Although this recipe comes complete with its own barbecue sauce recipe, you can very easily substitute a better one of your own.

Ingredients

• 8 pound Pork Loin Roast
• Salt and Pepper

Barbecue Sauce:

• 1/2 cup (1 medium) chopped Onion
• 1 clove Garlic, minced or 1/8 teaspoon instant minced Garlic
• 2 Tablespoons Oil
• 1 cup Catsup
• 1/2 Cup Water
• 1/4 cup firmly packed Brown Sugar
• 1 teaspoon Salt
• 1/4 teaspoon crushed leaf Thyme
• 3 Tablespoons Worcestershire Sauce
• 2 teaspoon prepared Mustard
• 1 lemon, thinly sliced
• Dash Tabasco sauce

Directions

1. Sprinkle meat with salt and pepper.
2. Prepare barbecue sauce by sautéing onion and garlic in oil in fry pan until tender.
3. Add remaining ingredients.
4. Bring to a boil and simmer for 5 minutes.
5. Run spit through center of meat, making sure it is evenly balanced.
6. Secure to rotisserie with heavy cord.
7. Insert meat thermometer to tip is in center of roast but not resting in fat, bone or on the rod.
8. Arrange coals for roasting meat; grill over hot coals for 2 hours until meat thermometer reaches 140F.
9. Continue grilling brushing with barbecue sauce every 20 minutes until roast reaches 170F internal temperature, about 1-1/2 to 2 hours longer.

Yield:12 to 16 servings.

Source: Pillsbury’s Let’s Have a Barbecue, 1982. .

I have never liked McDonald’s French Fries.

I know — the whole rest of the world loves the damn things. But I think they are missing the very thing that makes fried potatoes so good — the POTATO!

I love potatoes. And I want to actually taste the potato when I bite in to one.

Here is a recipe I Stumbled across a few days ago and I just love it. The potatoes are not fried but they still have that essence-of-potato taste. Delicious.
In fact, while your there have a look around, the entire site is excellent.

The Pioneer Woman Cooks! » Blog Archive » Crash Hot Potatoes

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On The Weekend Grillers we have a Tips and Tricks page which tells you all about Testing the Temperature of your fire with just your hand.

Here’s another handy (pun intended) method for checking your grilling.

It’s an easy waty to check the “doneness” of a steak using your hand as a guide.

Read it and you’ll see what I mean.

The Finger Test to Check the Doneness of Meat | Simply Recipes

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Tags: steak, grilling, weekend grillers

Honey Barbeque Beef Jerky - Making Your Very Own Honey BBQ Jerky
By Caleb Liu There are certain flavors that just go together, peanut butter and chocolate for example. Another combination of flavors that makes a perfectly happy marriage is honey and barbecue. 

These two flavors have created an uproar in the kitchen with chefs churning out by the masses menu items featuring items drenched in honey barbecue sauce: wings, burgers, steaks, chicken breasts, chicken strips, ribs and more. But the honey barbecue sauce can also make for a very good dry treat! 

Honey barbecue beef jerky is a popular homemade jerky flavor to make. Sure, there are plenty of honey barbecue sauces available on grocery store shelves from brands like Ken’s, Heinz and Kikomon. But, there are also some sweet and tangy recipes for a honey barbecue marinade that is perfect for slapping on beef jerky. Here is one that we found and enjoy:

Honey BBQ Jerky

Ingredients: 

• 3/4 cup Honey
• 1/2 cup Ketchup
• 1/4 cup Butter (1/2 stick)
• 1 tablespoon Vinegar
• 2 teaspoon Dijon Mustard
• 2 tablespoon Brown Sugar
• 1 tablespoon Soy Sauce
• 1 clove Garlic, put through a press
• Chili Powder, optional, to taste
• 1 pound of good Beef

Directions: 

1. Slice meat in thin strips.
2. In a bowl, combine all ingredients of marinade and mix well.
3. Simmer ingredients for about five minutes. Let cool.
4. Place meat 3-4 layers deep in a container, spooning sauce mixture over each layer.
5. Cover tightly and marinate 6-12 hours in the refrigerator, stirring occasionally.
6. Layout on trays, 24 to 36 hours in dehydrator (or follow directions for oven). 

