Grill me: Weeknight Edition
May 6, 2015 10:22 AM Subscribe
What delicious things do you grill on a weeknight? We're getting bored (already!) with our rotation of chicken thighs, burgers and pork chops. We are willing to set up a morning marinade before leaving for work.
Oh, also, salmon is great on the grill!
posted by primethyme at 10:25 AM on May 6, 2015 [1 favorite]
posted by primethyme at 10:25 AM on May 6, 2015 [1 favorite]
You can stick all kinds of things on a kebab: marinated beef, pork or chicken; bell peppers, chunks of onions and tomatoes (or use cherry tomatoes), pineapple, shrimp....
posted by easily confused at 10:25 AM on May 6, 2015 [1 favorite]
posted by easily confused at 10:25 AM on May 6, 2015 [1 favorite]
Best answer: Salmon - either with a rub (Prudhomme's Salmon Magic is pretty darn great!) or with teriyaki or Soy Vey.
Heat grill on high, place salmon on grill, skin-side down. Grill for ~5 minutes. Flip, remove skin (now on top), grill for another ~5 minutes, depending thickness of cut of fish. Enjoy!
posted by mosk at 10:26 AM on May 6, 2015 [1 favorite]
Heat grill on high, place salmon on grill, skin-side down. Grill for ~5 minutes. Flip, remove skin (now on top), grill for another ~5 minutes, depending thickness of cut of fish. Enjoy!
posted by mosk at 10:26 AM on May 6, 2015 [1 favorite]
Portobello mushrooms!
posted by glaucon at 10:27 AM on May 6, 2015 [2 favorites]
posted by glaucon at 10:27 AM on May 6, 2015 [2 favorites]
Best answer: This obviously isn't a meat, but few things are more delicious than grilled peppers. Chop bell peppers into quarters, put them on the grill until the skin chars (seriously, leave them until the skin turns black), take them off and put them in a Ziploc bag to steam for 5-10 minutes (helps the skin peel off more easily). Then take them out, peel the blackened skins off, put a bit of olive oil or Italian salad dressing on them, and serve. With the charred-skin method, they have an amazing smokey taste that enhances any BBQed meat dish (or any other dish). Pureed, they also enhance tomato sauce, hummus, etc.
posted by ClaireBear at 10:27 AM on May 6, 2015
posted by ClaireBear at 10:27 AM on May 6, 2015
Pizza! I use pre made, refrigerated dough, top with sauce, vegetables, cheese.
posted by kellyblah at 10:28 AM on May 6, 2015 [1 favorite]
posted by kellyblah at 10:28 AM on May 6, 2015 [1 favorite]
Small steaks with thick cut slabs of veggies, like sweet potato, yam, fresh pineapple, and onions.
posted by Michele in California at 10:29 AM on May 6, 2015
posted by Michele in California at 10:29 AM on May 6, 2015
Marinade a london broil or other large steak. Cook just a few minutes on each side to medium rare or medium, then slice thinly. Eat on its own or on sandwiches.
posted by trivia genius at 10:30 AM on May 6, 2015 [1 favorite]
posted by trivia genius at 10:30 AM on May 6, 2015 [1 favorite]
Carne or Pollo Asada is pretty much our go to whenever we want to have an easy but delicious mid-week dinner using the grill.
posted by The Gooch at 10:41 AM on May 6, 2015
posted by The Gooch at 10:41 AM on May 6, 2015
Best answer: SHRIMP! on skewers. no marinade needed, just salt and pepper before grilling. grilled shrimp are THE BEST.
salmon, served with this sauce
beer can chicken
burgers made with ground lamb
lamb chops
portobello mushrooms marinated in balsamic vinegar (melt cheese on top if you want to do them burger style, or just slice 'em for a side dish)
kebabs with mushrooms, bell pepper chunks, onion chunks.
posted by ghostbikes at 10:49 AM on May 6, 2015 [1 favorite]
salmon, served with this sauce
beer can chicken
burgers made with ground lamb
lamb chops
portobello mushrooms marinated in balsamic vinegar (melt cheese on top if you want to do them burger style, or just slice 'em for a side dish)
kebabs with mushrooms, bell pepper chunks, onion chunks.
posted by ghostbikes at 10:49 AM on May 6, 2015 [1 favorite]
Eggplant marinated and then grilled is delicious.
posted by nickggully at 10:57 AM on May 6, 2015
posted by nickggully at 10:57 AM on May 6, 2015
Best answer: Is pork tenderloin too close to pork chops? Because it's a great grill food (and cheap)--stick it in a brine (2-3 Tbsp salt to a quart of water) in the morning, dry it off and rub it with spices when you get home, stick it on a hot grill, flipping occasionally, until it hits 145+, and you're good to go. Bonus if you have some potato wedges to stick on the grill with it; they'll be done in about the same time.
