Crowd-Pleasing Game Day Grilling

(Family Features) For millions of football fans, the grill is as important as the gridiron when enjoying a weekend of games. There’s nothing like team spirit, the anticipation of kickoff and the smell of a delicious pregame tailgate wafting through the stadium parking lot.

National barbecue expert Rocky Stubblefield of Stubb’s Legendary Bar-B-Q offers tips and recipes for game day grilling that will have the whole crowd cheering.

Keep it simple
Stubblefield says anything that cooks fast on the grill is great for tailgating – burgers, hotdogs, chicken – and to bring on the flavor without having to pack a carload of ingredients, use sauces, rubs and marinades. Prepare as much food as you can ahead of time and have a checklist for the things you always need but are easy to forget, like napkins and tin foil.

Grilling tips
For perfectly shaped, evenly cooked burgers, make a thumbprint in the middle of each patty before grilling. Amp up the flavor by rubbing your burgers with Stubb’s Bar-B-Q rub before putting them on the grill – just like you would a brisket or ribs. No matter what you’re making, wait to put the sauce on until the very end of grilling to avoid charring and burning.

For dozens of easy, delicious tailgating recipes, visit stubbsbbq.com.

Toasted Pecan Burgers

• 1          pound ground chuck
  
• 1/4       cup chopped red onion
  
• 1/4       cup chopped pecans, toasted
  
• 1          tablespoon finely chopped green bell pepper
  
• 3          tablespoons Stubb’s Original Bar-B-Q Sauce
  
• 2          tablespoons Stubb’s Bar-B-Q Spice Rub

1. Mix together chuck, onion, pecans, bell pepper, sauce and rub. Shape into 4 patties.
2. Prepare grill for direct cooking. When coals are ashed over in charcoal grill, spread them in bottom of grill so food can cook directly over coals.
3. Grill burgers over direct, medium heat, first on one side then the other, 7-10 minutes, until they reach desired doneness. Medium burgers register an internal temperature of 160° F.
4. Serve with your favorite burger toppings on toasted buns.

Smokey Stuffed Jalapenos with Bacon

• 1/2       pound uncooked chorizo
  
• 16        ounces cream cheese
  
• 24        fresh jalapenos, halved and seeded
  
• 24        slices bacon (about 2 pounds), halved
  
• 1          cup Stubb’s Smokey Mesquite Bar-B-Q Sauce

1. Heat skillet to medium heat and prepare grill for direct cooking.
2. Remove chorizo casing and cook in skillet over medium heat until cooked through. Transfer cooked chorizo to paper towel-lined plate to drain and cool.
3. Mix cream cheese and chorizo.
4. Stuff each jalapeno half with cream cheese mixture. Wrap with half strip of bacon and secure with toothpick.
5. Place peppers on grill and cook 8-10 minutes, turning frequently. Baste peppers with sauce during last 2 minutes of cooking.

SOURCE:
Stubb’s Legendary Bar-B-Q

Fire-Up a Bold Fourth of July BBQ

Cowboy Burger with Grilled Pickles and Crispy Onion Straws
Grilled Watermelon Steaks with Walnut Gremolata
Red, White and Blue Mousse Parfaits

(Family Features) This Fourth of July, take your backyard barbecue staples from basic to bold with knock-out burgers, grilled fruit “steaks” and festive red, white and blue-colored desserts.

Opt for burgers with a brazen rub that creates a caramelized outer layer. Make the meal an epic Fourth of July feast with a side of grilled watermelon steaks, marinated in white balsamic vinegar, lemon juice and rosemary, and topped with walnuts, lemon zest and fresh parsley.

“Burgers are an Independence Day mainstay, but that doesn’t mean they have to be boring,” said McCormick Executive Chef Kevan Vetter. “Pick a flavor combo that packs a real punch for the rub, then build out the burger with toppings and condiments to match that taste. For example, use Smoky Montreal Steak Seasoning, chili powder and brown sugar to make a sweet and smoky rub, then top with a rich BBQ mayonnaise, melty cheddar, grilled pickle slices and crispy onion straws.”

For more tips and recipes for unforgettable Fourth of July fare, check out McCormick.com and visit McCormick Spice on Facebook and Pinterest.

