Shock and awe barbeque recipes?

July 3, 2008 3:41 PM

What are some barbeque recipes that will impress my meat-eating boyfriend?

I've been a chicken/fish/veggie burger kind of lady since the age of 14 (now 28) and so I know virtually nothing about preparing other kinds of meat. My omnivorous boyfriend frequently and uncomplainingly does most of our joint cooking, and only makes things that we both enjoy.

We've been grilling on my charcoal grill lately, and I'd like to surprise him by making something awesome just for him. I have no problems handling beef or pork or whatever, I simply choose not to eat it myself.

Got any fantastic recipes to recommend?

posted by eliina to food & drink (19 comments total)

Try making southern style pulled pork barbecue. It's not a grill recipe, but is full of meaty pig deliciousness.
posted by phunniemee at 3:49 PM on July 3

good marinades for just about anything (even tuna or veggies):

honey, soy, sriracha hot sauce, grated ginger, grated garlic, scallions, and sesame oil
honey, balsamic vinegar, grated garlic, grated onion, salt and pepper

just mix 'em to taste...if you'd pour it over your food, you've got the right proportions.
posted by thinkingwoman at 3:49 PM on July 3

Oh hey, I just remembered that The Kitchen is doing a series of their favorite grill recipes this month. You should check it out.
posted by phunniemee at 3:57 PM on July 3

Oh man... best barbecue ever imo is a recipe my mother and grandmother make from Cook's Illustrated. It's pork shoulder with a rub and you cook it first over wood chips then in the oven IIRC. I can search the recipe out for you if you wanna MeMail me.
posted by MadamM at 3:57 PM on July 3

One of my favorites on the grill is a big tri-tip steak.

Just rub it down with some black pepper and salt. Then put it on the grill. Once a meat thermometer reads almost 140 degrees in its thickest part, pull it off.

You'll want to flip it over once after a few minutes to get the char on both sides of the steak.
posted by jabberjaw at 4:01 PM on July 3

Go to your local butcher...even the grocery store butcher. Pose this problem to him, and tell him/her that you want red meat and some stuff to make it taste really good. He'll hook you up. He'll also be ecstatic that someone wants his opinion on how to PREPARE meat.

Good luck.
posted by hal_c_on at 4:16 PM on July 3 [2 favorites]

Add 1/2 tsp of kosher salt, black pepper, and cayenne pepper to some olive olive and coast chicken breasts prior to grilling. Then mix one 11 oz can of mandarin oranges, 1 8 oz can of crushed pineapple, 1 tbs diced jalepeno (seeded) and 2 tbs fresh squeezed lemon juice. Serve the mandarin orange - pineapple salsa on the grilled chicken. The spice from the peppers and the sweetness of the fruit works perfectly with grilled chicken. It's ridiculously easy and quite tasty. We usually keep it simple and serve it with rice.
posted by COD at 4:20 PM on July 3 [1 favorite]

I second phunniemee and MadamM's suggestion of Cook's Illustrated Pulled Pork. It's amazingly good, especially with their North Carolina BBQ sauce. Here's the recipe: http://www.cooksillustrated.com/recipe.asp?recipeids=1453
posted by fengshui at 4:22 PM on July 3

Does he like fancy or simple dishes?

For pure beef satisfaction - ask the butcher for a 1.5 inch thick cut of ribeye - dry aged (21 day if you can get it). Baste it with a tiny bit of olive oil or butter and then coat lightly with Montréal seasoning. You can buy Montréal seasoning, but you can make it with stuff you have in the kitchen. It's just chopped garlic and shallot, coarsely ground black and white pepper, coriander, kosher salt and red chile flakes. Grill the steak to medium rare.

Make two and invite me over!
posted by 26.2 at 4:37 PM on July 3 [1 favorite]

Buy the most expensive steak you can find -- I'm talking grass-fed, perfectly marbled, melt-in-your-mouth tender. Ask the meat counter or butcher shop guy for the very top of the line.

Then grill it with a little salt, pepper, and a dab of butter.

That's it. That is the finest thing you can make with a grill. Stupendously good meat, cooked simply. Barbeque with lots of ingredients is fine, but it fundamentally is a way to make good food out of low-grade meat.
posted by rusty at 4:39 PM on July 3 [1 favorite]

Slow-BBQ Brisket with Bourbon Sauce

This one takes several hours, but the flavor makes the wait worthwhile. It's best to let the meat relax off the heat for awhile to become tender before carving it, then slice and reheat before serving. Serves 6-8.

for the spice rub
3 tablespoons ancho chile powder
1 teaspoon chile de arbol powder
2 teaspoons cumin
1 tablespoon salt
1 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
2 tablespoons dark brown sugar
2 tablespoons finely chopped fresh garlic

for the brisket
1 whole beef brisket, about 5 pounds
salt
bourbon barbecue sauce (see below)