(Also seconding london broil and pizza. Quick and easy.)
posted by uncleozzy at 10:59 AM on May 6, 2015
(Also seconding london broil and pizza. Quick and easy.)
posted by uncleozzy at 10:59 AM on May 6, 2015
I love grilled yellow summer squash - slice lengthwise, dip in olive oil, season if desired, also mushrooms, peppers, onions, potatoes - sweet & white. Pre-cook corn on the cob, grill to add nice smoky, grilled flavor. Grilled peaches and/ or pineapple are amazing.
Grilled sausage - try chicken sausage, but pretty much any sausage grills well. Tuna and salmon both benefit from the smokiness. Scallop or shrimp kebabs. Boneless, skinless chicken strips on a stick, with peanut sauce.
posted by theora55 at 11:13 AM on May 6, 2015
Grilled sausage - try chicken sausage, but pretty much any sausage grills well. Tuna and salmon both benefit from the smokiness. Scallop or shrimp kebabs. Boneless, skinless chicken strips on a stick, with peanut sauce.
posted by theora55 at 11:13 AM on May 6, 2015
Brats!
posted by peanut_mcgillicuty at 11:16 AM on May 6, 2015 [1 favorite]
posted by peanut_mcgillicuty at 11:16 AM on May 6, 2015 [1 favorite]
Best answer: Lamb chops. Salt, pepper, put in a zip lock bag with olive oil and rosemary (or savory) in the fridge in the morning. Grill in the evening. Serve with mujaddara.
posted by plinth at 11:18 AM on May 6, 2015
posted by plinth at 11:18 AM on May 6, 2015
Best answer: PORTOBELLO MUSHROOMS: Smear gills liberally with miso paste. Pop in a ziploc with enough soy sauce to cover. Marinate at least an hour.
posted by Juliet Banana at 11:22 AM on May 6, 2015 [1 favorite]
posted by Juliet Banana at 11:22 AM on May 6, 2015 [1 favorite]
Made Carne Asada yesterday - marinade steak tips overnight in a mix of two cans of beer, juice from two limes and a lemon, half a chopped red onion, four garlic cloves, tsp fresh ground pepper, a few pinches of kosher salt and a splash or two of olive oil.
Strain and reduce the marinade over medium heat, stirring in a quarter cup of brown sugar, a tsp of fresh cumin and a half tsp of chipotle powder, and use this as a sauce for fajitas once the steak's off the grill.
posted by Slap*Happy at 11:34 AM on May 6, 2015 [2 favorites]
Strain and reduce the marinade over medium heat, stirring in a quarter cup of brown sugar, a tsp of fresh cumin and a half tsp of chipotle powder, and use this as a sauce for fajitas once the steak's off the grill.
posted by Slap*Happy at 11:34 AM on May 6, 2015 [2 favorites]
We have a thin pizza stone for our gas grill which, after about 15 minutes of heating, gives us just lovely pizzas all summer long in the same 8-to-10 minutes of cooking. (It's maybe a half-inch thick, where our winter pizza stone is larger and also much thicker.)
posted by wenestvedt at 11:49 AM on May 6, 2015
posted by wenestvedt at 11:49 AM on May 6, 2015
Slap*Happy, are you saying to use the marinade -- in which the raw meat sat -- as a sauce? Does reducing it over medium heat get it hot enough to be safe?
Because it sounds really good! (I could make extra just to be sauce, I suppose.)
posted by wenestvedt at 11:51 AM on May 6, 2015
Because it sounds really good! (I could make extra just to be sauce, I suppose.)
posted by wenestvedt at 11:51 AM on May 6, 2015
Best answer: We do pork shoulder ribs (boneless). We put some braggs amino acids, olive oil, garlic salt and pepper and grill. They are delicious. Fatty, but delicious. Good over salad, with rice and beans, with regular sides. We sometimes do a salad based on a cuban pork sandwich with this and whatever ingredients we have on hand that we imagine might work.
posted by pennypiper at 11:52 AM on May 6, 2015
posted by pennypiper at 11:52 AM on May 6, 2015
Does reducing it over medium heat get it hot enough to be safe?