Cowboy Burger with Grilled Pickles and Crispy Onion Straws

Ingredients

BBQ Mayonnaise

• 1/4 cup mayonnaise
• 2 tablespoons Stubbs Original Bar-B-Q Sauce

Crispy Onion Straws

• 1/2 cup flour
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 1/8 teaspoon McCormick Ground Black Pepper
• 1 medium onion, very thinly sliced and separated into rings
• vegetable oil, for frying

Cowboy Burgers

• 4 teaspoons McCormick Grill Mates Smoky Montreal Steak Seasoning
• 1 tablespoon McCormick Chili Powder
• 1 tablespoon packed brown sugar
• 1 1/4 pounds ground beef
• 4 slices mild Cheddar cheese
• 1 dill pickle, sliced lengthwise 1/4-inch thick
• 4 Kaiser rolls
• 4 lettuce leaves

Preparation

1. For the BBQ Mayonnaise, mix mayonnaise and Bar-B-Q Sauce in small bowl until well blended. Cover. Refrigerate until ready to serve.
2. For the Onions, mix flour, salt and pepper in large resealable plastic bag. Add onion; toss to coat well. Pour oil into deep fryer, large heavy skillet or saucepan, filling no more than 1/3 full. Heat oil on medium-high heat. Carefully add onion rings to hot oil. Fry 4 to 5 minutes, turning once to brown evenly, until onions rings are golden brown. Drain on paper towels. Set aside.
3. For the Burgers, mix Seasoning, chili powder and brown sugar in small bowl. Shape ground beef into 4 patties. Coat surface of each patty evenly with the rub mixture. Grill over medium heat 4 to 6 minutes per side or until burgers are cooked through (internal temperature of 160°F). Add cheese slices to burgers 1 minute before cooking is completed. Grill pickle slices 2 to 3 minutes per side or until grill marks appear. Toast rolls on the grill, open-side down, about 30 seconds, if desired.
4. Serve burgers on rolls topped with grilled pickles, Crispy Onion Straws and lettuce. Serve with BBQ Mayonnaise.

Serves
4

Preparation Time:
20 minutes

Cook Time:
20 minutes

Grilled Watermelon Steaks with Walnut Gremolata

Ingredients

• 1/2 small seedless watermelon
• 1/2 cup white balsamic vinegar
• 2 tablespoons olive oil
• 1 tablespoon lemon juice
• 1 teaspoon McCormick Gourmet Crushed Rosemary
• 1/2 teaspoon Sea Salt from McCormick Sea Salt Grinder
• 1/2 teaspoon McCormick Coarse Ground Black Pepper
• 1/4 cup finely chopped toasted walnuts
• 1/4 cup finely chopped parsley
• 1 teaspoon grated lemon peel

Preparation

1. Cut 4 (1-inch thick) half-moon slices of watermelon. Reserve any remaining watermelon for another use.
2. Mix vinegar, oil, lemon juice, rosemary, salt and pepper in small bowl. Reserve 2 tablespoons for drizzling grilled watermelon.
3. Place watermelon steaks in glass dish. Add remaining marinade. Refrigerate 20 minutes, turning watermelon halfway through marinating time.
4. Meanwhile, for the Walnut Gremolata, mix walnuts, parsley and lemon peel in small bowl. Set aside. Remove watermelon steaks from marinade. Reserve leftover marinade for brushing watermelon during grilling.
5. Grill watermelon steaks over high heat 2 to 4 minutes per side or until grill marks appear, brushing with leftover marinade.
6. To serve, cut watermelon steaks in half. Drizzle with reserved 2 tablespoons marinade. Sprinkle with Walnut Gremolata.

Serves
8

Preparation Time:
10 minutes

Cook Time:
8 minutes

Red, White and Blue Mousse Parfaits

Ingredients

• 3 1/2 cups heavy cream, divided
• 1/4 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
• 1/2 cup plus 2 tablespoons sugar, divided
• 2 teaspoons McCormick Extra Rich Pure Vanilla Extract
• 2 teaspoons McCormick Red Food Color
• 1 teaspoon McCormick Pure Lemon Extract
• McCormick Assorted NEON! Food Colors & Egg Dye
• 2 tablespoons white chocolate chips

Preparation

1. Beat 1 1/2 cups of the heavy cream, cocoa powder, 2 tablespoons of the sugar and vanilla in large bowl with electric mixer on medium speed until stiff peaks form. Add red food color; stir gently with spatula until evenly tinted.
2. Beat remaining 2 cups heavy cream, remaining 1/2 cup sugar and lemon extract in large bowl with electric mixer on high speed until stiff peaks form. Remove 1 cup. Add 3/4 teaspoon neon blue and 5 drops neon purple food colors; stir gently with spatula until evenly tinted.
3. To assemble parfait, alternately layer red and white mousses in dessert glasses. Top with blue mousse and white chocolate chips. Refrigerate until ready to serve.