1. Make the spice rub, combine all the ingredients in a bowl
2. Make the brisket. Preheat a grill to high. Rub the brisket with the spice rub. Place the brisket on the grill and brown on one side. Reduce the heat to low. Brush the top with the bourbon barbecue sauce and turn the brisket over.
3. Close the cover of the grill and slowly barbecue the brisket until tender, about 4 hours, basting with the barbecue sauce every 30 minutes. Remove the brisket from the grill, brush generously with barbecue sauce, let rest for 15 minutes, and slice thinly against the grain. Serve with remaining sauce.

bourbon barbecue sauce
2 tablespoons canola oil
2 red onions, finely diced
4 cloves garlic, finely chopped
2 tablespoons ancho chile powder
1 tablespoon pasilla chile powder
2 teaspoons chile de arbol powder
1 large can (32 oz.) plum tomatoes plus juice, pureed
1 cup water
2 tablespoons chipotle puree
1/4 cup each ketchup, dijon mustard, molasses, honey, and dark brown sugar
1/2 cup red wine vinegar
salt and freshly ground pepper
2 cups bourbon

Heat the oil in a large saucepan over medium-high heat. Add the onions and cook, stirring, until soft. Add the garlic and cook 2 minutes more. Add the chile powders and cook 5 minutes more. Add the tomatoes, water, chipotle puree, ketchup, mustard, molasses, honey, brown sugar, and vinegar, and season with salt and pepper. Cook the sauce until thickened, 25-30 minutes. Add the bourbon, bring to a boil, and cook 10 additional minutes, to allow the alcohol to burn off.

This is great for the 4th of July with a multi-cabbage coleslaw and potato salad.
posted by netbros at 4:48 PM on July 3 [1 favorite]

The Virtual Weber Bullet - no, it's not a charcoal suppository. Check out the forum for recipes, organized by species.

These recipes often recommend a Weber Brand Smokey Mountain smoker, but they'll work on any other smoker/cooker that can keep the "Low and Slow" temperatures required for true 'Q.
posted by webhund at 5:01 PM on July 3

I just found out my grandmother is making pork barbecue tomorrow- I can't wait. You don't even need barbecue sauce with this recipe, it's that tender and moist. As for the people suggesting steak, steak != barbecue. If you promised me barbecue and gave me steak, I would be sorely disappointed.
posted by MadamM at 5:32 PM on July 3

This recipe for Souvlaki is unbelievably good. I think it's usually made with lamb, but this is a pork recipe. We are not usually pork fans, but this is delicious.
posted by peep at 5:36 PM on July 3

I'm a believer in using rubs on meat before grilling or smoking.

My smoke rub recipe is:

1 cup brown sugar
1/2 cup salt
2 tablespoons paprika
2 tablespoons red pepper
1 tablespoon ground cumin
1 tablespon ground celery seed
1/2 teaspoon cayenne pepper
1/2 teaspoon ground mustard

Here is my post with pictures regarding it.
posted by Argyle at 6:20 PM on July 3

I'm a bit confused: you say "meat" but then seem to imply that chicken is out?

Uh, if not, our favorite recipe is beer can chicken. It's so easy, and it looks impressive! You rinse and season a whole chicken and stick a half-empty beer can up its butt. Set it on the grill with coals around it (not under it!), stick in a meat thermometer, and close the grill for 30 minutes to an hour. There will be lots of smoke as its fat drips, but don't worry. The grill flavor penetrates all the way through the meat, and the beer steams up through the inside.

When you serve it, you can pour out the remaining beer over it - trust me on this one! It's been reduced through cooking and mixed with chicken fat and the salt and seasonings dripping off the inside of the chicken cavity, so it's like a super tasty insta-gravy!
posted by GardenGal at 8:04 PM on July 3

Our current favourite is Moroccan butterflied leg of lamb from Weber's Art of the Grill.

You can get this recipe if you follow the link to Amazon and "look inside" the book. Search on "Moroccan". The recipe is on p. 88. There's a photo on p. 89.

You butterfly the leg of lamb to get it to a uniform thickness of about an inch so it cooks quickly and evenly, rub it with a mix of orange zest, toasted spices, olive oil and garlic and then leave it to marinate for several hours before grilling. Follow their instructions and slice thin against the grain. Gorgeous.
posted by sagwalla at 12:56 AM on July 4

I think the OP means grilling, not BBQ. I was coming in here to post something about good ol' southern BBQ, but she asked about grilling. I concur with buying the dry aged steak, but the best cuts of meat are always best as rare as he can stand it (but with the outside seared). Pat the steak dry with a paper towel let it come to room temperature and salt it just before cooking. Here are some tips from the Deseret news. For leaner meats like pork, chicken or turkey, it is best to marinate or brine them before grilling.
posted by BrotherCaine at 2:48 AM on July 4

Thanks everyone! This probably sounds like sacrilege to some of you, but I use the words barbequing and grilling interchangeably, particularly if I'm putting barbeque sauce on the stuff on the grill. I blame my parents for failing to instill me with proper American values and meat cooking vocabulary. ;)

As for chicken being out GardenGal, I was looking for something outside of the chicken/fish realm because that's what we always make. But your recipe sounds great.

It looks like we'll have enough recipes to last all summer!
posted by eliina at 5:28 PM on July 4