Grilling is Good

(an article I wrote for our Mom's Group newsletter)

One of my favorite parts of summer is dinner on the grill. The kids seem more willing to eat food, especially veggies, if they come of the grill. Maybe it’s being able to see the fire actually cooking the food. We grill out every weekend and sometimes on weekdays as well. We make hamburgers, BBQ and chicken & beef kabobs. We grill corn, asparagus, sliced zucchini, yellow squash & beets.

I rely a great deal on marinades when we grill, leaving meat & veggies to soak in them all day sometimes. We slice everything up thin before marinating it to get the most coverage & then thread them onto wood skewers or cook them in a foil basket with holes. Thinly sliced meat & veggies cook much faster than whole steaks or chicken breasts. A skewer of steak can be done after cooking 2 minutes each side, chicken takes about 5 minutes a side. Slide the meat in long strips about a quarter inch thick, marinate and then thread onto a metal or wet wooden skewer. Depending on length, 3-4 slices will fit, folded accordion style on one skewer. Cuts of beef at least an inch thick are best for slicing – flank steak & London broil work well, a rib eye is also good. Veggies should be sliced about a half inch thick or so & flipped frequently if skewered or stirred often if using a foil basket.

These are some of my current favorite marinades. They all marinate about 2 pounds of meat.

Spiced up BBQ

1cup of your favored premade BBQ sauce
3 tbls brown sugar
1 tbls paprika
½ teas ground cumin
½ teas cayenne pepper
¼ teas salt
¼ cup cider vinegar

Combine all of the above and marinate thinly sliced chicken strips for 1-8 hours before cooking. This is also good on pork roast (grilled or in the crock pot) and makes excellent pulled pork sandwiches.

Tandoori Marinade

¼ c yogurt
¼ c sour cream
1 tbls lemon juice
1 teas kosher salt
½ teas cayenne pepper
2 teas each – brown sugar, cumin, paprika, tumeric, minced garlic (powdered is ok), minced ginger (ground powdered is ok) and garam masala

Combine all ingredients and marinate thinly sliced chicken 1- 24 hours before cooking
Serve with raita for dipping

Raita
1 cucumed, deseeded & sliced
1 cup of yogurt or ½ c yogurt & ½ c sour cream
1 tbls chopped mint
¼ teas cumin

Blend all together in food processor or blender

Chimichurri Rojo

½ c red wine vinegar
¼ c olive oil
3 tbls tomato paste
2 tbls minced garlic
1 tbls sugar
1 teas ground cumin
1 teas ground black pepper
1 teas red pepper flakes

Combine all and marinate thinly sliced beef for 1-24 hours before cooking

Garlic Marinade

2 tbls minced garlic
½ c cider vingar
¼ c olive oil
½ teas salt

Marinate sliced veggies in this for about an hour.