As long as it comes to a boil, it should be okay. I do this all the time with marinades (although usually mine are too salty on their own, so I water them down and use cornstarch to thicken them while they boil instead of letting them reduce).
posted by uncleozzy at 12:00 PM on May 6, 2015 [2 favorites]
As long as it comes to a boil, it should be okay. I do this all the time with marinades (although usually mine are too salty on their own, so I water them down and use cornstarch to thicken them while they boil instead of letting them reduce).
posted by uncleozzy at 12:00 PM on May 6, 2015 [2 favorites]
I like using a cast iron griddle to cook fajitas. Marinade the fajitas than cook them on a searing hot griddle, but don't drain the grease-use it to cook the peppers and than set the grill on low and cook the onions long enough to caramilize them in the left over beef fat/grease. The flavor is amazing.
I have found this method to be the best for all kind of meat centric dishes to get the most out of as little meat as possible-cook the meat first and then cook everything else in the left over rendered fat. (there is probably a name for this technique, don't know it).
Also, to supplement the grill, get a outdoor wok burner and associated large wok. I can achieve that same wonderfull chinese food restaurant taste this way-stove tops just don't have enough BTU's to get the job done.
Doing the frying bit outside also prevents the thin film of grease forming on everything in your house.
(BTW you can totally use any cooking vessel on a grill-not just the grill itself)
posted by bartonlong at 12:01 PM on May 6, 2015
I have found this method to be the best for all kind of meat centric dishes to get the most out of as little meat as possible-cook the meat first and then cook everything else in the left over rendered fat. (there is probably a name for this technique, don't know it).
Also, to supplement the grill, get a outdoor wok burner and associated large wok. I can achieve that same wonderfull chinese food restaurant taste this way-stove tops just don't have enough BTU's to get the job done.
Doing the frying bit outside also prevents the thin film of grease forming on everything in your house.
(BTW you can totally use any cooking vessel on a grill-not just the grill itself)
posted by bartonlong at 12:01 PM on May 6, 2015
Slap*Happy, are you saying to use the marinade -- in which the raw meat sat -- as a sauce? Does reducing it over medium heat get it hot enough to be safe?
Yup, bring it to a boil on medium-high and then reduce the heat until it's at a brisk simmer - just be careful not to let it boil over (or let the sugar settle and burn).
posted by Slap*Happy at 12:04 PM on May 6, 2015 [1 favorite]
Yup, bring it to a boil on medium-high and then reduce the heat until it's at a brisk simmer - just be careful not to let it boil over (or let the sugar settle and burn).
posted by Slap*Happy at 12:04 PM on May 6, 2015 [1 favorite]
Best answer: Someone mentioned salmon--we do it all the time, but plank it first. It's a revelation.
posted by tully_monster at 12:36 PM on May 6, 2015
posted by tully_monster at 12:36 PM on May 6, 2015
Shish kabob is great because you can use steak or chicken, and you can also skewer various veggies with it, which makes it better. Red and green peppers, onions and cherry tomatoes are generally what my family does. But the nice thing is you can do whatever veggies or meat you want. You can make the marinade from a simple recipe like this or this.
posted by AppleTurnover at 1:02 PM on May 6, 2015
posted by AppleTurnover at 1:02 PM on May 6, 2015
You can skewer smaller spuds to make 'em easier to handle. Those cook really fast, so I put a saucepan of kraut on the side burner and let the kielbasa roll!
posted by cookie-k at 1:04 PM on May 6, 2015
posted by cookie-k at 1:04 PM on May 6, 2015
Tip: if you make kabobs, do not mix your skewers. All chicken on one, pork on another, all onions together, all peppers segregated. They don't cook at the same rate, and things like onion chunks have crevices that can get stuff like raw chicken juice in them and then not get hot enough to kill the nasties.
Also on skewers: kofta/kefta/kefte/kiffe - many different cultures, same delicious idea. These are so good leftover, in a lunchbox bento-style, too.
posted by Lyn Never at 1:45 PM on May 6, 2015 [3 favorites]
Also on skewers: kofta/kefta/kefte/kiffe - many different cultures, same delicious idea. These are so good leftover, in a lunchbox bento-style, too.
posted by Lyn Never at 1:45 PM on May 6, 2015 [3 favorites]
Best answer: how fast do you want to be eating? I do whole chicken on the grill basically constantly, either spatchcocking and pressing under a brick (well a big cast iron pan, really) or on a beer can, but both take an hour-ish to cook (mostly unattended).
