicken in "Vegetables Illustrated ."
- By Robin Anish
When did you last cook a ham? Was it Christmas or Easter?
It was for me. Other than holidays, I don't much think of cooking ham. Baked ham is great for cooler weather, but not so much in the summer. No one wants to use the oven on a hot summer day. That's why we grill outdoors. So then, why not grill a ham?
When cooked over charcoal, a ham takes on another layer of smoky flavor; in other words, a double-smoked ham, which is absolutely delicious.
The Kingsford charcoal website offers this detailed method for charcoal grilling a whole ham.
DOUBLE-SMOKED GRILL ROASTED HAM
Set up your coals in a parallel configuration. In this configuration, coals burn slowly in two rows on either side of the grill, with a water pan in the center to provide a moist environment and help stabilize temperatures. This configuration provides long, steady heat for grill-roasting your ham.
This method works with a fully cooked, whole or half ham, butt or shank. For the juiciest ham, do not use a spiral cut ham. Prepare by scoring the ham about 1/4-inch deep in a crosshatch pattern to allow seasonings to penetrate the meat. Then apply spicy dry rub (recipe below). If the ham has skin, remove it and trim fat to 1/4-inch.
Place the seasoned ham in the center of the grate, right over the water pan with the coals on either side. Put the lid on your grill and adjust your vents to maintain a temperature of about 325 degrees F. Add more coals as necessary. Since hams are already smoked, additional smoke wood is not essential, but you can add some if you like. Let your ham grill-roast for roughly 15 minutes per pound. Because the ham is already fully cooked, you just need to bring it up to temperature.
When the ham reaches about 120 degrees F, it's time for you to apply a sweet glaze, if you like. Try the Pineapple Honey-Lime Glaze recipe below. Brush the glaze on periodically until the ham reaches a final temperature of 135 degrees F.
Let the ham rest for about 10 minutes to cool prior to slicing. Slice the ham across the grain into slices about 1/4-inch thick. If you have a bone-in ham, cut large pieces of the ham away from the bone first, then thinly slice the large pieces on your cutting board.
DRY RUB
INGREDIENTS:
2 tablespoons brown sugar
1 teaspoon paprika, smoked or sweet
1 teaspoon garlic powder
1 teaspoon mustard powder
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon pepper
PINEAPPLE HONEY LIME GLAZE
INGREDIENTS:
1/4 cup pineapple juice
2 tablespoons fresh lime juice
1 cup honey
1/4 cup brown sugar
1/4 cup butter
DIRECTIONS:
Combine ingredients in a small saucepan and bring to simmer, stirring, until slightly thicken and syrupy. Cool.
Smoky and sweet, this ham will be a real treat alongside potato salad, macaroni salad, a fresh garden salad or corn on the cob, all the classic picnic foods we love.
- By Elizabeth Karmel , The Associated Press
Who doesn't want to eat and cook outdoors? And if you're firing up the grill, don't forget dessert.
I am bananas for grilled bananas. Fast and easy, they become instant favorites and remind you of classic desserts. And there are so many variations: You can make grilled banana s'mores, grilled bananas splits, grilled bananas with peanut butter and jelly, grilled banana pudding, etc.,
One of my favorite desserts used to be Bananas Foster — vanilla ice cream topped with rich brown sugar, buttery, boozy warm sautéed bananas and toasted pecans. But I never eat it anymore. When I discovered that I could grill bananas and get nearly the same flavors without a sticky pan to wash — and I could save about a thousand calories as well — I never looked back.
The key to grilling bananas is leaving them in their protective skins. Slice a banana once lengthwise and once crosswise, so each banana is in four pieces. Because I like a bourbon-flavored Bananas Foster as opposed to rum, I sprinkle the cut side of the bananas with a bourbon that has predominant notes of vanilla and caramel.
Next, I make a simple "dessert rub" of white sugar, cinnamon and a pinch of fine-grain sea salt. You can use this sweet rub to good effect on any fruit you are grilling. I toss a dusting of the rub over the cut side of the bananas and let them sit for 5 minutes. This is enough time to allow the natural sugars and the bourbon to absorb and dissolve the rub. Then it's time for the grill.
I generally grill the banana cut-side down for a minute or two to get grill marks, but that is not necessary. What is necessary is to let the banana cook skin-side down until it is slightly cooked all the way through, and the fruit begins to recede from the skin. The skin will be black, but the banana inside will be warm, slightly caramelized, soft and fragrant.
Grilling the banana transforms the fruit from something that can sometimes be starchy and lacking in taste into a tropical flavor bomb. You peel the banana before serving, so it doesn't matter how black the skin gets as long as it still protects the banana.
When I am short on time but want to serve an unexpected crowd-pleaser, this Grilled Banana Sundae with Dulce de Leche and Shredded Halva is my quick and easy version of a grilled banana ice cream sundae.
Once the bananas are grilled, it's time to build the dessert. In this case, a sundae.
I often make homemade dulce de leche by carefully boiling a can of sweetened condensed milk until the sugars in the milk cook and become a candy-like deep-tan caramelized sauce. But these days, you can buy excellent dulce de leche sauce and dulce de leche ice cream at the grocery store.
I unpeel the grilled bananas and serve them warm on top of two scoops of my favorite dulce de leche ice cream. That alone is pretty darn good, but I don't stop there. I drizzle a little more bourbon on top and, if I am feeling indulgent, an extra spoonful of dulce de leche. And then my secret ingredient: A generous layer of shredded halva on top. You can eliminate the extra bourbon and the extra dulce de leche, but do not eliminate the shredded halva.
Halva is a Middle Eastern confection made with tahini (sesame paste) and sugar. It is my new "nut" topping for ice cream; I've put my beloved pecans and walnuts back in the cupboard.
I have eaten halva in chunk form for years, and am partial to the handmade variety from Hebel & Co. It has crispy shards of nutty sugar mixed into the creamy texture of the halva. And that is what led me to the shredded halva. It is all crispy caramelized shards, and for a lover of texture like me, a whole other level of greatness. It is like a more toothsome, nutty, sweet and slightly savory version of cotton candy. The sesame flavor is delicate, and softly compliments the honeyed bananas and dulce de leche ice cream. But the best part is that the crunchy crisp texture makes you want to take another bite and another bite!
GRILLED BANANAS WITH DULCE DE LECHE AND SHREDDED HALVA
Serves 4
INGREDIENTS:
2 bananas (not too ripe)
2 tablespoons bourbon, divided
2 tablespoons granulated white sugar
1 teaspoon cinnamon
Pinch of fine-grain sea salt
1 pint best-quality dulce de leche vanilla ice cream
Dulce de leche sauce, optional
2 tablespoons shredded halva (easy to order online)
DIRECTIONS:
Do not peel bananas. Slice them, in their skin, in half lengthwise and crosswise, so each banana yields four pieces. Set aside.
Sprinkle the cut sides with half the bourbon. Combine sugar cinnamon and salt and mix well. Cover the cut sides of bananas with the rub by carefully spooning it on or by using your hands. Let the bananas sit for 5 minutes.
Place bananas cut-side-down on the center of a clean cooking grate, and place the lid on the grill. Cook for 1 minute or until grill marks appear. Using long-handled tongs, carefully turn over and let cook 4-5 minutes or until the skin pulls away from the flesh of the banana.
Remove bananas from grill and serve immediately on top of the dulce de leche ice cream. Top with a generous amount of shredded halva. Drizzle with extra bourbon and extra dulce de leche sauce, if desired.
Serve immediately.
- By America's Test Kitchen
In Mexico, vendors sell this messy, cheesy, utterly delicious grilled corn from carts. To bring this street food to the home kitchen, we broiled the corn on the cob instead of heading out to the grill, first brushing it with oil to keep it from drying out.
Mayonnaise makes a good substitute for Mexican crema, especially when it's dressed up with cilantro, garlic, lime, and chili powder.
Hard-to-find traditional Cotija cheese is great, but salty, crumbly feta is just as good. To keep it from crumbling right off the corn, we mixed it in with the mayonnaise before slathering the mixture all over the charred corn and broiling it for another few minutes.
MEXICAN STREET CORN
Servings: 6
Start to finish: 35 minutes
INGREDIENTS:
6 ears corn, husks and silk removed, stalks left intact
1 tablespoon olive oil
1/2 cup mayonnaise
1 ounce feta cheese, crumbled (1/4 cup)
2 tablespoons minced fresh cilantro
1 tablespoon lime juice, plus lime wedges for serving
1 garlic clove, minced
1 teaspoon chili powder
Salt and pepper
DIRECTIONS:
Adjust oven rack 5 inches from broiler element and heat broiler. Line rimmed baking sheet with aluminum foil. Brush corn all over with oil and transfer to prepared sheet. Broil corn until well browned on 1 side, about 10 minutes. Flip corn and broil until well browned on opposite side, about 10 minutes longer.
Meanwhile, whisk mayonnaise, feta, cilantro, lime juice, garlic, chili powder, and 1/4 teaspoon salt together in bowl until incorporated.
Remove corn from oven and brush evenly on all sides with mayonnaise mixture. (Reserve any extra mayonnaise mixture for serving.) Return corn to oven and broil, rotating frequently, until coating is lightly browned, about 2 minutes. Season with salt and pepper to taste. Serve corn with lime wedges and any extra reserved mayonnaise mixture.
Nutrition information per serving: 253 calories; 178 calories from fat; 20 g fat (3 g saturated; 0 g trans fats); 13 mg cholesterol; 285 mg sodium; 19 g carbohydrate; 2 g fiber; 5 g sugar; 5 g protein.
- By America's Test Kitchen
A fresh, herb-packed chimichurri sauce complementing rich, smoky grilled steaks is an Argentine favorite. We think it's a perfect meal for summer evenings outside with friends and family.
To translate the Argentine grilling method to our smaller American steaks, we rubbed the boneless strip steaks with salt and used the freezer as a dehydrator to evaporate the surface moisture; this, along with rubbing the steaks with cornstarch, helped them develop a substantial browned exterior on the grill. Covering the grill for the initial cooking jump-started the flavoring process.
GRILLED ARGENTINE STEAKS WITH CHIMICHURRI SAUCE
Servings: 6-8
Start to finish: 1 hour 30 minutes (plus 30 minutes salting time)
DIRECTIONS:
Chimichurri sauce:
1/4 cup hot water
2 teaspoons dried oregano
1 teaspoon salt
1 1/3 cups fresh parsley leaves
2/3 cup fresh cilantro leaves
6 garlic cloves, minced
1/2 teaspoon red pepper flakes
1/4 cup red wine vinegar
1/2 cup extra-virgin olive oil
Steaks:
1 tablespoon cornstarch
Salt and pepper
4 (1 pound) boneless strip steaks, 1 1/2 inches thick, trimmed
4 medium wood chunks, unsoaked
1 (9 inch) disposable aluminum pie plate (if using gas)
DIRECTIONS:
For the chimichurri sauce: Combine water, oregano, and salt in small bowl and let sit until oregano is softened, about 15 minutes. Pulse parsley, cilantro, garlic, and pepper flakes in food processor until coarsely chopped, about 10 pulses. Add water mixture and vinegar and pulse to combine. Transfer mixture to bowl and slowly whisk in oil until combined. Cover and let sit at room temperature for 1 hour. (Chimichurri sauce can be refrigerated for up to 3 days.)
For the steaks: Meanwhile, combine cornstarch and 1 1/2 teaspoons salt in bowl. Pat steaks dry with paper towels and place on wire rack set in rimmed baking sheet. Rub entire surface of steaks with cornstarch mixture and place steaks in freezer, uncovered, until very firm, about 30 minutes.
- For a charcoal grill: Open bottom vent halfway. Light large chimney starter filled with charcoal briquettes (6 quarts). When top coals are partially covered with ash, pour evenly over grill. Using tongs, place wood chunks directly on top of coals, spacing them evenly around perimeter of grill. Set cooking grate in place, cover, and open lid vent halfway. Heat grill until hot and wood chunks are smoking, about 5 minutes.
- For a gas grill: Turn all burners to high, cover, and heat grill until hot, about 15 minutes. Leave all burners on high. Place wood chunks in disposable aluminum pie plate and set on cooking grate. Close lid and heat until wood chunks begin to smoke, about 5 minutes.
Clean and oil cooking grate. Season steaks with pepper. Place steaks on grill, cover, and cook until beginning to brown, 2 to 3 minutes per side.
Flip steaks and cook, uncovered, until well browned on first side, 2 to 4 minutes. Flip steaks and continue to cook until meat registers 115-120 F (for rare) or 120-125 F (for medium-rare), 2 to 6 minutes longer.
Transfer steaks to carving board, tent with aluminum foil, and let rest for 5 to 10 minutes. Slice each steak 1/4 inch thick. Serve, passing chimichurri sauce separately.
Nutrition information per serving: 405 calories; 182 calories from fat; 20 g fat (4 g saturated; 0 g trans fats); 125 mg cholesterol; 423 mg sodium; 3 g carbohydrate; 1 g fiber; 0 g sugar; 53 g protein.
For more recipes, cooking tips and ingredient and product reviews, visit https://www.americastestkitchen.com . Find more recipes like Grilled Steaks with Chimichurri Sauce in "Vegetables Illustrated ."
- By Lindsey Hollenbaugh, The Berkshire Eagle
Not all burgers have to be beef.
All you hamburger purists, hear me out: We've been turning to our grills more as we leave the house less than we would pre-COVID-19. Use this time to get yourself out of whatever hamburger rut you've been in. Put down the frozen patties and try mixing up something delicious with your hands.
Burgers come in all shapes and sizes, in different meats, and yes, some without any meat at all. Ground turkey or chicken is a great, healthy alternative to beef, and most burger recipes can be helped with the addition of vegetables such as chopped leafy greens, mushrooms or grated carrots to help add bulk, flavor and nutrition.
Making your own burger patties is easy. Consider making the patties a few hours before you plan to grill them and let them cool on a covered tray in your fridge so the mixture can really set. This will also make more tender, wet burger mixtures — such as bean burgers, or ground chicken — more likely to hold their shape on the grill. When mixing your burgers, make sure the mixture isn't too wet that it will fall through your grill grates, but also not too dry or you'll have tough burger patties to chew. To keep more of the mixture on your burger and not on your hands as you shape your patties, dip your hands in cold water right before forming.
After you've shaped the patties, don't forget the magic thumb imprint in the middle, which burger experts say helps keep the burger from puffing up in to a round ball and helps keep the shape and patty from shrinking.
TURKEYBALL BURGERS
Recipe courtesy of Geoff Smith, sports editor
Serves: 3 to 5
INGREDIENTS:
1 package of ground turkey
1 cup of spinach
1 cup of crumbled feta cheese
3/4 cup of panko bread crumbs
1 egg
Salt and pepper (to taste)
Provolone cheese slices
1 loaf of French bread
1 avocado
DIRECTIONS:
Take the spinach and chop it down until the pieces are relatively small. Take the turkey meat and place in a bowl. Add egg, bread crumbs, feta cheese, spinach, salt and pepper on top of the turkey, then use your hands to combine ingredients together. Once the mixture is the right consistency for you, form balls with the mixture, and press into patties. A package of turkey should make between 5 to 6 burgers, depending on the size you want.
Preheat grill over medium-high heat. Once the grill has reached temperature, place patties down on grill. Cook on each side for 5 to 6 minutes depending on patty size. Add slice of favorite cheese on top if you want. As patties finish up, cut French bread to size, and place on top rack of grill (off the heat) to toast.
Put the patty on the french bread, then cut the avocado into slices. Place 3 to 4 avocado pieces on top of the patty.
CHICKEN RANCH BURGERS
Recipe courtesy of Lindsey Hollenbaugh, managing editor of features
INGREDIENTS:
1 pound ground chicken
One 1-ounce package dry Ranch dressing mix
1/3 cup cooked and crumbled bacon (can use bacon bits in a pinch)
1 cup shredded cheddar cheese
hamburger buns
DIRECTIONS:
Combine ground chicken, ranch dressing mix, cooked bacon, and cheddar cheese. Form into 3 or 4 burger patties.
Prepare grill. Grill chicken burgers for 4 to 5 minutes per side. Serve on hamburger buns with favorite burger toppings.
CALIFORNIA BLACK BEAN BURGERS
This recipe has been a favorite in my family for quite a while (and one of the only vegetarian recipes I can make that won't get me a "Great! Would be better with beef..." comment.) Yes, it can get a little messy, but I love these lightly spiced patties that I can make more or less spicy with a good salsa. — Meggie Baker, calendar editor
(From Betty Crocker)
INGREDIENTS:
One 15-ounce can black beans with cumin and chili spices, undrained
One 4-ounce can chopped green chilies, undrained
1 cup plain dry bread crumbs
1 egg, beaten
1/4 cup yellow cornmeal
2 tablespoons vegetable oil
5 hamburger buns, toasted
1 tablespoon mayonnaise or salad dressing (optional)
1 1/4 cups shredded lettuce
3 tablespoons thick-and-chunky salsa
DIRECTIONS:
Place beans in food processor or blender. Cover and process until slightly mashed; remove from food processor. Mix beans, chilies, bread crumbs and egg. Shape mixture into 5 patties, each about 1/2 inch thick. Coat each patty with cornmeal.
Heat oil in a skillet over medium heat. Cook patties in oil 10 to 15 minutes, turning once, until crisp and thoroughly cooked on both sides. Add to burger buns and top with mayonnaise, lettuce, patties, salsa.
SALSA BLACK BEAN BURGERS
Courtesy of Becky Drees, features designer
INGREDIENTS:
1/2 cup prepared salsa
Two 15-ounce cans black beans, rinsed
1 cup well-crushed tortilla chips
cup grated white onion
1 large egg, beaten
3 tablespoons mayonnaise
4 teaspoons chili powder
2 teaspoons cumin
3/4 teaspoon salt
3 tablespoons avocado oil or canola oil, divided
DIRECTIONS:
Place salsa in a fine-mesh sieve and stir a few times to drain excess liquid. Mash beans with potato masher until no whole ones remain. Stir in salsa, tortilla chips, grated onion, egg, mayo, chili powder, cumin and salt. Let stand 10 minutes.
Form mixture into 8 burgers about 3 inches wide (1/3 cup each). Heat 1 1/2 tablespoons oil in a large nonstick skillet over medium-high heat. Reduce heat to medium, add 4 burgers and cook until browned and heated through, 3 to 4 minutes on each side. Repeat with remaining burgers. Serve on buns with guacamole, tomato slices, sprouts and red onion.
- By Francesca Olsen, Eagle correspondent
Spatchcocking is a way to flatten a whole chicken so it cooks evenly — you cut out its backbone, then lay it flat on indirect grill heat, flipping the whole thing once. I also brined it for 24 hours, which made it amazingly juicy and less in danger of drying out in the hot grill.
A shrub is a mildly fermented fruit-and-vinegar syrup, an old-time recipe made to preserve fruit flavors for winter. Mine was a combo of cherry juice, balsamic vinegar, sherry vinegar and some black peppercorns; I have also been enjoying it in seltzer.
Even though the sky wept with rain earlier in the day, we had a good, albeit soggy, three-hour window in which to grill, which was enough time. Because I am a big-time prepper, I left Stephanie no work to do — but she brought great hard cider and taught me how to style my food photos better. The beautiful quilt-chicken-glass-plate arrangement is all her.
Brined spatchcock chicken + kitchen sink barbecue glaze
Serves 3-4
INGREDIENTS:
1 3- to 4-pound chicken
3/4 cup salt
Peppercorns and a handful of herbs (I used thyme and rosemary from my garden)
2 tablespoons honey
3 tablespoons spice mix of your choosing (I mixed up cajun seasoning with paprika, turmeric, salt, pepper, coriander and a little cumin)
1/2 cup to 1 cup barbecue sauce (see below for notes; if you're really interested in shrubs, wait for a future column or get thee to Pinterest!)
DIRECTIONS:
The day before, mix salt, herbs, honey and peppercorns into a large pot with about a gallon of warm water, then let cool before fully submerging chicken. Chill in refrigerator 12 TO 24 hours. You will be glad you didn't skip this step.
Once brined, remove chicken from pot, shake off excess brine and place on a large cutting board. Turn bird breast-side down and make two shallow knife lines on either side of backbone, then use your biggest and sharpest knife to remove the backbone (be careful!). Press chicken open and sprinkle all your spice rub on the pink side, leaving skin side clean. Let chicken sit for about 15 minutes.
Create a nice glaze with things in your kitchen. I did some cheap barbecue sauce mixed with mustard, olive oil, a little sherry vinegar, cherry shrub and cracked pepper. Set aside.
Go out to your grill! (As stated in prior columns, I have a gas grill, back off, haters). Create an indirect heat situation for your chicken by turning on the burners to the left and right, leaving your center burner off. Get grill to about 400 degrees, then place chicken skin-side down for about 30 minutes, with grill closed. Try not to turn it, just leave it be.
After 30 minutes, flip chicken over and behold the amazing crispy skin you have created. Now is the time to begin brushing barbecue sauce on there. Every five minutes or so, open the grill and cover the chicken with your sauce, then close the grill again. After another 25 to 30 minutes, you should have a beautifully grilled, evenly cooked, incredibly juicy chicken. Bring inside and let sit for 15 minutes before carving. Enjoy — but let a creative friend get a good shot first.