When done, the honey barbecue flavor will have been absorbed in every thread of the meat, giving the jerky a lovely blend of that honey barbecue taste our tastebuds have grown to like. 

Not sure that you can make it on your own?  Visit Caleb’s site. 

The Jerky Outlet offers an amazing honey barbecue turkey jerky. This is a little different than beef jerky, as it is more of a stick snack, which will need to be refrigerated once open. There is more of a honey flavor than barbecue to it. The jerky is also very soft and a little juicy since it is more of a snack stick, and that can be a nice break from the chewy jerky. This is a very good product and comes in a one pound package for $16.99. So it is a little on the pricey side. Try making your own! 

For more delicious recipes and information about beef jerky, please visit our site.

This is not a beginner’s recipe.  But neither is it as hard as it looks at first.  The Master, Steven Raichlen, explains everything down to the smallest detail.  So, if you can follow directions, you can make this recipe.

Enjoy.

Grilled Italian Sausage With Parmesan-Encrusted Polenta & Grilled Pepper Salad

by Steven Raichlen

This Recipe comes from Mr. Raichlen’s BBQ U TV show, Season 4, Tailgate Warriors Episode. 

Grilling Method: Direct Heat
Yield: 8

Ingredients

For the pepper salad:

• 2 red bell peppers
• 2 yellow or orange bell peppers
• 2 green bell peppers
• 1 clove garlic, chopped
• 1/2 teaspoon coarse salt (kosher or sea), or more to taste
• 1 tablespoon balsamic vinegar
• 1 tablespoon lemon juice
• 4 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
• 2 tablespoons chopped fresh flat-leaf parsley or slivered fresh basil

You’ll also need:

• 16 fresh Italian sausages, about 6 ounces each

For the polenta:

• 1 1-1/2 pound package commercially prepared cooked polenta
• 2 to 3 tablespoons olive oil
• 1 clove garlic, minced
• 1 tablespoon chopped fresh rosemary or another herb (optional)
• 1 cup freshly grated Parmesan cheese
• Freshly ground black pepper

Directions

1. Set up the grill for direct grilling and preheat to medium-high.

2. When ready to cook, place all the peppers on the grate and grill until the skins are blistered and charred on all sides, 4 to 6 minutes per side (16 to 24 minutes in all), turning with tongs. Transfer the hot peppers to a baking dish and cover with plastic wrap. Let the peppers cool to room temperature, about 20 minutes.

3. Meanwhile, make the dressing. Place the garlic and salt in a nonreactive mixing bowl and mash to a paste with the back of a wooden spoon. Add the vinegar and lemon juice and whisk until the salt is dissolved. Whisk in the oil and parsley.

4. Using the tip of a paring knife, scrape the burnt skin off the peppers and cut the flesh off the core. Cut the peppers into quarters or strips and arrange them on a platter, alternating pieces of different colors. Stir the dressing and spoon it over the peppers.

You can serve it right away with the sausages and polenta, or let it sit for a few hours (refrigerated) to let the flavors blend. Bring it to room temperature before topping it with the sausages.

5. Lay the sausages on the hot grill grate, and grill 2 to 3 minutes per side (8 to 12 minutes, total) or until an instant read meat thermometer inserted in the sausage (parallel to the grill) registers 160 degrees F. Place the hot sausages on top of the prepared peppers.

6. Meanwhile, while the sausages are cooking, lay the polenta slices on the hot grill grate and cook, 2 to 4 minutes per side, rotating a quarter turn after 1 minute, to achieve an attractive crosshatch pattern of grill marks. Remove to a plate or platter, and immediately sprinkle the Parmesan cheese on top; a few grinds of black pepper are optional. Serve immediately.