Faster things - flank or skirt steak to serve sliced, which I put into a ziplock with soy sauce, honey, Worcestershire, and garlic before I leave the house in the morning. Lamb shoulder chops. Pizzas. Meaty fish steaks and shellfish, which usually just get a quick 15-minute bath in citrus and spices while they come up to room temperature and the grill heats. Sliced extra-firm tofu marinated in soy sauce, sugar, and sesame oil. Dry rubbed or jerked chicken wings. Chicken parts or chunks of lamb in tandoori marinade (yogurt, garlic, ginger, garam masala). Oh! Pounded chicken breasts and/or pounded boneless pork in a Vietnamese-ish marinade of lemongrass, fish sauce, and sugar (keep cuts thin so the meats get some caramel on them but don't burn).
I have only have a charcoal grill, so I usually plan to cook the whole meal outside if I'm going to fire up a steak's worth of coals anyway, especially if you're cooking the kind of thing that you sear over hot coals and then move off to a cooler spot to cook through. Seasonal vegetables and sometimes fruits like peaches, simply oiled. Halved romaine lettuce heads or separated radicchio and escarole leaves. Whole small thin-skinned peppers. Corn on the cob (trimmed and silked but with a couple layers of husk), soaked in cheap rose if less-than-optimally fresh or sweet. Sliced rustic bread, flatbreads, tortillas. I usually make extra side components to make dinner prep easier in the rest of the week. And the grill is great for remaking leftovers from other dinners—par (or fully) boiled waxy potatoes sliced, oiled, and dressed with mustard and wine vinegar while still warm. Day-old cornbread, split and buttered. Polenta wedges (add a handful of grated parm and pour into a greased pan after dinner the night before; it's sturdy enough for the grill once it pulls away from the pan slightly).
And don't forget things that become sauce/condiments/accoutrements so you can just dump a big platter of grilled meat and vegetables on the table and call it good—grilled lemon and plum tomato halves, fat disks of sliced red onion, whole scallions, mushrooms folded in foil with butter and a drizzle of wine!
posted by peachfuzz at 2:07 PM on May 6, 2015 [4 favorites]
Faster things - flank or skirt steak to serve sliced, which I put into a ziplock with soy sauce, honey, Worcestershire, and garlic before I leave the house in the morning. Lamb shoulder chops. Pizzas. Meaty fish steaks and shellfish, which usually just get a quick 15-minute bath in citrus and spices while they come up to room temperature and the grill heats. Sliced extra-firm tofu marinated in soy sauce, sugar, and sesame oil. Dry rubbed or jerked chicken wings. Chicken parts or chunks of lamb in tandoori marinade (yogurt, garlic, ginger, garam masala). Oh! Pounded chicken breasts and/or pounded boneless pork in a Vietnamese-ish marinade of lemongrass, fish sauce, and sugar (keep cuts thin so the meats get some caramel on them but don't burn).
I have only have a charcoal grill, so I usually plan to cook the whole meal outside if I'm going to fire up a steak's worth of coals anyway, especially if you're cooking the kind of thing that you sear over hot coals and then move off to a cooler spot to cook through. Seasonal vegetables and sometimes fruits like peaches, simply oiled. Halved romaine lettuce heads or separated radicchio and escarole leaves. Whole small thin-skinned peppers. Corn on the cob (trimmed and silked but with a couple layers of husk), soaked in cheap rose if less-than-optimally fresh or sweet. Sliced rustic bread, flatbreads, tortillas. I usually make extra side components to make dinner prep easier in the rest of the week. And the grill is great for remaking leftovers from other dinners—par (or fully) boiled waxy potatoes sliced, oiled, and dressed with mustard and wine vinegar while still warm. Day-old cornbread, split and buttered. Polenta wedges (add a handful of grated parm and pour into a greased pan after dinner the night before; it's sturdy enough for the grill once it pulls away from the pan slightly).