- By America's Test Kitchen
To make grilled cauliflower with a tender interior and a flavorful, nicely browned exterior, we first microwaved it until it was cooked through and then briefly grilled it to pick up color and flavor.
To ensure that the cauliflower held up on the grill without falling through the grate and to provide sufficient surface area for browning, we cut the head into wedges.
Dunking the cauliflower in a salt and sugar solution before microwaving seasoned it all over, even in the nooks and crannies. Look for cauliflower with densely packed florets that feels heavy for its size.
Using tongs or a thin metal spatula to gently flip the wedges helps keep them intact. This dish stands well on its own, but to dress it up, serve it sprinkled with 1 tablespoon of almond, raisin and caper relish (recipe follows).
Grilled cauliflower
Servings: 4-6
Start to finish: 35 minutes
INGREDIENTS:
1/4 cup salt
2 tablespoons sugar
1 head cauliflower (2 pounds), cut into 6 equal wedges
2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
1 tablespoon minced fresh chives
1 tablespoon topping (recipe follows)
Lemon wedges
DIRECTIONS:
Whisk 2 cups water, salt, and sugar in medium bowl until salt and sugar dissolve. Holding wedges by core, gently dunk in salt-sugar mixture until evenly moistened (do not dry — residual water will help cauliflower steam). Transfer wedges, rounded side down, to large plate and cover with inverted large bowl. Microwave until cauliflower is translucent and tender and paring knife slips easily in and out of thickest stem of florets (not core), 14 to 16 minutes.
Carefully (bowl and cauliflower will be very hot) transfer cauliflower to paper towel-lined plate and pat dry with paper towels. Brush cut sides of wedges with 1 tablespoon oil.
For a charcoal grill: Open bottom vent completely. Light large chimney starter three-quarters filled with charcoal briquettes (4 1/2 quarts). When top coals are partially covered with ash, pour evenly over grill. Set cooking grate in place, cover, and open lid vent completely. Heat grill until hot, about 5 minutes.
For a gas grill: Turn all burners to high, cover, and heat grill until hot, about 15 minutes. Turn all burners to medium-high.
Clean and oil cooking grate. Place cauliflower, cut side down, on grill and cook, covered, until well browned with spots of charring, 3 to 4 minutes. Using tongs or thin metal spatula, flip cauliflower and cook second cut side until well browned with spots of charring, 3 to 4 minutes. Flip again so cauliflower is sitting on rounded edge and cook until browned, 1 to 2 minutes.
Transfer cauliflower to serving platter. Drizzle with remaining 1 tablespoon oil, sprinkle with chives and topping, and serve with lemon wedges.
Almond, raisin, and caper relish
Makes about 1/2 cup
Golden raisins plus briny capers, crunchy almonds, and white wine vinegar make for a sweet, salty, and tangy topping. Champagne vinegar can be used in place of white wine vinegar and regular raisins in place of golden raisins, if desired.
INGREDIENTS:
2 tablespoons golden raisins
1 teaspoon white wine vinegar
1/4 cup sliced almonds, toasted and chopped fine
1 tablespoon capers, rinsed and chopped fine
1 teaspoon minced fresh parsley
Pinch red pepper flakes
3-4 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
Salt and pepper
DIRECTIONS:
Combine raisins and 2 tablespoons hot water in small bowl and let stand for 5 minutes. Drain raisins and chop fine. Toss raisins and vinegar in bowl, then stir in almonds, capers, parsley, and pepper flakes. Stir in 3 tablespoons oil; mixture should be well moistened. If still dry, add remaining 1 tablespoon oil. Season with salt and pepper to taste.
Nutrition information per serving: 233 calories; 145 calories from fat; 16 g fat (2 g saturated; 0 g trans fats); 0 mg cholesterol; 1021 mg sodium; 18 g carbohydrate; 6 g fiber; 10 g sugar; 6 g protein.
For more recipes, cooking tips and ingredient and product reviews, visit https://www.americastestkitchen.com . Find more recipes like Grilled Cauliflower in "Vegetables Illustrated ."
- By America's Test Kitchen
For grilled pork skewers that were moist and flavorful, we turned to boneless country-style ribs, which are quick-cooking and tender, yet have enough fat to keep them from drying out.
The flavorful North African-inspired seasonings of garlic, lemon, coriander, cumin, nutmeg, and cinnamon did double duty, first in a marinade and later in a basting sauce. As a base for the relish, we grilled onions alongside the pork.
We mixed the grilled onions with a zesty combination of olives, capers, balsamic vinegar, and parsley for a bright, potent sauce that perfectly complemented the skewers.
You will need six 12-inch metal skewers for this recipe.
GRILLED SPICED PORK SKEWERS WITH ONION AND CAPER RELISH
Servings: 6
Start to finish: 2 hours
INGREDIENTS:
6 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
5 garlic cloves, minced
1 tablespoon grated lemon zest
1 tablespoon ground coriander
2 teaspoons ground cumin
1/2 teaspoon ground nutmeg
1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
Salt and pepper
1 1/2 pounds boneless country-style pork ribs, trimmed of all visible fat and cut into 1 inch pieces
2 onions, sliced into 1/2 inch-thick rounds
1/2 cup pitted kalamata olives, chopped
1/4 cup capers, rinsed
3 tablespoons balsamic vinegar
2 tablespoons minced fresh parsley
DIRECTIONS:
Whisk 1/4 cup oil, garlic, lemon zest, coriander, cumin, nutmeg, cinnamon, 1/4 teaspoon salt, and 1/2 teaspoon pepper together in medium bowl. Measure out and reserve 2 tablespoons marinade. Combine remaining marinade and pork in 1 gallon zipper-lock bag and toss to coat. Press out as much air as possible and seal bag. Refrigerate for at least 1 hour or up to 2 hours, flipping bag every 30 minutes.
Remove pork from bag and pat dry with paper towels. Thread pork tightly onto four 12 inch metal skewers. Thread onion rounds from side to side onto two 12 inch metal skewers and brush with 1 tablespoon oil.
For a charcoal grill: Open bottom vent completely. Light large chimney starter three-quarters filled with charcoal briquettes (4 1/2 quarts). When top coals are partially covered with ash, pour evenly over grill. Set cooking grate in place, cover, and open lid vent completely. Heat grill until hot, about 5 minutes.
For a gas grill: Turn all burners to high, cover, and heat grill until hot, about 15 minutes. Turn all burners to medium-high.
Clean and oil cooking grate. Place pork and onion skewers on grill and cook (covered if using gas), turning skewers every 2 minutes and basting pork with reserved marinade, until pork is browned and registers 145 F and onions are slightly charred and tender, 10 to 15 minutes. Transfer pork and onions to cutting board as they finish grilling and tent with aluminum foil. Let pork rest while preparing relish.
Coarsely chop onions and combine with remaining 1 tablespoon oil, olives, capers, vinegar, and parsley. Season with pepper to taste. Using tongs, slide pork off skewers onto serving platter. Serve with relish.
Nutrition information per serving: 371 calories; 258 calories from fat; 29 g fat (5 g saturated; 0 g trans fats); 62 mg cholesterol; 726 mg sodium; 8 g carbohydrate; 1 g fiber; 3 g sugar; 21 g protein.
For more recipes, cooking tips and ingredient and product reviews, visit https://www.americastestkitchen.com . Find more recipes like Grilled Spiced Pork Skewers with Onion and Caper Relish in "The Complete Diabetes Cookbook ."
- By America's Test Kitchen
Basil pesto isn't just for pasta. We found a way to imbue chicken with basil and garlic that would hold up on the grill.
How did we get enough flavor into the chicken? We used homemade pesto, which tastes stronger and fresher than store-bought. We added the pesto base to separate mixtures for marinating, stuffing, and saucing the chicken.
We found that bone-in chicken breasts had the most flavor. We cut pockets in them to fill with pesto and then marinated the stuffed breasts in more pesto. We added a third dose of pesto in a sauce to serve with the chicken after it was grilled.
GRILLED PESTO CHICKEN
Servings: 4
Start to finish: 1 hour, 30 minutes
INGREDIENTS:
4 cups fresh basil leaves
3/4 cup extra-virgin olive oil
5 garlic cloves, peeled
1 1/2 tablespoons lemon juice
Salt and pepper
2 ounces Parmesan cheese, grated (1 cup)
4 (12-ounce) bone-in split chicken breasts, trimmed
DIRECTIONS:
Process basil, 1/2 cup oil, garlic, lemon juice, and 3/4 teaspoon salt in food processor until smooth, about 1 minute, scraping down bowl as needed. Transfer 1/4 cup pesto to large bowl and set aside for marinade. Add Parmesan to pesto left in processor and pulse to incorporate, about 3 pulses; transfer 1/4 cup pesto to small bowl and set aside for stuffing. Add remaining 1/4 cup oil to pesto left in processor and pulse to incorporate, about 3 pulses; set aside for serving.
Starting on thick side of breast, closest to breastbone, cut horizontal pocket in each breast, stopping 1/2 inch from edge so halves remain attached. Season chicken, inside and out, with salt and pepper. Place 1 tablespoon pesto reserved for stuffing in each pocket. Tie each chicken breast with 2 pieces kitchen twine to secure. In large bowl, rub chicken with pesto reserved for marinade, cover, and refrigerate for 1 hour.
For a charcoal grill: Open bottom vent completely. Light large chimney starter filled with charcoal briquettes (6 quarts). When top coals are partially covered with ash, pour evenly over half of grill. Set cooking grate in place, cover, and open lid vent completely. Heat grill until hot, about 5 minutes.
For a gas grill: Turn all burners to high, cover, and heat grill until hot, about 15 minutes. Turn all burners to medium-low. (Adjust burners as needed to maintain grill temperature of 350 F.)
Clean and oil cooking grate. Place chicken skin side up on grill (cooler side if using charcoal). Cover and cook until chicken registers 155 F, 25 to 35 minutes.
Slide chicken to hotter side of grill (if using charcoal) or turn all burners to high (if using gas), and flip skin side down. Cover and cook until well browned and chicken registers 160 F, 5 to 10 minutes.
Transfer chicken to platter, tent with aluminum foil, and let rest for 5 to 10 minutes. Remove twine, carve chicken, and serve with remaining sauce.
Nutrition information per serving: 442 calories; 247 calories from fat; 28 g fat (14 g saturated; 1 g trans fats); 279 mg cholesterol; 860 mg sodium; 25 g carbohydrate; 1 g fiber; 7 g sugar; 23 g protein.
For more recipes, cooking tips and ingredient and product reviews, visit https://www.americastestkitchen.com . Find more recipes like Grilled Pesto Chicken in "Master of the Grill."
- By America's Test Kitchen
When it comes to grilled kebabs, vegetables are often an afterthought, typically used as a filler on meat-heavy skewers. But this treatment often leads to mushy, burnt vegetables with no flavor of their own. We wanted to create a recipe that would put the vegetables front and center.
We started by choosing the right vegetables. We wanted a good mix of flavors and textures, but we knew that not all veggies would hold up to the high heat of the grill.
We started with bell peppers, which sweetened beautifully over the flames, and zucchini, which held its shape nicely and had a satisfying texture. Portobello mushroom caps were the perfect addition to the kebabs; as they released their moisture over the flame, they picked up great char and developed a deep, meaty taste.
Tossing grilled vegetables with a bold dressing can amp up their flavor considerably, but for our vegetable kebabs, we took the idea one step further. We tossed the vegetables with half of the dressing before skewering and grilling them, giving them great flavor from the start.
We pumped up the complexity and nuance of the remaining dressing with juice from grilled lemons, and tossed it with the cooked vegetables for a punchy, bright finish. You will need eight 12-inch metal skewers for this recipe.
Grilled vegetable kebabs
Servings: 4
Start to finish: 40 minutes
INGREDIENTS:
1/4 cup extra-virgin olive oil
1 teaspoon Dijon mustard
1 teaspoon minced fresh rosemary
1 garlic clove, minced
Salt and pepper
6 portobello mushroom caps (4 to 5 inches in diameter), quartered
2 zucchinis, halved lengthwise and sliced 3/4 inch thick
2 red bell peppers, stemmed, seeded, and cut into 1 1/2-inch pieces
2 lemons, quartered
DIRECTIONS:
Whisk oil, mustard, rosemary, garlic, 1/2 teaspoon salt, and 1/4 teaspoon pepper together in large bowl. Transfer half of dressing to separate bowl and set aside for serving. Toss mushrooms, zucchini, and bell peppers with remaining dressing, then thread in alternating order onto eight 12-inch metal skewers.
For a charcoal grill: Open bottom vent completely. Light large chimney starter half filled with charcoal briquettes (3 quarts). When top coals are partially covered with ash, pour evenly over grill. Set cooking grate in place, cover, and open lid vent completely. Heat grill until hot, about 5 minutes.
For a gas grill: Turn all burners to high, cover, and heat grill until hot, about 15 minutes. Turn all burners to medium.
Clean and oil cooking grate. Place kebabs and lemons on grill. Cook (covered if using gas), turning as needed, until vegetables are tender and well browned, 16 to 18 minutes. Transfer kebabs and lemons to serving platter. Juice 2 lemon quarters into reserved dressing and whisk to combine. Pour dressing over kebabs and serve with remaining lemons.
Nutrition information per serving: 152 calories; 73 calories from fat; 8 g fat (1 g saturated; 0 g trans fats); 0 mg cholesterol; 332 mg sodium; 17 g carbohydrate; 5 g fiber; 10 g sugar; 6 g protein.
For more recipes, cooking tips and ingredient and product reviews, visit https://www.americastestkitchen.com . Find more recipes like Grilled Vegetable Kebabs in "The Complete Make-Ahead Cookbook ."
- By America's Test Kitchen
Grilled potatoes are a summer classic. We wanted to put a new spin on this dish by adding rosemary and garlic.
Unfortunately, we found it was difficult to add enough flavor to plain grilled potatoes. Coating the potatoes with oil, garlic, and rosemary produced burnt, bitter garlic and charred rosemary.
It turned out that we needed to introduce the potatoes to the garlic-oil mixture not once, but three times. Before cooking, we pierced the potatoes, skewered them, seasoned them with salt, brushed on the garlic-rosemary oil, and precooked them in the microwave.
Then, before grilling, we brushed them again with the infused oil. After grilling, we tossed them with the oil yet again. We finally had it_tender grilled potatoes infused with the smoky flavor of the grill and enlivened with the bold flavors of garlic and rosemary.
This recipe allows you to grill an entree while the hot coals burn down. Once that item is done, start grilling the potatoes. This recipe works best with small potatoes that are about 1 1/2 inches in diameter. If using medium potatoes, 2 to 3 inches in diameter, cut them into quarters. If the potatoes are larger than 3 inches in diameter, cut each potato into eighths. Since the potatoes are first cooked in the microwave, use wooden skewers.
Grilled potatoes with garlic and rosemary
Servings: 4
Start to finish: 1 hour
INGREDIENTS:
1/4 cup olive oil
9 garlic cloves, minced
1 teaspoon chopped fresh rosemary
Salt and pepper
2 pounds small red potatoes, unpeeled, halved, and threaded onto wooden skewers
2 tablespoons chopped fresh chives
DIRECTIONS:
Heat oil, garlic, rosemary, and 1/2 teaspoon salt in 8-inch skillet over medium heat until sizzling, about 3 minutes. Reduce heat to medium-low and continue to cook until garlic is light blond, about 3 minutes. Pour mixture through fine-mesh strainer into small bowl; press on solids. Measure 1 tablespoon solids and 1 tablespoon oil into large bowl and set aside. Discard remaining solids but reserve remaining oil.
Place skewered potatoes in single layer on large plate and poke each potato several times with skewer. Brush with 1 tablespoon strained oil and season with salt. Microwave until potatoes offer slight resistance when pierced with paring knife, about 8 minutes, turning halfway through microwaving. Transfer potatoes to baking sheet coated with 1 tablespoon strained oil. Brush with remaining 1 tablespoon strained oil and season with salt and pepper to taste.
- For a charcoal grill: Open bottom vent completely. Light large chimney starter filled with charcoal briquettes (6 quarts). When top coals are partially covered with ash, pour two-thirds evenly over half of grill, then pour remaining coals over other half of grill. Set cooking grate in place, cover, and open lid vent completely. Heat grill until hot, about 5 minutes.
- For a gas grill: Turn all burners to high, cover, and heat grill until hot, about 15 minutes. Turn all burners to medium-high.
Clean and oil cooking grate. Place potatoes on grill (on hotter side if using charcoal) and cook (covered if using gas) until grill marks appear, 3 to 5 minutes, flipping halfway through cooking. Move potatoes to cooler side of grill (if using charcoal) or turn all burners to medium-low (if using gas). Cover and continue to cook until paring knife slips in and out of potatoes easily, 5 to 8 minutes longer.
Remove potatoes from skewers and transfer to bowl with reserved garlic-oil mixture. Add chives, season with salt and pepper to taste, and toss until thoroughly coated. Serve.
- By Melissa d'Arabian, The Associated Press
Grilled fish is the official dish of summer around our house. There is nothing I love to eat more in warm weather than a piece of fresh seasonal fish cooked on the grill — the slightly sweet flesh offset by a tiny bit of char.
You can use some fish from your freezer stash in a pinch, but ask at the fish counter what is seasonal and freshest, and you won't regret the few extra dollars you'll pay. I used Alaskan halibut for today's recipe, but any firm white-fleshed fish will work great. (Skip the flaky thin fish like Dover sole for indoor cooking, or use a special fine-meshed metal grate.)
Halibut is mild, tender and sweet, and it's a fantastic lean source of protein. A 4-ounce serving has 24 grams of protein, a little over 2 grams of fat, and offers a nice showing of B vitamins and minerals, all for 120 calories.
My go-to strategy for grilling mild white fish is to keep it super simple on the actual grill, and then top it with a quick sauce made from a few ingredients. Pat the fish dry gently, and toss on the grill with just a little salt, pepper and olive oil.
Once the fish is cooked, I top it straight from the grill with the sauce. While the fish is cooking, whip up a sauce with a little acid (like lemon or vinegar), aromatics (like minced garlic, shallot or green onion), herbs, and a tiny touch of fat (like olive oil or butter). Pouring it on while the fish is hot makes the simple flavors come alive like Hugh Jackman playing P.T. Barnum.
Grilled halibut with butter caper herb sauce is an excellent starting point for mastering this easy fish-grilling blueprint that you'll use both on weekends and busy weeknight meals. In under 20 minutes, you can have summer on the plate.
Grilled halibut with butter caper herb sauce
Servings: 6
Start to finish: 20 minutes
INGREDIENTS:
1 3/4 pounds of fresh Alaskan halibut fillet (or other firm white-flesh fish), checked for bones
1/2 lemon, for squeezing
2 teaspoons olive oil
salt and pepper
Sauce:
2 tablespoons butter
1 clove garlic, minced
2 tablespoons capers, plus a little of the juice
2 tablespoons lemon juice
A handful of chopped tender herbs, like basil, parsley, or cilantro
DIRECTIONS:
Heat a gas or charcoal grill to medium high. Scrub the grill grates with a wire brush or tongs and ball of foil to clean off burnt food debris, and lightly oil the grates. Squeeze a little lemon juice on the halibut and let it sit a few minutes before blotting it dry gently with a paper towel.
Season the fish with a little salt and pepper. Drizzle the olive oil over both sides of the fish, and use your fingers to coat the whole fillet lightly with oil. Once the grill is hot, place the fish flesh side down on the grill. Allow to cook about 5-6 minutes on the first side. Use a metal spatula to flip the fish to cook the second side, until cooked through but not dry, about 3-4 more minutes. (To help keep the fish from sticking, don't flip it too soon, and flip the fish with a purposeful, quick motion.)
Meanwhile, heat the butter and garlic in a small sauce pan on the stove at medium heat until the garlic is aromatic, about 2 minutes. Add the capers with a little caper liquid and the lemon juice and whisk to combine. Remove from heat, stir the herbs into the sauce and then pour over the fish just as it comes off the grill. Serve.
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Nutrition information per serving: 198 calories; 76 calories from fat; 9 g fat (3 g saturated; 0 g trans fats); 104 mg cholesterol; 625 mg sodium; 3 g carbohydrate; 0 g fiber; 0 g sugar; 28 g protein.
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Food Network star Melissa d'Arabian is an expert on healthy eating on a budget. She is the author of the cookbook, "Supermarket Healthy."
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Online: http://www.melissadarabian.net
- By America's Test Kitchen
The smoky char of the grill brings a whole new dimension to plain old Caesar salad. To develop good char and maintain crisp lettuce without ending up with scorched, wilted, even slimy leaves, we used sturdy, compact romaine hearts, which withstood the heat of the grill better than whole heads.
Halving them lengthwise and grilling on just one side gave them plenty of surface area for charring without turning limp. A hot fire meant that the heat didn't have time to penetrate and wilt the crunchy inner leaves before the -exterior developed grill marks.
Our boldly seasoned Caesar dressing replaced the raw egg with mayonnaise. It was so good that we got the idea to brush it on the cut side of the uncooked lettuce instead of olive oil, allowing the dressing to pick up a mildly smoky flavor on the grill along with the lettuce.
