Grilled Honey Garlic Eggplant

Ingredients:

  • 2 baby eggplants
  • 1 tablespoon honey
  • 2 tablespoons olive oil
  • 2 cloves garlic, mashed
  • 1/4 teaspoon Sriracha sauce
  • 2 teaspoons balsamic vinegar
  • Salt and Pepper to taste

Directions:

Pre-heat your grill to high.

With a potato peel remove strips of skin off the eggplant.  Slice the eggplant, long ways, into 1/2 inch slices.  Arrange the eggplant slices on sheets of paper towels.

Season the the eggplant slices with a generous amount of salt on both sides.  This will cause the eggplant to release most of the liquid they contain, removing the bitterness of the eggplant while causing it to be less watery during grilling.  Let the salted eggplant set for about 15 minutes, then pat dry with additional paper towels.

In a bowl mix honey, olive oil, garlic Sriracha, balsamic vinegar, salt and pepper.  Dip both sides of each eggplant slice into mixture.  Oil grilled.  Place eggplant slices on the grill, cover.  Grill for about 3 minutes, rotate 90 degrees and grill for an additional 3 minutes.  Brush  remaining sauce on the slices, flip and repeat process.  Adjust heat through the grilling to insure eggplant is not burning.

Serve immediately.

September 3rd, 2010 | Tags: , , , , , , , | Category: Recipe, Sides | Leave a comment

BBQ Grail Salsa Beans

Ingredients
  • 1 pound dried pinto beans
  • 1 12 oz jar of salsa (brand and heat level of your choice)
  • 1 tablespoon salt
  • 2 tablespoons sugar
  • 1 tablespoon ground cumin
  • 1 teaspoon ground pepper
  • 1 tablespoon “Johnny’s Au Jus Sauce”
  • 2 tablespoons bacon drippings
  • 1 medium onion, chopped
  • 1/2 pound smoked sausage, diced
Directions

Sort and rinse the beans thoroughly.  Place beans in a bowl.  Puree the salsa in a food processor or blender and add it to the beans.  Add water to the bowls so the beans are just covered.  Let the beans soak overnight.  For the first couple of hours watch the beans and add just enough water to the bowl to keep the beans covered with liquid.  The idea is to let the beans soak up as much of the salsa flavoring as possible.

The next morning put the beans in a dutch oven and add all the seasonings.  Saute the onions in the bacon drippings and add them to the bean mixture.  Toss in the sausage and cook the beans on low to medium heat until tender.

NOTE:  Depending on the exact heat and flavor you want you can use “hot” salsa or include your chile of choice, finely chopped.

August 15th, 2010 | Tags: , , , , | Category: Recipe, Sides | One comment

BBQ Grail's Grilled Butternut Squash

Growing up I was never exposed to very many different fresh vegetables.  Vegetables were something you “had” to have on the plate and for the most part not a great deal of thought went into them.  Most of the time they were the frozen type that got nuked in the microwave just before we all sat down at the table.

Winter squash is a vegetable that has always sort of baffled me.  I’d pick them up at the store and wonder just how in the world you could eat something as hard as these appeared to be.  Last year I gave Acorn Squash a try for the first time and really enjoyed the flavors it gave me off the grill.  So when Mrs. Grail sent me to the store with the instruction of “just get a vegetable” I decided to give Butternut Squash a try.  The squash grilled up great and tasted fantastic.

Continue reading BBQ Grail’s Grilled Butternut Squash
July 25th, 2010 | Tags: , , , , , , , | Category: Sides | 9 comments

Grilled Zucchini Fries

One of my favorite blogs belongs to John Dawson in Boise, Idaho.  His website PatioDaddio BBQ has some of the best and most innovative recipes in the BBQ blog world.  Not only is John a great cook but his kindness and generosity is the best.  He is always willing to share all his recipes, techniques and know-how.  He recently posted a recipe for zucchini fries.   The recipe is 100% John’s except for a change in the seasoning. Here is my take on John’s recipe.  (John’s original version can be found here.)