And don't forget things that become sauce/condiments/accoutrements so you can just dump a big platter of grilled meat and vegetables on the table and call it good—grilled lemon and plum tomato halves, fat disks of sliced red onion, whole scallions, mushrooms folded in foil with butter and a drizzle of wine!
posted by peachfuzz at 2:07 PM on May 6, 2015 [4 favorites]
Response by poster: Thank you all - I am officially busted out of my rut!
posted by sarajane at 2:44 PM on May 6, 2015
posted by sarajane at 2:44 PM on May 6, 2015
And don't forget things that become sauce/condiments/accoutrements
Good point, and don't forget sauces in general:
Ina's Tzatziki (use greek yogurt)
Two Minute Toum
Two Minute Mayo
Foolproof Bearnaise / Hollandaise
Cranberry, lingonberry, or sweet and sour.
Pesto, in all its many forms
Chimichurri
posted by Lyn Never at 2:49 PM on May 6, 2015 [2 favorites]
Good point, and don't forget sauces in general:
Ina's Tzatziki (use greek yogurt)
Two Minute Toum
Two Minute Mayo
Foolproof Bearnaise / Hollandaise
Cranberry, lingonberry, or sweet and sour.
Pesto, in all its many forms
Chimichurri
posted by Lyn Never at 2:49 PM on May 6, 2015 [2 favorites]
pizza tip: parcook the (untopped) dough disk on one side, until that side is firm. take it off and add toppings on the firm side. Then grill. You need to cover the grill or the pizza trap very hot air over the top of the pizza to warm the toppings, melt the cheese, and so on, while the dough disk cooks.
Bob Blumer, aka "The Surreal Gourmet," co-wrote a grilled pizza cookbook, Pizza on the Grill: 100+ Feisty Fire-Roasted Recipes for Pizza & More.
Anything you'd cook over a campfire: potatoes wrapped in foil, anything that goes in a pouch, that sort of thing. Grill isn't about the metal grating, it's about having a hot dry fire and using it any which way, either directly (grilling) or indirectly (barbecuing).
Alton Brown's Grilled Grilled Cheese (YTL: 4:34)
posted by Sunburnt at 2:52 PM on May 6, 2015 [3 favorites]
Bob Blumer, aka "The Surreal Gourmet," co-wrote a grilled pizza cookbook, Pizza on the Grill: 100+ Feisty Fire-Roasted Recipes for Pizza & More.
Anything you'd cook over a campfire: potatoes wrapped in foil, anything that goes in a pouch, that sort of thing. Grill isn't about the metal grating, it's about having a hot dry fire and using it any which way, either directly (grilling) or indirectly (barbecuing).
Alton Brown's Grilled Grilled Cheese (YTL: 4:34)
posted by Sunburnt at 2:52 PM on May 6, 2015 [3 favorites]
If you have access to live shellfish, you can put mussels and clams in the shell on a grill and they will cook, open and pick up a little smoke flavour if you have charcoal.
posted by i_am_joe's_spleen at 3:35 PM on May 6, 2015
posted by i_am_joe's_spleen at 3:35 PM on May 6, 2015
I made tilapia on the grill last week and it turned out great with zero effort or prep time - I wrapped it loosely in foil and didn't bother flipping, just cooked until it started flaking. I assume the same thing would work for pretty much any other kind of fish.
Corn on the cob (cook in the husk, trim the ends a bit if you want) is also good and super easy on the grill. It'll be much tastier when it's in season.
posted by randomnity at 3:57 PM on May 6, 2015
Corn on the cob (cook in the husk, trim the ends a bit if you want) is also good and super easy on the grill. It'll be much tastier when it's in season.
posted by randomnity at 3:57 PM on May 6, 2015
Best answer: And I'm back with more thoughts, SO MANY thoughts, for great weeknight grilling. I think for me new ingredients and flavors add interest, but it's also efficiency and convenience that keep me from losing interest in the first place—if it's a hassle it becomes tedious and boring fast and even interesting new ideas don't seem like a particularly good value prop.
- So, workflow: Dial everything in to be super-convenient. Big shallow trays for ferrying back and forth without a billion trips (rolled-edge quarter and half sheet pans are cheap at the restaurant supply store and work perfectly). Make sure you have enough surfaces outside, and not just the grill's ledge—a lonely grill island is the worst, with no place to set down a tool or a beer (or quickly stash the half-full platter of chicken while you deal with a flare up) or to put a plate so you can unload food with both hands. An place to corral garbage, whether an actual receptacle or a designated now-empty tray that you can dump one time. Etc.
