An XML feed drawn from a food blog showcasing my recipes and photos from my grilling and cooking adventures. http://www.grilling24x7.com Feb 19, 2012 18:30:00 EST http://grilling24x7.com/avocado_burger.shtml I've been on a real avocado kick lately. They have been really ripe and amazing tasting. I wanted to blend the soft creamy texture of the avocado with crispy thick bacon and I ended up coming up with this super simple bacon avocado burger recipe. The burger has a really nice peppercorn dry rub which provides some nice spicy crunch to the burger. I also went with some grilled sweet onions to add some extra flavor. I just love grilling sweet onions. Don't add any condiments to this burger. Trust me; if avocados are ripe they provide all the flavor you need. Check this one out! http://grilling24x7.com/avocado_burger.shtml Feb 6, 2012 18:00:00 EST http://grilling24x7.com/fatty.shtml All drug jokes aside, in the BBQ world there is the famous "fatty." It is also known as a "bacon explosion." This beast of a meal is comprised of a roll of breakfast sausage that is smoked on a smoker. The simplest version is called a "naked fatty" which is just a roll of sausage that is smoked. Fancier versions include stuffed sausage rolls that are wrapped in bacon. The latter is what I chose to do. Wow, this is a wild and crazy appetizer! Check this bad boy out: http://grilling24x7.com/fatty.shtml Jan 23, 2012 07:21:00 EST http://grilling24x7.com/porkontop.shtml I've been smoking pork shoulders on my Weber Smokey Mountain Smoker for quite some time now. They have been turning out great but I wanted to try something new. I have recently been reading about a method of smoking where a pork shoulder is placed on a grate above a beef brisket. The reasoning is that the fat and juices from the pork shoulder will drip down and "mop" the brisket. I figured this was worth a shot. Here's what I did: http://grilling24x7.com/porkontop.shtml Jan 8, 2012 02:21:00 EST http://grilling24x7.com/chilidog.shtml I love making chili and I love chili dogs. However, when I add my normal chili recipe to a hotdog I get good results, not fantastic results. So a few days ago I went on a search for a real chili dog chili sauce recipe. I found a recipe that really intrigued me. There were no beans and the meat entirely came from finely shredded flank steak. After I saw that I knew I had to make this chili. This type of chili is referred to as a "chili sauce" and is a fantastic topping for hotdogs. http://grilling24x7.com/chilidog.shtml Dec 26, 2011 11:21:00 EST http://grilling24x7.com/fried_turkey.shtml I've never deep fried a turkey before so I figured that Christmas day would be the perfect time. I did a lot of research on the internet, watched a lot of You Tube videos, and asked a lot of questions. I learned four major things: http://grilling24x7.com/fried_turkey.shtml Dec 12, 2011 13:21:00 EST http://grilling24x7.com/rb_leftovers.shtml You probably know this by now but I'm a big fan of homemade roast beef. I make roast beef on my Weber rotisserie attachment all the time. I also enjoy cooking roast beef over direct heat. Regardless of the method, I think I have made a good case that it's easy and very tasty to make your own roast beef. The only problem for me is what to do with all those leftovers. One day for lunch I had a magical idea and I'm going to share it with you below. Using leftover roast beef to make cheesesteak sandwiches: http://grilling24x7.com/rb_leftovers.shtml Nov, 25 2011 12:55:00 EST http://grilling24x7.com/meatballs.shtml I've been using the "Grandma Maroni's" meatball recipe for quite some time now. I just love it. Grated Romano cheese, onions and herbs are all mixed up in the meatball. These meatballs have the best flavor. I decided to test out this recipe on the charcoal grill. I was thrilled to learn that it works great and was really easy to pull off. This meatball recipe works great for a meatball sub or for spaghetti! http://grilling24x7.com/meatballs.shtml Nov, 13 2011 02:45:00 EST http://grilling24x7.com/thanksgiving11.shtml Thanksgiving is right