BBQ recipes, product reviews, & how-to's
Have you attempted making homemade french fries before? Do you wish you could make them taste like the epic fries at Five Guys? You can make these at home and they are easier than you’d expect. As long as you know THREE key tips, your…
Sliders seem to be all the craze lately and deservedly so. The are like mini versions of your favorite burger or sandwich and you don’t have to feel guilty eating multiples. This Cuban sliders recipe packs the flavor in a smaller size. They only take…
Grilled Twinkies are one of my most favorite desserts off the grill. Much healthier than deep fried! This idea started out of both curiosity and desperation years ago when I wanted to feed my guests dessert after grilling our dinner. It has since become a common dessert in my household and only takes a minute to cook! Add a homemade raspberry compote, which is surprisingly easy to make, and you’ve got a unique dessert that’ll make you a cookout legend!
You need to give grilled Twinkies a try for multiple reasons. First, the direct heat causes the caramelization of the outside. Second, those grill marks give it an aesthetic that shows it’s been kissed by the flames. And finally, that warm, gooey creamy center adds an enhanced element. To summarize, the grill transforms the Twinkie into next level awesomeness!
Simply put, a compote is fruit cooked in water with sugar and spices. Berries seem to be the most common to cook in a compote. Making this raspberry compote is easy: take a pint of raspberries and put them in a medium-sized sauce pan. Combine with 1/4 Cup of maple syrup, 1/3 Cup of water, one teaspoon of lemon juice and one teaspoon of vanilla and bring to a boil. Once it has boiled, reduce to a simmer for 10 minutes. If you make this when you are having your grilled Twinkies for dessert, remember that the compote will be hot and will melt your ice cream fast (if you pour it on top). The compote can be served either warm or chilled.
While this recipe for raspberry compote will make more than enough for your grilled Twinkies, you can put the rest in a jar and store it in your fridge for up to 10 days. It especially makes a great topping for breakfast items such as pancakes, waffles, and french toast.
Need another excuse to fire up the grill? Check out my recipes for such things as reverse seared tri-tip or smoked teriyaki pork tenderloin.
Grilled Twinkies are a healthier alternative to deep fried! Seriously though, the caramelization of the outside gives it a nice, toasty crunch and the inside becomes all warm and gooey. Add a raspberry compote and some ice cream to make it next level!
Nutrition information isn’t always accurate and varies on both amounts of compote and ice cream served.
If you’re reading this article, there’s a good chance you are looking for leftover pulled pork ideas. Well, you’re in the right place! One of my favorite things to do with leftover pork is to make BBQ pulled pork pizza. I’ll show you how simple…
Do you love pulled pork, but don’t have all day to smoke it? Did you know you can get the same salivating results in about half the time? The hot and fast pulled pork method will shave hours off your cook time and give you…
Did you smoke a ham recently? Chances are you have some leftovers, which is what brought you here. Ham fried rice is a quick, simple recipe that will make you want to cook ham just for the leftovers.
The ingredients for ham fried rice are simple. In fact, all of these just might be in your fridge and pantry. First, use a pound of that leftover ham, cut into cubes. If you have thin slices leftover, that’s fine too. The full list of ingredients are as follows:
With this being a BBQ blog, I recommend cooking this up outside on the griddle. However, if you have a wok or a indoor griddle, that can work too. I fire up the Blackstone griddle with griddle top attachment to medium-low heat. Oil up the griddle with avocado oil because it doesn’t burn off as fast as other cooking oils.
To start, dump the bag of frozen peas and carrots on the griddle. Next, mix in the ham, diced onion, and garlic. Mix around a bit to get a little char on as much of the ingredients as possible. While this is cooking, pour four beaten eggs onto the griddle away from the other ingredients. This will cook fast. Feel free to remove from griddle when finished to add later.
With the extra space on the griddle, add the chilled, precooked rice. You will want it precooked and refrigerated to keep it from burning. Mix in the soy sauce and sesame seed oil into the rice. After 2-3 minutes, mix the ingredients altogether (including the eggs). Scoop up the ham fried rice with the spatula (or spatulas) and pour into a medium or large sized bowl.
That’s it! Quick, simple, and definitely a repeat dish for any leftover ham you may have.