- Faster cleanup: Room-temperature (or at least not-cold) foods on truly hot grates (preheat! with the lid closed!) stick less. Add proper oiling—food and grates—and you'll cut way down on cleanup time. More oil than you think you need on grates (get out your longest tongs and wipe preheated grates with a folded paper towel dripping vegetable oil); less than you think you need on food (spray oil is easiest for odd shapes or lots of surface area). Leave food alone until it releases easily, of course. When you're done, burn off the worst crud right away while you eat—lay a sheet of foil over the grates, turn up the heat/open all the vents, and close the lid for ten minutes. While the grate still hot (...or after you've fired it up the next night if you're like me), crumple the foil into a loose ball and hold it in your tongs to scrub. But if you have common cast iron grill grates, the biggest thing you can do to make them lower maintenance is to clean them LESS—they'll stay cleaner if you let them season (just like a cast iron pan). Knock off burned food, and oil the still-warm grates again after cleaning if they need love, but don't scrub down to bare metal or use detergents/chemicals unless they're truly horrible/very rusty and you want to start over completely (and then if you have access to a car battery and battery charger, a crude tank electrolysis setup requires no special skills or technical knowledge, can be assembled with household items, and will remove everything that isn't factory iron with literally zero hands-on effort...so much better and faster than a person could ever do it that if you DON'T have access to a charger and battery, I think just buying a new grate makes much more sense than cleaning it by hand).
- Keep looking for ways to refresh your tried-and-trues in addition to new ideas. Batch mix (or buy and stock) favorite spice blends and dry rubs for quicker prep. Bottled vinaigrettes make it stupid easy to expand your marinade options (skip sweet ones or save for things that cook within a couple minutes). Homemade marinades that are basically vinaigrettes (oil and acid without many fresh ingredients) will last for weeks in the fridge, too, so scale those and keep them handy. And marinades that don't store well or are labor-intensive make even more sense for bulk production—but store them frozen in ziplock bags WITH a meal's worth of grill-ready protein. Then all you have to do in the morning (or the night before if it's a lot of food) is pick a bag and move it to the fridge, where the contents will be thawed and flavored up by dinner time.
- One Weird Trick: Try replacing some of the oil/acid in almost any marinade with good mayo. It sounds horrifying but the meat will be totally coated in flavorings tandoori-style instead of whatever that manages to not drip off, with like a Platonic ideal of a grill crust that has no hint of its mayonnaise-based origins. It's seriously like magic or transubstantiation or something. Bonus: Because it coats and clings so well, in a pinch you can do this as an instant version of an overnight marinade's flavors. Of course, it will just be on the outside unless you slash, and it won't have the tenderizing effect of a longer bath, so it's best for thin, tender cuts.
- Try adding smoke: Soaked chips if you're cooking fast (most effective on delicate stuff), chunks if your food will be on for an hour or more (then you can do big smokes and more robust proteins). Right on the coals, or in a folded foil packet on one of the burners. Or add a little perfume-y smoke with fresh woody herbs instead—rosemary skewers, rosemary or thyme on the grates (especially to bed/protect things that are hard to turn like whole fish), or just a handful used like (or with) regular wood chips.
- Add things inside: Any concentrated, not-too-chunky, doesn't-need-cooking filling that won't fall apart or run out once hot is good in anything you'll cook all the way through. I usually include something creamy or melty, too. Form burgers around crumbled or grated cheese and anything else you'd put on top, chopped fine, before flattening (works best for medium+ burgers). Roll up pounded or thin-cut meats with fillings and slash pockets in thicker cuts like bone-in pork chops. Ideas - ham and swiss, chopped spinach with chèvre and parm, roasted or dried tomato chopped fine with moss and basil, etc. This is ideal for using stuff up—that last half cup of stuffing, the heel of a Roquefort wedge, mystery dried fruit, etc. Even a spoonful of something like onion jam or flavored cream cheese will work in a pinch.
- Add things outside: Wrap any meat, vegetable, or fruit that cooks in ten-ish minutes in thin-cut bacon or proscuitto. Or add something that will crust—cracked peppercorns or other spices, sesame seeds, chopped nuts, grated parmesan (green can parm actually works great here), even panko or regular breadcrumbs; just keep things that will burn on foods that will cook quickly. You need something to make the crust stick; olive oil will usually work but a coat-forming wet binder like a beaten egg or mayo as aforesaid will be more consistent (mayo mixed with wasabi to coat tuna steaks with sesame seeds is amazing, I swear). Crumbs will get crisper if you moisten them with oil or melted butter before coating (or spray the coated food, or include something high-fat like grated cheese).
