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GrillDude Out

Now, I hope you didn’t come to this blog thinking you would find a yummy cooked cardinal with some kind of lemon butter sauce.  What kind of person would cook up one of these beautiful red birds.  Besides, you can’t eat Arizona’s mascot!

Consider this my first nature post!

- GrillDude

If you ever wondered how to grill fish without it falling apart on the grill….or you have a fish basket and you get sick of cleaning it after use, then I have just the solution for you.  You can use this technique for cooking many things on the grill, but it works extra nice for this Butter Citrus Tilapia.

Ingredients

• 2 Tilapia Filets
• 4 tablespoons butter
• 1 lemon
• 1 orange
• salt and pepper to taste

Salt and pepper both sides of the filets.  Squeeze the juice of the lemon and the orange on the filet and let marinade for 30-60 minutes.  Heat your grill to medium heat.  Create an aluminum foil “pan” by folding up the edges about 2 inches high and make sure no juices will be able to escape through the cracks.  Melt the butter in a small bowl, then pour it on the aluminum pan.  Put the filets with the marinade in the aluminum pan.  Cook for about 5 minutes per side or until the fish is cooked thru and flakes off with a fork.

This would also be a great recipe for trout.

Sorry for the crummy picture on a kid plate with the filet that broke off the spatula.  I don’t always get the presentation right, but this one tastes pretty good.  I know, Tilapia isn’t the best source of Omega 3, but it is better than a hot dog, right?

-GrillDude

Ooops!  I mean Shrimp n Peppers.  This is a variation on Shrimp on the Barbie and a little bit spicier.

Ingredients

• 1 and 1/2 pounds of peeled shrimp
• 4 tablespoons butter
• 2 cloves garlic chopped
• 1 chopped jalapeño
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1 cup chopped cilantro
• 1 yellow bell pepper diced
• 1 red bell pepper diced
• 1/2 teaspoon cayenne pepper
• 3 lemons

Mix melted butter, garlic, jalapeño, bell peppers, cayenne pepper and salt into a bowl.   Coat the shrimp with the butter/pepper mixture and let it marinade in the fridge for about an hour.   

Mix the cilantro and juice from 2 lemons in a separate bowl.

Toss the shrimp in a grill pan on the grill set to high.  Let cook until pink on both sides, then pour the lemon/cilantro mixture on shrimp.  Remove shrimp after 30 sec or so.  Cut the remaining lemon into wedges for those who love more lemon juice on their shrimp!  Serve em up.

-GrillDude

Do you ever have problems with your hot dog getting a curve in it as you cook it?  When you try to turn it, it won’t stay on the side that you want to cook, so you get an uneven grilling.  Here is a simple tip for anti-curl hot dogs.

Put your hot dogs on the grill so they are parellel to the grill grates and sit in the groove.  As the hot dogs begin to get good markings, roll them over into the next groove in the grill.  Repeat this for about 1 1/2 to 2 minutes per groove until the dog is cooked on all sides.

To finish off with some good grill marks, place them diagonally on the grill and roll them a quarter turn over a about 2 minutes until they get a spiral marking down the hot dog.

If you are a kid (or a kid at heart), all you need is a bun and some ketchup and you are done!  Or add some spicy mustard and relish for some good outdoor cooking during the summer.

-GrillDude

I usually prepare too much food when grilling, which ends up being economical in the long run…if you like leftovers.  Check out the Tilapia with Chipotle Sauce posting for the recipe that makes up most of this leftovers dish.

For fish dishes, I usually get finicky when eating leftovers.  This means I plan to eat my leftovers the very next day, or I just throw it out.  The fish seems to get too “fishy” tasting if you save it for too long.

Ingredients

• Tilapia with Chipotle Sauce (1 fillet leftover)
• Black beans (leftover)
• Rice (leftover)
• Pepper Jack Cheese grated
• 2 Flour Tortillas
• Cholula brand Hot Sauce

Tear the fillet into pieces and put half on each flour tortilla.  Put a spoonful of beans and a spoonful of rice over the fillet.  Grate some pepper jack cheese and sprinkle over the top.  Add Cholula hot sauce to taste.

My method to rolling a good burrito may not be based on a lineage of Hispanic culture, but more of trial and error.  Actually, I am more of a folder than a roller.  I suppose there are better places to learn how to roll a burrito.  Try  Via De Los Santos…my favorite Mexican food restaurant in Phoenix.  They have an authentic atmosphere and inexpensive food that tastes great.   Oh, back to rolling a burrito.

1) Less is more.  Don’t think you can pack all that junk in your burrito that Chipotle’s restaurant can put in a burrito.  If you have been there, you know what I mean.  Those suckers are HUGE!  (But PaPaPa can eat one of those 1000 calorie bombers in one sitting).  In any case, don’t put too much in your burrito.  Instead, have 2 burritos with less stuff.

