Posts tagged: pig of the month
Grilling 101: The Best Way to Make Juicy Grilled Chicken
You know that magical juicy chicken you dream of getting hot off the grill in your very own backyard? It ain't as easy to make as you think. We hear it all the time - "how do I grill chicken breasts and keep them moist?" "Is there any way to avoid dry chicken? Help!" You asked BBQ-loving peeps and we are here to answer your grilling prayers. Just follow the crazy simple steps below and boom, just like that you'll be the envy of the entire neighborhood. Get that grill master cap ready...
First, use the bottom of a wide jar or glass (or even a small skillet) to flatten those chicken breasts in an even thickness. You don't need to pound them to super thin cutlets, just make them even. Now, brine that bird! Even a mere 30 minutes in a salty brine or marinade will make all the difference - plus you need time to fire up the grill anyway 😉
An easy brine is super salty water with a dash of black peppercorns will do the trick, or go fancy with a marinade for a couple of hours. Either way, make sure you are letting the chicken rest in the brine or marinade for at least 30 minutes.
Once the grill is hot, oil it up and grill the chicken breasts over medium high heat, approximately 350 to 425 degrees. Make sure they are over direct heat and grill them for just a few minutes per side. Fast and hot gives you a good sear and keeps the meat nice and juicy. When the meat reaches 155 degrees, remove it from the heat and let it rest. Don't worry, it'll keep cooking and reach that safe zone of 165 degrees while it rests. Just don't cut it too soon or you'll lose those tasty juices! Serve with any Pig of the Month BBQ sauce, chimichurri, or salsa. Happy grilling folks!
Chipotle Bacon-Wrapped Juicy Lucy Burgers
Chipotle Bacon-Wrapped Juicy Lucy Burgers... Yep you read that right. We took the classic Juicy Lucy burger and took it to the next level by wrapping it in our famous Chipotle rubbed bacon.
This is the kind of epic burger we can't resist making. I mean, bacon makes everything better right? Wrapping a cheese-stuffed burger in bacon just makes sense. After crisping up that bacon on a hot grill pan, it adds just the right amount of savory crispiness that you crave when you bite into a burger.
If you want your summer to be epic, this is the quickest way to make that happy. We'll be grilling up these bad boys, all day erry day. Because that's what summer is all about. Happy eating!
INSTRUCTIONS: In a large bowl, mix together beef, flour, salt, pepper and garlic powder with your hands. Divide the mixture in half, and then in half once more. Form 4 round patties, making sure to pat them out thin.
On a large sheet pan, lay 5 bacon strips out in the shape of a star.
Place one of the small patties in the middle and add half of the cheddar cheese to the center.
Top the patty with another patty, firmly pinching the edges to seal it well.
Fold up the strips of bacon over the burger, trimming the ends of the slices as necessary so they lay in a flat layer. Repeat this process to form the second burger. Place the burgers seam-side down on a grill pan over high heat. Cook for 5 minutes per side, or until desired doneness is reached, making sure to flip the burger on it’s sides to crisp up the bacon on all sides.
Serve immediately and garnish as desired.
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Pig of the Month Chipotle Rubbed Bacon
Recipe & photos by Meghan Bassett
Grilling 101: Top Questions Answered!
If you’re anything like us, you’re already busting out the charcoal and grilling ALL the things. Whether you are grilling up ribs, veggies or a whole lot of burgers and hot dogs, there’s nothing better than the smell of burning coals and smoke. We get all sorts of grilling questions every year, from gas or charcoal preference to how to clean the grill. So this year we’re going to be covering a ton of grilling recipes, techniques and tips and tricks throughout the summer! To kick things off, we’ve rounded up our most-asked grilling questions. Before you fire up those grills again, get to know your stuff!
What’s better gas or charcoal? This is the ultimate grill question we get! There are a few factors that come into play to help you decide. First, price. Gas is more complicated and will cost more because of all the moving pieces inside the grill. Charcoal is a simpler grill so it will always be substantially cheaper. Second deciding factor? Taste. Gas burns clean so you’ll get the char marks, but you won’t get any special flavor in your food like using charcoal will get ya. Of course, gas grills will get to temperature faster and charcoal grills tend to take a long time to get hot. Gas grills are also a lot easier to clean up since charcoal grill cleaning can send ashes scattering all over the place. That’s a lot of back and forth, you guys. Yea, we know. If you want our honest opinion, charcoal always wins out when it comes down to it. You get better flavor, better heat management and you aren’t forking over as much money. When in doubt, go with the coal. Do I need to preheat my grill? YES. You need to preheat your grill whether you are using a gas or charcoal grill. A good rule of thumb is about 15 minutes for high temperatures (i.e. for searing) or 10 minutes for lower temperatures (i.e. for fish and such). Getting that preheat done before you start grilling the food will also help remove some of the residue left on the grill from past cooking.
How do I season my new grill? Oooohhhh look at you with your new killer grill! You are probably itching to get to grilling, but you have to season that baby first. No one wants the new grill residue on their food, trust us. Start with a cold grill and rub all the cooking surfaces down with canola oil. Wipe off any excess oil with a paper towel and light the grill. Let the grill heat up for about 15 minutes, or until the oil starts burning off and smoking. At this point the shiny finish that came with the grill should be turning dark brown or bronze. Turn off the grill and once coal, add a light coat of oil. To keep your grill in tip top shape, repeat this last light oil application step after each time you grill. Why you should never ever use lighter fluid...ever It’s all about the taste and smell. If you use lighter fluid, you’re going to get all those chemicals on your food. It’s really pointless to use lighter fluid when you can use a chimney starter so easily. Plus no one wants to smell like lighter fluid all day. Yuck.