- Shellfish: If you like shrimp, try grilling prawns. Or try whole clams and oysters, just set them on the grates until they open (try to put the deeper cup side down so the liquor doesn't spill). If your Tuesday needs fancying up, whole lobsters (I split them and pack with herb butter), take less than ten minutes to cook on the grill. A couple grilled lemons and drawn butter (which you can do in a little pot on the grill), some corn on the cob, and you're set.
- Last thing, I promise: Try grilling cheese for dinner. CHEESE. Many dense cheeses that don't melt or at least hold their shapes when heated can be grilled in crusty-outside-creamy-inside-caramelized-bubbly-OMG slices. Halloumi is classic, and many other pressed brined cheeses like ricotta salata, some fetas, etc. act similarly on the grill. There are some softer, fresher cheeses that do fine, too (paneer obvi, but also stuff like queso panela), and even stringy melters like scamorza can work if grilled in big enough chunks and pulled before they fall apart. Toss your grilled cheese with melon, or put slices on a sandwich or taco, or just set them out on a plate and try not to eat like a whole pound of cheese at once, go ahead I dare you.
Happy grilling, everyone!
posted by peachfuzz at 8:54 PM on May 6, 2015 [11 favorites]
- So, workflow: Dial everything in to be super-convenient. Big shallow trays for ferrying back and forth without a billion trips (rolled-edge quarter and half sheet pans are cheap at the restaurant supply store and work perfectly). Make sure you have enough surfaces outside, and not just the grill's ledge—a lonely grill island is the worst, with no place to set down a tool or a beer (or quickly stash the half-full platter of chicken while you deal with a flare up) or to put a plate so you can unload food with both hands. An place to corral garbage, whether an actual receptacle or a designated now-empty tray that you can dump one time. Etc.
- Faster cleanup: Room-temperature (or at least not-cold) foods on truly hot grates (preheat! with the lid closed!) stick less. Add proper oiling—food and grates—and you'll cut way down on cleanup time. More oil than you think you need on grates (get out your longest tongs and wipe preheated grates with a folded paper towel dripping vegetable oil); less than you think you need on food (spray oil is easiest for odd shapes or lots of surface area). Leave food alone until it releases easily, of course. When you're done, burn off the worst crud right away while you eat—lay a sheet of foil over the grates, turn up the heat/open all the vents, and close the lid for ten minutes. While the grate still hot (...or after you've fired it up the next night if you're like me), crumple the foil into a loose ball and hold it in your tongs to scrub. But if you have common cast iron grill grates, the biggest thing you can do to make them lower maintenance is to clean them LESS—they'll stay cleaner if you let them season (just like a cast iron pan). Knock off burned food, and oil the still-warm grates again after cleaning if they need love, but don't scrub down to bare metal or use detergents/chemicals unless they're truly horrible/very rusty and you want to start over completely (and then if you have access to a car battery and battery charger, a crude tank electrolysis setup requires no special skills or technical knowledge, can be assembled with household items, and will remove everything that isn't factory iron with literally zero hands-on effort...so much better and faster than a person could ever do it that if you DON'T have access to a charger and battery, I think just buying a new grate makes much more sense than cleaning it by hand).
- Keep looking for ways to refresh your tried-and-trues in addition to new ideas. Batch mix (or buy and stock) favorite spice blends and dry rubs for quicker prep. Bottled vinaigrettes make it stupid easy to expand your marinade options (skip sweet ones or save for things that cook within a couple minutes). Homemade marinades that are basically vinaigrettes (oil and acid without many fresh ingredients) will last for weeks in the fridge, too, so scale those and keep them handy. And marinades that don't store well or are labor-intensive make even more sense for bulk production—but store them frozen in ziplock bags WITH a meal's worth of grill-ready protein. Then all you have to do in the morning (or the night before if it's a lot of food) is pick a bag and move it to the fridge, where the contents will be thawed and flavored up by dinner time.
- One Weird Trick: Try replacing some of the oil/acid in almost any marinade with good mayo. It sounds horrifying but the meat will be totally coated in flavorings tandoori-style instead of whatever that manages to not drip off, with like a Platonic ideal of a grill crust that has no hint of its mayonnaise-based origins. It's seriously like magic or transubstantiation or something. Bonus: Because it coats and clings so well, in a pinch you can do this as an instant version of an overnight marinade's flavors. Of course, it will just be on the outside unless you slash, and it won't have the tenderizing effect of a longer bath, so it's best for thin, tender cuts.