For the croutons, we brushed baguette slices with olive oil, toasted them over the coals, and then rubbed them with a garlic clove. We combined the lettuce and croutons, drizzled on extra dressing, dusted everything with Parmesan, and called tasters. The salad disappeared.
With apologies to Shakespeare: It's not that we love Caesar less, but that we love grilled Caesar more.
GRILLED CAESAR SALAD
Servings: 6
Start to finish: 30 minutes
INGREDIENTS:
Dressing
1 tablespoon lemon juice
1 garlic clove, minced
1/2 cup mayonnaise
1/4 cup grated Parmesan cheese
1 tablespoon white wine vinegar
1 tablespoon Worcestershire sauce
1 tablespoon Dijon mustard
2 anchovy fillets, rinsed
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon pepper
1/4 cup extra-virgin olive oil
Salad
1 (12 inch) baguette, sliced 1/2 inch thick on bias
3 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
1 garlic clove, peeled
3 romaine lettuce hearts (18 ounces), halved lengthwise through cores
1/4 cup grated Parmesan cheese
DIRECTIONS:
For the dressing: Combine lemon juice and garlic in bowl and let stand for 10 minutes. Process lemon-garlic mixture, mayonnaise, Parmesan, vinegar, Worcestershire, mustard, anchovies, salt, and pepper in blender until smooth, about 30 seconds. With blender running, slowly add oil until incorporated. Measure out and reserve 6 tablespoons dressing for brushing romaine.
For a charcoal grill: Open bottom vent completely. Light large chimney starter filled with charcoal briquettes (6 quarts). When top coals are partially covered with ash, pour evenly over half of grill. Set cooking grate in place, cover, and open lid vent completely. Heat grill until hot, about 5 minutes.
For a gas grill: Turn all burners to high, cover, and heat grill until hot, about 15 minutes. Leave all burners on high.
For the salad: Clean and oil cooking grate. Brush bread with oil and grill (over coals if using charcoal), uncovered, until browned, about 1 minute per side. Transfer to serving platter and rub with garlic clove. Brush cut sides of lettuce with half of reserved dressing. Place half of lettuce, cut side down, on grill (over coals if using charcoal). Grill, uncovered, until lightly charred, 1 to 2 minutes. Transfer to platter with bread. Repeat with remaining reserved dressing and lettuce. Drizzle lettuce with remaining dressing. Sprinkle with Parmesan. Serve.
Nutrition information per serving: 443 calories; 289 calories from fat; 32 g fat (5 g saturated; 0 g trans fats); 15 mg cholesterol; 815 mg sodium; 30 g carbohydrate; 4 g fiber; 2 g sugar; 8 g protein.
For more recipes, cooking tips and ingredient and product reviews, visit https://www.americastestkitchen.com . Find more recipes like Grilled Caesar Salad in "Vegetables Illustrated ."
- By Francesca Olsen, Special to The Eagle
My parents live about a mile from me, so I get to eat my mom's cooking all the time. I'm a lucky woman.
A few weeks ago, I headed to their house for dinner, and when I got there, she was already grilling, brushing a beautiful, chestnut-colored barbecue sauce gently onto country-style pork ribs. We sat outside drinking white wine and catching up, smelling tiny sauce drops sizzling as they dripped down into the grill pan.
When dinner was served, I discovered that this was no ordinary barbecue sauce — of course, she made her own sauce by mixing together a bunch of ingredients she had on-hand, including sambal oelek paste she got on clearance from Stop and Shop. She also used a dry rub, which amped up the flavor even more. I stole her ideas and used them on chicken the next day.
The smoky, kind of spicy, kind of sweet flavor my mom got out of this easy method was incredible. It got me thinking about barbecue sauce in general, and wondering if there were any local sauce-makers I could contact for advice about how to make my own from scratch.
Enter Lorraine Jones of Smokey Divas, which makes and bottles 92nd Sauce in Pittsfield, Mass. It's in grocery stores, but you can also get it at the Downtown Pittsfield Farmers Market. Jones' family has been preserving her grandmother's sauce legacy for years now; "The recipe is older than I am," she said.
Jones' family is originally from the Bay Area of California. The sauce story starts with her grandmother, Dorothy Turner Everett, who started Everett and Jones BBQ Restaurant in Oakland in 1973. The family business grew to five locations, and is now the longest-running African American-owned business in Oakland.
Without giving away any family secrets, Jones gave me great advice about making sauce from scratch. Apparently, you can't really ruin it, as long as you stay present as the sauce cooks slow. Some tomatoes, vinegar, molasses, and brown sugar, plus herbs and spices of your choice, will really do it. "Don't be afraid to experiment," she said. "It can always be adjusted."
Expect to cook the sauce for about four hours — "you want it to caramelize and break down," she said.
Jones is also a fan of the dry-rub method. Obviously a barbecue purist, she prepares a dry rub, grills or cooks meat, then adds the sauce after cooking (it helps if it's warm). She says she likes this because it doesn't burn or char on the meat.
So, for your consideration, some sauce recipes — one "easy route" from my mom, and then the traditional. If you're looking for something to use your sauce on, I also added 92nd's recipe for barbecue meatloaf, which is made on the grill (fun!).
Basic slow-cooked barbecue sauce
INGREDIENTS:
1 cups crushed tomatoes (or ketchup, but that's a lot of added salt)
cup brown sugar
cup molasses
3 to 4 tablespoons vinegar
Three garlic cloves (you can also add some sliced onion, which will melt naturally into the sauce as it cooks)
Herbs and spices of your choice (try paprika, pepper, cumin, celery salt)
DIRECTIONS:
Mix ingredients together in a saucepan over medium heat until everything is warm, simmering and joined together in harmony. Let simmer on low for 1-4 hours (the longer you cook it, the deeper the flavor), stirring occasionally. Sauce is suitable for use when it is thick enough to coat the back of your spoon.
My mom's quickie barbecue sauce
("Really rough — you know how I cook," she says.)
INGREDIENTS:
cup ketchup
cup mild salsa
1 tablespoon sambal oelek paste
1 tablespoon dijon mustard
1 tablespoon brown sugar
1 tablespoon balsamic vinegar
1 teaspoon Worcestershire sauce
A dash of: Smoked paprika, salt, black pepper, cumin, ginger, crushed red pepper flakes
DIRECTIONS:
Mix ingredients together in a bowl; brush on whatever meat you're grilling! Use the leftovers for extra flavor at the dinner table.
Barbecue grilled meatloaf
(Courtesy of 92nd Sauce/Smokey Divas)
INGREDIENTS:
2 pounds of ground beef
2 cups of seasoned bread crumbs
1 cup sweet onion, diced
1 teaspoon minced garlic
1 teaspoon of sea salt
1 teaspoon of black pepper
1 egg
1 cup of your favorite barbecue sauce
Non-stick cooking spray
DIRECTIONS:
Pre-heat your outdoor grill and coat the grate with non-stick cooking spray. Mix the beef, bread crumbs, onion, garlic, salt, pepper and egg. Form 2 to 3 mini meat loaves (about 3 to 4 inches thick) with your mixture. Place your mini meat loaves on the grill and coat with 2 to 3 tablespoons of sauce, then grill until fully cooked (internal temperature should be 160 degrees).
- By Melissa d'Arabian, Associated Press
Ratatouille is a classic vegetable dish starring eggplant, zucchini, peppers and tomato that is deeply steeped in the culture of Mediterranean France. When I married a man from the heart of Provence, one of the first lessons I received from my new mother-in-law Muriel was how to make a proper ratatouille. (The other was how to pluck feathers from a newly-butchered turkey, but that's a story for another day.)
Turns out, my American sensibilities had me cooking a ratatouille far too long, making it a gloppy stew of indistinguishable mixed vegetables, a crime I've seen committed more often than not here in the U.S.
Muriel was kind in her rebuke, and showed me her way instead. The most important lesson was to cook each vegetable separately, to honor their individuality. Moreover, the vegetables needed to be cooked in the same pan, in a specific order, so that the flavors would be built just right. (The order, in case you are wondering, is: eggplant, zucchini, peppers, onion, tomatoes, and I use the acronym EZ-POT to remember.)
I was skeptical. But her version is easily the best I have ever eaten, so I follow it without fail, even if the rebellious part of me wonders if I dared to cook the zucchini out of order, would anyone really notice? But, why mess with genius?
Unless it's BBQ season and I want to grill out! After years of following proper EZ-POT protocol, I decided to try an outdoor grilled version of ratatouille. A little summertime char on the veggies could be a good thing. And indeed it was.
The result was a tasty dish that was somewhere in between a grilled vegetable salad (but not quite as acidic) and a traditional ratatouille (but not quite capturing that synergistic vegetable vibe). Still, a worthy summertime side dish in its own right.
Grilled ratatouille is a happy complement to any grilled meat or fish, and it's hearty enough to be the main dish for vegetarians. And leftovers can be spooned on top of roasted potatoes, rice, a green salad, or even spread on toast, sprinkled with cheese and broiled for a quick lunch.
Grilled ratatouille
Servings: 6
Start to finish: 30 minutes
INGREDIENTS:
2 small or 1 large eggplant, cut into 1-inch slices (no need to peel)
2 medium zucchini, trimmed and cut in half lengthwise
1 sweet yellow or red pepper, cut into "cheeks" or quarters, seeds, removed
1 medium sweet white onion, peeled, quartered with root intact (to keep it together)
1 pint grape tomatoes
Olive oil in mister
Dressing:
1 tablespoon lemon juice
2 tablespoons red wine vinegar
2 tablespoons high quality olive oil
1 clove garlic, minced
1 tablespoon fresh thyme, minced
6-7 basil leaves, gently torn
salt and pepper
DIRECTIONS:
Heat the grill to medium and lightly oil the grates. Season the vegetables with salt and pepper, and spray them lightly with the olive oil mister to coat. (If you don't have a mister, pour a little oil in your hands and lightly toss the vegetables in a bowl using your hands to coat them very lightly with olive oil.)
Cook the vegetables on the grill until tender but not floppy, turning halfway through cooking time — about 12-15 minutes total for the eggplant, onion quarters and sweet pepper, 8-10 minutes for the zucchini and 2 minutes for the tomatoes.
Meanwhile, make the dressing: Whisk together lemon juice and red wine vinegar in a small bowl, and drizzle in the olive oil, whisking to make an emulsion. Add the thyme and salt and pepper to taste, and an additional tablespoon of water if needed to make more sauce.
As the vegetables are removed from the grill, chop the onion (the inside may not be fully cooked and that's OK), and cut the rest of the veggies into nice-sized cubes, and place in a large bowl. The pepper skin will be charred and can be kept or removed.
Pour the dressing over the vegetables while still warm and toss gently. Add the fresh basil leaves to the vegetables, and stir. Adjust salt and pepper for seasoning and serve, hot, room temperature or chilled.
Nutrition information per serving: 126 calories; 49 calories from fat; 5 g fat (1 g saturated; 0 g trans fats); 0 mg cholesterol; 14 mg sodium; 19 g carbohydrate; 7 g fiber; 11 g sugar; 4 g protein.
Online: http://www.melissadarabian.net
- By America's Test Kitchen
Sometimes simple is best, and for quick weeknight burgers or a backyard barbecue for a crowd, store-bought ground beef is certainly convenient. But with so many options available in supermarkets, we knew we would need to find the right cut of beef with the ideal amount of fat to produce tender, juicy burgers.
Generically labeled "ground beef" can be a combination of different cuts with little beefy flavor that yields fatty, greasy, or mushy burgers. Hoping for better luck with singular cuts of meat, we tested ground sirloin, round, and chuck.
Ground sirloin left us with dry burgers and ground round was flavorless and gristly, but 85 percent lean ground chuck gave us burgers with rich flavor and a tender, moist texture.
Our first few batches of burgers puffed up like tennis balls, but we quickly figured out that slightly indenting, or dimpling, the center of each burger helped the burgers cook to a perfectly even thickness. You can serve these burgers simply with classic condiments, lettuce and sliced ripe tomatoes.
CLASSIC BEEF BURGERS
Servings: 4
Start to finish: 30 minutes
INGREDIENTS:
1 1/2 pounds 85 percent lean ground beef
1/2 teaspoon table salt
1/4 teaspoon pepper
1 teaspoon vegetable oil, if using skillet
4 slices cheese (4 ounces) (optional)
4 hamburger buns, toasted if desired
DIRECTIONS:
Divide ground beef into 4 equal portions, then gently shape each portion into 3/4 inch-thick patty. Using your fingertips, press center of each patty down until about 1/2 inch thick, creating slight divot.
For a skillet: Season patties with salt and pepper. Heat oil in 12 inch skillet over medium heat until just smoking. Transfer patties to skillet, divot side up, and cook until well browned on first side, 2 to 4 minutes. Flip patties, top with cheese, if using, and continue to cook until browned on second side and meat registers 120 F to 125 F (for medium-rare) or 130 F to 135 F (for medium), 3 to 5 minutes. Transfer burgers to platter and let rest for 5 minutes. Serve burgers on buns.
For a charcoal grill: Open bottom vent completely. Light large chimney starter filled with charcoal briquettes (6 quarts). When top coals are partially covered with ash, pour evenly over grill. Set cooking grate in place, cover, and open lid vent completely. Heat grill until hot, about 5 minute s. Clean and oil cooking grate. Season patties with salt and pepper. Place patties on grill, divot side up, and cook until well browned on first side, 2 to 4 minutes. Flip patties, top with cheese, if using, and continue to cook until browned on second side and meat registers 120 F to 125 F (for medium-rare) or 130 F to 135 F (for medium), 3 to 5 minutes. Transfer burgers to platter and let rest for 5 minutes. Serve burgers on buns.
For a gas grill: Turn all burners to high, cover, and heat grill until hot, about 15 minutes. Leave all burners on high. Clean and oil cooking grate. Season patties with salt and pepper. Place patties on grill, divot side up, and cook until well browned on first side, 2 to 4 minutes. Flip patties, top with cheese, if using, and continue to cook until browned on second side and meat registers 120 F to 125 F (for medium-rare) or 130 F to 135 F (for medium), 3 to 5 minutes. Transfer burgers to platter and let rest for 5 minutes. Serve burgers on buns.
Nutrition information per serving: 497 calories; 258 calories from fat; 29 g fat (11 g saturated; 1 g trans fats); 112 mg cholesterol; 868 mg sodium; 23 g carbohydrate; 1 g fiber; 4 g sugar; 34 g protein.
For more recipes, cooking tips and ingredient and product reviews, visit https://www.americastestkitchen.com . Find more recipes like Classic Beef Burgers in "The Ultimate Burger ."
- By America's Test Kitchen
All of the elements of this brightly flavored dish come together quickly on the grill. Cooking the chicken on the cooler side of the grill avoids flare-ups while still giving it great flavor and char. To round out our grilled succotash we use convenient canned butter beans, which are super-quick to prepare and have a creamy consistency and pleasant mild flavor. You will need four 12-inch metal skewers for this recipe.
Paprika and lime-rubbed chicken with grilled vegetable succotash
Servings: 4
Start to finish: 1 hour
INGREDIENTS:
2 limes
3 ears corn
1 red onion
12 ounces cherry tomatoes
1/4 cup extra-virgin olive oil
Salt and pepper
Fresh cilantro
2 garlic cloves
1 (15-ounce) can butter beans
1 tablespoon plus 1/2 teaspoon smoked hot paprika
1 1/2 teaspoons packed dark brown sugar
1 teaspoon ground cumin
3 pounds bone-in chicken pieces (split breasts, drumsticks, and/or thighs)
DIRECTIONS:
Turn all burners to high, cover, and heat grill until hot, about 15 minutes. Leave primary burner on high and turn other burner(s) to low.
While grill heats, grate 4 teaspoons lime zest, then squeeze 2 tablespoons juice from 1 lime. Cut remaining lime into wedges. Remove husks and silk from corn. Cut onion crosswise into 1/2-inch-thick rounds. Thread tomatoes onto four 12-inch metal skewers. Brush corn, onion, and tomato skewers with 2 tablespoons oil and season with salt and pepper. Mince 3 tablespoons cilantro. Mince garlic. Drain and rinse beans.
Combine 1 tablespoon paprika, sugar, cumin, 1 tablespoon lime zest, 1 teaspoon salt, and 1/2 teaspoon pepper together in large bowl. Trim chicken and cut breasts in half crosswise (if using). Pat chicken dry with paper towels, transfer to bowl with spice mixture, and stir to coat evenly.
Clean and oil cooking grate. Place chicken, skin side down, on cooler side of grill. Cover and cook until skin is well browned and slightly charred and breasts register 160 F and drumsticks/thighs register 175 F, 20 to 30 minutes, flipping as needed and rearranging so all pieces get equal exposure to heat source. Transfer chicken pieces to platter as they finish cooking, tent with aluminum foil, and let rest.
While chicken cooks on cooler side, place corn, onion rounds, and tomato skewers on hotter side of grill. Cook tomatoes, covered, turning as needed, until skins begin to blister, about 2 minutes; transfer to platter. Continue to cook corn and onion, covered, turning occasionally, until lightly charred on all sides, 8 to 10 minutes; transfer corn and onion to platter as they finish cooking and cover with foil.
Chop grilled onions coarsely and cut corn kernels from cobs. Whisk remaining 1 teaspoon lime zest, lime juice, 2 tablespoons cilantro, garlic, remaining 1/2 teaspoon paprika, and remaining 2 tablespoons oil together in large bowl. Add beans, tomatoes, chopped onion, and corn to bowl and toss to combine. Sea-son with salt and pepper to taste. Sprinkle remaining 1 tablespoon cilantro over chicken. Serve with succotash and lime wedges.
Nutrition information per serving: 539 calories; 225 calories from fat; 25 g fat (5 g saturated; 0 g trans fats); 210 mg cholesterol; 472 mg sodium; 29 g carbohydrate; 5 g fiber; 11 g sugar; 52 g protein.
For more recipes, cooking tips and ingredient and product reviews, visit https://www.americastestkitchen.com. Find more recipes like Paprika and Lime-Rubbed Chicken with Grilled Vegetable Succotash in "Dinner Illustrated ."
- By America's Test Kitchen
Most turkey burgers are dry, bland, or loaded up with flavor-blunting fillers. To create juicy, well-textured turkey burgers, we ditched store-bought ground turkey in favor of a home-ground turkey thigh, which boasts more fat and flavor.
To ensure that our turkey burger recipe delivered maximum juiciness, we incorporated a paste made from a portion of the ground turkey, gelatin, soy sauce and baking soda. The gelatin trapped moisture within the burgers while the baking soda helped tenderize the meat by raising its pH, and the soy sauce added savory umami flavor.
Finally, we added coarsely chopped raw white mushrooms to keep the meat from binding together too firmly. To top the burgers, we created a variety of sweet and savory sauces that complemented the rich dark meat of the turkey.
Juicy grilled turkey burgers
Servings: 6
Start to finish: 1 1/2 hours
To ensure the best texture, don't let the burgers stand for more than an hour before cooking. If you like, toast the hamburger buns on the grill while the burgers rest. Serve with one of our burger sauces (recipes follow) or your favorite toppings.
INGREDIENTS:
1 (2-pound) bone-in turkey thigh, skinned, boned, trimmed, and cut into -inch pieces
1 tablespoon unflavored gelatin
3 tablespoons chicken broth
6 ounces white mushrooms, trimmed
1 tablespoon soy sauce
Pinch baking soda
2 tablespoons vegetable oil, plus extra for brushing
Kosher salt and pepper
6 hamburger buns
DIRECTIONS:
Place turkey pieces on large plate in single layer. Freeze meat until very firm and hardened around edges, 35 to 45 minutes. Meanwhile, sprinkle gelatin over broth in small bowl and let sit until gelatin softens, about 5 minutes. Pulse mushrooms in food processor until coarsely chopped, about 7 pulses, stopping and redistributing mushrooms around bowl as needed to ensure even grinding. Set mushrooms aside.
Pulse one-third of turkey in now-empty food processor until coarsely chopped into 1/8-inch pieces, 18 to 22 pulses, stopping and redistributing turkey around bowl as needed to ensure even grinding. Transfer meat to large bowl and repeat 2 more times with remaining turkey.
Return 1/2 cup (about 3 ounces) ground turkey to bowl of again-empty food processor and add soy sauce, baking soda, and softened gelatin. Process until smooth, about 2 minutes, scraping down bowl as needed. With processor running, slowly drizzle in oil, about 10 seconds; leave paste in food processor. Return mushrooms to food processor and pulse to combine with paste, 3 to 5 pulses, stopping and redistributing mixture as needed to ensure even mixing. Transfer mushroom mixture to bowl with ground turkey and use your hands to evenly combine.
With lightly greased hands, divide meat mixture into 6 balls. Gently flatten each ball into 3/4-inch-thick patty. Press center of patties down with your fingertips to create 1/4-inch-deep depression.
For a charcoal grill: Open bottom vent completely. Light large chimney starter filled with charcoal briquettes (6 quarts). When top coals are partially covered with ash, pour evenly over half of grill. Set cooking grate in place, cover, and open lid vent completely. Heat grill until hot, about 5 minutes.
For a gas grill: Turn all burners to high, cover, and heat grill until hot, about 15 minutes. Leave primary burner on high and turn off other burner(s).