How do I deal with flare-ups? First, get that food off the grill so it doesn’t get charred to oblivion. Then cover it up and wait it out. Flare ups survive off of the oxygen in the air so if you can smother it with the lid of the grill, do that. No matter what you do, DON’T squirt a water bottle on a flare up. It will get an ashy mess everywhere and it doesn’t actually subdue the flare. Be sure to keep an extinguisher nearby though… Just in case. Keep checking the blog for new Grilling 101 features throughout the summer. Your grill master status depends on it.
Don’t forget to check out our featured grilled recipes!
Grilled Chili Rubbed Flank Steak
Lemon Pepper Bacon Wrapped Shrimp Skewers
Recipes & recipes photos by Meghan Bassett
Grilled Chili Rubbed Flank Steak
Grilled Chili Rubbed Flank Steak is a super simple way to take your grilled steak to the next level of flavor. The wet rub infuses so much tastiness into the flank steak - you can't go wrong with this one!
Are you ready for Memorial Day?? I am tweaking my menu daily for the annual massive BBQ I host, and I was feeling a little stumped earlier this week. That is, until now. This grilled chili rubbed flank steak changed ev-er-y-thang for me once I made it. It's one of the simplest recipes I've ever created, but in terms of flavor, it's ridiculously complex. All of the flavors in the rub perfectly compliment the meat and that really good charred taste you get from the grill.
You can easily serve this bad boy as is or there are about a million other ideas you could try out. Throw it on a salad. Chop it up and add it to a grilled pizza. Serve it with tons of grilled veggies. You can even make some killer tacos or a Tex Mex inspired sandwich with this meat. The options are limitless and it'll take you less than 15 minutes of active cooking time to make it happen.
So obviously, you should be adding this recipe to your Memorial Day menu right NOW.
INSTRUCTIONS: In a small bowl, combine garlic, lime juice, chili powder, salt, cumin, paprika and cayenne.
Stir until all ingredients are incorporated.
Rub the paste all over the steak. Let rest in the refrigerator for 15 to 20 minutes.
Grill the steak on a hot grill or grill pan over medium-high heat until it reaches your desired doneness (approximately 6 to 8 minutes for medium). Remove from grill and rest for at least 10 minutes before slicing and serving.
Serve alone over rice, with salad or even in tacos! Give it an extra squeeze of lime for a touch of extra brightness too. Recipe & photos by Meghan Bassett
Meat Lovers Pizza Roll Ups
Meat Lovers Pizza Roll Ups are a meat lover's dream! Packed with three different Pig of the Month BBQ meats, you will be in BBQ pizza heaven with every bite.
I have a serious obsession with BBQ pizza as soon as the warmer weather comes around. Aside from grilling everything and anything in sight, I'm all about the easy appetizers or snacks that I can munch on (or turn into a whole meal) while I messing with whatever I have going on the grill. These meat lovers pizza roll ups are my favorite solution for something summer and BBQ-packed that doesn't require me whipping out the grill - or something that doesn't take up that valuable real estate, you know?
Whether you are making these as a snack or appetizer for a party, or turning these into a fun weeknight BBQ meal for the family, you won't find a more meaty recipe out there that's this easy.
All you have to do is roll out some dough, stuff it with meat, bake and top with cheese. Just don't forget the extra BBQ sauce to serve them up with!
Sling me a beer and lets cheers to those tasty, juicy meats!
[vimeo 166821716 w=640 h=360]Meat Lovers Pizza Roll Ups from Pig of the Month BBQ on Vimeo.
INSTRUCTIONS:
Preheat oven to 425 degrees. Grease a baking sheet and set aside. On a lightly floured surface, roll out the pizza dough into a large 9x13-inch rectangle. Brush the dough with 1/3 cup of BBQ sauce. Layer on the pulled pork, brisket and bacon. Roll the dough up tightly and slice in 3/4-inch thick rolls. Add rolls to prepared baking sheet. Bake for 15 minutes. Sprinkle the rolls with cheese and broil until the cheese is melted. Serve immediately with extra BBQ sauce for dipping. Shop This Post Pig of the Month BBQ Pulled Pork Pig of the Month BBQ Brisket Pig of the Month BBQ Applewood Smoked Maple Bacon Recipe, photos & video by Meghan BassettMarch Munchie Madness is BACK! 2016 Bracket Contest
March Munchie Madness is BACK!
Do you know what time it is?? GAME TIME. March Madness is upon us with all your fav teams facing off in that good ol’ tournament they call ‘the big dance.’ This has become our fav time of the year because it’s the one time we can bust out all the munchies we want while streaming the TV loud and proud at work all day, erryday. We root for the upsets and keep extra beer in the fridge, ready to celebrate at a moment’s notice. The question is, what will YOU be snacking on to fuel yourself through all those nail biter moments of the final games? It’s your turn to tell us what you want to chow down on…March Munchie Madness is BACK! We're here to kickoff our 2016 Bracket Contest. It’s simple – every few days tune in to vote for your favorite snack pick in 4 different categories, all the way to the final munch off. There will be a prize given for each winning game! The March Munchie Madness Prizes Are: Morning Meats: Win a bacon & sausage sampling including 1lb each of our best-selling sausages and 1lb each of our best-selling bacon Desserts: Win a duo of chocolate covered bacon and applewood bacon salted caramels Classic BBQ: Win 6 racks of ribs and sauce to slather it all down Snacks: Win the ultimate sweet and salty snack pack For the semi-finals and finals you could win a HUGE package with tons of tasty meats and treats! Here’s the March Munchie Madness breakdown:
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