around the corner and I wanted to revisit a really easy grilled turkey recipe. This recipe is so good and so easy that I will be doing it this Thanksgiving! This Thanksgiving is going to be hectic since the NFL has given Baltimore a Thanksgiving night game. Oh man that's going to be tough to squeeze in a whole Thanksgiving meal and then a full tailgate. Don't worry; we'll pull it off!! Tthis recipe is perfect for such a day. Not too much preparation and pretty quick to grill.Give it a try! http://grilling24x7.com/thanksgiving11.shtml Nov, 06 Oct 2011 05:45:00 EST http://grilling24x7.com/apples.shtml Apples are always the best this time of year. Crisp, juicy, and very tasty. Today I decided that I wanted to grill an apple. To start, I looked on the internet for grilled apple recipes but sadly I couldn't find anything useful. I was desperate to find a recipe that could make a simple apple really exciting so I spent the afternoon grilling a bunch of apples and here's what I came up with. The recipe I like the most has gooey chocolatey caramel stuffed inside a warm tender apple with melted marshmallow all over the top. Grilled apples on the charcoal grill! http://grilling24x7.com/apples.shtml Oct, 23 Oct 2011 08:45:00 EST http://grilling24x7.com/pepp_roll.shtml John Madden's book gave me the idea for this recipe. It's one of our favorite tailgate appetizer recipes and its so simple. This is a pepperoni roll that stuffed with Italian meats and cheeses and as a special bonus has some mild banana peppers. It is prepared at home and then reheated at the tailgate. Give this a try! http://grilling24x7.com/pepp_roll.shtml Oct, 09 Oct 2011 08:45:00 EST http://grilling24x7.com/homefries.shtml Mrs. Grilling24x7 decided to schedule a brunch with some friends. A brunch!? How can I grill for a brunch? When I think of a brunch I think of a late breakfast. On the menu was chocolate chip pancakes, sausage, and then some other side dish. A light bulb went off and then I found this recipe for grilled home fries. There is a good bit of grilling involved for this recipe but if you are up for the challenge this is a really good home fries recipe. I strongly suggest it for special occasion brunches. http://grilling24x7.com/homefries.shtml Oct, 02 Oct 2011 08:35:00 EST http://grilling24x7.com/cornbread.shtml There are two side dishes that must be served at a great BBQ: baked beans and cornbread. These two dishes work great with pulled pork, baby back ribs, and any other traditional barbecue meal you can think of. This recipe is a good one because it has honey and butter in the batter so you taste these flavors throughout the whole cornbread muffin. This is a really nice homemade cornbread recipe; I hope you try it! http://grilling24x7.com/cornbread.shtml Sun, 25 Sep 2011 11:45:00 EST http://grilling24x7.com/grilledsalmon.shtml This recipe is pretty basic and focuses on two things: the natural flavor of salmon and a grilling technique that most are scared to try. Check out this grilled salmon recipe with salmon grilled directly on the grates! http://grilling24x7.com/grilledsalmon.shtml Sun, 18 Sep 2011 21:45:00 EST http://grilling24x7.com/salmonburger.shtml This week I wanted to do grilled salmon burgers. I guess you could also call this a grilled salmon cake recipe as well. This recipe also has a homemade tartar sauce recipe which is really easy to make. These salmon burgers are loaded with amazing flavor! I'm very impressed with this one: healthy and very tasty! http://grilling24x7.com/salmonburger.shtml Sun, 12 Sep 2011 16:45:00 EST http://grilling24x7.com/planked.shtml So here we are in week two of "Salmon September" and I must say I'm enjoying myself. Please check out week 1 if you missed it. This week I selected three sockeye salmon filets from my grocery store. Last week's Atlantic salmon was good but I know the Alaskan sockeye salmon is much better for one's health so on the menu it went. Take a look at this recipe for cedar planked salmon with a spicy glaze: http://grilling24x7.com/planked.shtml Sun, 04 Sep 2011 08:45:00 EST http://grilling24x7.com/smoked_salmon.shtml