Clean and oil cooking grate. Brush 1 side of patties with oil and season with salt and pepper. Using spatula, flip patties, brush with oil, and season second side. Place burgers on hotter side of grill and cook until well browned on first side, 4 to 7 minutes. Flip burgers and cook until well browned on second side and meat registers 160 F, 4 to 7 minutes more. (If cooking frozen burgers: After burgers are browned on both sides, transfer to cooler side of grill, cover, and continue to cook until burgers register 160 F.)
Transfer burgers to plate and let rest for 5 minutes. Serve on buns.
Malt vinegar-molasses burger sauce:
Makes about 1 cup
INGREDIENTS:
3/4 cup mayonnaise
4 teaspoons malt vinegar
1/2 teaspoon molasses
1/4 teaspoon Worcestershire sauce
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon pepper
DIRECTIONS:
Whisk all ingredients together in bowl.
Apricot-mustard burger sauce:
Makes about 1 cup
INGREDIENTS:
3/4 cup mayonnaise
5 teaspoons apricot preserves
1 tablespoon lemon juice
1 tablespoon Dijon mustard
1 tablespoon whole-grain mustard
1/4 teaspoon sugar
DIRECTIONS:
Whisk all ingredients together in bowl.
Chile-lime burger sauce:
Makes about 1 cup
INGREDIENTS:
3/4 cup mayonnaise
2 teaspoons chili-garlic paste
2 teaspoons lime juice
1 scallion, sliced thin
1/4 teaspoon fish sauce
1/8 teaspoon sugar
Whisk all ingredients together in bowl.
Nutrition information per serving of turkey burger without sauce: 331 calories; 88 calories from fat; 10 g fat (2 g saturated; 0 g trans fats); 119 mg cholesterol; 737 mg sodium; 23 g carbohydrate; 1 g fiber; 3 g sugar; 38 g protein.
For more recipes, cooking tips and ingredient and product reviews, visit https://www.americastestkitchen.com . Find more recipes like Turkey Burgers in "Master of the Grill ."
- By America's Test Kitchen
Flavorful, well-marbled short ribs seem like the perfect candidate for grilling, but getting the texture just right can be a challenge. We wanted meltingly tender meat with the nicely browned exterior that the grill provides —without having to constantly fiddle with the fire.
We started with a flavorful spice rub and a sweet-tart glaze. Ground fennel and cumin added more complex layers to the rub. For the glaze, we came up with several options using tangy, bright flavors to help temper the richness of the meat.
Short ribs are full of collagen, which converts to gelatin during cooking and produces a tender texture. We went with bone-in ribs to make sure they wouldn't overcook before the collagen had enough time to break down.
Even a carefully monitored grill inevitably produces hot and cold spots, and the spotty heat was causing our short ribs to cook unevenly. Starting the ribs in the more even-heat environment of the oven was the optimal solution. When the ribs reached 165 F, we moved them to the grill to finish cooking and get a smoky, crunchy crust.
Grill-roasted beef short ribs
Servings: 4-6
Start to finish: 2 hours
Meaty English-style short ribs are preferred in this recipe to thinner-cut flanken-style ribs. Make sure to choose ribs that are 4 to 6 inches in length and have at least 1 inch of meat on top of the bone.
INGREDIENTS:
Spice Rub:
2 tablespoons kosher salt
1 tablespoon packed brown sugar
2 teaspoons pepper
2 teaspoons ground cumin
2 teaspoons garlic powder
1 1/4 teaspoons paprika
3/4 teaspoon ground fennel
1/8 teaspoon cayenne pepper
Short Ribs:
5 pounds bone-in English-style beef short ribs, trimmed
2 tablespoons red wine vinegar
1 recipe glaze (recipes follow)
DIRECTIONS:
For the spice rub Combine all ingredients in bowl. Measure out 1 teaspoon rub and set aside for glaze.
For the short ribs Adjust oven rack to middle position and heat oven to 300 F. Pat ribs dry. Sprinkle ribs with spice rub, pressing into all sides of ribs. Arrange ribs bone side down in 13 by 9-inch baking dish, placing thicker ribs around perimeter of baking dish and thinner ribs in center. Sprinkle vinegar evenly over ribs. Cover baking dish tightly with aluminum foil. Cook until thickest ribs register 165 F to 170 F, 1 1/2 to 2 hours.
For a charcoal grill: Open bottom vent halfway. Arrange 2 quarts unlit charcoal briquettes into steeply banked pile against side of grill. Light large chimney starter half filled with charcoal briquettes (3 quarts). When top coals are partially covered with ash, pour on top of unlit charcoal to cover one-third of grill with coals steeply banked against side of grill. Set cooking grate in place, cover, and open lid vent halfway. Heat grill until hot, about 5 minutes.
For a gas grill: Turn all burners to high, cover, and heat grill until hot, about 15 minutes. Turn primary burner to medium and turn off other burner(s). (Adjust primary burner as needed to maintain grill temperature of 275 F to 300 F.)
Clean and oil cooking grate. Place short ribs, bone side down, on cooler side of grill about 2 inches from flames. Brush with 1/4 cup glaze. Cover and cook until ribs register 195 F, 1 3/4 to 2 1/4 hours, rotating and brushing ribs with 1/4 cup glaze every 30 minutes. Transfer ribs to large platter, tent with foil, and let rest for 5 to 10 minutes before serving.
Mustard glaze
Makes about 1 cup
INGREDIENTS:
1/2 cup Dijon mustard
1/2 cup red wine vinegar
1/4 cup packed brown sugar
1 teaspoon reserved spice rub
1/8 teaspoon cayenne pepper
DIRECTIONS:
Whisk all ingredients together in bowl.
Nutrition information per serving: 518 calories; 261 calories from fat; 29 g fat (12 g saturated; 0 g trans fats); 167 mg cholesterol; 727 mg sodium; 6 g carbohydrate; 0 g fiber; 5 g sugar; 54 g protein.
For more recipes, cooking tips and ingredient and product reviews, visit https://www.americastestkitchen.com. Find more recipes like Grill-Roasted Beef Short Ribs in "Master Of The Grill ."
- By America's Test Kitchen
Minneapolis taverns are famous for the Jucy Lucy, a moist beef burger stuffed with American cheese. Replicating the Jucy Lucy seemed easy enough — but our burgers, cooked to well-done to melt the cheese inside, were dry and tough or the cheese melted through the meat, leaving an empty cavern where the cheese had been.
To keep the cheese in place, we created a double-sealed pocket by wrapping the cheese inside a small beef patty and then molding a second patty around it. Adding a mixture of bread and milk, mashed into a paste, to the ground beef kept the burgers moist and juicy.
Jucy Lucy burgers
Servings: 4
Start to finish: 45 minutes
Buy the American cheese from the deli counter, and ask them to slice it into a 1/2-inch slab from which you can cut four big cubes to fill the center of the burgers. One or two percent low-fat milk can be substituted for the whole milk. The cheesy center of these burgers is molten hot when first removed from the grill, so be sure to let the burgers rest for at least 5 minutes before serving.
INGREDIENTS:
2 slices hearty white sandwich bread, torn into 1-inch pieces
1/4 cup whole milk
1 teaspoon garlic powder
3/4 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon pepper
1 1/2 pounds 85 percent lean ground beef
1 slice deli American cheese (1/2-inch-thick), quartered
DIRECTIONS:
In large bowl using potato masher, mash bread, milk, garlic powder, salt, and pepper into smooth paste. Add beef and lightly knead mixture until well combined.
Divide meat into four equal portions. Using half of each portion of meat, encase cheese to form mini burger patty. Mold remaining half-portion of meat around mini patty and seal edges to form ball. Flatten ball with palm of your hand, forming 3/4-inch-thick patty. Cover and refrigerate patties for at least 30 minutes or up to 24 hours.
For a charcoal grill: Open bottom vent completely. Light large chimney starter half filled with charcoal briquettes (3 quarts). When top coals are partially covered with ash, pour evenly over grill. Set cooking grate in place, cover, and heat grill until hot, about 5 minutes.
For a gas grill: Turn all burners to high, cover, and heat grill until hot, about 15 minutes. Turn all burners to medium.
Clean and oil cooking grate. Lay burgers on grill and cook, without pressing on them, until well-browned on both sides and cooked through, 12 to 16 minutes, flipping burgers halfway through grilling. Transfer burgers to platter, tent loosely with aluminum foil, and let rest for 5 minutes before serving.
Nutrition information per serving: 432 calories; 249 calories from fat; 28 g fat (11 g saturated; 2 g trans fats); 121 mg cholesterol; 697 mg sodium; 9 g carbohydrate; 0 g fiber; 2 g sugar; 34 g protein.
For more recipes, cooking tips and ingredient and product reviews, visit www.americastestkitchen.com. Find more recipes like Jucy Lucy Burger in "The Complete Cook's Country TV Cookbook, 2017."
- Associated Press
Or if you care to get a bit fancier, here are recipes for proscuitto-wrapped asparagus and cheese-stuffed mushroom caps.
GRILLED ASPARAGUS
WRAPPED IN PROSCIUTTO
Start to finish: 20 minutes Servings: 8
2 1/2 pounds thin asparagus (40 to 45 spears), trimmed
1 tablespoon olive oil
Oil for coating grill grate
4 ounces sliced prosciutto (about 8 paper-thin slices)
1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
1 tablespoon grated Parmesan cheese
Preheat the grill to medium with the grate at the lowest setting.
On a rimmed baking sheet or in a large plastic bag, toss the asparagus with the olive oil. Lightly coat the grill grate with oil. Arrange the asparagus on the grill perpendicular to the bars of the grate. Grill until just tender but not limp, about 4 to 5 minutes. Use tongs to roll the asparagus once or twice during cooking.
Lay a slice of prosciutto horizontally on a work surface. Place 4 to 6 asparagus spears over the prosciutto near a short edge. Sprinkle the asparagus with some pepper. Tightly roll the prosciutto over the asparagus on a slight diagonal, creating a tight bundle. The tips of the asparagus should still be showing.
Sprinkle the bundles with Parmesan.
(Recipe from Andrew Schloss and David Joachim's "Mastering the Grill," Chronicle Books, 2007, $24.95).
GRILLED STUFFED MUSHROOMS
Start to finish: 20 minutes Servings: 4 to 6
3/4 cup crumbled feta cheese (3 1/2 to 4 ounces)
1/4 cup cream cheese, softened
2 tablespoons chopped flat-leaf parsley
1/2 teaspoon chopped fresh thyme
1/2 teaspoon crushed dried marjoram
Freshly ground black pepper
24 white button or cremini mushrooms, each about 2 inches in diameter
Olive oil
Salt
If not already on, preheat the grill. In a small bowl, mix together the feta, cream cheese, parsley, thyme and marjoram. Season with pepper, to taste. Set aside.
Remove the stems from the mushrooms, leaving a cavity in the cap. Rub the cas inside and out with olive oil. And sprinkle lightly with salt. Grill, cavity side down, 2 to 3 minutes, or until lightly browned and softened.
Transfer the mushrooms to a pan or platter. Spoon an equal amount of cheese filling into each cap.
Place the mushrooms with the cheese-filled cavity facing up along the edge of the grill (away from the hottest part of the grill). Cook 5 to 6 minutes, or until the cheese begins to melt.
(Recipe from Stanley, Leon, Evan, Mark and David Lobel's "Lobel's Prime Time Grilling," Wiley, 2007, $27.95)
Copyright © 2006 Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.
- By Elizabeth Karmel, Associated Press
I recently spent two glorious barbecue-filled weeks in Austin, where I happily cooked for 1,200 hungry folks at a food festival.
While these events tends to be crazy busy, they also involve a fair amount of down time. In this case, that down time was while I patiently waited for 50 briskets to slowly smoke to tender perfection. To fill the time, I decided to experiment with smoked duck.
I'd had an idea to try something new that would make the ducks cook faster with less tending, and deliver a crispier skin. I was eager to try this. I also decided to up the flavor ante and celebrate one of the classic tastes of summer by bathing the ducks in a spicy watermelon glaze.
This is a technique and glaze I frequently use with chicken. I butterfly the chicken so it opens wide and flat. This helps it cook fast and produces a wonderfully crispy skin. I wanted to know if I could do the same with duck.
Using poultry scissors, I removed the backbone of the duck and flattened it like a book, twisting the wings behind the breast (this is called "wings a kimbo" and makes the duck lay flat). I coated the duck with a thin layer of olive oil and sprinkled both sides with a classic Texas barbecue rub of salt, butcher-grind black pepper and enough cayenne to turn the rub a light pink color.
Then I put the duck on the pit and patiently waited to see what would happen. After a couple hours, the butterflied duck was beautifully caramelized, and almost done, ready to be slathered with the spicy watermelon glaze. A few juicy passes with my mop and another few minutes in the pit, and the glaze set.
I took the duck out, and let it rest for about 10 minutes to make sure it would be juicy.
It was, no doubt, the best duck I'd ever made or tasted. It amazes me that a small change in the technique could make that much of a difference, and I wonder why I never thought of doing it before. It also makes grilling duck so much more accessible for everyone. It's as easy as cooking chicken, yet far more impressive (and tasty!).
Now, I'll never cook duck another way. It cooks faster, more evenly and renders the fat from the skin, leaving crispy duck skin and moist succulent meat.
This summer, duck will be my new chicken!
GRILLED BUTTERFLIED
DUCK WITH SPICY
WATERMELON GLAZE
Start to finish: 2 1/2 hours
Servings: 4
6-pound duck
1 teaspoon kosher salt
1/2 teaspoon coarsely ground black pepper
Pinch of cayenne pepper
Olive oil
Spicy watermelon glaze (recipe below)
Heat one side of a grill to medium and the other side to low. During cooking, if you get flaring from the duck fat, you may need to turn off the low side completely.
Use paper towels to pat dry the duck. Using poultry or kitchen shears, cut along each side of the duck's backbone and remove it. Turn the duck breast-side up. Open the 2 sides of the duck as if you were opening a book, and lay it flat. Break the breast bone by firmly applying pressure and pressing down. Tuck the wing tips under the upper wing and place on a sheet pan. Set aside.
In a small bowl, mix together the salt, pepper and cayenne. Brush the duck all over with olive oil. Season lightly on both sides with the spice rub. Place the duck skin-side up directly on the grill grates on the cooler side of the grill. Grill for about 2 hours.
After 2 hours, brush the glaze on the duck. Continue grilling for another 20 to 30 minutes, brushing with the glaze 2 more times during the final grilling time. Grill until the juices run clear and the thigh registers 190 F.
Remove the duck from the grill and brush with glaze one last time. Let the duck rest for 10 minutes. Cut the duck into halves or quarters and serve.
SPICY WATERMELON GLAZE
Start to finish: 10 minutes
Makes about 1 cup
1 cup seedless watermelon flesh
1/2 cup apple jelly
Zest and juice of 1/2 lime
1 teaspoon red pepper flakes
1/2 teaspoon jalapeno hot sauce
Pinch of salt
In a blender, puree the watermelon flesh until smooth. Set aside.
In a small, heavy-bottomed saucepan over medium, heat the apple jelly, stirring constantly, until it is melted. Add the watermelon juice and stir to combine. Stir in the lime zest and juice, red pepper flakes, jalapeno hot sauce and salt. Mix and taste, adjusting the seasoning if desired.
The glaze can be used warm or cooled. It can be refrigerated in a tightly sealed jar for up to 2 days.
Nutrition information per serving (values are rounded to the nearest whole number): 1,050 calories; 710 calories from fat (68 percent of total calories); 79 g fat (27 g saturated; 0 g trans fats); 230 mg cholesterol; 30 g carbohydrate; 52 g protein; 0 g fiber; 640 mg sodium.
More like this...
- By America's Test Kitchen
Well-marbled steak tips, with their beefy flavor and tender texture, proved the best choice for our grilled beef kebabs.
We created a robust marinade using several key elements: Beef broth and tomato paste added rich, umami tones, salt helped brine the meat and keep it moist, a bit of sugar helped with caramelization, and rosemary and lemon zest added bright aromas. (For a spicy North African variation, we used cilantro, paprika, cumin, and cayenne.)
We cut the meat into large pieces and packed it tightly onto the skewers to help keep it moist and tender while grilling and also patted it dry to help prevent steaming. We paired our beef with a trio of firm and flavorful vegetables that came into their own when grilled: peppers, red onions, and zucchini.
If you can't find sirloin steak tips, sometimes labeled "flap meat," substitute 2 pounds of blade steak (if using, cut each steak in half to remove the gristle). You will need six 12-inch metal skewers for this recipe. If you have long, thin pieces of meat, roll or fold them into approximate 2-inch cubes before skewering.
Grilled beef kebabs with lemon and rosemary marinade
Servings: 4-6
Start to finish: 1 hour and 15 minutes, plus 1 hour to marinate
INGREDIENTS:
Marinade:
1 onion, chopped
1/3 cup beef broth
1/3 cup extra-virgin olive oil
3 tablespoons tomato paste
6 garlic cloves, chopped
2 tablespoons chopped fresh rosemary
2 teaspoons grated lemon zest
2 teaspoons salt
1 1/2 teaspoons sugar
3/4 teaspoon pepper
Beef and Vegetables:
1 1/2 pounds sirloin steak tips, trimmed and cut into 2-inch pieces
2 zucchini or yellow summer squash, halved lengthwise and sliced 1 inch thick
2 red or green bell peppers, stemmed, seeded, and cut into 1 1/2-inch pieces
2 red onions, cut into 1-inch pieces, 3 layers thick
DIRECTIONS:
For the marinade process all ingredients in blender until smooth, about 45 seconds, scraping down sides of blender jar as needed. Transfer 3/4 cup marinade to large bowl and set aside.
For the beef and vegetables place remaining marinade and beef in 1-gallon zipper-lock bag and toss to coat. Press out as much air as possible and seal bag. Refrigerate for at least 1 hour or up to 2 hours, flipping bag every 30 minutes.
Add zucchini, bell peppers, and onions to bowl with reserved marinade and toss to coat. Cover and let sit at room temperature for at least 30 minutes.
Remove beef from bag and pat dry with paper towels. Thread beef tightly onto two 12-inch metal skewers. In alternating pattern of zucchini, bell pepper, and onion, thread vegetables onto four 12-inch metal skewers.
- For a charcoal grill: Open bottom vent completely. Light large chimney starter mounded with charcoal briquettes (7 quarts). When top coals are partially covered with ash, pour evenly over center of grill, leaving 2-inch gap between grill wall and charcoal. Set cooking grate in place, cover, and open lid vent completely. Heat grill until hot, about 5 minutes.
- For a gas grill: Turn all burners to high, cover, and heat grill until hot, about 15 minutes. Leave primary burner on high and turn other burner(s) to medium-low.
Clean and oil cooking grate. Place beef skewers on grill (directly over coals if using charcoal or over hotter side of grill if using gas). Place vegetable skewers on grill (near edge of coals but still over coals if using charcoal or on cooler side of grill if using gas). Cook (covered if using gas), turning skewers every 3 to 4 minutes, until beef is well browned and registers 120 F to 125 F (for medium-rare), 12 to 16 minutes. Transfer beef skewers to serving platter, tent loosely with aluminum foil, and let rest while finishing vegetables.
Continue to cook vegetable skewers until tender and lightly charred, about 5 minutes; transfer to platter. Using tongs, slide beef and vegetables off skewers onto platter. Serve.
Nutrition information per serving: 260 calories; 110 calories from fat; 12 g fat (3 g saturated; 0 g trans fats); 67 mg cholesterol; 462 mg sodium; 11 g carbohydrate; 2 g fiber; 6 g sugar; 26 g protein.
For more recipes, cooking tips and ingredient and product reviews, visit https://www.americastestkitchen.com . Find more recipes like Grilled Beef Kebabs with Lemon and Rosemary Marinade in "The Complete Mediterranean Cookbook ."
- By America's Test Kitchen
Sausage and onions are a classic pairing that sounds tailor-made for the grill. But the reality is usually onions that are both crunchy and charred and sausages that either dried out or — even worse — catch fire.
We wanted a foolproof method for grilling sausages and onions simultaneously that would produce nicely browned links with juicy interiors and tender, caramelized onions.
Microwaving the onions — with a little thyme, salt, and pepper — for just 4 minutes jump-started the cooking process and allowed them to finish cooking evenly and thoroughly on the grill.
We adapted a ballpark technique, first cooking the meat with the onions away from direct heat in a disposable pan and then finishing the sausages directly over the flames.
Keeping the onions cooking on their own in the pan for an extra 5 to 10 minutes allowed the liquid to evaporate and the onions to caramelize to a deep golden brown while the sausages finished up brown and crisp on the grill.
Grilled sausages with onions
Servings: 4
Start to finish: 1 hour
INGREDIENTS:
2 large onions, sliced thin
1 teaspoon minced fresh thyme leaves
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon pepper
1 (13 by 9-inch) disposable aluminum roasting pan
2 pounds sweet or hot Italian sausage (8 to 12 links)
DIRECTIONS:
For a charcoal grill: Open bottom vent completely. Light large chimney starter filled with charcoal briquettes (6 quarts). When top coals are partially covered with ash, pour evenly over grill. Set cooking grate in place, cover, and open lid vent completely. Heat grill until hot, about 5 minutes.
For a gas grill: Turn all burners to high, cover, and heat grill until hot, about 15 minutes. Turn all burners to medium-high.
