3 Easy Grilling Recipes to Try This Fall
Three Simple Grilling Recipes to Try This Fall
This week’s guest article was written by author Annabelle Carter Short, a Sacramento-based food writer, blogger, and photographer. She loves cooking, sewing, creating recipes, and making healthy food that tastes delicious. You can follow her writing at Seriously Smoked or connect with her via Facebook and LinkedIn.
Maybe even more than summer, hosting a BBQ party during the fall can make for a cozy affair where everyone can enjoy some delicious grilling recipes. With the perfectly crisp and cool weather of autumn, all you need is a durable, easy-to-maintain grill or smoker, your favorite ingredients, and excellent (socially distanced) company, and you can expect to have lots of fun and make memories to remember.
But what should you add to the menu that appeals to a broad group’s taste buds? Keep reading as I introduce three of my favorite grilling recipes that you absolutely have to try while hosting people outside.
Brined Grilled Chicken With Dipping Sauces
Ingredients:
2 pounds chicken drumsticks
2 quarts water
1/2 tsp black pepper
2 tsp paprika
1/4 cup kosher salt
1/4 cup light brown sugar, packed
1/2 cup white wine vinegar
2 whole dried chiles
6 thyme sprigs
6 parsley sprigs
4 rosemary sprigs
4 garlic cloves, crushed
Creamy Honey Mustard
Buttermilk-Parmesan Ranch Dressing
Fiery Sweet Dipping Sauce
Method:
Add salt, water, vinegar, brown sugar, rosemary, parsley, thyme, garlic, and chilies to a large stockpot. Combine them well, stirring occasionally, and cook over medium-high flame until the salt and sugar dissolve.
Remove your brine from heat and let it cool down for about one hour.
Place the chicken drumettes in the cooled brine, and cover and chill for around 4 to 8 hours.
Preheat your grill to medium temperature (350°F to 400°F).
Drain the chicken, discarding the brine. Pat the drumettes dry with paper towels and sprinkle an evenly-spread layer of paprika and black pepper.
Grill the chicken with the lid covered until it gets browned on all sides or until the thickest part registers a temperature of 170°F.
Remove the chicken drumettes from the grill and let it rest for about five minutes. Serve with dipping sauces and enjoy!
(If brined isn't your style, also take a look at these classic chicken lollipops from All Things BBQ to get the party started! We'd also recommend trying out the Memphis Mop BBQ Sauce from BBQ Buddha if you prefer something sweet and tangy.)
Grilled Potato Salad
Ingredients:
6 medium Yukon Gold potatoes, halved lengthwise
1/4 cup olive oil, divided
1/2 tsp red chili flakes
1 tsp Dijon mustard
2 tsp oil-packed anchovies, minced
1 tbsp capers, coarsely chopped
2 tbsps red wine vinegar
2 tbsps fresh oregano leaves, chopped
1/2 cup oil-cured olives, pitted
1/2 cup flat-leaf parsley leaves
1 1/2 cups cherry tomatoes, halved
Method:
Preheat your grill to medium. (350°F to 450°F, leaving an area unheated for indirect heat.)
After covering your potatoes in one tbsp oil, grill them – flat side down – until the coveted grill marks appear for about eight minutes. Turn the potato pieces over and move them to the indirect heat area, cooking until they get tender. Once the potatoes cool down, cut them into wide chunks.
Take a large bowl and whisk the vinegar, mustard, oregano, 3 tbsps oil, chili flakes, capers, and anchovies.
Once done, add the remaining ingredients and potato chunks, and mix gently before serving.
Tri-Tip With Chimichurri
Ingredients:
2 pounds tri-tip steak / Two 1-pound sirloin steaks
2 tsp kosher salt
2 tsp freshly ground black pepper
1 tbsp sesame seeds
1 tbsp smoked paprika
1 tbsp agave nectar
2 tbsp + 1/2 cup olive oil
2 garlic cloves, finely grated
2 cups parsley, finely chopped
1/2 cup cilantro, finely chopped
1/4 cup red wine vinegar
Method:
Combine sesame seeds, 2 tbsp oil, paprika, 2 tsp salt, and 2 tsp pepper in a small bowl, and then rub it all over your steak, allowing it to sit at room temperature for 30 minutes.
Start preparing your grill for medium-high and indirect heat. Place your steak over indirect heat and grill – covered. Keep grilling your steak, turning only once, until the thickest part of the steak registers 115°F. This should take roughly 20 to 30 minutes.
Once done, move your steak on direct heat and grill until it gets slightly charred – about two minutes per side or when the temperature reaches 120°F. Let the steak rest for about 10 minutes.
Prepare the chimichurri by combining parsley, garlic, vinegar, cilantro, agave nectar, and the remaining half cup oil. Season with salt and pepper according to taste.
Drizzle the chimichurri on top of the steak and serve!
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I hope you enjoy these recipes. Have a wonderful and safe rest of fall!