If you have read through this blog you'll see that I don't grill too much fish. Well that's all about to change. I'm calling this month "Salmon September" and once a week this month I'm going to post a grilled or smoked salmon recipe. I got the idea for this week's salmon recipe from the Food Network TV show: Diners, Drive-ins, and Dives. The salmon is put into a sweet marinade for a little while and then put on the smoker. The smoked salmon was used to make a salmon sandwich. It was really good; take a look! http://grilling24x7.com/smoked_salmon.shtml Sun, 28 Aug 2011 08:15:00 EST http://grilling24x7.com/porkburger.shtml A couple of weeks ago I discussed grinding leftover baby back rib trimmings to make fresh ground pork. I made Rib Burgers with a BBQ dry rub and BBQ sauce but now my garden is so overflowing with basil that I also wanted to try a more herb based recipe. This recipe is the most flavorful burger I've had in a long time. The fresh basil and fresh garlic are crucial in providing this fragrant pork burger. Here we go: http://grilling24x7.com/porkburger.shtml Sun, 21 Aug 2011 05:15:00 EST http://grilling24x7.com/porkrollegg.shtml It's that time of year again! Football is back! While most of us find preseason football totally not worth the money, we have no choice in the matter as our season ticket packages force us to buy the preseason games too. Oh well, when given the opportunity to tailgate I will make the most of it. For game one of 2011 my buddy and I packed up the truck with the grill, a cooler full of beer, eggs, and Taylor pork roll and headed to the parking lot. Here's what we grilled! http://grilling24x7.com/porkrollegg.shtml Sun, 14 Aug 2011 11:15:00 EST http://grilling24x7.com/bash.shtml One of my good buddies happens to be very into BBQ. He is so into BBQ that he has a competition BBQ team called "Godfather BBQ" and he invited me to come along for the BBQ competition being held this weekend. Maryland isn't the most well known for BBQ but the Maryland BBQ Bash is an annual event that is held in Bel Air, MD. Teams from across the country come to smoke meat and have a good time. I brought my camera along and took hundreds of photos. http://grilling24x7.com/bash.shtml Sun, 07 Aug 2011 07:45:00 EST http://grilling24x7.com/ribburger.shtml Last week I discussed grinding the leftover baby back trimmings to make fresh ground pork. Well one of the most fun uses of the ground pork that I've come up with is the "Rib Burger." Take a look at this: http://grilling24x7.com/ribburger.shtml Mon, 01 Aug 2011 02:45:00 EST http://grilling24x7.com/ground_pork.shtml I buy most of my baby back ribs from Costco. They come three to a pack and are quite cheap. My only complaint is that they could use some extra trimming. I prefer a baby back rib rack that is evenly trimmed and not too thick. I think that it cooks more evenly and is much easier to eat. So when I prepare my ribs I trim quite a bit of the meat off the top of the racks. With all the leftover baby back rib trimmings I grind them for a variety of uses. Take a look! http://grilling24x7.com/ground_pork.shtml Mon, 25 Jul 2011 19:28:00 EST http://grilling24x7.com/topround.shtml Normally the grilling game plan with large chunks of meat, whether you're talking about steaks or roasts, is to sear the meat over direct heat until the exterior is nicely colored and then finish the cooking over indirect heat. However, there has been some buzz on the internet and television about reversing this process. There is some belief that this method, referred to as "the reverse sear," leads to a more tender roast. Well I gave it a try. I made roast beef sandwiches from a top round roast using the reverse sear method. Check this out: http://grilling24x7.com/topround.shtml Wed, 19 Jul 2011 20:28:00 EST http://grilling24x7.com/guac.shtml I'm all about a good appetizer and when avocados are in season this one can't be beat. I like the addition of grilled corn to my guacamole because not only does it let me use my grill but I love the taste of grilled corn. So find some fresh avocados