Meanwhile, microwave onions, thyme, salt, and pepper in medium bowl, covered, until onions begin to soften and tips turn slightly translucent, 4 to 6 minutes, stirring once halfway through microwaving (be careful of steam). Transfer onions to disposable pan. Place sausages in single layer over onions and wrap pan tightly with aluminum foil.
Clean and oil cooking grate. Place disposable pan in center of grill, cover grill, and cook for 15 minutes. Move pan to 1 side of grill and carefully remove foil. Transfer sausages directly to grill and cook (covered if using gas) until golden brown on all sides, 5 to 7 minutes.
Transfer sausages to serving platter and tent with foil. Cover grill and continue to cook onions, stirring occasionally, until liquid evaporates and onions begin to brown, 5 to 10 minutes longer. Serve sausages, passing onions separately.
Chef's note: This recipe will work with any raw, uncooked sausage. Serve the sausages as is or in toasted rolls.
Nutrition information per serving: 611 calories; 480 calories from fat; 53 g fat (19 g saturated; 0 g trans fats); 129 mg cholesterol; 1536 mg sodium; 6 g carbohydrate; 1 g fiber; 2 g sugar; 25 g protein.
For more recipes, cooking tips and ingredient and product reviews, visit https://www.americastestkitchen.com . Find more recipes like Grilled Sausages with Onions in "Master of the Grill ."
- By America's Test Kitchen
Spicy, smoky Jamaican jerk is one of the world's great barbecue traditions. Meat (traditionally chicken or pork) is rubbed with an intensely flavored liquidy paste made from fiery Scotch bonnet chiles, allspice berries, herbs, and spices, and then it is smoked over pimento wood.
Our jerk marinade has plenty of bold ingredients, including habanero chiles (in place of the Scotch bonnets), scallions, garlic, lime zest, and mustard for zingy brightness, and brown sugar, nutmeg, and ginger for warm sweetness. It's potent enough to infuse the chicken in just 30 minutes.
We substituted easy-to-find hickory chips for the traditional pimento wood, and we smoked allspice berries, thyme, and rosemary along with the wood chips to give our chicken a great authentic flavor that mimicked pimento's sweet, herbal smoke.
JERK CHICKEN
Servings: 4
Start to finish: 1 hour, 45 minutes
INGREDIENTS:
Jerk marinade
1 1/2 tablespoons coriander seeds
1 tablespoon allspice berries
1 tablespoon black peppercorns
1-3 habanero chiles, stemmed, seeded, and quartered
8 scallions, chopped
6 garlic cloves, peeled
3 tablespoons vegetable oil
2 tablespoons soy sauce
2 tablespoons grated lime zest (3 limes), plus lime wedges for serving
2 tablespoons yellow mustard
1 tablespoon dried thyme
1 tablespoon ground ginger
1 tablespoon packed brown sugar
2 1/4 teaspoons salt
2 teaspoons dried basil
1/2 teaspoon dried rosemary
1/2 teaspoon ground nutmeg
Chicken:
3 pounds bone-in chicken pieces (split breasts cut in half crosswise, drumsticks, and/or thighs), trimmed
2 tablespoons allspice berries
2 tablespoons dried thyme
2 tablespoons dried rosemary
2 tablespoons water
1 cup wood chips (preferably hickory), soaked in water for 15 minutes and drained
DIRECTIONS:
For the jerk marinade: Grind coriander seeds, allspice berries, and peppercorns in spice grinder or mortar and pestle until coarsely ground. Transfer spices to blender jar. Add remaining ingredients and process to smooth paste, 1 to 3 minutes, scraping down sides of blender jar as necessary. Transfer marinade to 1 gallon zipper-lock bag.
For the chicken: Add chicken pieces to bag with marinade and toss to coat; press out air and seal bag. Let sit at room temperature for at least 30 minutes while preparing grill, flipping bag after 15 minutes. (Marinated chicken can be refrigerated for up to 24 hours.)
Combine allspice berries, thyme, rosemary, and water in bowl and set aside for 15 minutes, until moistened. Using large piece of heavy-duty aluminum foil, wrap soaked chips and moistened allspice mixture in 8-by-4 1/2 inch foil packet. (Make sure chips do not poke holes in sides or bottom of packet.) Cut 2 evenly spaced 2 inch slits in top of packet.
For a charcoal grill: Open bottom vent halfway. Arrange 1 quart unlit charcoal briquettes in single layer over half of grill. Light large chimney starter one-third filled with charcoal briquettes (2 quarts). When top coals are partially covered with ash, pour on top of unlit charcoal, keeping coals arranged over half of grill. Place wood chip packet on coals. Set cooking grate in place, cover, and open lid vent halfway. Heat grill until hot and wood chips are smoking, about 5 minutes.
For a gas grill: Remove cooking grate and place wood chip packet directly on primary burner. Set grate in place, turn all burners to high, cover, and heat grill until hot and wood chips are smoking, 15 to 25 minutes. Turn primary burner to medium and turn off other burner(s).
Clean and oil cooking grate. Place chicken skin side up on cooler side of grill, as far away from fire as possible, with thighs closest to heat and breasts farthest away. Cover (positioning lid vent over chicken if using charcoal) and cook for 30 minutes.
Move chicken skin side down to hotter side of grill. Cook until browned and skin renders, 3 to 6 minutes. Using tongs, flip chicken pieces and cook until browned on second side and breasts register 160 F and thighs and drumsticks register 175 F, 5 to 12 minutes.
Transfer chicken to serving platter, tent with foil, and let rest for 5 to 10 minutes. Serve warm or at room temperature with lime wedges.
Nutrition information per serving: 430 calories; 214 calories from fat; 24 g fat (4 g saturated; 0 g trans fats); 160 mg cholesterol; 1723 mg sodium; 12 g carbohydrate; 3 g fiber; 4 g sugar; 42 g protein.
For more recipes, cooking tips and ingredient and product reviews, visit https://www.americastestkitchen.com . Find more recipes like Jerk Chicken in "Vegetables Illustrated ."
- By Robin Anish
When did you last cook a ham? Was it Christmas or Easter?
It was for me. Other than holidays, I don't much think of cooking ham. Baked ham is great for cooler weather, but not so much in the summer. No one wants to use the oven on a hot summer day. That's why we grill outdoors. So then, why not grill a ham?
When cooked over charcoal, a ham takes on another layer of smoky flavor; in other words, a double-smoked ham, which is absolutely delicious.
The Kingsford charcoal website offers this detailed method for charcoal grilling a whole ham.
DOUBLE-SMOKED GRILL ROASTED HAM
Set up your coals in a parallel configuration. In this configuration, coals burn slowly in two rows on either side of the grill, with a water pan in the center to provide a moist environment and help stabilize temperatures. This configuration provides long, steady heat for grill-roasting your ham.
This method works with a fully cooked, whole or half ham, butt or shank. For the juiciest ham, do not use a spiral cut ham. Prepare by scoring the ham about 1/4-inch deep in a crosshatch pattern to allow seasonings to penetrate the meat. Then apply spicy dry rub (recipe below). If the ham has skin, remove it and trim fat to 1/4-inch.
Place the seasoned ham in the center of the grate, right over the water pan with the coals on either side. Put the lid on your grill and adjust your vents to maintain a temperature of about 325 degrees F. Add more coals as necessary. Since hams are already smoked, additional smoke wood is not essential, but you can add some if you like. Let your ham grill-roast for roughly 15 minutes per pound. Because the ham is already fully cooked, you just need to bring it up to temperature.
When the ham reaches about 120 degrees F, it's time for you to apply a sweet glaze, if you like. Try the Pineapple Honey-Lime Glaze recipe below. Brush the glaze on periodically until the ham reaches a final temperature of 135 degrees F.
Let the ham rest for about 10 minutes to cool prior to slicing. Slice the ham across the grain into slices about 1/4-inch thick. If you have a bone-in ham, cut large pieces of the ham away from the bone first, then thinly slice the large pieces on your cutting board.
DRY RUB
INGREDIENTS:
2 tablespoons brown sugar
1 teaspoon paprika, smoked or sweet
1 teaspoon garlic powder
1 teaspoon mustard powder
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon pepper
PINEAPPLE HONEY LIME GLAZE
INGREDIENTS:
1/4 cup pineapple juice
2 tablespoons fresh lime juice
1 cup honey
1/4 cup brown sugar
1/4 cup butter
DIRECTIONS:
Combine ingredients in a small saucepan and bring to simmer, stirring, until slightly thicken and syrupy. Cool.
Smoky and sweet, this ham will be a real treat alongside potato salad, macaroni salad, a fresh garden salad or corn on the cob, all the classic picnic foods we love.
- By Elizabeth Karmel , The Associated Press
Who doesn't want to eat and cook outdoors? And if you're firing up the grill, don't forget dessert.
I am bananas for grilled bananas. Fast and easy, they become instant favorites and remind you of classic desserts. And there are so many variations: You can make grilled banana s'mores, grilled bananas splits, grilled bananas with peanut butter and jelly, grilled banana pudding, etc.,
One of my favorite desserts used to be Bananas Foster — vanilla ice cream topped with rich brown sugar, buttery, boozy warm sautéed bananas and toasted pecans. But I never eat it anymore. When I discovered that I could grill bananas and get nearly the same flavors without a sticky pan to wash — and I could save about a thousand calories as well — I never looked back.
The key to grilling bananas is leaving them in their protective skins. Slice a banana once lengthwise and once crosswise, so each banana is in four pieces. Because I like a bourbon-flavored Bananas Foster as opposed to rum, I sprinkle the cut side of the bananas with a bourbon that has predominant notes of vanilla and caramel.
Next, I make a simple "dessert rub" of white sugar, cinnamon and a pinch of fine-grain sea salt. You can use this sweet rub to good effect on any fruit you are grilling. I toss a dusting of the rub over the cut side of the bananas and let them sit for 5 minutes. This is enough time to allow the natural sugars and the bourbon to absorb and dissolve the rub. Then it's time for the grill.
I generally grill the banana cut-side down for a minute or two to get grill marks, but that is not necessary. What is necessary is to let the banana cook skin-side down until it is slightly cooked all the way through, and the fruit begins to recede from the skin. The skin will be black, but the banana inside will be warm, slightly caramelized, soft and fragrant.
Grilling the banana transforms the fruit from something that can sometimes be starchy and lacking in taste into a tropical flavor bomb. You peel the banana before serving, so it doesn't matter how black the skin gets as long as it still protects the banana.
When I am short on time but want to serve an unexpected crowd-pleaser, this Grilled Banana Sundae with Dulce de Leche and Shredded Halva is my quick and easy version of a grilled banana ice cream sundae.
Once the bananas are grilled, it's time to build the dessert. In this case, a sundae.
I often make homemade dulce de leche by carefully boiling a can of sweetened condensed milk until the sugars in the milk cook and become a candy-like deep-tan caramelized sauce. But these days, you can buy excellent dulce de leche sauce and dulce de leche ice cream at the grocery store.
I unpeel the grilled bananas and serve them warm on top of two scoops of my favorite dulce de leche ice cream. That alone is pretty darn good, but I don't stop there. I drizzle a little more bourbon on top and, if I am feeling indulgent, an extra spoonful of dulce de leche. And then my secret ingredient: A generous layer of shredded halva on top. You can eliminate the extra bourbon and the extra dulce de leche, but do not eliminate the shredded halva.
Halva is a Middle Eastern confection made with tahini (sesame paste) and sugar. It is my new "nut" topping for ice cream; I've put my beloved pecans and walnuts back in the cupboard.
I have eaten halva in chunk form for years, and am partial to the handmade variety from Hebel & Co. It has crispy shards of nutty sugar mixed into the creamy texture of the halva. And that is what led me to the shredded halva. It is all crispy caramelized shards, and for a lover of texture like me, a whole other level of greatness. It is like a more toothsome, nutty, sweet and slightly savory version of cotton candy. The sesame flavor is delicate, and softly compliments the honeyed bananas and dulce de leche ice cream. But the best part is that the crunchy crisp texture makes you want to take another bite and another bite!
GRILLED BANANAS WITH DULCE DE LECHE AND SHREDDED HALVA
Serves 4
INGREDIENTS:
2 bananas (not too ripe)
2 tablespoons bourbon, divided
2 tablespoons granulated white sugar
1 teaspoon cinnamon
Pinch of fine-grain sea salt
1 pint best-quality dulce de leche vanilla ice cream
Dulce de leche sauce, optional
2 tablespoons shredded halva (easy to order online)
DIRECTIONS:
Do not peel bananas. Slice them, in their skin, in half lengthwise and crosswise, so each banana yields four pieces. Set aside.
Sprinkle the cut sides with half the bourbon. Combine sugar cinnamon and salt and mix well. Cover the cut sides of bananas with the rub by carefully spooning it on or by using your hands. Let the bananas sit for 5 minutes.
Place bananas cut-side-down on the center of a clean cooking grate, and place the lid on the grill. Cook for 1 minute or until grill marks appear. Using long-handled tongs, carefully turn over and let cook 4-5 minutes or until the skin pulls away from the flesh of the banana.
Remove bananas from grill and serve immediately on top of the dulce de leche ice cream. Top with a generous amount of shredded halva. Drizzle with extra bourbon and extra dulce de leche sauce, if desired.
Serve immediately.
- By America's Test Kitchen
In Mexico, vendors sell this messy, cheesy, utterly delicious grilled corn from carts. To bring this street food to the home kitchen, we broiled the corn on the cob instead of heading out to the grill, first brushing it with oil to keep it from drying out.
Mayonnaise makes a good substitute for Mexican crema, especially when it's dressed up with cilantro, garlic, lime, and chili powder.
Hard-to-find traditional Cotija cheese is great, but salty, crumbly feta is just as good. To keep it from crumbling right off the corn, we mixed it in with the mayonnaise before slathering the mixture all over the charred corn and broiling it for another few minutes.
MEXICAN STREET CORN
Servings: 6
Start to finish: 35 minutes
INGREDIENTS:
6 ears corn, husks and silk removed, stalks left intact
1 tablespoon olive oil
1/2 cup mayonnaise
1 ounce feta cheese, crumbled (1/4 cup)
2 tablespoons minced fresh cilantro
1 tablespoon lime juice, plus lime wedges for serving
1 garlic clove, minced
1 teaspoon chili powder
Salt and pepper
DIRECTIONS:
Adjust oven rack 5 inches from broiler element and heat broiler. Line rimmed baking sheet with aluminum foil. Brush corn all over with oil and transfer to prepared sheet. Broil corn until well browned on 1 side, about 10 minutes. Flip corn and broil until well browned on opposite side, about 10 minutes longer.
Meanwhile, whisk mayonnaise, feta, cilantro, lime juice, garlic, chili powder, and 1/4 teaspoon salt together in bowl until incorporated.
Remove corn from oven and brush evenly on all sides with mayonnaise mixture. (Reserve any extra mayonnaise mixture for serving.) Return corn to oven and broil, rotating frequently, until coating is lightly browned, about 2 minutes. Season with salt and pepper to taste. Serve corn with lime wedges and any extra reserved mayonnaise mixture.
Nutrition information per serving: 253 calories; 178 calories from fat; 20 g fat (3 g saturated; 0 g trans fats); 13 mg cholesterol; 285 mg sodium; 19 g carbohydrate; 2 g fiber; 5 g sugar; 5 g protein.
- By America's Test Kitchen
A fresh, herb-packed chimichurri sauce complementing rich, smoky grilled steaks is an Argentine favorite. We think it's a perfect meal for summer evenings outside with friends and family.
To translate the Argentine grilling method to our smaller American steaks, we rubbed the boneless strip steaks with salt and used the freezer as a dehydrator to evaporate the surface moisture; this, along with rubbing the steaks with cornstarch, helped them develop a substantial browned exterior on the grill. Covering the grill for the initial cooking jump-started the flavoring process.
GRILLED ARGENTINE STEAKS WITH CHIMICHURRI SAUCE
Servings: 6-8
Start to finish: 1 hour 30 minutes (plus 30 minutes salting time)
DIRECTIONS:
Chimichurri sauce:
1/4 cup hot water
2 teaspoons dried oregano
1 teaspoon salt
1 1/3 cups fresh parsley leaves
2/3 cup fresh cilantro leaves
6 garlic cloves, minced
1/2 teaspoon red pepper flakes
1/4 cup red wine vinegar
1/2 cup extra-virgin olive oil
Steaks:
1 tablespoon cornstarch
Salt and pepper
4 (1 pound) boneless strip steaks, 1 1/2 inches thick, trimmed
4 medium wood chunks, unsoaked
1 (9 inch) disposable aluminum pie plate (if using gas)
DIRECTIONS:
For the chimichurri sauce: Combine water, oregano, and salt in small bowl and let sit until oregano is softened, about 15 minutes. Pulse parsley, cilantro, garlic, and pepper flakes in food processor until coarsely chopped, about 10 pulses. Add water mixture and vinegar and pulse to combine. Transfer mixture to bowl and slowly whisk in oil until combined. Cover and let sit at room temperature for 1 hour. (Chimichurri sauce can be refrigerated for up to 3 days.)
For the steaks: Meanwhile, combine cornstarch and 1 1/2 teaspoons salt in bowl. Pat steaks dry with paper towels and place on wire rack set in rimmed baking sheet. Rub entire surface of steaks with cornstarch mixture and place steaks in freezer, uncovered, until very firm, about 30 minutes.
- For a charcoal grill: Open bottom vent halfway. Light large chimney starter filled with charcoal briquettes (6 quarts). When top coals are partially covered with ash, pour evenly over grill. Using tongs, place wood chunks directly on top of coals, spacing them evenly around perimeter of grill. Set cooking grate in place, cover, and open lid vent halfway. Heat grill until hot and wood chunks are smoking, about 5 minutes.
- For a gas grill: Turn all burners to high, cover, and heat grill until hot, about 15 minutes. Leave all burners on high. Place wood chunks in disposable aluminum pie plate and set on cooking grate. Close lid and heat until wood chunks begin to smoke, about 5 minutes.
Clean and oil cooking grate. Season steaks with pepper. Place steaks on grill, cover, and cook until beginning to brown, 2 to 3 minutes per side.
Flip steaks and cook, uncovered, until well browned on first side, 2 to 4 minutes. Flip steaks and continue to cook until meat registers 115-120 F (for rare) or 120-125 F (for medium-rare), 2 to 6 minutes longer.
Transfer steaks to carving board, tent with aluminum foil, and let rest for 5 to 10 minutes. Slice each steak 1/4 inch thick. Serve, passing chimichurri sauce separately.
Nutrition information per serving: 405 calories; 182 calories from fat; 20 g fat (4 g saturated; 0 g trans fats); 125 mg cholesterol; 423 mg sodium; 3 g carbohydrate; 1 g fiber; 0 g sugar; 53 g protein.
For more recipes, cooking tips and ingredient and product reviews, visit https://www.americastestkitchen.com . Find more recipes like Grilled Steaks with Chimichurri Sauce in "Vegetables Illustrated ."
- By Lindsey Hollenbaugh, The Berkshire Eagle
Not all burgers have to be beef.
All you hamburger purists, hear me out: We've been turning to our grills more as we leave the house less than we would pre-COVID-19. Use this time to get yourself out of whatever hamburger rut you've been in. Put down the frozen patties and try mixing up something delicious with your hands.
Burgers come in all shapes and sizes, in different meats, and yes, some without any meat at all. Ground turkey or chicken is a great, healthy alternative to beef, and most burger recipes can be helped with the addition of vegetables such as chopped leafy greens, mushrooms or grated carrots to help add bulk, flavor and nutrition.
Making your own burger patties is easy. Consider making the patties a few hours before you plan to grill them and let them cool on a covered tray in your fridge so the mixture can really set. This will also make more tender, wet burger mixtures — such as bean burgers, or ground chicken — more likely to hold their shape on the grill. When mixing your burgers, make sure the mixture isn't too wet that it will fall through your grill grates, but also not too dry or you'll have tough burger patties to chew. To keep more of the mixture on your burger and not on your hands as you shape your patties, dip your hands in cold water right before forming.
After you've shaped the patties, don't forget the magic thumb imprint in the middle, which burger experts say helps keep the burger from puffing up in to a round ball and helps keep the shape and patty from shrinking.
TURKEYBALL BURGERS
Recipe courtesy of Geoff Smith, sports editor
Serves: 3 to 5
INGREDIENTS:
1 package of ground turkey
1 cup of spinach
1 cup of crumbled feta cheese
3/4 cup of panko bread crumbs
1 egg
Salt and pepper (to taste)
Provolone cheese slices
1 loaf of French bread
1 avocado
DIRECTIONS:
Take the spinach and chop it down until the pieces are relatively small. Take the turkey meat and place in a bowl. Add egg, bread crumbs, feta cheese, spinach, salt and pepper on top of the turkey, then use your hands to combine ingredients together. Once the mixture is the right consistency for you, form balls with the mixture, and press into patties. A package of turkey should make between 5 to 6 burgers, depending on the size you want.
Preheat grill over medium-high heat. Once the grill has reached temperature, place patties down on grill. Cook on each side for 5 to 6 minutes depending on patty size. Add slice of favorite cheese on top if you want. As patties finish up, cut French bread to size, and place on top rack of grill (off the heat) to toast.
Put the patty on the french bread, then cut the avocado into slices. Place 3 to 4 avocado pieces on top of the patty.
