Memorial Day and July 4th has passed and we are deep in the middle of barbecue season. For most of us this means getting outdoors with our friends and family and enjoying some good food, music, drinks, and good times. What better way to spend with your loved ones and friends then to be outside cooking up some great delicious food and enjoying the hot weather? I know some of you would rather sit inside and chill out under the AC and watch movies but hey isn’t that what winter is for? So join me and grab the burger flipper, meat of your choice, a blender for some cool refreshing drinks and of course some speakers to blast the tunes.
Now when your getting ready for a great barbecue you need to line up some good food and even better recipes to go along with them.
- BBQ Chicken on the Grill / Simply Recipes
- Grilled Rosemary-Salmon Skewers / Disney Family
- Balsamic Pork and Apple Skewers / Disney Family
- Grilled Paprika Shrimp quesadillas / Rachael Ray
- BBQ Pork Sandwich / Food Network
- Wet BBQ Ribs / Food Network
- Southwestern BBQ Brisket with Ancho Chile / Bon Appetit
- Coffee-Rubbed Cheeseburgers with Texas BBQ Sauce / Bon Appetit
- BBQ Buffalo Wings / Simply Recipes
And now I want to talk about one of my favorite barbecue meats and that is chicken. To me there is nothing like some great Jamaican Jerk chicken. I usually use chicken thighs and drumsticks for this recipe. My preparation begins the day before the barbecue. I start by creating a marinate to soak the chicken. It is a simple marinate and I will let you in on the secret so you can add this delicious recipe to your repertoire.
- 1 medium onion finely chopped
- ½ cup scallions finely chopped
- 1 hot pepper finely chopped
- 3 tablespoons of soy sauce
- 1 tablespoon of olive oil
- 1 tablespoon of cider vinegar
- 2 tablespoons of fresh thyme leaves
- 2 teaspoons of sugar
- 1 teaspoon of sea salt
- 1 teaspoon of Jamaican Pimento (Allspice) ground
Place all of these ingredients in a blender or food processor and blend until it is a smooth texture. I then pour this over my assorted chicken pieces that are sitting in a bowl, cover and put in the fridge for 24 hours. After the chicken has soaked in the marinate it is ready for grilling. During the last 10 minutes or so of grilling you can brush on some of the remaining marinate. Just be careful to not overcook the chicken. No one likes dried up chicken. Serve this meal with some grilled corn on the cob and your in for a delicious meal.
Okay now that everyone is hungry and dying to eat some of that chicken I will share with you another crowd pleaser at barbecues. My second favorite food to grill is salmon. Yah I know everyone thought I would go with hamburgers or steak but fish is a healthy choice and when prepared properly will knock your socks off.
- 8 (4 ounce) salmon fillets
- ½ cup of peanut oil
- 4 tablespoons of balsamic vinegar
- 4 tablespoons of lemon juice
- 4 tablespoons of scallions chopped
- 4 tablespoons of soy sauce
- 1 tablespoon of brown sugar
- 1 ½ teaspoons of ground ginger
- 1 teaspoon of paprika
- 1 teaspoon of pepper
- 1 teaspoon of red pepper flakes
- 1 teaspoon of salt
- 1 teaspoon of sesame oil
- 4 garlic cloves minced
Combine all of these ingredients (except the salmon) in a bowl. I like to use a bender or food processor to mix them all uniformly a bit. After this is done add the salmon fillets to the marinate and refrigerate covered for 24 hours. The longer the better. When you are ready place the fillets on the grill over medium heat and cook for 4 minutes on each side. If your not smiling after eating this than you need to get your taste buds checked. A great side dish to go along with the salmon is grilled asparagus or grilled corn on the cob.
Okay I don’t know about you but I am officially hungry. My mouth is watering just thinking about these recipes. I think tomorrow I will whip up one of these marinates and treat my husband and friends to a great barbecued dinner. All I have to do is just figure out who to invite. I look forward to hearing from all of my reader about their favorite summer barbecue recipes. It would also be great to hear your feedback about the recipes I just mentioned…
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I recently overheard a conversation in which two people were talking about how to cook ribs. To be more to the point they were discussing how to BBQ pork ribs. This is a subject I’m always interested in as I know from experience that many people find ribs difficult to cook on the grill. Most people can cook ribs but they struggle getting them to turn out like they get them in a restaurant.