and check this recipe out! http://grilling24x7.com/guac.shtml Mon, 11 Jul 2011 18:00:00 EST http://grilling24x7.com/usingers.shtml A friend of mine is from Wisconsin and whenever he has us over for a cookout everyone raves about his bratwurst. For the longest time I thought that this guy was the absolute king of the grill. He was firing off perfectly cooked, juicy, flavorful brats with ease. I thought perhaps there is something in a Wisconsinite's blood that makes them nail it. I started asking some questions and I learned all of his secrets. It turns out it all depends on the source of the bratwurst. He told me to order the brats from Usingers In Wisconsin. Take a look at this. These brats are in a different league compared to anything you can find in your grocery store. http://grilling24x7.com/usingers.shtml Tue, 05 Jul 2011 15:36:00 EST http://grilling24x7.com/barbacoa.shtml I got invited to a really cool July 4th weekend BBQ. The main course was Barbacoa de Cabeza, i.e., barbecued cow head. A bunch of other meats were smoked like groundhog, brisket, and beef back ribs. If you aren't familiar with Barbacoa de Cabeza, which I'm sure you're probably not, the game plan is to dig a hole in your yard, set a fire in it, and cook a cow's head overnight. Then you pull the meat off and serve with tortillas. Take a look at this!!!! http://grilling24x7.com/barbacoa.shtml Fri, 01 Jul 2011 12:36:00 EST http://grilling24x7.com/july4.shtml I've had a lot of e-mails asking what I'm grilling for July 4th and I've also had a lot of folks asking for suggestions on what to grill. So I figured I'd post this page of some recipes that work really well for a July 4th picnic. The best part is that they aren't too elaborate and give outstanding results. Give one a try! http://grilling24x7.com/july4.shtml Sun, 26 Jun 2011 10:36:00 EST http://grilling24x7.com/grilled_corn.shtml It is that time of year when all the local produce stands are loaded with sweet corn. I love it! I am based in Maryland and at this time of early summer the corn comes from Florida. As time passes the corn will come from locations right up the coast until we finally get Maryland corn, which in my opinion is the best. I'm sure I only consider it the best because local corn has less transport time and is delivered a bit fresher. Regardless, the corn that my produce stand has been selling lately has been outstanding and I've been grilling it up quite a bit. Here's how: http://grilling24x7.com/grilled_corn.shtml Sun, 12 Jun 2011 18:36:00 EST http://grilling24x7.com/mustard_ribs.shtml I opened my freezer one afternoon and I saw a trash bag very neatly wrapped around some sort of meat. To be honest I wasn't quite sure what it was. I opened it up and saw a trimmed rack of ribs! Oh how could I forget about this. I thawed out the rack and decided to do something a bit different by making a mustard based BBQ sauce. Here's what happened: http://grilling24x7.com/mustard_ribs.shtml Sun, 12 Jun 2011 17:39:34 EST http://grilling24x7.com/wsm_light.shtml I get a lot of e-mails asking how I light my WSM Weber Smokey Mountain Smoker (WSM). It is actually a very easy and forgiving smoker to light. Here's what I do: http://grilling24x7.com/wsm_light.shtml Thu, 02 Jun 2011 12:36:37 EST http://grilling24x7.com/turkey_injection.shtml Normally I'm all about brining the turkey. The problem is that I hate cleaning up the bucket that I use for brining and I also dislike having all that raw turkey liquid splashing everywhere. I found the solution in a injection. I picked up a little injection kit at my grocery store and thought to myself, "what flavors would I like in my turkey breast?" Butter and Salt jumped into my mind instantly. Take a look! http://grilling24x7.com/turkey_injection.shtml Sun, 22 May 2011 06:34:37 EST http://grilling24x7.com/beer_brats.shtml It is officially grilling season! The weather is nice and warm and there is no rain in sight. The grocery store had lots of sales on meats today but I decided to go with a simple pack of bratwurst. This is a simple yet classic meal: beer soaked