CHICKEN RANCH BURGERS
Recipe courtesy of Lindsey Hollenbaugh, managing editor of features
INGREDIENTS:
1 pound ground chicken
One 1-ounce package dry Ranch dressing mix
1/3 cup cooked and crumbled bacon (can use bacon bits in a pinch)
1 cup shredded cheddar cheese
hamburger buns
DIRECTIONS:
Combine ground chicken, ranch dressing mix, cooked bacon, and cheddar cheese. Form into 3 or 4 burger patties.
Prepare grill. Grill chicken burgers for 4 to 5 minutes per side. Serve on hamburger buns with favorite burger toppings.
CALIFORNIA BLACK BEAN BURGERS
This recipe has been a favorite in my family for quite a while (and one of the only vegetarian recipes I can make that won't get me a "Great! Would be better with beef..." comment.) Yes, it can get a little messy, but I love these lightly spiced patties that I can make more or less spicy with a good salsa. — Meggie Baker, calendar editor
(From Betty Crocker)
INGREDIENTS:
One 15-ounce can black beans with cumin and chili spices, undrained
One 4-ounce can chopped green chilies, undrained
1 cup plain dry bread crumbs
1 egg, beaten
1/4 cup yellow cornmeal
2 tablespoons vegetable oil
5 hamburger buns, toasted
1 tablespoon mayonnaise or salad dressing (optional)
1 1/4 cups shredded lettuce
3 tablespoons thick-and-chunky salsa
DIRECTIONS:
Place beans in food processor or blender. Cover and process until slightly mashed; remove from food processor. Mix beans, chilies, bread crumbs and egg. Shape mixture into 5 patties, each about 1/2 inch thick. Coat each patty with cornmeal.
Heat oil in a skillet over medium heat. Cook patties in oil 10 to 15 minutes, turning once, until crisp and thoroughly cooked on both sides. Add to burger buns and top with mayonnaise, lettuce, patties, salsa.
SALSA BLACK BEAN BURGERS
Courtesy of Becky Drees, features designer
INGREDIENTS:
1/2 cup prepared salsa
Two 15-ounce cans black beans, rinsed
1 cup well-crushed tortilla chips
cup grated white onion
1 large egg, beaten
3 tablespoons mayonnaise
4 teaspoons chili powder
2 teaspoons cumin
3/4 teaspoon salt
3 tablespoons avocado oil or canola oil, divided
DIRECTIONS:
Place salsa in a fine-mesh sieve and stir a few times to drain excess liquid. Mash beans with potato masher until no whole ones remain. Stir in salsa, tortilla chips, grated onion, egg, mayo, chili powder, cumin and salt. Let stand 10 minutes.
Form mixture into 8 burgers about 3 inches wide (1/3 cup each). Heat 1 1/2 tablespoons oil in a large nonstick skillet over medium-high heat. Reduce heat to medium, add 4 burgers and cook until browned and heated through, 3 to 4 minutes on each side. Repeat with remaining burgers. Serve on buns with guacamole, tomato slices, sprouts and red onion.
- By Francesca Olsen, Eagle correspondent
Spatchcocking is a way to flatten a whole chicken so it cooks evenly — you cut out its backbone, then lay it flat on indirect grill heat, flipping the whole thing once. I also brined it for 24 hours, which made it amazingly juicy and less in danger of drying out in the hot grill.
A shrub is a mildly fermented fruit-and-vinegar syrup, an old-time recipe made to preserve fruit flavors for winter. Mine was a combo of cherry juice, balsamic vinegar, sherry vinegar and some black peppercorns; I have also been enjoying it in seltzer.
Even though the sky wept with rain earlier in the day, we had a good, albeit soggy, three-hour window in which to grill, which was enough time. Because I am a big-time prepper, I left Stephanie no work to do — but she brought great hard cider and taught me how to style my food photos better. The beautiful quilt-chicken-glass-plate arrangement is all her.
Brined spatchcock chicken + kitchen sink barbecue glaze
Serves 3-4
INGREDIENTS:
1 3- to 4-pound chicken
3/4 cup salt
Peppercorns and a handful of herbs (I used thyme and rosemary from my garden)
2 tablespoons honey
3 tablespoons spice mix of your choosing (I mixed up cajun seasoning with paprika, turmeric, salt, pepper, coriander and a little cumin)
1/2 cup to 1 cup barbecue sauce (see below for notes; if you're really interested in shrubs, wait for a future column or get thee to Pinterest!)
DIRECTIONS:
The day before, mix salt, herbs, honey and peppercorns into a large pot with about a gallon of warm water, then let cool before fully submerging chicken. Chill in refrigerator 12 TO 24 hours. You will be glad you didn't skip this step.
Once brined, remove chicken from pot, shake off excess brine and place on a large cutting board. Turn bird breast-side down and make two shallow knife lines on either side of backbone, then use your biggest and sharpest knife to remove the backbone (be careful!). Press chicken open and sprinkle all your spice rub on the pink side, leaving skin side clean. Let chicken sit for about 15 minutes.
Create a nice glaze with things in your kitchen. I did some cheap barbecue sauce mixed with mustard, olive oil, a little sherry vinegar, cherry shrub and cracked pepper. Set aside.
Go out to your grill! (As stated in prior columns, I have a gas grill, back off, haters). Create an indirect heat situation for your chicken by turning on the burners to the left and right, leaving your center burner off. Get grill to about 400 degrees, then place chicken skin-side down for about 30 minutes, with grill closed. Try not to turn it, just leave it be.
After 30 minutes, flip chicken over and behold the amazing crispy skin you have created. Now is the time to begin brushing barbecue sauce on there. Every five minutes or so, open the grill and cover the chicken with your sauce, then close the grill again. After another 25 to 30 minutes, you should have a beautifully grilled, evenly cooked, incredibly juicy chicken. Bring inside and let sit for 15 minutes before carving. Enjoy — but let a creative friend get a good shot first.
- By America's Test Kitchen
To make grilled cauliflower with a tender interior and a flavorful, nicely browned exterior, we first microwaved it until it was cooked through and then briefly grilled it to pick up color and flavor.
To ensure that the cauliflower held up on the grill without falling through the grate and to provide sufficient surface area for browning, we cut the head into wedges.
Dunking the cauliflower in a salt and sugar solution before microwaving seasoned it all over, even in the nooks and crannies. Look for cauliflower with densely packed florets that feels heavy for its size.
Using tongs or a thin metal spatula to gently flip the wedges helps keep them intact. This dish stands well on its own, but to dress it up, serve it sprinkled with 1 tablespoon of almond, raisin and caper relish (recipe follows).
Grilled cauliflower
Servings: 4-6
Start to finish: 35 minutes
INGREDIENTS:
1/4 cup salt
2 tablespoons sugar
1 head cauliflower (2 pounds), cut into 6 equal wedges
2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
1 tablespoon minced fresh chives
1 tablespoon topping (recipe follows)
Lemon wedges
DIRECTIONS:
Whisk 2 cups water, salt, and sugar in medium bowl until salt and sugar dissolve. Holding wedges by core, gently dunk in salt-sugar mixture until evenly moistened (do not dry — residual water will help cauliflower steam). Transfer wedges, rounded side down, to large plate and cover with inverted large bowl. Microwave until cauliflower is translucent and tender and paring knife slips easily in and out of thickest stem of florets (not core), 14 to 16 minutes.
Carefully (bowl and cauliflower will be very hot) transfer cauliflower to paper towel-lined plate and pat dry with paper towels. Brush cut sides of wedges with 1 tablespoon oil.
For a charcoal grill: Open bottom vent completely. Light large chimney starter three-quarters filled with charcoal briquettes (4 1/2 quarts). When top coals are partially covered with ash, pour evenly over grill. Set cooking grate in place, cover, and open lid vent completely. Heat grill until hot, about 5 minutes.
For a gas grill: Turn all burners to high, cover, and heat grill until hot, about 15 minutes. Turn all burners to medium-high.
Clean and oil cooking grate. Place cauliflower, cut side down, on grill and cook, covered, until well browned with spots of charring, 3 to 4 minutes. Using tongs or thin metal spatula, flip cauliflower and cook second cut side until well browned with spots of charring, 3 to 4 minutes. Flip again so cauliflower is sitting on rounded edge and cook until browned, 1 to 2 minutes.
Transfer cauliflower to serving platter. Drizzle with remaining 1 tablespoon oil, sprinkle with chives and topping, and serve with lemon wedges.
Almond, raisin, and caper relish
Makes about 1/2 cup
Golden raisins plus briny capers, crunchy almonds, and white wine vinegar make for a sweet, salty, and tangy topping. Champagne vinegar can be used in place of white wine vinegar and regular raisins in place of golden raisins, if desired.
INGREDIENTS:
2 tablespoons golden raisins
1 teaspoon white wine vinegar
1/4 cup sliced almonds, toasted and chopped fine
1 tablespoon capers, rinsed and chopped fine
1 teaspoon minced fresh parsley
Pinch red pepper flakes
3-4 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
Salt and pepper
DIRECTIONS:
Combine raisins and 2 tablespoons hot water in small bowl and let stand for 5 minutes. Drain raisins and chop fine. Toss raisins and vinegar in bowl, then stir in almonds, capers, parsley, and pepper flakes. Stir in 3 tablespoons oil; mixture should be well moistened. If still dry, add remaining 1 tablespoon oil. Season with salt and pepper to taste.
Nutrition information per serving: 233 calories; 145 calories from fat; 16 g fat (2 g saturated; 0 g trans fats); 0 mg cholesterol; 1021 mg sodium; 18 g carbohydrate; 6 g fiber; 10 g sugar; 6 g protein.
For more recipes, cooking tips and ingredient and product reviews, visit https://www.americastestkitchen.com . Find more recipes like Grilled Cauliflower in "Vegetables Illustrated ."
- By America's Test Kitchen
For grilled pork skewers that were moist and flavorful, we turned to boneless country-style ribs, which are quick-cooking and tender, yet have enough fat to keep them from drying out.
The flavorful North African-inspired seasonings of garlic, lemon, coriander, cumin, nutmeg, and cinnamon did double duty, first in a marinade and later in a basting sauce. As a base for the relish, we grilled onions alongside the pork.
We mixed the grilled onions with a zesty combination of olives, capers, balsamic vinegar, and parsley for a bright, potent sauce that perfectly complemented the skewers.
You will need six 12-inch metal skewers for this recipe.
GRILLED SPICED PORK SKEWERS WITH ONION AND CAPER RELISH
Servings: 6
Start to finish: 2 hours
INGREDIENTS:
6 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
5 garlic cloves, minced
1 tablespoon grated lemon zest
1 tablespoon ground coriander
2 teaspoons ground cumin
1/2 teaspoon ground nutmeg
1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
Salt and pepper
1 1/2 pounds boneless country-style pork ribs, trimmed of all visible fat and cut into 1 inch pieces
2 onions, sliced into 1/2 inch-thick rounds
1/2 cup pitted kalamata olives, chopped
1/4 cup capers, rinsed
3 tablespoons balsamic vinegar
2 tablespoons minced fresh parsley
DIRECTIONS:
Whisk 1/4 cup oil, garlic, lemon zest, coriander, cumin, nutmeg, cinnamon, 1/4 teaspoon salt, and 1/2 teaspoon pepper together in medium bowl. Measure out and reserve 2 tablespoons marinade. Combine remaining marinade and pork in 1 gallon zipper-lock bag and toss to coat. Press out as much air as possible and seal bag. Refrigerate for at least 1 hour or up to 2 hours, flipping bag every 30 minutes.
Remove pork from bag and pat dry with paper towels. Thread pork tightly onto four 12 inch metal skewers. Thread onion rounds from side to side onto two 12 inch metal skewers and brush with 1 tablespoon oil.
For a charcoal grill: Open bottom vent completely. Light large chimney starter three-quarters filled with charcoal briquettes (4 1/2 quarts). When top coals are partially covered with ash, pour evenly over grill. Set cooking grate in place, cover, and open lid vent completely. Heat grill until hot, about 5 minutes.
For a gas grill: Turn all burners to high, cover, and heat grill until hot, about 15 minutes. Turn all burners to medium-high.
Clean and oil cooking grate. Place pork and onion skewers on grill and cook (covered if using gas), turning skewers every 2 minutes and basting pork with reserved marinade, until pork is browned and registers 145 F and onions are slightly charred and tender, 10 to 15 minutes. Transfer pork and onions to cutting board as they finish grilling and tent with aluminum foil. Let pork rest while preparing relish.
Coarsely chop onions and combine with remaining 1 tablespoon oil, olives, capers, vinegar, and parsley. Season with pepper to taste. Using tongs, slide pork off skewers onto serving platter. Serve with relish.
Nutrition information per serving: 371 calories; 258 calories from fat; 29 g fat (5 g saturated; 0 g trans fats); 62 mg cholesterol; 726 mg sodium; 8 g carbohydrate; 1 g fiber; 3 g sugar; 21 g protein.
For more recipes, cooking tips and ingredient and product reviews, visit https://www.americastestkitchen.com . Find more recipes like Grilled Spiced Pork Skewers with Onion and Caper Relish in "The Complete Diabetes Cookbook ."
- By America's Test Kitchen
Basil pesto isn't just for pasta. We found a way to imbue chicken with basil and garlic that would hold up on the grill.
How did we get enough flavor into the chicken? We used homemade pesto, which tastes stronger and fresher than store-bought. We added the pesto base to separate mixtures for marinating, stuffing, and saucing the chicken.
We found that bone-in chicken breasts had the most flavor. We cut pockets in them to fill with pesto and then marinated the stuffed breasts in more pesto. We added a third dose of pesto in a sauce to serve with the chicken after it was grilled.
GRILLED PESTO CHICKEN
Servings: 4
Start to finish: 1 hour, 30 minutes
INGREDIENTS:
4 cups fresh basil leaves
3/4 cup extra-virgin olive oil
5 garlic cloves, peeled
1 1/2 tablespoons lemon juice
Salt and pepper
2 ounces Parmesan cheese, grated (1 cup)
4 (12-ounce) bone-in split chicken breasts, trimmed
DIRECTIONS:
Process basil, 1/2 cup oil, garlic, lemon juice, and 3/4 teaspoon salt in food processor until smooth, about 1 minute, scraping down bowl as needed. Transfer 1/4 cup pesto to large bowl and set aside for marinade. Add Parmesan to pesto left in processor and pulse to incorporate, about 3 pulses; transfer 1/4 cup pesto to small bowl and set aside for stuffing. Add remaining 1/4 cup oil to pesto left in processor and pulse to incorporate, about 3 pulses; set aside for serving.
Starting on thick side of breast, closest to breastbone, cut horizontal pocket in each breast, stopping 1/2 inch from edge so halves remain attached. Season chicken, inside and out, with salt and pepper. Place 1 tablespoon pesto reserved for stuffing in each pocket. Tie each chicken breast with 2 pieces kitchen twine to secure. In large bowl, rub chicken with pesto reserved for marinade, cover, and refrigerate for 1 hour.
For a charcoal grill: Open bottom vent completely. Light large chimney starter filled with charcoal briquettes (6 quarts). When top coals are partially covered with ash, pour evenly over half of grill. Set cooking grate in place, cover, and open lid vent completely. Heat grill until hot, about 5 minutes.
For a gas grill: Turn all burners to high, cover, and heat grill until hot, about 15 minutes. Turn all burners to medium-low. (Adjust burners as needed to maintain grill temperature of 350 F.)
Clean and oil cooking grate. Place chicken skin side up on grill (cooler side if using charcoal). Cover and cook until chicken registers 155 F, 25 to 35 minutes.
Slide chicken to hotter side of grill (if using charcoal) or turn all burners to high (if using gas), and flip skin side down. Cover and cook until well browned and chicken registers 160 F, 5 to 10 minutes.
Transfer chicken to platter, tent with aluminum foil, and let rest for 5 to 10 minutes. Remove twine, carve chicken, and serve with remaining sauce.
Nutrition information per serving: 442 calories; 247 calories from fat; 28 g fat (14 g saturated; 1 g trans fats); 279 mg cholesterol; 860 mg sodium; 25 g carbohydrate; 1 g fiber; 7 g sugar; 23 g protein.
For more recipes, cooking tips and ingredient and product reviews, visit https://www.americastestkitchen.com . Find more recipes like Grilled Pesto Chicken in "Master of the Grill."
- By America's Test Kitchen
When it comes to grilled kebabs, vegetables are often an afterthought, typically used as a filler on meat-heavy skewers. But this treatment often leads to mushy, burnt vegetables with no flavor of their own. We wanted to create a recipe that would put the vegetables front and center.
We started by choosing the right vegetables. We wanted a good mix of flavors and textures, but we knew that not all veggies would hold up to the high heat of the grill.
We started with bell peppers, which sweetened beautifully over the flames, and zucchini, which held its shape nicely and had a satisfying texture. Portobello mushroom caps were the perfect addition to the kebabs; as they released their moisture over the flame, they picked up great char and developed a deep, meaty taste.
Tossing grilled vegetables with a bold dressing can amp up their flavor considerably, but for our vegetable kebabs, we took the idea one step further. We tossed the vegetables with half of the dressing before skewering and grilling them, giving them great flavor from the start.
We pumped up the complexity and nuance of the remaining dressing with juice from grilled lemons, and tossed it with the cooked vegetables for a punchy, bright finish. You will need eight 12-inch metal skewers for this recipe.
Grilled vegetable kebabs
Servings: 4
Start to finish: 40 minutes
INGREDIENTS:
1/4 cup extra-virgin olive oil
1 teaspoon Dijon mustard
1 teaspoon minced fresh rosemary
1 garlic clove, minced
Salt and pepper
6 portobello mushroom caps (4 to 5 inches in diameter), quartered
2 zucchinis, halved lengthwise and sliced 3/4 inch thick
2 red bell peppers, stemmed, seeded, and cut into 1 1/2-inch pieces
2 lemons, quartered
DIRECTIONS:
Whisk oil, mustard, rosemary, garlic, 1/2 teaspoon salt, and 1/4 teaspoon pepper together in large bowl. Transfer half of dressing to separate bowl and set aside for serving. Toss mushrooms, zucchini, and bell peppers with remaining dressing, then thread in alternating order onto eight 12-inch metal skewers.
For a charcoal grill: Open bottom vent completely. Light large chimney starter half filled with charcoal briquettes (3 quarts). When top coals are partially covered with ash, pour evenly over grill. Set cooking grate in place, cover, and open lid vent completely. Heat grill until hot, about 5 minutes.
For a gas grill: Turn all burners to high, cover, and heat grill until hot, about 15 minutes. Turn all burners to medium.
Clean and oil cooking grate. Place kebabs and lemons on grill. Cook (covered if using gas), turning as needed, until vegetables are tender and well browned, 16 to 18 minutes. Transfer kebabs and lemons to serving platter. Juice 2 lemon quarters into reserved dressing and whisk to combine. Pour dressing over kebabs and serve with remaining lemons.
Nutrition information per serving: 152 calories; 73 calories from fat; 8 g fat (1 g saturated; 0 g trans fats); 0 mg cholesterol; 332 mg sodium; 17 g carbohydrate; 5 g fiber; 10 g sugar; 6 g protein.
For more recipes, cooking tips and ingredient and product reviews, visit https://www.americastestkitchen.com . Find more recipes like Grilled Vegetable Kebabs in "The Complete Make-Ahead Cookbook ."
- By America's Test Kitchen
Grilled potatoes are a summer classic. We wanted to put a new spin on this dish by adding rosemary and garlic.
Unfortunately, we found it was difficult to add enough flavor to plain grilled potatoes. Coating the potatoes with oil, garlic, and rosemary produced burnt, bitter garlic and charred rosemary.
It turned out that we needed to introduce the potatoes to the garlic-oil mixture not once, but three times. Before cooking, we pierced the potatoes, skewered them, seasoned them with salt, brushed on the garlic-rosemary oil, and precooked them in the microwave.
Then, before grilling, we brushed them again with the infused oil. After grilling, we tossed them with the oil yet again. We finally had it_tender grilled potatoes infused with the smoky flavor of the grill and enlivened with the bold flavors of garlic and rosemary.
This recipe allows you to grill an entree while the hot coals burn down. Once that item is done, start grilling the potatoes. This recipe works best with small potatoes that are about 1 1/2 inches in diameter. If using medium potatoes, 2 to 3 inches in diameter, cut them into quarters. If the potatoes are larger than 3 inches in diameter, cut each potato into eighths. Since the potatoes are first cooked in the microwave, use wooden skewers.
Grilled potatoes with garlic and rosemary
Servings: 4
Start to finish: 1 hour
INGREDIENTS:
1/4 cup olive oil
9 garlic cloves, minced
1 teaspoon chopped fresh rosemary
Salt and pepper
2 pounds small red potatoes, unpeeled, halved, and threaded onto wooden skewers
2 tablespoons chopped fresh chives
DIRECTIONS:
Heat oil, garlic, rosemary, and 1/2 teaspoon salt in 8-inch skillet over medium heat until sizzling, about 3 minutes. Reduce heat to medium-low and continue to cook until garlic is light blond, about 3 minutes. Pour mixture through fine-mesh strainer into small bowl; press on solids. Measure 1 tablespoon solids and 1 tablespoon oil into large bowl and set aside. Discard remaining solids but reserve remaining oil.
