Broiled Salmon on the Grill

This is more “technique” than recipe.  But Salmon is fast becoming America’s favorite fish and it is a delicious and easy choice for your next BBQ party. 

Broiled Salmon

Ingredients

• 4 (8-ounce) salmon fillets
• Olive oil
• Salt and pepper

Directions

1. Coat each salmon fillet with the olive oil (just enough to make it shine, not drip) and salt and pepper.
2. Preheat grill to medium-high heat and place the salmon skin side up, (even if the skin has been removed) this is VERY important.
3. Then close the lid and allow to cook about 5 to 7 minutes.
4. Check the grill to make sure there are no flame flare-ups and the salmon is cooking evenly, and let cook another 3 to 4 minutes.  You are going to let the fish cook about 90 percent on this side. It is very important not to mess with the fish during the first few minutes of cooking (unless it is burning or some other problem) as the fish will “seize up” and stick to the grill at first.  If you try and move it, it will fall apart.  Many of us have experienced this.  Let it cook and it will eventually start to release naturally.  Try it. — Mark
5. After about 8 to 9 minutes the salmon should turn over easily and allow to finish another 3 to 4 minutes.
6. Remove from grill and serve with your favorite side dishes. The entire cooking time should be about 10 to 12 minutes. .

Grilled Curry Apricot Shrimp

Ingredients:

• ½ cup Olive Oil
• ½ cup Apricot Preserves
• 2 Tablespoon Dijon Mustard
• 2 Tablespoon Curry Powder
• 2 Tablespoon Garlic, minced
• 2 Tablespoon Cilantro, chopped
• 2 Jalapeno chilies, minced and seeded
• 16 – 20 large Shrimp, peeled, deveined and tails removed
• 4 skewers, (if using bamboo skewers – soak in water for 30 minutes first)

Directions:

1. Combine first seven ingredients in medium bowl.
2. Add shrimp and toss to coat.
3. Cover and refrigerate at least 30 minutes and up to 1 hour, tossing occasionally.
4. Prepare a two zone fire.
5. Skewer 4 shrimp
6. Grill on high heat zone (Click Here to read how to check the temperature of your grill.) until shrimp are just cooked through, brushing frequently with marinade, about 3 minutes per side.
7. Bring remaining marinade to simmer in small saucepan.
8. Serve on skewers, passing marinade separately. .

Test the Temperature of your Grill with Just Your Hand.

How Hot is my Fire?

Testing the Temperature of your Charcoal Grill or Gas Grill is very easy when you know how.

Most grilling recipes call for cooking over high, medium or low heat. Seldom do they call for a specific temperature.

There are several reasons for this. Grilling is an inexact cooking method and the conditions can change very quickly. So it is best to simply cook over the range of heat and watch the food very closely.

But how do you know what is considered high, medium or low heat? The thermometers in the tops of most grills for testing the temperature will measure only air temperatures inside the grill when the cover is closed. This is not a true reflection of the cooking temperature down close to the fire where your food is. That is much higher. Futhermore, with most meats and fish fillets you will want to build a two zone fire and the lid thermometer is almost completely worthless if the sides of the grill are at different temperatures.

The best way to tell the temperature of your fire is to use the traditional hand test. Hold your hand about three inches above the grate and time how long you can hold it there before you are forced to pull it back:

• 1 to 2 seconds — High Heat – This is perfect for your hot zone if you are searing a steak or grilling shrimp. Use this heat first to sear the outside and lock in the juices.
• 2 to 3 seconds — Medium High Range – Good for most fish fillets.
• 4 to 5 seconds — Medium Low Range – Ideal for most chicken and veggies.
• 7 to 8 seconds — Low Heat – Perfect for you warm zone to finish steaks or chops. Also good for grilling delicate vegetables and fruit.
• 1 minute – You forgot to light the grill! Put down the beer and go get some matches. (Just kidding)

Mark

The Weekend Grillers show you how to Easily Solve several Common Grilling Problems you may Encounter

Common Grilling Problems should not suck the fun out of your next Barbeque.

After all, grilling is just about as much fun as you can have with your clothes on. Okay — there is golf. And drinking beer. But grilling is definately up there!

But when grilling problems happen it can take the fun out very quickly. Luckily there are several common problems that are easy to fix. Below are four very common problems along with their solutions.

Now if I could only figure out how to golf and grill at the same time…

PROBLEM: Grilled foods are too dry.