brats. http://grilling24x7.com/beer_brats.shtml Fri, 13 Apr 2011 11:34:27 EST http://grilling24x7.com/iwon.shtml If you read deeply throughout this food blog you'll know that I love the local black angus farm called Roseda. I'm always checking out their website for various offers and news. I decided to submit a recipe to their recipe contest. It turns out that I won! http://grilling24x7.com/iwon.shtml Sat, 23 Apr 2011 21:35:27 EST http://grilling24x7.com/garlic_chicken.shtml I love using the rotisserie attachment for my Weber Performer. Most of the time I simply use salt and pepper but today I was feeling some garlic. I made a garlic wet rub and tossed two chickens on the rotisserie. This is a great rotisserie chicken wet rub! http://grilling24x7.com/garlic_chicken.shtml Sat, 16 Apr 2011 15:25:22 EST http://grilling24x7.com/fluff.shtml Every once in a while Mrs. Grilling24x7 comes up with a real winner that compliments my grilling perfectly. On the menu today was two simple NY strips, potatoes and a grilled veggie. But what about dessert? She came up with Fluffernutter Peanut Butter Cups. What an amazing treat! Take a look at this, it is the perfect party dessert as not only does it taste amazing but it is a fun conversation piece. http://grilling24x7.com/fluff.shtml Tue, 05 Apr 2011 15:25:22 EST http://grilling24x7.com/homemade_sausage.shtml Well, this is it. I've been dreaming about making homemade hot Italian sausage for some time now. In fact my recent Christmas gift was the KitchenAid meat grinder and sausage attachment! I can't believe how good this turned out. This was the best Italian sausage I've ever had. Here's what I did: http://grilling24x7.com/homemade_sausage.shtml Fri, 25 Mar 2011 15:20:32 EST http://grilling24x7.com/panini.shtml I was laying in bed one night, unable to sleep, thinking about things to grill when it hit me. I have never grilled a panini on the charcoal grill before. My grocery store sells some incredible ciabatta rolls so I picked one up, grilled some chicken and went for it. Here's what happened.... http://grilling24x7.com/panini.shtml Tue, 15 Mar 2011 07:30:42 EST http://grilling24x7.com/toast.shtml French toast has been something that I've always loved. Its a classic breakfast treat. Normally its done over a stove top as we all remember from our youth. However, let's apply what we do indoors to the grill. This is a fun one! Here goes:.... http://grilling24x7.com/toast.shtml Thu, 10 Mar 2011 06:30:42 EST http://grilling24x7.com/filet_mignon.shtml You can always find a decent steak at Costco. Costco filet mignons are actually much better than "decent." In fact they are pretty darn good especially if they are cooked perfectly. The only trouble is that they are about 2 inches thick which means you need to spend some extra time considering your grilling methods. Let's take a look:.... http://grilling24x7.com/filet_mignon.shtml Sun, 06 Mar 2011 01:31:54 EST http://grilling24x7.com/chocolate_cake.shtml What?! A grilling food blog with a chocolate cake recipe? Yup. That should tell you just how special this recipe is. It is by far my favorite chocolate cake recipe and it complements a steak or barbecue dinner perfectly. Here goes: Ingredients for the cake: 2 cups sugar 1 1/2 cups cake flour.... http://grilling24x7.com/chocolate_cake.shtml Sat, 26 Feb 2011 12:40:54 EST http://grilling24x7.com/patty.shtml I really want to master the art of making all sorts of sausages and I decided to start easy with breakfast sausage. Why? Well, because I new I could make a breakfast patty without worrying about casings and all that fancy stuff. I found a good recipe for breakfast sausage and then took out all my frozen baby back rib trimmings and ground the meat. Here's what I did.... http://grilling24x7.com/patty.shtml Sun, 20 Feb 2011 08:40:52 EST http://grilling24x7.com/hot_wings2.shtml What a nice appetizer: a bunch of spicy, hot, crispy, buttery wings. Nothing says tailgate more than spicy hot wings but when football season isn't upon us we are left with just grilling them for the sake of doing so. So let's revisit one of the most