Continue reading Grilled Zucchini Fries

July 19th, 2010 | Tags: , , , , , , | Category: Sides | 3 comments

Mrs. Grail's B.T.P. Salad

Mrs. Grail (Celeste) is usually responsible for our side dishes.  I asked her to come up with a new pasta salad to go with some grilled turkey we had for dinner.  She came up with a real winner.  The Bacon Tomato Pasta Salad!

Continue reading Mrs. Grail’s B.T.P. Salad

July 18th, 2010 | Tags: , , , , , , , , | Category: Sides | 3 comments

Goetta: An interesting take on sausage

I learn so much from my fellow BBQ enthusiasts on The BBQ Brethren. There is not a greater group of people in the world. They are willing to share everything they know. Learning about different “meat” products is a great way to increase one’s smoking and grilling skills. Recently there was a discussion of Goetta on the forum and this lead me to giving it a try.

Continue reading Goetta: An interesting take on sausage

April 6th, 2010 | Tags: , , , , , , , | Category: Sides | Leave a comment

“Dirty” Grilled Acorn Squash

For as long as I can remember I have had an aversion to squash.  Growing up we didn’t eat it at all and then once I left home my only exposure to squash was in the Army mess hall where zucchini was steamed/boiled to something that resembled green mush  with seeds.  (I had a more vivid example but since it dealt with baby diapers I decided to leave it out)

I did learn to love zucchini bread and I could power down a plate of of breaded and fried zucchini when it was available.  But eating squash on a dinner plate just didn’t happen much.  Over the years, with my wife’s help, I have learned to cook and eat a variety of squashes.  You know the “soft” or summer squashes.  But the rock hard  winter squash just wasn’t something I was willing to try.  Last night I may have changed my squash eating habits for good with some grilled acorn squash.

Give yourself yourself plenty of time to cook acorn squash, at least an hour of actual time on the grill. 

Cut your acorn squash in half and remove the seeds and pulp

Cut your acorn squash in half and remove the seeds and pulp

Brush the squash with mixture. Set your grill up for "indirect" heat with about 3/4 of a chimney of lit charcoal. I used my 22.5 inch Weber Kettle for this recipe.

Brush the squash with mixture. Set your grill up for "indirect" heat with about 3/4 of a chimney of lit charcoal. I used my 22.5 inch Weber Kettle for this recipe. If using a gas grill make sure you can set up your grill for indirect cooking. Most gas grills today allow you turn onside off while have the other side still lit.

30 minutes (about half way) I brushed on another coating of the mixture and sprinkled some additional "Todd's Dirt" on the squash.

30 minutes (about half way) I brushed on another coating of the mixture and sprinkled some additional "Todd's Dirt" on the squash.

Sprinkle the Asiago Cheese over the squash. The asiago cheese will compliment the nutty flavor of the acorn squash and give it a nice little crunch as it browns.

Sprinkle the Asiago Cheese over the squash. The asiago cheese will compliment the nutty flavor of the acorn squash and give it a nice little crunch as it browns.

Continue to grill the acorn squash until it's done. It's done when a knife or fork can easily be inserted into the flesh of the squash.

Continue to grill the acorn squash until it's done. It's done when a knife or fork can easily be inserted into the flesh of the squash.

Grilled Acorn Squash Recipe

  • 3 Acorn Squash, halved with seeds and pulp removed
  • 1/2 cup grated Asiago Cheese
  • 4 tablespoons butter
  • 1 tablespoon brown sugar (dark if you’ve got it)
  • 1 teaspoon “Todd’s Dirt Seasoning” *
  • 1 teaspoon maple syrup

Mix all ingredients, except Asiago Cheese, in a small sauce pan until melted and evenly mixed.  Brush this mixture on your acorn squash.

*I prefer “Todd’s Dirt Seasoning” but you can substitute any other herb you want.  Sage works very well with this recipe.

October 26th, 2009 | Tags: , , , | Category: Sides | 4 comments
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