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Recipe from BBQ USA by Steven Raichlen Copyright © by Steven Raichlen. All rights reserved. Used by permission of Workman Publishing.  A similar version can also be found on his website BarbecueBible.com.

These are too easy to be this good!

Blue Cheese Burger

Ingredients

• 3 pounds lean Ground Chuck Steak
• 6 ounces Blue Cheese, crumbled
• 1/2 cup minced fresh Chives
• 1/4 teaspoon Hot Pepper Sauce (more or less to taste)
• 1 teaspoon Worcestershire Sauce
• 1 teaspoon coarsely ground Black Pepper
• 1 1/2 teaspoons Salt
• 1 teaspoon dry Mustard
• 12 French rolls or hamburger buns

Directions

1. In a large bowl, mix the ground beef, blue cheese, chives, hot pepper sauce, Worcestershire sauce, black pepper, salt, and mustard.
   
2. Cover, and refrigerate for 2 hours.
3. Preheat grill for high heat. (Visit the Weekend Grillers today to learn the best way of Testing the Temperature of your Grill.)
4. Gently form the burger mixture into about 12 patties.
5. Oil the grill grate.
   
6. Grill patties about 5 minutes per side, or until done to desired.
7. Serve on the rolls or buns. .

All of the chefs on the Food Network are good. There’s no doubt. If they weren’t they wouldn’t be on for long.

But there is only one regular who is a true master chef — totally respected by his peers.

Mario Batali of course.

Shrimp Rosemary - (Spiedini Alla Romagnola)

Turn your next backyard barbecue into an Italian grill! It’s easy with the simple addition of a Piastra (Italian for “plate” or “griddle”) and a great recipe - both inspired by popular chef, Mario Batali.

Grilling alla piastra is a classic cooking technique that uses a flat griddle stone over a hot fire. It’s perfect for flatbreads, scallops, shrimp, mussels, vegetables and more.

Batali’s Piastra (new this year from Mario Batali, The Italian Kitchen by Copco) is made from granite to ensure even heat. It’s also double-sided, offering a choice of a griddle or grill. Simply preheat the Piastra on the grill, and you’re ready to cook.

Shrimp Rosemary is from Batali’s recent cookbook, “Mario Batali Italian Grill” (Harper Collins, 2007). This savory summer entrée features shrimp skewered on rosemary sprigs, accented with a parsley and basil crumb topping. Buon appetito!

For more information about Italian grilling this summer, visit the Grill Essentials section of www.italiankitchen.com.

Shrimp Rosemary - (Spiedini Alla Romagnola)

Serves 6
The rosemary skewers, which are easy to make, impart an herbal fragrance to the shrimp, and they look both rustic and elegant at the same time. Alla romagnola means that these spiedini are a specialty of Romagna, the eastern part of the region Emilia-Romagna.

Ingredients

• 12 large sturdy rosemary sprigs
• 1 bunch Italian parsley, leaves only (about 2 cups loosely packed)
• 1 bunch basil, leaves only (about 2 cups packed)
• 2 cups fresh bread crumbs
• 1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
• Freshly ground black pepper to taste
• 1/4 cup plus 2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
• 2 pounds large shrimp (21-30 per pound), peeled and deveined
• 2 lemons, cut into wedges