Got leftover holiday ham? Ham fried rice is a quick and easy meal that can be made with ingredients already in your fridge and pantry.
1. This recipe can also be cooked indoors on a wok or countertop griddle
Nutrition information isn’t always accurate.
Pot roasts are a traditional meal to have for Sunday dinner, especially in the colder months. The ingredients are fairly inexpensive and the meal easily feeds up to 10-12 people. Cook the Dutch oven pot roast on the grill for a few hours. Add a…
This post is sponsored by Omaha Steaks. Sponsored posts are what enable food bloggers like me to maintain and operate sites that are free to the public. That said, I only work with products and brands that I believe in. Smoked ham is all the…
Do you like filet mignon? What if I told you the smoked beef tenderloin is a meaty log full of them? Beef tenderloin is perfect for meals at Christmas, Valentine’s Day, or any gathering that you’re looking to impress. The combo of lean, beefy flavor and the seasoning cooked into the crust is off the charts good! Oh, and the smoke flavor infused while on the grill helps.
As with most cuts of beef, I like to keep my seasonings simple. The base of salt, pepper, and garlic powder is my go-to for all things beef. With beef tenderloin, however, I like to add in some onion powder and paprika.
The mixture goes as follows: 1 Tablespoon kosher salt, 1 Tablespoon pepper, 2 teaspoons garlic powder, 1 teaspoon onion powder, 1 teaspoon paprika. Pour each ingredient into a small bowl and mix. Set aside.
Before prepping your beef tenderloin, I recommend you get your grill going first. Preheat grill to 250 degrees using indirect heat. Regarding wood for smoking, I recommend post oak. Since post oak can be tougher to find, hickory is another solid option here. Depending on your grill, it could take 10-20 minutes to achieve your desired temp.
Beef is the one meat that can handle sitting out at room temperature. Technically, it can sit out for up to two hours. Some do this so the meat doesn’t hit the grill too cold. I would suggest close to 30 minutes if you want to let it sit out. If not, no big deal.
Keep on the grill until the smoked beef tenderloin reaches an internal temp of 125 degrees. This could take over an hour. I recommend cooking to temp, not time. Make sure to have a quality digital thermometer to monitor temps of both meat and grill throughout the cook.
Once meat hits 125 degrees, remove from the grill. If your grill is capable of searing as well, then go to direct heat and get up to at least 500 degrees. If you have a separate grill from the one you just smoked on, then I suggest getting that one up to heat about about 10 minutes before smoked beef tenderloin is done smoking.
Depending on how hot your grill is, I’d sear for 1-2 minutes on each side. The hotter the grill, the less time needed to get that Maillard reaction on the outside of the meat. Smoking then searing is also known as reverse sear. You may hear this term a lot in BBQ now as it has become a preferred method of cooking.
Now that the smoked beef tenderloin is done searing, place it on a cutting board to rest for 15 minutes. Why let it rest? Because the meat is still cooking internally. If you slice right away, juices will run out and that means flavor will escape. Resting helps keep the flavor locked in.
Speaking of flavor, melt some garlic herb butter and brush over the smoked beef tenderloin while it rests. This will amplify the flavor of the crust even more.
Slice the beef tenderloin in 1 to 1 1/2 inch slices. You should have wall-to-wall pink. If not, you may have seared too long. But that’s okay. It will still taste incredible and your guests will be drooling for more!
Do you like filet mignon? What if I told you the smoked beef tenderloin is a meaty log full of them? Beef tenderloin is perfect for meals at Christmas, Valentine's Day, or any gathering that you're looking to impress. The combo of lean, beefy flavor and the seasoning cooked into the crust is off the charts good! Oh, and the smoke flavor infused while on the grill helps.
1. If post oak isn't available, substitute your favorite smoking wood for beef. I suggest hickory or pecan wood.
2. Searing temps begin around 500 degrees. Depending on how much hotter your cooking surface gets, Sear for less time as to avoid overcooking the meat.
Nutrition information isn’t always accurate.
Note: while this post is sponsored by Kingsford, I feature a variety of other products that I highly recommend, too. Looking to get into BBQ? Or shopping for someone who loves to BBQ? This BBQ Holiday Gift Guide will give you a variety of suggestions,…