Serves
12 parfaits

Preparation Time:
30 minutes

SOURCE:
McCormick Spice

Pick Your Cherries and Eat Them Too

How to pick the best cherries and make them last longer

(Family Features) Now that sweet cherry season is officially here, these summertime rubies are a must-have for any barbecue or party, whether they’re baked in a pie, crushed into a cocktail or eaten as a fresh out-of-hand snack. But first things first, what should someone look for when searching for the perfect cherry?

The Perfect Cherries
Cherry enthusiasts should keep an eye out for firm, shiny and smooth skins. In general, the darker the cherry, the sweeter, and with most varieties darkness is a sign of ripeness. The stems should be green and flexible. Northwest cherries, in particular, are known for their extraordinarily sweet flavor, due to the area’s excellent growing conditions. There are a wide variety of sweet cherries, ranging up to the extra-sweet, yellow-fleshed Rainier cherries. Though so similar they’re often sold as their collective “dark sweet cherries,” the most common varieties include Bing, Sweetheart, Chelan, Lapins, Tieton and Skeena.

Keeping Your Cherries Fresh
Fresh cherries should be kept in a tightly sealed bag or container and can keep for approximately two weeks in the fridge. While this cherry season will be short, you don’t have to limit these tasty, healthy treats to just the summer. Buying an extra bag (or two, or three) to freeze allows you to have sweet cherries all year long.

To create festive cherry dishes for the summer season, try this Cherry Martini or Cherry Almond Pie and find more recipes and cherry tips at nwcherries.com.

Cherry Martini
Servings: 4

• 2     cups pitted, halved Northwest fresh sweet cherries, divided
  
• 1/4  cup almond liqueur
  
• 2     teaspoons sugar
  
• 12   lady fingers, split in half lengthwise
  
• 4     whole Northwest fresh sweet cherries with stems
  
• 1/4  cup whipped lowfat cream cheese, divided

1. Mix halved cherries, liqueur and sugar; marinate 1 hour or longer.
2. Arrange lady fingers against sides of 4 martini glasses. Before serving, spoon 1/2 cup cherries over lady fingers and swirl 1 tablespoon cream cheese over cherries in each glass. Garnish with whole cherry and serve.

Substitutions: Orange liqueur may be substituted for almond liqueur. Angel food cake or pound cake, cut into 3-by-1-by-1/2-inch strips, may be substituted for lady fingers. Lightly toast strips, if desired. Sour cream or creme fraiche may be substituted for cream cheese.

Cherry Almond Pie
Servings: 8

• 1/2  cup sliced almonds, divided
  
• 1     pastry (9 inches), for double crust pie
  
• 1     egg, beaten
  
• 4     cups pitted Northwest fresh sweet cherries
  
• 1/3  cup sugar
  
• 3     tablespoons cornstarch
  
• 1     teaspoon ground cinnamon
  
• 1/4  teaspoon salt
  
• 2     tablespoons red wine
• 
  Red Wine Glaze
  
• 2     cups powdered sugar
  
• 1/3  cup red wine

1. Heat oven to 375°F.
2. Finely chop 1/4 cup almonds.
3. Roll dough into circle approximately 16 inches in diameter and sprinkle chopped almonds over top; roll gently to embed nuts in dough.
4. Transfer dough to lightly greased baking sheet lined with parchment paper, if desired. Brush with beaten egg.
5. Mix cherries, sugar, cornstarch, cinnamon, salt and wine. Spoon cherry mixture onto dough, leaving 4-inch border. Lift edges of dough over fruit, leaving 5-inch circle of cherries showing in center. Fold in edges of pastry to form circle.
6. Brush pastry with remaining egg mixture; sprinkle with remaining almonds. Bake 30 minutes, or until pastry browns and filling bubbles.
7. Let stand 15 minutes before cutting. If desired, serve with Red Wine Glaze to drizzle over each serving.
8. To make Red Wine Glaze, mix together powdered sugar and red wine.

