Seeking more BBQ recipes

June 6, 2019 6:29 PM

Mefites, Here in the bay area, it is finally starting to warm up and I'd like to celebrate with some new recipes to make on the grill. I typically grill burgers, chopped veggies on a sheet of foil and sausage/dogs,. I am looking to diversify into other meat and veggie recipes that can be made on a gas grill. Ideally nothing that requires hours and hours of cook time. Please share your favorite bbq recipes!
posted by fonzie to Food & Drink (19 answers total)

Cubes of halloumi cheese is a nice non-meat addition to grilled vegetable skewers (I use cherry tomatoes, sweet peppers, and red onion that's been soaked in cold water for a little while to take the edge off). Splash it with a little good-quality olive oil and roll it in some shredded mint or basil when it comes off the grill.
posted by mandolin conspiracy at 6:41 PM on June 6, 2019 [1 favorite]

If you have room in your freezer, a whole pork loin from costco is pretty cheap, and you can chop it up into, uh, chops (though they can be pretty lean) -- or you can get them pre-chopped for a little more per lb. I like them with some carribean jerk sauce, or BBQ sauce.
posted by smcameron at 6:43 PM on June 6, 2019 [2 favorites]

If your burners run front to back (instead of side to side) you can do a nice beer can chicken on indirect heat. The beer can doesn't really moisturize / steam anything, it just stands the bird up with minimal contact on the grill. Tastes great.
posted by jenkinsEar at 6:58 PM on June 6, 2019

Oh, and I recently got some of these high-temperature grilling sheets, which are great for shrimp and stuff that'll fall through the grids- lets you cook all sorts of stuff you might not anticipate.
posted by jenkinsEar at 7:00 PM on June 6, 2019 [1 favorite]

I love Penzey’s spice mixes for grilled meats and veggies (sign up for their email list and you wouldn’t believe the sales they have). For veggies, my regular rotation of veggies are skewered - mostly mushrooms, okra, zucchini, or shishito peppers. I oil/season and throw them on the grate. They get oiled and sprinkled with some combo of salt/garlic salt, black/white/Sichuan/togarashi pepper, and maybe a spice mix. I’m also planning to add wedges of cabbage to the mix this year. I don’t use sheets or barriers and haven’t had issues. My usual meats are: chicken, fish (whole stuffed trout or filets of various types), and burgers/ground meat kebab. Meats get seasoned mostly with spice mixes, many of which are from Penzey’s or my local Middle Eastern market. I don’t do marinades and longer prep unless it’s the weekend. My criteria is that things should be delicious and easy/fast. During grilling season I grill 3+ nights a week, mostly weekdays. On a weekend, I’m more likely to do something bigger like a tri-tip or whole eggplants.
posted by quince at 7:31 PM on June 6, 2019

some folks also like grilling mushrooms

Oh yes. A mushroom standard (a quick search will yield tons of suggestions) is grilled portobello mushrooms. My go-to is allowing them to marinate for a few hours (or overnight) in a mixture of balsamic vinegar, olive oil, and fresh garlic (I'm on team Obscene Amounts of Garlic, ymmv), and they grill up super-quick in a burger-like fashion. Serve them like a burger in a bun with some cheese and other regular burger toppings, or just have them as a tasty side.

Or put it on your meat burger to pump up the jam, because they fit perfectly in a burger bun.
posted by mandolin conspiracy at 7:38 PM on June 6, 2019

This grilled kale salad is a staple at my house. The grilled bread and super garlicky dressing is fantastic.
posted by Fig at 7:46 PM on June 6, 2019

To add to your burgers/dogs fallback: bone-in skin-on chicken thighs. Super easy to grill (cook skin up until the fat has mostly rendered out), hard to overcook, delicious with bbq sauce or spices or just salt and pepper. It’s like eating a giant, meaty chicken wing. I always have some in the freezer and toss them on the grill if I’m short on time or out of ideas.
posted by pocams at 8:20 PM on June 6, 2019 [1 favorite]

Here's some stuff I grill a lot:
- Corn (shuck it after grilling 8 mins and running under cold water)
- Zucchini (then cut up and mix with herbs, olive oil, and lemon)
- Pineapple rings (great with vanilla ice cream or alone or with a little cinnamon)
- Bone in Chicken Thighs / Lamb Loin Chops (paint these with lemon, garlic, olive oil, herbs while grilling)
- Tuna steak (marinate 10 mins in crushed pepper, garlic, coriander, olive oil, lemon)
- Steak (paint with melted butter after grilling - amazing!)
- Salmon or fish steak (the secret to not messing this up? don't bother turning them over.)

Another great idea is hobo packs. Jamie Oliver has some great recipes with some pretty unusual (for Americans anyway) flavor combinations. https://alittleyum.com/tag/jamie-oliver-food-in-a-bag-recipes/ You're basically steaming the dish, but the flavors meld really nicely. Great for fish. Fun to open and eat.
posted by xammerboy at 8:25 PM on June 6, 2019 [1 favorite]

Another good baste for the thighs is melted butter and saffron. I hardly ever do this, because saffron is expensive, but this is classic in some parts of the world. The bastes are something I often do on the fly, but have sometimes received outsized reactions from guests. Fairly easy way to kick things up a notch.
posted by xammerboy at 8:30 PM on June 6, 2019

I did the Yakitori recipe from New York Paywall recently, but there are ones you don’t have to pay the Grey Lady for, e.g., this one. Goes nice with grilled pineapple.
posted by Gilgamesh's Chauffeur at 8:59 PM on June 6, 2019

We often grill a tri-tip whole on quite high heat, taking it off frequently to slice off the crispy cooked outside layer (i.e. not cutting through the joint, just taking the surface off rather like slicing off a spitted gyro) then putting it back on again the other way up to crisp up some more. To slice it I lay it on a board sprinkled with rock salt, so it's getting salted each time.