Place skewered potatoes in single layer on large plate and poke each potato several times with skewer. Brush with 1 tablespoon strained oil and season with salt. Microwave until potatoes offer slight resistance when pierced with paring knife, about 8 minutes, turning halfway through microwaving. Transfer potatoes to baking sheet coated with 1 tablespoon strained oil. Brush with remaining 1 tablespoon strained oil and season with salt and pepper to taste.
- For a charcoal grill: Open bottom vent completely. Light large chimney starter filled with charcoal briquettes (6 quarts). When top coals are partially covered with ash, pour two-thirds evenly over half of grill, then pour remaining coals over other half of grill. Set cooking grate in place, cover, and open lid vent completely. Heat grill until hot, about 5 minutes.
- For a gas grill: Turn all burners to high, cover, and heat grill until hot, about 15 minutes. Turn all burners to medium-high.
Clean and oil cooking grate. Place potatoes on grill (on hotter side if using charcoal) and cook (covered if using gas) until grill marks appear, 3 to 5 minutes, flipping halfway through cooking. Move potatoes to cooler side of grill (if using charcoal) or turn all burners to medium-low (if using gas). Cover and continue to cook until paring knife slips in and out of potatoes easily, 5 to 8 minutes longer.
Remove potatoes from skewers and transfer to bowl with reserved garlic-oil mixture. Add chives, season with salt and pepper to taste, and toss until thoroughly coated. Serve.
- By Melissa d'Arabian, The Associated Press
Grilled fish is the official dish of summer around our house. There is nothing I love to eat more in warm weather than a piece of fresh seasonal fish cooked on the grill — the slightly sweet flesh offset by a tiny bit of char.
You can use some fish from your freezer stash in a pinch, but ask at the fish counter what is seasonal and freshest, and you won't regret the few extra dollars you'll pay. I used Alaskan halibut for today's recipe, but any firm white-fleshed fish will work great. (Skip the flaky thin fish like Dover sole for indoor cooking, or use a special fine-meshed metal grate.)
Halibut is mild, tender and sweet, and it's a fantastic lean source of protein. A 4-ounce serving has 24 grams of protein, a little over 2 grams of fat, and offers a nice showing of B vitamins and minerals, all for 120 calories.
My go-to strategy for grilling mild white fish is to keep it super simple on the actual grill, and then top it with a quick sauce made from a few ingredients. Pat the fish dry gently, and toss on the grill with just a little salt, pepper and olive oil.
Once the fish is cooked, I top it straight from the grill with the sauce. While the fish is cooking, whip up a sauce with a little acid (like lemon or vinegar), aromatics (like minced garlic, shallot or green onion), herbs, and a tiny touch of fat (like olive oil or butter). Pouring it on while the fish is hot makes the simple flavors come alive like Hugh Jackman playing P.T. Barnum.
Grilled halibut with butter caper herb sauce is an excellent starting point for mastering this easy fish-grilling blueprint that you'll use both on weekends and busy weeknight meals. In under 20 minutes, you can have summer on the plate.
Grilled halibut with butter caper herb sauce
Servings: 6
Start to finish: 20 minutes
INGREDIENTS:
1 3/4 pounds of fresh Alaskan halibut fillet (or other firm white-flesh fish), checked for bones
1/2 lemon, for squeezing
2 teaspoons olive oil
salt and pepper
Sauce:
2 tablespoons butter
1 clove garlic, minced
2 tablespoons capers, plus a little of the juice
2 tablespoons lemon juice
A handful of chopped tender herbs, like basil, parsley, or cilantro
DIRECTIONS:
Heat a gas or charcoal grill to medium high. Scrub the grill grates with a wire brush or tongs and ball of foil to clean off burnt food debris, and lightly oil the grates. Squeeze a little lemon juice on the halibut and let it sit a few minutes before blotting it dry gently with a paper towel.
Season the fish with a little salt and pepper. Drizzle the olive oil over both sides of the fish, and use your fingers to coat the whole fillet lightly with oil. Once the grill is hot, place the fish flesh side down on the grill. Allow to cook about 5-6 minutes on the first side. Use a metal spatula to flip the fish to cook the second side, until cooked through but not dry, about 3-4 more minutes. (To help keep the fish from sticking, don't flip it too soon, and flip the fish with a purposeful, quick motion.)
Meanwhile, heat the butter and garlic in a small sauce pan on the stove at medium heat until the garlic is aromatic, about 2 minutes. Add the capers with a little caper liquid and the lemon juice and whisk to combine. Remove from heat, stir the herbs into the sauce and then pour over the fish just as it comes off the grill. Serve.
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Nutrition information per serving: 198 calories; 76 calories from fat; 9 g fat (3 g saturated; 0 g trans fats); 104 mg cholesterol; 625 mg sodium; 3 g carbohydrate; 0 g fiber; 0 g sugar; 28 g protein.
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Food Network star Melissa d'Arabian is an expert on healthy eating on a budget. She is the author of the cookbook, "Supermarket Healthy."
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Online: http://www.melissadarabian.net
- By America's Test Kitchen
The smoky char of the grill brings a whole new dimension to plain old Caesar salad. To develop good char and maintain crisp lettuce without ending up with scorched, wilted, even slimy leaves, we used sturdy, compact romaine hearts, which withstood the heat of the grill better than whole heads.
Halving them lengthwise and grilling on just one side gave them plenty of surface area for charring without turning limp. A hot fire meant that the heat didn't have time to penetrate and wilt the crunchy inner leaves before the -exterior developed grill marks.
Our boldly seasoned Caesar dressing replaced the raw egg with mayonnaise. It was so good that we got the idea to brush it on the cut side of the uncooked lettuce instead of olive oil, allowing the dressing to pick up a mildly smoky flavor on the grill along with the lettuce.
For the croutons, we brushed baguette slices with olive oil, toasted them over the coals, and then rubbed them with a garlic clove. We combined the lettuce and croutons, drizzled on extra dressing, dusted everything with Parmesan, and called tasters. The salad disappeared.
With apologies to Shakespeare: It's not that we love Caesar less, but that we love grilled Caesar more.
GRILLED CAESAR SALAD
Servings: 6
Start to finish: 30 minutes
INGREDIENTS:
Dressing
1 tablespoon lemon juice
1 garlic clove, minced
1/2 cup mayonnaise
1/4 cup grated Parmesan cheese
1 tablespoon white wine vinegar
1 tablespoon Worcestershire sauce
1 tablespoon Dijon mustard
2 anchovy fillets, rinsed
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon pepper
1/4 cup extra-virgin olive oil
Salad
1 (12 inch) baguette, sliced 1/2 inch thick on bias
3 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
1 garlic clove, peeled
3 romaine lettuce hearts (18 ounces), halved lengthwise through cores
1/4 cup grated Parmesan cheese
DIRECTIONS:
For the dressing: Combine lemon juice and garlic in bowl and let stand for 10 minutes. Process lemon-garlic mixture, mayonnaise, Parmesan, vinegar, Worcestershire, mustard, anchovies, salt, and pepper in blender until smooth, about 30 seconds. With blender running, slowly add oil until incorporated. Measure out and reserve 6 tablespoons dressing for brushing romaine.
For a charcoal grill: Open bottom vent completely. Light large chimney starter filled with charcoal briquettes (6 quarts). When top coals are partially covered with ash, pour evenly over half of grill. Set cooking grate in place, cover, and open lid vent completely. Heat grill until hot, about 5 minutes.
For a gas grill: Turn all burners to high, cover, and heat grill until hot, about 15 minutes. Leave all burners on high.
For the salad: Clean and oil cooking grate. Brush bread with oil and grill (over coals if using charcoal), uncovered, until browned, about 1 minute per side. Transfer to serving platter and rub with garlic clove. Brush cut sides of lettuce with half of reserved dressing. Place half of lettuce, cut side down, on grill (over coals if using charcoal). Grill, uncovered, until lightly charred, 1 to 2 minutes. Transfer to platter with bread. Repeat with remaining reserved dressing and lettuce. Drizzle lettuce with remaining dressing. Sprinkle with Parmesan. Serve.
Nutrition information per serving: 443 calories; 289 calories from fat; 32 g fat (5 g saturated; 0 g trans fats); 15 mg cholesterol; 815 mg sodium; 30 g carbohydrate; 4 g fiber; 2 g sugar; 8 g protein.
For more recipes, cooking tips and ingredient and product reviews, visit https://www.americastestkitchen.com . Find more recipes like Grilled Caesar Salad in "Vegetables Illustrated ."
- By Francesca Olsen, Special to The Eagle
My parents live about a mile from me, so I get to eat my mom's cooking all the time. I'm a lucky woman.
A few weeks ago, I headed to their house for dinner, and when I got there, she was already grilling, brushing a beautiful, chestnut-colored barbecue sauce gently onto country-style pork ribs. We sat outside drinking white wine and catching up, smelling tiny sauce drops sizzling as they dripped down into the grill pan.
When dinner was served, I discovered that this was no ordinary barbecue sauce — of course, she made her own sauce by mixing together a bunch of ingredients she had on-hand, including sambal oelek paste she got on clearance from Stop and Shop. She also used a dry rub, which amped up the flavor even more. I stole her ideas and used them on chicken the next day.
The smoky, kind of spicy, kind of sweet flavor my mom got out of this easy method was incredible. It got me thinking about barbecue sauce in general, and wondering if there were any local sauce-makers I could contact for advice about how to make my own from scratch.
Enter Lorraine Jones of Smokey Divas, which makes and bottles 92nd Sauce in Pittsfield, Mass. It's in grocery stores, but you can also get it at the Downtown Pittsfield Farmers Market. Jones' family has been preserving her grandmother's sauce legacy for years now; "The recipe is older than I am," she said.
Jones' family is originally from the Bay Area of California. The sauce story starts with her grandmother, Dorothy Turner Everett, who started Everett and Jones BBQ Restaurant in Oakland in 1973. The family business grew to five locations, and is now the longest-running African American-owned business in Oakland.
Without giving away any family secrets, Jones gave me great advice about making sauce from scratch. Apparently, you can't really ruin it, as long as you stay present as the sauce cooks slow. Some tomatoes, vinegar, molasses, and brown sugar, plus herbs and spices of your choice, will really do it. "Don't be afraid to experiment," she said. "It can always be adjusted."
Expect to cook the sauce for about four hours — "you want it to caramelize and break down," she said.
Jones is also a fan of the dry-rub method. Obviously a barbecue purist, she prepares a dry rub, grills or cooks meat, then adds the sauce after cooking (it helps if it's warm). She says she likes this because it doesn't burn or char on the meat.
So, for your consideration, some sauce recipes — one "easy route" from my mom, and then the traditional. If you're looking for something to use your sauce on, I also added 92nd's recipe for barbecue meatloaf, which is made on the grill (fun!).
Basic slow-cooked barbecue sauce
INGREDIENTS:
1 cups crushed tomatoes (or ketchup, but that's a lot of added salt)
cup brown sugar
cup molasses
3 to 4 tablespoons vinegar
Three garlic cloves (you can also add some sliced onion, which will melt naturally into the sauce as it cooks)
Herbs and spices of your choice (try paprika, pepper, cumin, celery salt)
DIRECTIONS:
Mix ingredients together in a saucepan over medium heat until everything is warm, simmering and joined together in harmony. Let simmer on low for 1-4 hours (the longer you cook it, the deeper the flavor), stirring occasionally. Sauce is suitable for use when it is thick enough to coat the back of your spoon.
My mom's quickie barbecue sauce
("Really rough — you know how I cook," she says.)
INGREDIENTS:
cup ketchup
cup mild salsa
1 tablespoon sambal oelek paste
1 tablespoon dijon mustard
1 tablespoon brown sugar
1 tablespoon balsamic vinegar
1 teaspoon Worcestershire sauce
A dash of: Smoked paprika, salt, black pepper, cumin, ginger, crushed red pepper flakes
DIRECTIONS:
Mix ingredients together in a bowl; brush on whatever meat you're grilling! Use the leftovers for extra flavor at the dinner table.
Barbecue grilled meatloaf
(Courtesy of 92nd Sauce/Smokey Divas)
INGREDIENTS:
2 pounds of ground beef
2 cups of seasoned bread crumbs
1 cup sweet onion, diced
1 teaspoon minced garlic
1 teaspoon of sea salt
1 teaspoon of black pepper
1 egg
1 cup of your favorite barbecue sauce
Non-stick cooking spray
DIRECTIONS:
Pre-heat your outdoor grill and coat the grate with non-stick cooking spray. Mix the beef, bread crumbs, onion, garlic, salt, pepper and egg. Form 2 to 3 mini meat loaves (about 3 to 4 inches thick) with your mixture. Place your mini meat loaves on the grill and coat with 2 to 3 tablespoons of sauce, then grill until fully cooked (internal temperature should be 160 degrees).
- By Melissa d'Arabian, Associated Press
Ratatouille is a classic vegetable dish starring eggplant, zucchini, peppers and tomato that is deeply steeped in the culture of Mediterranean France. When I married a man from the heart of Provence, one of the first lessons I received from my new mother-in-law Muriel was how to make a proper ratatouille. (The other was how to pluck feathers from a newly-butchered turkey, but that's a story for another day.)
Turns out, my American sensibilities had me cooking a ratatouille far too long, making it a gloppy stew of indistinguishable mixed vegetables, a crime I've seen committed more often than not here in the U.S.
Muriel was kind in her rebuke, and showed me her way instead. The most important lesson was to cook each vegetable separately, to honor their individuality. Moreover, the vegetables needed to be cooked in the same pan, in a specific order, so that the flavors would be built just right. (The order, in case you are wondering, is: eggplant, zucchini, peppers, onion, tomatoes, and I use the acronym EZ-POT to remember.)
I was skeptical. But her version is easily the best I have ever eaten, so I follow it without fail, even if the rebellious part of me wonders if I dared to cook the zucchini out of order, would anyone really notice? But, why mess with genius?
Unless it's BBQ season and I want to grill out! After years of following proper EZ-POT protocol, I decided to try an outdoor grilled version of ratatouille. A little summertime char on the veggies could be a good thing. And indeed it was.
The result was a tasty dish that was somewhere in between a grilled vegetable salad (but not quite as acidic) and a traditional ratatouille (but not quite capturing that synergistic vegetable vibe). Still, a worthy summertime side dish in its own right.
Grilled ratatouille is a happy complement to any grilled meat or fish, and it's hearty enough to be the main dish for vegetarians. And leftovers can be spooned on top of roasted potatoes, rice, a green salad, or even spread on toast, sprinkled with cheese and broiled for a quick lunch.
Grilled ratatouille
Servings: 6
Start to finish: 30 minutes
INGREDIENTS:
2 small or 1 large eggplant, cut into 1-inch slices (no need to peel)
2 medium zucchini, trimmed and cut in half lengthwise
1 sweet yellow or red pepper, cut into "cheeks" or quarters, seeds, removed
1 medium sweet white onion, peeled, quartered with root intact (to keep it together)
1 pint grape tomatoes
Olive oil in mister
Dressing:
1 tablespoon lemon juice
2 tablespoons red wine vinegar
2 tablespoons high quality olive oil
1 clove garlic, minced
1 tablespoon fresh thyme, minced
6-7 basil leaves, gently torn
salt and pepper
DIRECTIONS:
Heat the grill to medium and lightly oil the grates. Season the vegetables with salt and pepper, and spray them lightly with the olive oil mister to coat. (If you don't have a mister, pour a little oil in your hands and lightly toss the vegetables in a bowl using your hands to coat them very lightly with olive oil.)
Cook the vegetables on the grill until tender but not floppy, turning halfway through cooking time — about 12-15 minutes total for the eggplant, onion quarters and sweet pepper, 8-10 minutes for the zucchini and 2 minutes for the tomatoes.
Meanwhile, make the dressing: Whisk together lemon juice and red wine vinegar in a small bowl, and drizzle in the olive oil, whisking to make an emulsion. Add the thyme and salt and pepper to taste, and an additional tablespoon of water if needed to make more sauce.
As the vegetables are removed from the grill, chop the onion (the inside may not be fully cooked and that's OK), and cut the rest of the veggies into nice-sized cubes, and place in a large bowl. The pepper skin will be charred and can be kept or removed.
Pour the dressing over the vegetables while still warm and toss gently. Add the fresh basil leaves to the vegetables, and stir. Adjust salt and pepper for seasoning and serve, hot, room temperature or chilled.
Nutrition information per serving: 126 calories; 49 calories from fat; 5 g fat (1 g saturated; 0 g trans fats); 0 mg cholesterol; 14 mg sodium; 19 g carbohydrate; 7 g fiber; 11 g sugar; 4 g protein.
Online: http://www.melissadarabian.net
- By America's Test Kitchen
Sometimes simple is best, and for quick weeknight burgers or a backyard barbecue for a crowd, store-bought ground beef is certainly convenient. But with so many options available in supermarkets, we knew we would need to find the right cut of beef with the ideal amount of fat to produce tender, juicy burgers.
Generically labeled "ground beef" can be a combination of different cuts with little beefy flavor that yields fatty, greasy, or mushy burgers. Hoping for better luck with singular cuts of meat, we tested ground sirloin, round, and chuck.
Ground sirloin left us with dry burgers and ground round was flavorless and gristly, but 85 percent lean ground chuck gave us burgers with rich flavor and a tender, moist texture.
Our first few batches of burgers puffed up like tennis balls, but we quickly figured out that slightly indenting, or dimpling, the center of each burger helped the burgers cook to a perfectly even thickness. You can serve these burgers simply with classic condiments, lettuce and sliced ripe tomatoes.
CLASSIC BEEF BURGERS
Servings: 4
Start to finish: 30 minutes
INGREDIENTS:
1 1/2 pounds 85 percent lean ground beef
1/2 teaspoon table salt
1/4 teaspoon pepper
1 teaspoon vegetable oil, if using skillet
4 slices cheese (4 ounces) (optional)
4 hamburger buns, toasted if desired
DIRECTIONS:
Divide ground beef into 4 equal portions, then gently shape each portion into 3/4 inch-thick patty. Using your fingertips, press center of each patty down until about 1/2 inch thick, creating slight divot.
For a skillet: Season patties with salt and pepper. Heat oil in 12 inch skillet over medium heat until just smoking. Transfer patties to skillet, divot side up, and cook until well browned on first side, 2 to 4 minutes. Flip patties, top with cheese, if using, and continue to cook until browned on second side and meat registers 120 F to 125 F (for medium-rare) or 130 F to 135 F (for medium), 3 to 5 minutes. Transfer burgers to platter and let rest for 5 minutes. Serve burgers on buns.
For a charcoal grill: Open bottom vent completely. Light large chimney starter filled with charcoal briquettes (6 quarts). When top coals are partially covered with ash, pour evenly over grill. Set cooking grate in place, cover, and open lid vent completely. Heat grill until hot, about 5 minute s. Clean and oil cooking grate. Season patties with salt and pepper. Place patties on grill, divot side up, and cook until well browned on first side, 2 to 4 minutes. Flip patties, top with cheese, if using, and continue to cook until browned on second side and meat registers 120 F to 125 F (for medium-rare) or 130 F to 135 F (for medium), 3 to 5 minutes. Transfer burgers to platter and let rest for 5 minutes. Serve burgers on buns.
For a gas grill: Turn all burners to high, cover, and heat grill until hot, about 15 minutes. Leave all burners on high. Clean and oil cooking grate. Season patties with salt and pepper. Place patties on grill, divot side up, and cook until well browned on first side, 2 to 4 minutes. Flip patties, top with cheese, if using, and continue to cook until browned on second side and meat registers 120 F to 125 F (for medium-rare) or 130 F to 135 F (for medium), 3 to 5 minutes. Transfer burgers to platter and let rest for 5 minutes. Serve burgers on buns.
Nutrition information per serving: 497 calories; 258 calories from fat; 29 g fat (11 g saturated; 1 g trans fats); 112 mg cholesterol; 868 mg sodium; 23 g carbohydrate; 1 g fiber; 4 g sugar; 34 g protein.
For more recipes, cooking tips and ingredient and product reviews, visit https://www.americastestkitchen.com . Find more recipes like Classic Beef Burgers in "The Ultimate Burger ."
- By America's Test Kitchen
All of the elements of this brightly flavored dish come together quickly on the grill. Cooking the chicken on the cooler side of the grill avoids flare-ups while still giving it great flavor and char. To round out our grilled succotash we use convenient canned butter beans, which are super-quick to prepare and have a creamy consistency and pleasant mild flavor. You will need four 12-inch metal skewers for this recipe.
Paprika and lime-rubbed chicken with grilled vegetable succotash
Servings: 4
Start to finish: 1 hour
INGREDIENTS:
2 limes
3 ears corn
1 red onion
12 ounces cherry tomatoes
1/4 cup extra-virgin olive oil
Salt and pepper
Fresh cilantro
2 garlic cloves
1 (15-ounce) can butter beans
1 tablespoon plus 1/2 teaspoon smoked hot paprika
1 1/2 teaspoons packed dark brown sugar
1 teaspoon ground cumin
3 pounds bone-in chicken pieces (split breasts, drumsticks, and/or thighs)
DIRECTIONS:
Turn all burners to high, cover, and heat grill until hot, about 15 minutes. Leave primary burner on high and turn other burner(s) to low.