- Try adding smoke: Soaked chips if you're cooking fast (most effective on delicate stuff), chunks if your food will be on for an hour or more (then you can do big smokes and more robust proteins). Right on the coals, or in a folded foil packet on one of the burners. Or add a little perfume-y smoke with fresh woody herbs instead—rosemary skewers, rosemary or thyme on the grates (especially to bed/protect things that are hard to turn like whole fish), or just a handful used like (or with) regular wood chips.
- Add things inside: Any concentrated, not-too-chunky, doesn't-need-cooking filling that won't fall apart or run out once hot is good in anything you'll cook all the way through. I usually include something creamy or melty, too. Form burgers around crumbled or grated cheese and anything else you'd put on top, chopped fine, before flattening (works best for medium+ burgers). Roll up pounded or thin-cut meats with fillings and slash pockets in thicker cuts like bone-in pork chops. Ideas - ham and swiss, chopped spinach with chèvre and parm, roasted or dried tomato chopped fine with moss and basil, etc. This is ideal for using stuff up—that last half cup of stuffing, the heel of a Roquefort wedge, mystery dried fruit, etc. Even a spoonful of something like onion jam or flavored cream cheese will work in a pinch.
- Add things outside: Wrap any meat, vegetable, or fruit that cooks in ten-ish minutes in thin-cut bacon or proscuitto. Or add something that will crust—cracked peppercorns or other spices, sesame seeds, chopped nuts, grated parmesan (green can parm actually works great here), even panko or regular breadcrumbs; just keep things that will burn on foods that will cook quickly. You need something to make the crust stick; olive oil will usually work but a coat-forming wet binder like a beaten egg or mayo as aforesaid will be more consistent (mayo mixed with wasabi to coat tuna steaks with sesame seeds is amazing, I swear). Crumbs will get crisper if you moisten them with oil or melted butter before coating (or spray the coated food, or include something high-fat like grated cheese).
- Shellfish: If you like shrimp, try grilling prawns. Or try whole clams and oysters, just set them on the grates until they open (try to put the deeper cup side down so the liquor doesn't spill). If your Tuesday needs fancying up, whole lobsters (I split them and pack with herb butter), take less than ten minutes to cook on the grill. A couple grilled lemons and drawn butter (which you can do in a little pot on the grill), some corn on the cob, and you're set.
- Last thing, I promise: Try grilling cheese for dinner. CHEESE. Many dense cheeses that don't melt or at least hold their shapes when heated can be grilled in crusty-outside-creamy-inside-caramelized-bubbly-OMG slices. Halloumi is classic, and many other pressed brined cheeses like ricotta salata, some fetas, etc. act similarly on the grill. There are some softer, fresher cheeses that do fine, too (paneer obvi, but also stuff like queso panela), and even stringy melters like scamorza can work if grilled in big enough chunks and pulled before they fall apart. Toss your grilled cheese with melon, or put slices on a sandwich or taco, or just set them out on a plate and try not to eat like a whole pound of cheese at once, go ahead I dare you.
Happy grilling, everyone!
posted by peachfuzz at 8:54 PM on May 6, 2015 [11 favorites]
I like to keep a copy of Mark Bittman's 101 Fast Recipes for Grilling on hand to spark new ideas.
posted by sapere aude at 9:38 PM on May 6, 2015 [1 favorite]
posted by sapere aude at 9:38 PM on May 6, 2015 [1 favorite]
I very much like Kabāb-e Barg with grilled tomatoes and saffron rice.
posted by XMLicious at 11:36 PM on May 6, 2015
posted by XMLicious at 11:36 PM on May 6, 2015
Holy moly, peachfuzz -- they are coming this week to tear out our kitchen, and your posts are going to help spare us from endless sameness. Thank you!!!
posted by wenestvedt at 4:31 AM on May 9, 2015 [1 favorite]
posted by wenestvedt at 4:31 AM on May 9, 2015 [1 favorite]
one more to add: lightly salt some watermelon slices and pop 'em on the grill as a side dish while you're at it. they come out very flavorful and juicy, with an almost meaty texture.
posted by ghostbikes at 10:21 PM on May 11, 2015
posted by ghostbikes at 10:21 PM on May 11, 2015
This thread is closed to new comments.
posted by primethyme at 10:25 AM on May 6, 2015 [1 favorite]