Chorizo and Pork Burgers

Chorizo Pork Burgers

Here’s another recipe from Chef Purviance that I’ve grilled twice in the past few months, most recently for Sunday Dinner. I don’t make the Jalepeno slaw, but the Chorizo/Pork burgers are a delightful departure from typical burger fare. I also make some of the patties without Chorizo for my daughter and others who don’t like as much spice.

Grilled Peaches with Mascarpone

Grilled Peaches with Mascarpone

This has been one of our favorite desserts all Summer. I simply sprayed the peaches with a little canola, grilled them for a couple minutes flesh side down, rotated them to get nice grill marks, and then flipped them over and added the Mascarpone and a dusting of cinnamon/sugar. We made these many, many times starting when the early peaches came in.

P.S. – A little drizzle of honey on top doesn’t hurt either.

Alder Smoked Salmon With Bourbon Sauce

Alder Smoked Salmon With Bourbon Sauce | Photo Friday

I’m not sure whence came the recipe for this one, although I suspect that it was one of Jamie Purviance’s books for Weber.

In any case, Alder Wood for salmon is one of my favorite smoke pairings.

Shrimp Ceviche and Quesadillas

Shrimp Ceviche and Quesadillas

I’ll be honest. The only part of this dish that was done on the grill was the quesadillas, but I had to share the photo anyway.

I fixed this last Friday evening and it truly was delicious. Here are the ingredients.

Ceviche

  • About a Pound of Small Cooked Shrimp
  • 1/2 Cup of Fresh Squeezed Lime Juice
  • 1/2 Cup of Fresh Squeezed Lemon Juice
  • 1/2 Red Onion, Finely Diced
  • 1 Cup of Chopped Fresh Seeded Tomatoes
  • 1 Serrano Chili, Seeded and Finely Diced
  • 2 Teaspoons of Salt
  • Dash of Ground Oregano
  • Chopped Cilantro
  • Diced Avocado

Just mix all of that together in a big glass bowl and let it cool in the refrigerator for an hour or so. Although ceviche is traditionally made with raw seafood, the taste and texture of the shrimp was just right, and the dish was perfectly balanced — bright, fresh-tasting, savory.

The quesadillas were dead easy too. I simply sandwiched some shredded Mexi-cheese between two flour tortillas and grilled the for a few minutes over low heat.

This is definitely a meal that we’ll keep in mind, particularly for warm weather when we want something light and tasty.

Farsi Chicken on the Grill

farsi-chicken

This is an incredibly simple recipe that turns out delicious, succulent chicken.

1) Soak chicken pieces in fresh lemon juice for half-an-hour or so.

2) Blot the chicken dry and marinate overnight in plain yogurt.

3) Wipe off the chicken, season lightly with salt and pepper, grill until done.

That’s it.

Grilled Melanzane Alla Parmigiana

Eggplant Parm On The Grill

Served with pasta and red sauce, or simply as a side, eggplant has become one of our favorite grilled dishes.

Quinoa Stuffed Peppers

Quinoa Stuffed Peppers

We’ve grilled several batches of stuffed peppers this Summer, but these were my favorites. I grilled the peppers for a bit to soften them up, then my wife stuffed them with a combination of quinoa and sauteed zucchini with other delightful veggies before we put them back on the grill to warm. I’m honestly not sure what all she put into them. I almost grilled them too long prior to stuffing, so we had to be careful not to tear the flesh before we were ready to serve them.

Perfect Grill Marks

Perfect Grill Marks

How do you get those perfect grill marks on a steak? It’s easy.

First of all, I like to let the steaks rest at room temperature for a little while before grilling, with a little kosher salt and cracked black pepper sprinkled on each side. This not only adds flavor, it also helps to prepare the surface for a nice sear.

Secondly, be sure to pre-heat the grill as hot as you can get it. On the Weber Genesis, this means all three main burners, plus the sear station burner, on full blast for ten minutes. Make sure you clean the grates once they’re good and hot.

Step three is the real trick to perfect grill marks. Put the steaks on the grill diagonal to the grates. Pretend that there’s a clock’s face on the grill, with twelve o’clock pointing to the back and six o’clock to the front. You’ll want the steak to lay across the clock in a line from 10 to 4. Cook with the grill closed as much as you can, and then check with your tongs to see if the steak will pull up easily from the grate after a minute or two. If it’s still sticking, give it another minute until it releases easily. Wait! Do not flip it over. Simply rotate it until it now lays across the imaginary clock face in a line from 2 to 8. Depending on the heat of your grill and the thickness of the steak, it ought to be ready to flip over in another two to three minutes after you rotate it. From then on, simply cook to your desired doneness, likely anywhere from another two to six minutes. There’s no need to rotate it again, just use your nice diamond pattern as the presentation side facing up when you plate it.

Sometimes I’ll spray the steaks with a little olive oil before they go on the grill, but sometimes I forget. It doesn’t seem to matter much. It does help to have some experience with your grill to know how high to set the burners after pre-heating. I usually have to back my burners down a bit or the outside of the steaks will get too charred before the inside is a nice medium rare. Since I’m new to the gas grill, I’ll cook a lot of New York Strips, Ribeyes, Sirloins and T-Bones before I attempt a big aged Porterhouse or Filet Mignon.

This picture is making my mouth water. I may have to grill some nice steaks tonight.

Happy Friday!

P.S.: If you’d like to see a nice demonstration on how to get the perfect quadrillage on a steak, watch this video from Weber with Jamie Purviance. Yep. Quadrillage. That’s what they call it.