A Brazilian friend showed us this. I don't know if the method has a name and this is a poor description, but it's *very* tasty. It's quite labor-intensive of course, and means people get to eat in series not all at the same time; it makes for a nice social affair.
posted by anadem at 9:06 PM on June 6, 2019 [1 favorite]

Grilled potatoes. Microwave or parboil some baby reds to soften them up, then halve or quarter them, then melt some butter on them and add spices. Then you just put them on kebab skewers on the grill as your other stuff cooks.
posted by kevinbelt at 9:07 PM on June 6, 2019

A favorite around here: Curried Corn on the Cob.

Mix curry powder with mayo, then spread liberally on the corn. Wrap tightly in aluminum foil and throw on the grill, turning occasionally, until done.
posted by Short Attention Sp at 5:21 AM on June 7, 2019 [1 favorite]

How about, well... barbecue? Gas grills aren’t made for low and slow, but they can be hacked to provide it. This is your starting place, with techniques (and linked recipes) galore.
posted by supercres at 6:30 AM on June 7, 2019

Tri tip, tri tip, tri tip! I never had one until we lived in Santa Cruz, and they seem like a very Central Coast thing in general. They're quick and all you need is a dry rub.

Ceboillitas, green onions with a little olive oil and salt, make a great accompaniment.

I like to do a foil packet of greek-style potatoes (lots of lemon juice and salt and pepper and thyme, plus olive oil) and some red pepper and red onion and mushrooms on skewers.
posted by Lawn Beaver at 7:33 AM on June 7, 2019

Marinating chicken in yogurt before grilling it is surprisingly great. You can flavor the marinade however you like, but the yogurt works wonders.
posted by LizardBreath at 7:46 AM on June 7, 2019

Coconut Lime Cilantro Chicken - I use chicken thighs because they taste better and are more forgiving on the grill (and no pounding needed).

I have a grill basket for veggies. Toss bell pepper chunks, chunks of mushrooms (either button, crimini, or portobello), and some zucchini with oil, salt, pepper, and your choice of seasoning. Cook in the basket on the grill until done.

Asparagus: Leave the spears whole. Toss with oil, salt, pepper, and place directly on the grill grates. Rotate them until nicely charred. Place them on a plate and sprinkle with some balsamic vinegar. YUM!

Bread: Take some nice hearty bread, cut thick slices. Mix some butter and garlic powder together, and spread that on the bread, both sides. Place the bread on the grill and rotate a few times until toasted nicely.

Pork: Get yourself some thick boneless pork chops - preferably high quality from a butcher. Prep them a few hours before you cook: First, do they have a cap of fat along the side? If yes, you're in for a treat. Take a knife and make a few slices through the fat just to ensure that it doesn't buckle the pork. Now get a spice blend together. I love Penzey's Northwoods for my chops, but you can use what you want. Sprinkle liberally on all sides with your seasoning, and add salt and pepper (unless your spices are already salt-heavy). Now drizzle some vegetable oil on each chop (not much, just enough to coat lightly). Pick up those chops and massage the seasonings and oil into the chops. Wrap them back up until it's time to cook. Take the chops out before you heat up the grill. When the grill is good and hot, place the chops on the grill. 4-5 minutes per side. You don't need a ton of time on these. Cook to just 140 or so - it will come up to 145 off the grill. Enjoy that crispy pork fat on the side of the chop.
posted by hydra77 at 10:29 AM on June 7, 2019

I've become a big fan of 'wilted broccolini' - throw brocolini in a non-reactive bowl, toss with oil and a good aged balsamic vinegar. Gas grill on medium (~300F stable), one minute, flip, one minute, serve as a side.

Lamb leg is a little cheaper than chops or lollipops (ribs), and you can get them butterflied (or butterfly it yourself) and it's only 2 minutes, flip, 2 minutes, flip/rotate, 2 minutes, flip 2 minutes (at ~300F). I season with pepper, cumin, soy, garlic - and make a honey or mint sauce; seasoning with honey results in burnt/charcoal mess.

Ceder plank fish (fillet) can be nice. You can buy food-grade ceder planks or you can split them yourself from a log. Soak in water (or beer, wine, diluted scotch/ whiskey) beforehand. I like to put lemon sliced under the fillet.

Another one of my favourites is hanger steak/ onglets. Season in soy, pepper, cognac; salt and oil right before putting on the grill, 2 minutes on each of the three sides (~300-400F). Let rest 5 minutes, slice cross grain. Amazing topping for a salad, or leave unsliced and serve similar to a baseball steak.

For pork tenderloins, I either cut steaks that I then butterfly, or marinate the whole tenderloin in hoisin sauce, ginger powder, garlic, and mirin. Stick a meat thermometer along the long axis, 300F, rotate every 2 minutes until it reaches temp. It's a little bit messy because of the sugar content of the hoisin sauce.
posted by porpoise at 12:42 PM on June 7, 2019