Directions

1. Choose large sturdy sprigs that are about 8 inches long. Pull off most of the leaves from each sprig, leaving a nice tuft of leaves at the top (use the remaining leaves in the dish you are making, or reserve for another use). Using a sharp knife, cut the bottom of the sprig on a diagonal to create a sharp point.
2. Soak in water for at least 2 hours or overnight.
3. Place parsley and basil leaves into bowl of food processor; add bread crumbs, salt, pepper, and 1/4 cup of the olive oil.
4. Process until the herbs are chopped and the bread crumbs look green.
5. Transfer to a pie plate or wide shallow bowl; add the shrimp, and toss to coat well.
6. Skewer 4 or 5 shrimp on each rosemary sprig: line up 4 or 5 shrimp at a time on a work surface and run a rosemary sprig through them; separate them slightly so they will cook evenly.
7. Dredge on both sides in the bread crumb mixture, place on a platter and refrigerate for 30 minutes.
8. Preheat a gas grill or prepare a fire in a charcoal grill.
9. Place the Piastra on the grill to preheat.
10. Brush the Piastra with the remaining 2 tablespoons olive oil.
11. Place the skewers on the Piastra.
12. Cook, turning once, just until the shrimp are opaque throughout and some of the crumbs are browned, 2 to 3 minutes per side.
13. Transfer to a serving platter; serve with the lemon wedges.
14. Copco Product: Piastra - Italian Grilling Stone from Mario Batali® The Italian Kitchen by Copco

Culinary.net : Recipes - Italian Grilling in Your Own Backyard

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Many of the recipes on The Weekend Grillers calls for Roasted Garlic such as Vidalia Onion Dip and Everyone’s New Favorite Comfort Food, Roasted Garlic Mashed Potatoes .

Roasting Garlic is easy and it is absolutely delicious and I have, of course, included detailed instructions on each recipe.

Occasionally, however, I run accross someone who presents something so beautifully —

Well in this case I decided to share it.

This is a recipe for French Onion Soup (a very good recipe, by the way) but the first part is all about Roasting Garlic.

Enjoy

Mark

PS - Keep an eye out. There will be more technique pages like this on The Weekend Grillers Blog.

To view the Recipe click HERE or on the link below the picture.

French Garlic Soup

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Tags: RoastedGarlic, vidalia onion dip, weekend grillers,

Just a quick little note for all you food lovers…

Our good friend, Najia, has started a blog devoted to Moroccan Recipes — called, appropriately enough, Moroccan Recipe Blog.  She wants to introduce the cuisine of her native country to her new friends. 

She plans to include many of the native and exotic dishes of Morocco in “Westernized” form so that we can all enjoy them.  But rather than jump in too deep to start off, she has used The Weekend Grillers very own “Moroccan Ribs” as her first recipe.  Seems like a good start to me.  ;) 

You’ve probably already seen this recipe on The Weekend Grillers, but head over to the site anyway and be sure to keep an eye on it.  I know I’m going to.

Mark 

There’s just something about “shrimp on the barbie”, isn’t there?
Maybe it’s how easy it is to eat at a party or cookout.

Maybe it’s the association with the beach and vacation, making us think of summer and the easy life.

Or just maybe…it tastes soooooo good.

Whatever. I just know I love it. And I’m not alone. Here’s a good recipes with one of my faves, Black Pepper.

Peppered BBQ Shrimp

Ingredients

• 1 cup Vegetable Oil
• 2 tablespoons Toasted Sesame Oil
• 1 3-inch piece fresh Ginger, sliced
• 1 bunch Scallions, coursely chopped
• 1 tablespoons cracked Black Pepper
• 1 tablespoons Soy Sauce
• 1/2 teaspoons Cayenne Pepper
• Zest of 2 Oranges
• 40 - 50 large Shrimp, peeled & deveined

Directions

1. In a large skillet, heat the vegetable and sesame oils until almost smoking.
2. Add the ginger, scallions, pepper, soy sauce, cayenne and orange zest and remove from heat.
3. Cool completely and then add the raw shrimp.
4. Marinate overnight in the refrigerator.
5. When marinated, push 2 or 3 shrimp onto small wooden skewers (that have been soaked overnight in water.)
6. Place filled skewers in plastic bag.
7. Take to the picnic or cookout.
8. Barbecue over hot coals until pink. Watch carefully - they will cook very quickly.

Also can be stir fried in hot saute’ pan on stove and served with toothpicks.