2) Get your ingredients into a line on the tortilla

3) Make a small fold over the top and the bottom.

4) Take the right portion and fold it to cover your ingredients, then fold the left side over.

The true test to whether you rolled a good burrito is if you can pick it up and eat it with your hands.  That is all that really matters, right?  To all my Mexican buddies, chime in if you have a better method.

Ok, you got it rolled?  This is where I normally tell you to fire up your grill and get your food crispy.  But, if you made it this far though today’s blog, you are probably ready to eat.  Throw it in the microwave for 60 seconds and you are ready to scarf.   Yes, MICROWAVE…..this is in tradition for leftovers, and you don’t expect me to break tradition, do you?

Throw your burritos on a plate with some tortilla chips and maybe a few pepperoccini’s and you have a filling lunch.  Add a margarita, and have yourself a nice spring afternoon.

-GrillDude

Ingredients

• Four 8 ounce Tilapia fillets
• 3 tablespoons sherry vinigar
• 1 tablespoon balsamic vinegar
• 2 chipotle chiles from a can with adobo sauce
• 2 tablespoons adobo sauce from can
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 2/3 cup olive oil
• 1/2 teaspoon fresh ground pepper
• 2 Cups wood chips (hickory, or mesquite) soaked in water for an hour

Mix vinegars, cipotles, adobo sauce, salt, pepper, and olive oil in a food processor until it is a smooth consistency.

Save 1/3 of the sauce for basting during cooking.  Pour the remaining in a plastic bag with the tilapia and marinade for 30-60 minutes.

Prepare a foil packet with the wood chips by poking holes in it.  Prepare a hot fire on one side of the grill and place the foil packet directly on the fire for 15-10 minutes before putting the fish on the grill.

Oil a large peice of foil with Pam grill spray and place over a medium heat burner.  Place the fish on the foil and baste with the marinade.  Close the lid on the grill for five minutes.

Flip the fish with a spatula and baste the other side with the marinade.  Let cook with the lid closed for five more minutes.

Serve up with your favorite sides.

Tomorrow, I am going to have a burrito with the leftovers.

-GrillDude

Mamma Mia! Ok, This isn’t going to be some Italiano marinara sauce chicken dish with fancy regional spices.  This is a simple marinade alternative using Italian dressing for chicken breasts.   It’s also my second simple marinade recipe within a month, so check out my post on Chops with Lawry’s Marinade.  Wow, I must be running short on time these days.

Just add chicken breasts to a bowl full of Italian dressing, or even use a Ziploc bag.  Let it marinade in the refrigerator for about 8 hours.

For chicken, I like to oil my grill first to help keep the chicken from sticking.  You can do this with a paper towel and vegetable oil, or using Pam grill spray.  Cook on medium heat for about 7-8 minutes per side.

Serve up with some easy sides like black beans and fruit cocktail.  Frozen veggies are always easy and are still healthy.  Broccoli makes for good brain food.

-GrillDude

With all of today’s hustle and bustle, we all seem to have a hard time finding time to make something creative. Sometimes you just need a simple recipe for your grilling.  This marinade is great with virtually no preparation time!

Lawry’s make several different kinds of Marinade, but we chose the Steak & Chop with garlic and cracked black pepper.  I wouldn’t put this on my steak, but it was pretty good on pork chops.  Toss your chops in a Ziploc bag with about 3/4 of the bottle of marinade.  Put it in the refrigerator in the morning before you run to work, or for at least 4 hours.

For thick chops, I like to get two heat zones going; one high heat for searing, and one medium heat for the remainder of the cook time.  To start, place the chops on the high heat for about 2 minutes per side for a good searing.  Then, move to medium heat for about 5 minutes per side with the lid closed.  Brush on a bit of marinade remaining in the bottle while cooking on medium heat.

Pull those juicy chops off and serve up with some easy sides.  OK, mashed potatoes aren’t exactly quick, but you get the idea.  Maybe try some minute rice instead.

Oh, and don’t forget your Pirate’s Booty!  A healthy alternative to Cheetos!

-GrillDude

As part of our dinner of appetizers of Hot Stick Meat, asparagus, Shrimp on the Barbie, and a few filets, Stuffed Peppers were a great addition and created a lot of flare-up fun.

• 4 Anaheim peppers (go for jalapenos if you want them really hot)
• 8-12 pieces of bacon
• Pepper Jack Cheese

Cut the peppers down one side and partially cut the top off so you can cut out the seeds.  Stuff the peppers with cheese.  Wrap the cheese in 2-3 pieces of bacon.  You can also spear the peppers with tooth picks to keep everything in place.

stuff the pepper

Have a friend with you to pose with your new creation.  Or better yet, have him prepare the peppers.

Place the peppers on a hot grill and cook until bacon is crisp.  Turn occasionally to cook the bacon all around and to avoid the flare-ups.

Let them cool off 5-10 min before serving.

-GrillDude