Crispy Buttery Grilled Potatoes

If you’re looking for a fast and simple side to add that additional “wow factor” to a steak or some BBQ chicken, this is the PERFECT go-to!  With just a few ingredients, simple preparation, and BIG FLAVOR – you cannot go wrong here!

Crispy Buttery Grilled Potatoes

Ingredients:

• 5 Yellow/Gold Potatoes
• 1/2 Cup Italian Dressing
• 1/2 Cup Melted Butter
• 1/4 Cup Louisiana Hot Sauce

Directions:

The sauce here goes perfect with our potatoes.  We get the nice garlic flavor with sweet notes from our Italian Dressing, the creamyness of the butter, and the vinegary zing from our hot sauce.  When this sauce is cooked onto our potatoes, it is a match made in heaven!

To make your simple sauce, thoroughly mix the Italian Dressing, melted butter, and Louisiana Hot Sauce.  Set aside.

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We use yellow/gold potatoes because the skin is light and pleasing to eat and the potato itself is very creamy which is a perfect vessel for these flavors!

Par boil your potatoes on the stove.  We do this because cooking a raw potato on the grill can take quite a bit of time and this just ensures a perfectly cooked potato with all of the right balance of flavors.  This will take about 20 minutes.  Take a knife and it should slide easily in and out of your potato.  Once done – slice your potatoes in half after allowing them to cool a bit.

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Start your coals and let the grill get hot.  Take your sauce and brush it heavily over the cut side of the potatoes.  Place your cut side of the potatoes over the hot grill first.  While cooking, heavily baste the exposed side of the potatoes.

Let them cook for about 5 minutes or so.  We want these potatoes to get a good brown color on them.  Once you’ve achieved that beautiful brown char, flip your potatoes over and cook the other side.  Baste them again.  We really want this sauce to cook into the potatoes as much as possible!

Once done – pull these bad mamma jammas off and baste once more!

Serve and bask in the pool of hugs and kisses you’ll get from your guests!

Grilled Mini Meatloaf Stuffed Tomato

This is a perfect recipe if you’ve got garden tomatoes and ground beef you need to use and would like to turn it into something creative and epic for your guests!

Grilled Mini Meatloaf Stuffed Tomato

Ingredients:

• 1lb Ground Chuck
• 1/2 Cup Shredded Mozzarella
• About 6 Tomatoes
• 1 Egg
• 1/2 Cup Bread Crumbs
• 1/4 Cup Diced Onion
• 1/4 Cup Diced Celery
• 1-2 tspn Salt
• 1 tspn Pepper
• 1 tspn Garlic Powder
• 6 Strips of Bacon
• 1/3 Cup A1 Sauce
• 1 tblspn BBQ Sauce

Directions:

Combine your A1 and BBQ Sauce to create a sauce.

Combine beef, cheese, egg, bread crumbs, onion, celery, salt, pepper, and garlic.

Take the tops off of your tomatoes and hollow them out with a knife and spoon.

Stuff each tomato with your delicious magical meat mixture.

Wrap each tomato with 1 slice of bacon.  You are now popular.

Setup your grill for classic indirect heat.  If using charcoal, setup your coals on one side of the grill, leaving the opposite end clear.  If using propane, only light the burners on one side or one half of your grill, depending on the size.  Throw your wood chip box or foil smoke on the grates directly over the coals.  If you’re not familiar with using wood chips on your grill, click HERE to find out how.  It’s very easy!

Let your grill heat up to and maintain a 350 degree temperature.  Place your tomatoes opposite the heat, ensuring they are not directly over any coals or flames.  Look at that! – Now keep your grill lid closed!

After about 30 minutes, open your grill and check your tomatoes.  If the bacon is brown and the meatloaf is firming up, you’re ready to move forward.

Take your sauce mixture and coat your tomatoes thoroughly.  Close your grill and cook for another 3-5 minutes.

Remove from the grill and enjoy!

Grilled Corn with a Lime Zest and Cumin Compound Butter

In the infamous words of Homer:  “you don’t win friends with salad”, but here is a veggie that’s certain to make you the Caroline Manzo of your neighborhood!  (“Did he just make a ‘Housewives of New Jersey’ reference?”).  Hey – I can guarantee this:  Teresa Giudice doesn’t make corn this tasty!

Grilled Corn with a Lime Zest and Cumin Butter

Ingredients:

• Corn
• 1 stick of softened salted butter
• 1 Lime
• 1 tspn Cumin Powder

Directions:

Making the compound butter:

Place your stick of butter and cumin into a small mixing bowl.  Take your lime and grate the zest into your butter bowl.  Cut the lime in half and squeeze one half of the lime’s juice in.  Mix Thoroughly.

Cooking your corn:

Setup your grill for direct heat.  We’re wanting to put this corn directly over our heat and get some good color!

I setup a foil smoke pack and put my corn on the top rack directly above the smoke.  You can put your corn directly over the heat and it will be just as good.

Take some of your butter and put it on your corn as it cooks on the grill.  Let it baste right in!

After about 10 minutes – or until your corn is nice and tender – take it off the grill and smother it with your unicorn butter!  After all, it is quite a magical concoction!

You get that smoky flavor from the cumin; that wonderful citrus from your lime; the creamy saltiness from your butter; and that wonderful natural sweetness that comes from the corn when grilled!

Give this a try and make that kid Billy that used to take your lunch money beg to come eat at your place!

Enjoy!

Spicy Dry Rubbed Chicken Thighs – Crispy, Juicy, and Delicious!

If you’re looking for an easy recipe that is (almost) impossible to botch – then you’ve found the right one!  This chicken is tender, juicy, packed full of flavor, and so simple to do!  BBQ Chicken is just simply one of my favorites and thighs are not only very inexpensive, they’re so packed with juice and fat that they can slowly cook and let that fat render and baste without drying out.

Spicy Dry Rubbed Chicken Thighs

Ingredients:

• Chicken Thighs
• Any Day BBQ’s Dry Rub

Directions:

Take your chicken thighs and trim off any excess skin that is hanging beyond the meat.  This is not only unpleasant but also serves as an eyesore when serving these up.  Hey – I’m a perfectionist and presentation is key.

Pat your chicken thighs dry with a paper towel.

Liberally apply Any Day BBQ’s rub.

Setup your grill for classic indirect heat.  If using charcoal, setup your coals on one side of the grill, leaving the opposite end clear.  If using propane, only light the burners on one side or one half of your grill, depending on the size.  Of course I throw on a smoke pack for that added flavor.  If you’re not familiar with using wood chips on your grill, click HERE to find out how.  It’s very easy!

Let your grill heat up to and maintain a temperature of 350 degrees fahrenheit.  Place your chicken thighs on the opposite end of the grill and close.  This will allow your grill to act as an oven and cook these slowly to perfection!  And I don’t mean perfection like those cheesy cheap restaurant menus claim – in this case, it’s true!

There are two reasons that we cook these indirectly – (1) So we do not burn our thighs, particularly the skin.  There is a lot of fat in chicken thighs and placing them directly over our heat source will cause a lot of flare ups along with burning the skin.  Not to mention there is sugar in our rub which will caramelize and burn which will cause an unpleasant flavor.  THAT.  IS.  NO.  BUENO!  (2) Slowly cooking gives our smoke pack a chance to roll around our chicken, enhancing that rich and spicy flavor from our rub!

After about an hour, open your grill and check your chicken.  The thighs will be tender, crispy, and juicy!

Serve and let the high fives roll in!