fun spicy hot wing recipes I've ever tasted. Ingredients 1 bag of wings from the frozen food section 1/2 cup of Franks Original Hot Sauce 1/3 cup of butter 5-10 cloves of garlic 2 T Parmesan Cheese Hot chili powder (I found mine in a Mexican grocery store) My most comfortable method for grilling wings is the.... http://grilling24x7.com/hot_wings2.shtml Sun, 6 Feb 2011 08:35:57 EST http://grilling24x7.com/steak_sub.shtml So what's the difference between a grilled ribeye steak sub and a cheesesteak sub? For my purposes I consider a cheesesteak sub to contain finely sliced, almost shredded, steak that has been cooked on a griddle with sauteed onions and cheese melted (or poured) on top, all on a Philly Amoroso roll. The steak sub however, is more reminiscent of eating a grilled steak, but on a sub roll..... http://grilling24x7.com/steak_sub.shtml Sun, 16 Jan 2011 09:30:22 EST http://grilling24x7.com/BBQsauce.shtml I haven't posted too many BBQ sauce recipes on this website. I think I finally found one that is worth sharing. It is a sweet, spicy tomato based BBQ sauce which is dynomite on pork ribs, pork shoulder, BBQ chicken etc. Give it a try and let me know what you think! Ingredients: 2 T dried onions 1/2 tsp corn starch 3 T molasses 3 T honey 1 and 1/4 cup ketchup 1 cup of Jack Daniels Whiskey 1/2 cup apple cider vinegar 1 cup packed brown sugar 2 T worcestershhire sauce 1-2 T Franks hot sauce 1/2 tsp black pepper There is no order to the addition.... http://grilling24x7.com/BBQsauce.shtml Fri, 31 Dec 2010 22:48:22 EST http://grilling24x7.com/fridge.shtml A few weeks ago we noticed that when the outside temperature dropped our garage refrigerator freezer wouldn't keep things frozen. Berries, breads, bagels were just cold, not frozen. I searched the internet and found out that I wasn't alone. Frigidaire is aware of the problem and sells a garage cold kit which can be installed into your fridge. The kit is available online for about $20. Here's what I did: ... http://grilling24x7.com/fridge.shtml Thu, 23 Dec 2010 22:48:22 EST http://grilling24x7.com/grilled_pizza.shtml Every friday night is pizza night in my house. I've been making homemade pizzas since 2003! Everyone always asks, "As much as you love grilling why don't you grill a pizza?" Well, the answer is that I never knew how. I read various opinions on how to do it and the majority of people suggest indirect grilling. To me that is boring. I'd rather stick to my pizza stone preheated to 550 degrees rather than indirect cook a pizza on a grill. For the past few months I've been working out the kinks and I finally figured out a way to cook a NY style pizza dough recipe over direct charcoal heat and ... http://grilling24x7.com/grilled_pizza.shtml Sat, 18 Dec 2010 16:50:30 EST http://grilling24x7.com/bigmac.shtml One of my favorite sandwiches is McDonald's BigMac. The sandwich has such a unique taste - the special sauce along with the pickles and onions ... it's just fantastic! Luckily for us the sandwich is easy to make and when you make it at home it tastes 10 times better than the ones you get at your local McDonalds. Here's what you'll need ... http://grilling24x7.com/bigmac.shtml Sat, 13 Nov 2010 01:00:00 EST http://grilling24x7.com/porkchops.shtml When I think of pork chops I think of a pan seared no flavor dinner disaster. I guess this is just how I remember pork chops from my youth. I was walking through the grocery store and I saw some incredible bone-in pork chops and a light bulb went off.... http://grilling24x7.com/porkchops.shtml Sun, 20 Jun 2010 01:30:33 EST http://www.grilling24x7.com/jpepper.shtml This has been on my "to try" list for quite some time now. What could be better than a spicy jalepeno pepper stuffed with cheese and wrapped in bacon and then smoked for a couple of hours? Hmm, I'm not sure. I've read that these are sometimes referred to as "atomic buffalo turds" but that doesn't sound like something I'd like to show up to a tailgate with, so from here on out they are simply referred to as stuffed jalapeno peppers... http://grilling24x7.com/jpepper.shtml