Annabelle Carter Short
Food Writer
—2Fifty Texas BBQ opened this spring despite the pandemic and now has topped a list of the best BBQ joints in Washington D.C. (Photo by Deb Lindsey)—
HOT OFF THE PRESS
Despite the pandemic, The Washington Post’s Tim Carman has compiled the paper’s annual list of the best BBQ joints in the Washington D.C. area. 2Fifty Texas BBQ, a new joint that opened this spring, surprisingly topped the list. Carman notes that “this bonanza of good barbecue has come about despite declining sales, labor cutbacks, occasional beef shortages, health concerns and even, in one case, worries over visa extensions.” READ HERE
In his second column focused on barbecue at home, the Houston Chronicle's J.C. Reid writes about how dry rubs are often the backbone of backyard barbecue. "For the backyard pitmaster, there’s a tendency to assume they are all the same," Reid writes. "But dry rubs are in fact quite different, as you can tell by checking the ingredient lists on the bottles. To make your own dry rub for barbecue, an understanding of the building blocks of these products is essential." READ HERE
Sam Jones of Sam Jones BBQ and Skylight Inn spoke with QSR Magazine about various 2020 challenges and not letting COVID-19 stop him from opening a new location in Raleigh soon. He also recounted some wins as well. "Our sales have been really strong, Jones said. "I attribute that to always treating people nice and cooking good food, but we’ve also made it much more convenient for those not wanting to come in the restaurant." READ HERE
A new barbecue pop-up from Eduardo and Hugo Bolaños called Buho Rouge is now serving Basque-inspired grilled meats in Pasadena, California. The brothers' menu includes grilled Basque steak, prawns, and an eggplant milanesa sandwich. READ HERE
ADDITIONAL READS
Charleston pitmaster Rodney Scott shares his lessons on patience and adversity.
Big Frank’s BBQ, a massive barbecue truck with a 1,500-pound smoker, will set up on Barrack’s Row in D.C. starting this week.
Salt + Smoke now has a new centralized commissary kitchen, enabling the St. Louis barbecue chain to streamline its operations.
Crave Hot Dogs and BBQ has launched a new food truck in Atlanta.
Exciting new Dallas barbecue joint Oak’d is now open on Greenville Avenue in Dallas.
317 BBQ, a Texas-style barbecue joint, is opening in Broad Ripple in Indianapolis in December.
Photojournalist Mark Dolan, also known as the BBQ Pilgrim, travels the nation to unlock America's barbecue obsession.
—Pitmaster Don Nguyen of Houston’s Khoi Barbecue mixes Asian flavors into his Texas barbecue dishes.—
WATCH
How a Vietnamese Pitmaster is Bringing New Flavors to Texas Barbecue — Smoke Point
At Khói Barbecue, brothers Don and Theo Nguyen use the Vietnamese ingredients and cooking methods from their childhood to influence their Texas Barbecue pop-ups. creating dishes like brisket pho and smoked chicken rice & yuzukoshō. Growing up eating both Texas-style brisket and pho often, they figured this combination of smokey meat and noodles would work perfectly. The Nguyens also make a bò lá lốt sausage, turning the traditional lá lốt leaf-wrapped beef dish into a sausage, and smoked chicken rice and yuzukoshō dish that’s a play on the chicken and rice they ate growing up. WATCH HERE
LISTEN
Malcom Reed and Brad Leighninger — The BBQ Central Show
In this episode of The BBQ Central Show, host Greg Rempe chats with pitmaster Malcom Reed. They talk about the new YouTube channel he’s getting into that reviews BBQ products, the new retail location he is opening later this week, and his tips for a successful Thanksgiving this month. Next, he is joined by the newly crowned KCBS Team of The Year for 2020, Brad Leighninger of Gettin’ Basted. Brad was able to lock up the title for the 2nd time in 3 years and they cover this season and how this win stacks up to the one back in 2018. They also talk about the new KCBS Chase series for 2021 that will reward teams who are unable to compete 30+ times to be in contention for the national team of the year title. LISTEN HERE
READ
Meat Illustrated: A Foolproof Guide to Understanding and Cooking with Cuts of All Kinds — America’s Test Kitchen
Part cookbook, part handbook organized by animal and its primal cuts, Meat Illustrated is the go-to source on meat, providing essential information and techniques to empower you to explore options at the supermarket or butcher shop (affordable cuts like beef shanks instead of short ribs, lesser-known cuts like country-style ribs, leg of lamb instead of beef tenderloin for your holiday centerpiece), and recipes that make those cuts (72 in total) shine. Illustrated primal cut info at the start of each section covers shopping, storage, and prep pointers and techniques with clearly written essays, step-by-step photos, break-out tutorials, and hundreds of hand-drawn illustrations that take the mystery out of the meat prep, so you'll execute dishes as reliably as the steakhouse. BUY IT HERE
—Chud’s BBQ shows you how to make delicious sausage with brisket, turkey, and pimento cheese.—
Pimento Cheese Sausage
By Chud’s BBQ
For this week’s Recipe of the Week, we chose this video for Pimento Cheese Sausage from Bradley Robinson of Chud’s BBQ. This sausage recipe was inspired by the “Bubba Cole” sandwich from pitmaster Blake Stoker of Blake’s BBQ in Martin, Tennessee. The sausage is made up of ingredients such as brisket, turkey, and pimento cheese.
—Many of the largest barbecue events of 2020 have been canceled or postponed.—
In light of the constantly changing coronavirus crisis, we are leaving our events section blank for some time. Many events in 2020 have been canceled or postponed thus far. We’ll be updating our events section on our website with the most up-to-date information as we have it.
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