SOLUTION: The smoke from a charcoal fire adds great smokey flavor to food, but it also tends to dry it out. The easiest fix for this is to grill thicker cuts. For the most part, thicker foods are easier to grill than thinner ones and hold their juices inside better. Look for moderately thick steaks, fish fillets, and chops. It is also often helpful (and tasty!) to marinate foods before cooking them over charcoal.

PROBLEM: Burgers and fish stick to the grate.

SOLUTION: Always keep your grill clean. The best way to clean it is to heat the grill then scrape it with a wire grill brush before cooking anything. Grilling on a dirty grate clogged with burnt, stuck-on food is like to frying in a dirty pan.

Then before you put the food on, oil the grate. There are two easy ways to do this. If you are cooking steaks or chops, cut off a piece of fat and, using a grill fork, run it up and down the hot grates. If are cooking anything else or do not want to cut off the best part of the steak, grab a wad of paper towels with your tongs, dip it in vegetable oil and rub the oil onto the hot grate. Never, NEVER use none stick cooking spray.

PROBLEM: The food burns on the outside before it cooks all the way through.

SOLUTION: This is one of the most common grilling problems. The fix is easy — Build a two zone fire (or turn one end of your gas grill to low and the other to hot) so that you can sear food over the hot zone and then move it to the cool zone to finish cooking it through without scorching. At the first sign of a flare-ups, move the food that is over the flame to the cooler zone and wait for the fire to burn out. Never apply barbecue sauce or any other sauce that contains sugar or honey until the very last minutes of cooking. Or, better yet, offer sauces at the table.

PROBLEM: It’s hard to check the temperature when roasting or barbecuing.

SOLUTION: Insert a grill thermometer through the lid vent of your charcoal grill. Rotate the lid to check different heat zones. Do not let the stem touch the food for an accurate measurement.

There’s a whole section on The Weekend Grillers devoted to solving your Common Grilling problems and teaching you the Tricks and Techniques of the BBQ and Grilling Masters. CLICK HERE to visit now.

Honey Jalapeno Wings

Honey Jalapeno Wings is the best bbq chicken wing recipe The Weekend Grillers have come across in a

Honey Jalapeno Wings

long time.

Be sure to make the whole recipe (or more) as they will disappear very quickly.

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The directions on this sticky treat say “game” because this is the perfect kind of snack for tailgating. But they work just as well for parties, camping, picnics and cookouts.

Honey Jalapeno Wings  are Perfect for Tailgating because they can be made in advance and are easy to eat while partying!

Just don’t count on any of these being leftover for an after game snack.

 

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Ingredients:

• 30 Jalapenos
• 1 ½ cups Sugar
• 1 ½ cups Brown Sugar
• 6 Tablespoons Water
• 4-5 cups Honey
• ½ cup White Wine Vinegar
• ¼ cup Orange Juice
• ¼ teaspoon Turmeric
• 2-3 cups Mustard
• 60 or more Chicken Wings

Directions:

The day before the game:

1. Roast the Jalapenos until tender, then blend with all ingredients except chicken in a blender or food processor.
2. Set aside about a cup of the sauce to take to the game.
3. Marinate the wing overnight in the rest of the sauce.

The day of the game:

1. Grill or broil the wings until fully cooked. (This can be done the night before and refrigerated, but be sure to marinate at least a couple of hours.)

At the Game:

1. Throw the wings on the grill for a few minutes
2. Brush them with the saved marinade until you get a great, caramelized finish.
3. Enjoy and accept praises from your adoring fans.

For more delicious and easy chicken wing recipes be sure to visit the Wing Section of the Weekend Grillers.

Backyard Barbeque Blunders

No Recipes today — Just a VERY funny story by Weekend Griller, Bob Alexander

Backyard Barbeque Blunders

by Bob Alexander
http://www.bluemarlinbob.com

Stupidity isn’t one of the essential ingredients in the perfect back yard barbeque. As much fun as grilling can be, it can be dangerous at times. It can also be quite amusing, unless you’re the one being the idiot. But then, life is made up of idiotic acts that we all have been fortunate enough to survive. God must really have had a sense of humor when He gave the first cave man the idea to cook his meat instead of eating it raw.Trouble begins when one of questionable intelligence, starts playing with matches, charcoal lighter and gas. A friend of mine who had a gas grill tried to start the burner with a match after turning the propane on and then going into the house to use the bathroom. He then took the time to get a drink before he went back outside.

It was a calm day with no breeze, so the gas sort of settled around the grill. When he struck the match, you could hear the whoomp all the way to the house. Luckily the fireball only singed the hair on his head, his arms and his eyebrows. It shouldn’t have to be said, but never leave the gas line open for any length of time before igniting the gas.