While grill heats, grate 4 teaspoons lime zest, then squeeze 2 tablespoons juice from 1 lime. Cut remaining lime into wedges. Remove husks and silk from corn. Cut onion crosswise into 1/2-inch-thick rounds. Thread tomatoes onto four 12-inch metal skewers. Brush corn, onion, and tomato skewers with 2 tablespoons oil and season with salt and pepper. Mince 3 tablespoons cilantro. Mince garlic. Drain and rinse beans.
Combine 1 tablespoon paprika, sugar, cumin, 1 tablespoon lime zest, 1 teaspoon salt, and 1/2 teaspoon pepper together in large bowl. Trim chicken and cut breasts in half crosswise (if using). Pat chicken dry with paper towels, transfer to bowl with spice mixture, and stir to coat evenly.
Clean and oil cooking grate. Place chicken, skin side down, on cooler side of grill. Cover and cook until skin is well browned and slightly charred and breasts register 160 F and drumsticks/thighs register 175 F, 20 to 30 minutes, flipping as needed and rearranging so all pieces get equal exposure to heat source. Transfer chicken pieces to platter as they finish cooking, tent with aluminum foil, and let rest.
While chicken cooks on cooler side, place corn, onion rounds, and tomato skewers on hotter side of grill. Cook tomatoes, covered, turning as needed, until skins begin to blister, about 2 minutes; transfer to platter. Continue to cook corn and onion, covered, turning occasionally, until lightly charred on all sides, 8 to 10 minutes; transfer corn and onion to platter as they finish cooking and cover with foil.
Chop grilled onions coarsely and cut corn kernels from cobs. Whisk remaining 1 teaspoon lime zest, lime juice, 2 tablespoons cilantro, garlic, remaining 1/2 teaspoon paprika, and remaining 2 tablespoons oil together in large bowl. Add beans, tomatoes, chopped onion, and corn to bowl and toss to combine. Sea-son with salt and pepper to taste. Sprinkle remaining 1 tablespoon cilantro over chicken. Serve with succotash and lime wedges.
Nutrition information per serving: 539 calories; 225 calories from fat; 25 g fat (5 g saturated; 0 g trans fats); 210 mg cholesterol; 472 mg sodium; 29 g carbohydrate; 5 g fiber; 11 g sugar; 52 g protein.
For more recipes, cooking tips and ingredient and product reviews, visit https://www.americastestkitchen.com. Find more recipes like Paprika and Lime-Rubbed Chicken with Grilled Vegetable Succotash in "Dinner Illustrated ."
- By America's Test Kitchen
Most turkey burgers are dry, bland, or loaded up with flavor-blunting fillers. To create juicy, well-textured turkey burgers, we ditched store-bought ground turkey in favor of a home-ground turkey thigh, which boasts more fat and flavor.
To ensure that our turkey burger recipe delivered maximum juiciness, we incorporated a paste made from a portion of the ground turkey, gelatin, soy sauce and baking soda. The gelatin trapped moisture within the burgers while the baking soda helped tenderize the meat by raising its pH, and the soy sauce added savory umami flavor.
Finally, we added coarsely chopped raw white mushrooms to keep the meat from binding together too firmly. To top the burgers, we created a variety of sweet and savory sauces that complemented the rich dark meat of the turkey.
Juicy grilled turkey burgers
Servings: 6
Start to finish: 1 1/2 hours
To ensure the best texture, don't let the burgers stand for more than an hour before cooking. If you like, toast the hamburger buns on the grill while the burgers rest. Serve with one of our burger sauces (recipes follow) or your favorite toppings.
INGREDIENTS:
1 (2-pound) bone-in turkey thigh, skinned, boned, trimmed, and cut into -inch pieces
1 tablespoon unflavored gelatin
3 tablespoons chicken broth
6 ounces white mushrooms, trimmed
1 tablespoon soy sauce
Pinch baking soda
2 tablespoons vegetable oil, plus extra for brushing
Kosher salt and pepper
6 hamburger buns
DIRECTIONS:
Place turkey pieces on large plate in single layer. Freeze meat until very firm and hardened around edges, 35 to 45 minutes. Meanwhile, sprinkle gelatin over broth in small bowl and let sit until gelatin softens, about 5 minutes. Pulse mushrooms in food processor until coarsely chopped, about 7 pulses, stopping and redistributing mushrooms around bowl as needed to ensure even grinding. Set mushrooms aside.
Pulse one-third of turkey in now-empty food processor until coarsely chopped into 1/8-inch pieces, 18 to 22 pulses, stopping and redistributing turkey around bowl as needed to ensure even grinding. Transfer meat to large bowl and repeat 2 more times with remaining turkey.
Return 1/2 cup (about 3 ounces) ground turkey to bowl of again-empty food processor and add soy sauce, baking soda, and softened gelatin. Process until smooth, about 2 minutes, scraping down bowl as needed. With processor running, slowly drizzle in oil, about 10 seconds; leave paste in food processor. Return mushrooms to food processor and pulse to combine with paste, 3 to 5 pulses, stopping and redistributing mixture as needed to ensure even mixing. Transfer mushroom mixture to bowl with ground turkey and use your hands to evenly combine.
With lightly greased hands, divide meat mixture into 6 balls. Gently flatten each ball into 3/4-inch-thick patty. Press center of patties down with your fingertips to create 1/4-inch-deep depression.
For a charcoal grill: Open bottom vent completely. Light large chimney starter filled with charcoal briquettes (6 quarts). When top coals are partially covered with ash, pour evenly over half of grill. Set cooking grate in place, cover, and open lid vent completely. Heat grill until hot, about 5 minutes.
For a gas grill: Turn all burners to high, cover, and heat grill until hot, about 15 minutes. Leave primary burner on high and turn off other burner(s).
Clean and oil cooking grate. Brush 1 side of patties with oil and season with salt and pepper. Using spatula, flip patties, brush with oil, and season second side. Place burgers on hotter side of grill and cook until well browned on first side, 4 to 7 minutes. Flip burgers and cook until well browned on second side and meat registers 160 F, 4 to 7 minutes more. (If cooking frozen burgers: After burgers are browned on both sides, transfer to cooler side of grill, cover, and continue to cook until burgers register 160 F.)
Transfer burgers to plate and let rest for 5 minutes. Serve on buns.
Malt vinegar-molasses burger sauce:
Makes about 1 cup
INGREDIENTS:
3/4 cup mayonnaise
4 teaspoons malt vinegar
1/2 teaspoon molasses
1/4 teaspoon Worcestershire sauce
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon pepper
DIRECTIONS:
Whisk all ingredients together in bowl.
Apricot-mustard burger sauce:
Makes about 1 cup
INGREDIENTS:
3/4 cup mayonnaise
5 teaspoons apricot preserves
1 tablespoon lemon juice
1 tablespoon Dijon mustard
1 tablespoon whole-grain mustard
1/4 teaspoon sugar
DIRECTIONS:
Whisk all ingredients together in bowl.
Chile-lime burger sauce:
Makes about 1 cup
INGREDIENTS:
3/4 cup mayonnaise
2 teaspoons chili-garlic paste
2 teaspoons lime juice
1 scallion, sliced thin
1/4 teaspoon fish sauce
1/8 teaspoon sugar
Whisk all ingredients together in bowl.
Nutrition information per serving of turkey burger without sauce: 331 calories; 88 calories from fat; 10 g fat (2 g saturated; 0 g trans fats); 119 mg cholesterol; 737 mg sodium; 23 g carbohydrate; 1 g fiber; 3 g sugar; 38 g protein.
For more recipes, cooking tips and ingredient and product reviews, visit https://www.americastestkitchen.com . Find more recipes like Turkey Burgers in "Master of the Grill ."
- By America's Test Kitchen
Flavorful, well-marbled short ribs seem like the perfect candidate for grilling, but getting the texture just right can be a challenge. We wanted meltingly tender meat with the nicely browned exterior that the grill provides —without having to constantly fiddle with the fire.
We started with a flavorful spice rub and a sweet-tart glaze. Ground fennel and cumin added more complex layers to the rub. For the glaze, we came up with several options using tangy, bright flavors to help temper the richness of the meat.
Short ribs are full of collagen, which converts to gelatin during cooking and produces a tender texture. We went with bone-in ribs to make sure they wouldn't overcook before the collagen had enough time to break down.
Even a carefully monitored grill inevitably produces hot and cold spots, and the spotty heat was causing our short ribs to cook unevenly. Starting the ribs in the more even-heat environment of the oven was the optimal solution. When the ribs reached 165 F, we moved them to the grill to finish cooking and get a smoky, crunchy crust.
Grill-roasted beef short ribs
Servings: 4-6
Start to finish: 2 hours
Meaty English-style short ribs are preferred in this recipe to thinner-cut flanken-style ribs. Make sure to choose ribs that are 4 to 6 inches in length and have at least 1 inch of meat on top of the bone.
INGREDIENTS:
Spice Rub:
2 tablespoons kosher salt
1 tablespoon packed brown sugar
2 teaspoons pepper
2 teaspoons ground cumin
2 teaspoons garlic powder
1 1/4 teaspoons paprika
3/4 teaspoon ground fennel
1/8 teaspoon cayenne pepper
Short Ribs:
5 pounds bone-in English-style beef short ribs, trimmed
2 tablespoons red wine vinegar
1 recipe glaze (recipes follow)
DIRECTIONS:
For the spice rub Combine all ingredients in bowl. Measure out 1 teaspoon rub and set aside for glaze.
For the short ribs Adjust oven rack to middle position and heat oven to 300 F. Pat ribs dry. Sprinkle ribs with spice rub, pressing into all sides of ribs. Arrange ribs bone side down in 13 by 9-inch baking dish, placing thicker ribs around perimeter of baking dish and thinner ribs in center. Sprinkle vinegar evenly over ribs. Cover baking dish tightly with aluminum foil. Cook until thickest ribs register 165 F to 170 F, 1 1/2 to 2 hours.
For a charcoal grill: Open bottom vent halfway. Arrange 2 quarts unlit charcoal briquettes into steeply banked pile against side of grill. Light large chimney starter half filled with charcoal briquettes (3 quarts). When top coals are partially covered with ash, pour on top of unlit charcoal to cover one-third of grill with coals steeply banked against side of grill. Set cooking grate in place, cover, and open lid vent halfway. Heat grill until hot, about 5 minutes.
For a gas grill: Turn all burners to high, cover, and heat grill until hot, about 15 minutes. Turn primary burner to medium and turn off other burner(s). (Adjust primary burner as needed to maintain grill temperature of 275 F to 300 F.)
Clean and oil cooking grate. Place short ribs, bone side down, on cooler side of grill about 2 inches from flames. Brush with 1/4 cup glaze. Cover and cook until ribs register 195 F, 1 3/4 to 2 1/4 hours, rotating and brushing ribs with 1/4 cup glaze every 30 minutes. Transfer ribs to large platter, tent with foil, and let rest for 5 to 10 minutes before serving.
Mustard glaze
Makes about 1 cup
INGREDIENTS:
1/2 cup Dijon mustard
1/2 cup red wine vinegar
1/4 cup packed brown sugar
1 teaspoon reserved spice rub
1/8 teaspoon cayenne pepper
DIRECTIONS:
Whisk all ingredients together in bowl.
Nutrition information per serving: 518 calories; 261 calories from fat; 29 g fat (12 g saturated; 0 g trans fats); 167 mg cholesterol; 727 mg sodium; 6 g carbohydrate; 0 g fiber; 5 g sugar; 54 g protein.
For more recipes, cooking tips and ingredient and product reviews, visit https://www.americastestkitchen.com. Find more recipes like Grill-Roasted Beef Short Ribs in "Master Of The Grill ."
- By America's Test Kitchen
Minneapolis taverns are famous for the Jucy Lucy, a moist beef burger stuffed with American cheese. Replicating the Jucy Lucy seemed easy enough — but our burgers, cooked to well-done to melt the cheese inside, were dry and tough or the cheese melted through the meat, leaving an empty cavern where the cheese had been.
To keep the cheese in place, we created a double-sealed pocket by wrapping the cheese inside a small beef patty and then molding a second patty around it. Adding a mixture of bread and milk, mashed into a paste, to the ground beef kept the burgers moist and juicy.
Jucy Lucy burgers
Servings: 4
Start to finish: 45 minutes
Buy the American cheese from the deli counter, and ask them to slice it into a 1/2-inch slab from which you can cut four big cubes to fill the center of the burgers. One or two percent low-fat milk can be substituted for the whole milk. The cheesy center of these burgers is molten hot when first removed from the grill, so be sure to let the burgers rest for at least 5 minutes before serving.
INGREDIENTS:
2 slices hearty white sandwich bread, torn into 1-inch pieces
1/4 cup whole milk
1 teaspoon garlic powder
3/4 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon pepper
1 1/2 pounds 85 percent lean ground beef
1 slice deli American cheese (1/2-inch-thick), quartered
DIRECTIONS:
In large bowl using potato masher, mash bread, milk, garlic powder, salt, and pepper into smooth paste. Add beef and lightly knead mixture until well combined.
Divide meat into four equal portions. Using half of each portion of meat, encase cheese to form mini burger patty. Mold remaining half-portion of meat around mini patty and seal edges to form ball. Flatten ball with palm of your hand, forming 3/4-inch-thick patty. Cover and refrigerate patties for at least 30 minutes or up to 24 hours.
For a charcoal grill: Open bottom vent completely. Light large chimney starter half filled with charcoal briquettes (3 quarts). When top coals are partially covered with ash, pour evenly over grill. Set cooking grate in place, cover, and heat grill until hot, about 5 minutes.
For a gas grill: Turn all burners to high, cover, and heat grill until hot, about 15 minutes. Turn all burners to medium.
Clean and oil cooking grate. Lay burgers on grill and cook, without pressing on them, until well-browned on both sides and cooked through, 12 to 16 minutes, flipping burgers halfway through grilling. Transfer burgers to platter, tent loosely with aluminum foil, and let rest for 5 minutes before serving.
Nutrition information per serving: 432 calories; 249 calories from fat; 28 g fat (11 g saturated; 2 g trans fats); 121 mg cholesterol; 697 mg sodium; 9 g carbohydrate; 0 g fiber; 2 g sugar; 34 g protein.
For more recipes, cooking tips and ingredient and product reviews, visit www.americastestkitchen.com. Find more recipes like Jucy Lucy Burger in "The Complete Cook's Country TV Cookbook, 2017."
- Associated Press
Or if you care to get a bit fancier, here are recipes for proscuitto-wrapped asparagus and cheese-stuffed mushroom caps.
GRILLED ASPARAGUS
WRAPPED IN PROSCIUTTO
Start to finish: 20 minutes Servings: 8
2 1/2 pounds thin asparagus (40 to 45 spears), trimmed
1 tablespoon olive oil
Oil for coating grill grate
4 ounces sliced prosciutto (about 8 paper-thin slices)
1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
1 tablespoon grated Parmesan cheese
Preheat the grill to medium with the grate at the lowest setting.
On a rimmed baking sheet or in a large plastic bag, toss the asparagus with the olive oil. Lightly coat the grill grate with oil. Arrange the asparagus on the grill perpendicular to the bars of the grate. Grill until just tender but not limp, about 4 to 5 minutes. Use tongs to roll the asparagus once or twice during cooking.
Lay a slice of prosciutto horizontally on a work surface. Place 4 to 6 asparagus spears over the prosciutto near a short edge. Sprinkle the asparagus with some pepper. Tightly roll the prosciutto over the asparagus on a slight diagonal, creating a tight bundle. The tips of the asparagus should still be showing.
Sprinkle the bundles with Parmesan.
(Recipe from Andrew Schloss and David Joachim's "Mastering the Grill," Chronicle Books, 2007, $24.95).
GRILLED STUFFED MUSHROOMS
Start to finish: 20 minutes Servings: 4 to 6
3/4 cup crumbled feta cheese (3 1/2 to 4 ounces)
1/4 cup cream cheese, softened
2 tablespoons chopped flat-leaf parsley
1/2 teaspoon chopped fresh thyme
1/2 teaspoon crushed dried marjoram
Freshly ground black pepper
24 white button or cremini mushrooms, each about 2 inches in diameter
Olive oil
Salt
If not already on, preheat the grill. In a small bowl, mix together the feta, cream cheese, parsley, thyme and marjoram. Season with pepper, to taste. Set aside.
Remove the stems from the mushrooms, leaving a cavity in the cap. Rub the cas inside and out with olive oil. And sprinkle lightly with salt. Grill, cavity side down, 2 to 3 minutes, or until lightly browned and softened.
Transfer the mushrooms to a pan or platter. Spoon an equal amount of cheese filling into each cap.
Place the mushrooms with the cheese-filled cavity facing up along the edge of the grill (away from the hottest part of the grill). Cook 5 to 6 minutes, or until the cheese begins to melt.
(Recipe from Stanley, Leon, Evan, Mark and David Lobel's "Lobel's Prime Time Grilling," Wiley, 2007, $27.95)
Copyright © 2006 Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.
- By Elizabeth Karmel, Associated Press
I recently spent two glorious barbecue-filled weeks in Austin, where I happily cooked for 1,200 hungry folks at a food festival.
While these events tends to be crazy busy, they also involve a fair amount of down time. In this case, that down time was while I patiently waited for 50 briskets to slowly smoke to tender perfection. To fill the time, I decided to experiment with smoked duck.
I'd had an idea to try something new that would make the ducks cook faster with less tending, and deliver a crispier skin. I was eager to try this. I also decided to up the flavor ante and celebrate one of the classic tastes of summer by bathing the ducks in a spicy watermelon glaze.
This is a technique and glaze I frequently use with chicken. I butterfly the chicken so it opens wide and flat. This helps it cook fast and produces a wonderfully crispy skin. I wanted to know if I could do the same with duck.
Using poultry scissors, I removed the backbone of the duck and flattened it like a book, twisting the wings behind the breast (this is called "wings a kimbo" and makes the duck lay flat). I coated the duck with a thin layer of olive oil and sprinkled both sides with a classic Texas barbecue rub of salt, butcher-grind black pepper and enough cayenne to turn the rub a light pink color.
Then I put the duck on the pit and patiently waited to see what would happen. After a couple hours, the butterflied duck was beautifully caramelized, and almost done, ready to be slathered with the spicy watermelon glaze. A few juicy passes with my mop and another few minutes in the pit, and the glaze set.
I took the duck out, and let it rest for about 10 minutes to make sure it would be juicy.
It was, no doubt, the best duck I'd ever made or tasted. It amazes me that a small change in the technique could make that much of a difference, and I wonder why I never thought of doing it before. It also makes grilling duck so much more accessible for everyone. It's as easy as cooking chicken, yet far more impressive (and tasty!).
Now, I'll never cook duck another way. It cooks faster, more evenly and renders the fat from the skin, leaving crispy duck skin and moist succulent meat.
This summer, duck will be my new chicken!
GRILLED BUTTERFLIED
DUCK WITH SPICY
WATERMELON GLAZE
Start to finish: 2 1/2 hours
Servings: 4
6-pound duck
1 teaspoon kosher salt
1/2 teaspoon coarsely ground black pepper
Pinch of cayenne pepper
Olive oil
Spicy watermelon glaze (recipe below)
Heat one side of a grill to medium and the other side to low. During cooking, if you get flaring from the duck fat, you may need to turn off the low side completely.
Use paper towels to pat dry the duck. Using poultry or kitchen shears, cut along each side of the duck's backbone and remove it. Turn the duck breast-side up. Open the 2 sides of the duck as if you were opening a book, and lay it flat. Break the breast bone by firmly applying pressure and pressing down. Tuck the wing tips under the upper wing and place on a sheet pan. Set aside.
In a small bowl, mix together the salt, pepper and cayenne. Brush the duck all over with olive oil. Season lightly on both sides with the spice rub. Place the duck skin-side up directly on the grill grates on the cooler side of the grill. Grill for about 2 hours.
After 2 hours, brush the glaze on the duck. Continue grilling for another 20 to 30 minutes, brushing with the glaze 2 more times during the final grilling time. Grill until the juices run clear and the thigh registers 190 F.
Remove the duck from the grill and brush with glaze one last time. Let the duck rest for 10 minutes. Cut the duck into halves or quarters and serve.
SPICY WATERMELON GLAZE
Start to finish: 10 minutes
Makes about 1 cup
1 cup seedless watermelon flesh
1/2 cup apple jelly
Zest and juice of 1/2 lime
1 teaspoon red pepper flakes
1/2 teaspoon jalapeno hot sauce
Pinch of salt
In a blender, puree the watermelon flesh until smooth. Set aside.
In a small, heavy-bottomed saucepan over medium, heat the apple jelly, stirring constantly, until it is melted. Add the watermelon juice and stir to combine. Stir in the lime zest and juice, red pepper flakes, jalapeno hot sauce and salt. Mix and taste, adjusting the seasoning if desired.
The glaze can be used warm or cooled. It can be refrigerated in a tightly sealed jar for up to 2 days.
Nutrition information per serving (values are rounded to the nearest whole number): 1,050 calories; 710 calories from fat (68 percent of total calories); 79 g fat (27 g saturated; 0 g trans fats); 230 mg cholesterol; 30 g carbohydrate; 52 g protein; 0 g fiber; 640 mg sodium.
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