SOURCE:
Northwest Cherry Growers

A Smokin' Celebration

Ancho Chile Rubbed Smoked Beef Brisket
Ancho Chile Rubbed Smoked Pork Butt
Ancho Chile Smoking Spritzer

(Family Features) If the surge in barbecue and smoking competitions across the country is any indication, grilling has become an art form. This Father’s Day, grab dad and gather around the grill or try a new tech­nique that’s rising in popularity – smoking – to create a masterpiece meal – and plenty of memories – together.

From secret marinades to tricked out grills and smokers, competitive smokers know there is a near ritualistic approach to teasing the perfect flavor out of a pre­mium cut of meat. Follow in the foot­steps of those pit masters and smoke like a pro with these tips from Omaha Steaks Exec­utive Chef Karl Marsh.

Ancho Chile Rubbed Smoked Beef Brisket

Ingredients

• 1 Whole Omaha Steaks Brisket for smoking
• 2 cups white vinegar
• 2/3 cup yellow mustard
• 3/4 cup Omaha Steaks Ancho Chile Rub
• 4 cups Ancho Chile Smoking Spritzer, divided (recipe below)
• 8 cups apple or cherry wood chips, soaked in water

Preparation

1. Remove brisket from bag and rinse with white vinegar then rinse with water.
2. Dry completely using paper towels.
3. Slather brisket generously with yellow mustard.
4. Rub generously with ancho chile rub and inject with 1 cup Ancho Chile Smoking Spritzer.
5. Prepare smoker using 1 chimney of pure lump charcoal fully lit and one chimney of pure lump charcoal unlit. Make sure water pan is full and adjust vents until smoker maintains a temperature between 225 and 250°F.
6. Place brisket on smoker fat side up and brush smoking spritzer over top.
7. Every hour, check smoker temp, squirt with smoking spritzer and add handful of wood chips.
8. After 3 hours, flip brisket fat side down and squirt with spritzer.
9. After 6 hours, flip brisket fat side up. Wrap heavy duty foil around the last 3-4 inches of brisket tip to prevent it from drying out. Restock water pan and add lump charcoal as needed. Adjust vents until temperature is between 225 and 250°F.
10. Beginning at 8 hours, check internal temperature every hour and apply spritzer and wood chips as needed.
11. Between 11-13 hours, when internal temperature is between 195 and 200°F, if fork slides easily into brisket, it is done.
12. Let brisket rest for 1-2 hours before slicing and serving.

Preparation Time:
1 hour

Cook Time:
11-13 hours

Inactive Cook Time Time:
1-2 hours

Total Time:
13-16 hours

Ancho Chile Rubbed Smoked Pork Butt

Ingredients

• 1 Omaha Steaks Whole Pork Butt
• 2 cups white vinegar
• 1/2 cup yellow mustard
• 1/2 cup Omaha Steaks Ancho Chile Rub
• 4 cups Ancho Chile Smoking Spritzer, divided (recipe below)
• 8 cups apple or cherry wood chips, soaked in water

Preparation

1. Score top fat so it will melt into pork while smoking and allow more rub to get into meat. Rub pork with white vinegar then rinse with water. Pat dry with clean paper towels.
2. Rub pork butt with yellow mustard. Rub pork butt with ancho chile rub. Inject pork with 10-12 ounces of Ancho Chile Smoking Spritzer.
3. Set up smoker with 1 chimney using unlit lump charcoal and 2 chimneys using lit lump charcoal.
4. Adjust vents in smoker until temperature settles between 225 and 250°F.
5. Place pork butt fat side up and add a lot of wood chips.
6. Every half hour, add more wood chips and spritz pork with smoking spritzer.
7. After 2 hours, insert remote thermometer probes. Be careful not to let thermometer touch bone to prevent false readings.
8. After 5 hours, place pork in foil pan and liberally coat with spritzer. Wrap pan tightly with foil.
9. Continue cooking without adding wood chips or opening smoker until thermometer hits 190°F (for sliced meat) or 200°F (for pulled meat), about 8-10 hours total.
10. Let rest 1 hour before serving.

Preparation Time:
1 hour

Cook Time:
8-10 hours

Inactive Cook Time Time:
1 hour

Total Time:
10-12 hours

Ancho Chile Smoking Spritzer

Ingredients

• 2 cups apple juice
• 1 cup cranberry juice
• 1 cup canola oil
• 2 tablespoons red hot pepper sauce
• 1/2 cup Omaha Steaks Ancho Chile Rub

Preparation

1. Combine all ingredients and mix well.

Serves
4 cups

SOURCE:
Omaha Steaks