Unfortunately, most barbequing mishaps are not due to carelessness, but to stupidity. Charcoal grills are especially fun to work with and only an idiot would use gasoline to start the fire. Another friend of mine, Joe, did just that. He didn’t start off that day being stupid; that came later in the afternoon.

One Saturday afternoon in June, Joe invited all the neighbors over for the first cook out of the season. Everyone was in a festive mood, especially Joe. This was his big chance to show off his grilling skills to the neighbors. Now he has always struck me as being a brick shy of a full load, but I was always willing to give him the benefit of the doubt, until that Saturday afternoon. Joe proved my theory correct when he came very close to burning down his house.

Joe’s stupidity wasn’t readily apparent at the beginning of the evening when he prepared to light the charcoal. Not one to do something half way, he used an entire twenty pound bag of charcoal. He had converted a 55 gallon drum into a smoker grill that was big enough to serve the entire neighborhood. Almost a full can of charcoal lighter was used to ensure that all the briquettes were burning brightly.

It didn’t work. While Joe went into the house to supervise the preparation of the meat and side items, the fire outside in the grill went out. Such a dilemma! He had just used all his charcoal lighter. One of his neighbors went next door to get a can of fire starter but it wasn’t fast enough for Joe. After all, this was his party and it was up to him to get things rolling again.I’m sure somewhere deep inside Joe’s mind he knew that pouring gasoline on charcoal, especially when that charcoal had already been burning, was not a brilliant idea. Sure enough when the gasoline hit the charcoal, a briquette that was still burning and hiding underneath the mound of charcoal, ignited the gasoline! Whooomp! The gas can start spouting flames.

Joe threw the gas can as far as he could; right on top of his brand new treated wood deck. When the can hit the deck, the top came off, pouring the gasoline out of the can onto the wooden deck. There was a big blaze this time. By now we had the garden hose going and the next door neighbor was soaking down Fred’s deck too. In a matter of minutes the fire department arrived and extinguished the fire. Luckily nothing but the deck was burned. Someone was looking out forJoe that day!

Electric kettle type smokers have become popular lately because they keep a constant heat and they’re easy to cook with. A great tip is to always keep the smoker in the garage and out of the rain. If the lava rocks in the bottom of the tray are wet, when you turn the electric wand on and it’s buried in wet rocks; guess what? The sound this time won’t be whooomp! It will be bang! The electric wand will blow apart, ruining a perfectly good smoker and cook-out.

The moral to this story is simple. If you’re stupid, don’t play with matches!

Bob Alexander is well experienced in outdoor cooking, fishing and leisure living. Bob is also the author and owner of this article. Visit his sites at:
http://www.bluemarlinbob.com 

Grilled Shrimp with Bacon Kabob Recipe

Shrimp is always a crowd pleaser.  Combine it with Bacon and you will have them eating out of your hands.  Literally if you are not careful!

You’ll want to include a good quality cocktail sauce for those who can’t imagine shrimp without cocktail sauce — but I would also serve a tasty cream sauce or two.  The creamy smoothness will complement the saltiness of the bacon much better than a sharp cocktail sauce.

Try The Weekend Grillers’ Roasted Red Pepper Aioli Dip or Creamy Salsa Dip and you will wonder why anyone would choose cocktail sauce.

Grilled Shrimp With Bacon Kabobs

Ingredients 

• 2 pounds fresh Jumbo Shrimp
• 1/4 cup Lemon Juice
• 1/4 cup Catsup
• Hot Pepper Sauce – to taste
• 1 Garlic Clove – crushed
• 1/2 cup Oil
• 1/2 to 1 pound thick sliced Bacon
• 1 Lemon Wedges

Directions  

 

1. Shell and devein uncooked Shrimp.
2. In a large bowl, mix Lemon Juice, Catsup, Hot Pepper Sauce, Garlic and Oil.
3. Marinate Shrimp in mixture for 30 minutes to 1 hour at room temperature.
4. Cut Bacon into thirds or halves (depending upon the size of the shrimp) and wrap around Shrimp.
5. Thread Shrimp onto skewers.
6. Grill until Bacon is crisp — about 10 to 12 minutes — turning several times.
7. Brush frequently with reserved marinade.

Bacon dripping will cause the grill to flare up, so keep the water spritzer handy.

Serve at once with lemon wedges.

If you love bacon (and, come on, who doesn’t?) check out the sinfully delicious Pig Candy and the very popular Atomic Buffalo Turds on The Weekend Grillers.