- Yogurt and Indian spiced chicken
- Sausage, lemon and rosemary skewers
- Caramelized grilled peaches with Greek yogurt
Can someone please explain how summer goes by so quickly? Everyone I know is saying the same thing: “How did it get to be August? How do we slow things down?”
It seemed like June was moving along at a leisurely pace and then, well, here we are in mid-August, with fall peeking just around the corner.
How to slow it down? I don’t have the answer. But I do know that lighting up the grill, grabbing a cold drink and some people you care about, and making dinner over an open fire can help.
Have you been grilling the same old same old recipes all summer? Here are three new ideas that might just add spark to this time of year (I refuse to it “the end of summer” just yet!). I’ve also included some tips and advice for making the most of everything you grill.
The first recipe is for a sausage, red onion, lemon and rosemary skewer that couldn’t be simpler. Choose your favorite sausage (hot Italian, sweet, chorizo, etc.) and layer chunks on a skewer alternating with ½ inch-thick slices of lemon and red onion, and sprigs of fresh rosemary. When the skewer hits the grill, the lemon and rosemary smoke just a bit and add incredible flavor to the sausage and onion. Add some pita bread or crusty bread and a summer salad and dinner is done.
Or marinate chicken (dark or white meat) in some yogurt and Indian spices, and let it sit for at least an hour or overnight. The spiced yogurt will not only tenderize the chicken but create a spicy crust when you grill the meat.
And finally, a grilled dessert. Grab a cast iron skillet (or any heatproof heavy skillet) and “melt” some sugar over a hot grill. As soon as the sugar liquifies, you add a peach (or plum, nectarine or apricot) to the hot sugar, cut side down, and watch it caramelize with hot sugar and stone fruit juices. Serve it with Greek yogurt spooned into the cavity and sprinkle with edible flowers or herb flowers. A stunning and unusual way to end a summer meal and a great way to take advantage of all the gorgeous summer fruit.
Grill on!
Grilling tips
- Herbal bed: Grab a bunch of herbs and lay them directly on the grill. Place meat, burgers, chops, fish, or poultry directly on the herbs. The herbs will char and smoke and add an herbal essence to your food. Think of a bed of sage for pork chops or pork roast. Lamb chops or leg of lamb on top of rosemary. Chives or thyme for fish, chicken, etc.
- Take the temperature: When trying to figure out if meat, fish, or poultry is properly cooked, many cooks cut into the grilled food or “stab” it with a fork or knife to take a look at the center and check doneness. Stop! You are going to dry the food out by leaching the juices.
A better alternative is to rely on an instant-read meat thermometer and get the internal temperature of the food. Test the temperature by inserting the thermometer at an angle in the thickest section of meat or fish. Always remove the food from the grill at 5 to 10 degrees below the recommended level because it will continue to rise even after you’ve removed the food from the grill.
- The Department of Agriculture calls for grilled foods to be at slightly higher temperatures than most cooks. Generally, you want:
- Rare beef and lamb at 125 degrees and medium at 140 degrees.
- Pork should be at 150 degrees.
- Dark poultry at 165 to 175 degrees and white meat at 165 degrees.
- Fish should be at 120 degrees for “rare” or fish just cooked through and 130 degrees for “medium.”
Yogurt and Indian spiced marinated chicken
A combination of whole-fat yogurt, ground ginger, cumin, turmeric, cayenne pepper and salt provides a marinade for chicken thighs (or breasts) and creates a beautifully spiced, crusted chicken. Plan on marinating the chicken for at least an hour or cover and refrigerate overnight.
Serve with yogurt (with grated cucumber and mint), warm pita bread or Indian bread like naan, and a cucumber salad. An ice-cold beer or mint tea would be a perfect.
Serves 2 to 3.
INGREDIENTS
- 1 pound chicken thighs or breasts, bone in or boneless, skin on or skinless
- ½ cup whole-fat yogurt
- 1 teaspoon ground ginger
- 1 teaspoon ground cumin
- 1 teaspoon turmeric
- Dash cayenne pepper (how much depends on whether you want it spicy or not)
- Salt and pepper
INSTRUCTIONS
- Place the chicken in a bowl or a plastic bag and coat with all the remaining marinade ingredients. Add a generous amount of salt and pepper. Stir to make sure the chicken is fully coated. Marinate for at least an hour or cover and refrigerate overnight.
- If refrigerated, remove the chicken about 30 minutes before grilling. Heat a charcoal or gas grill to medium-hot, about 400 degrees. Remove the chicken from the marinade; it’s fine and preferable if there’s some clinging to the meat, but you don’t want it dripping with marinade.
- Place the chicken on a grill rack and grill for about 5 to 7 minutes per side, or until golden brown and an internal thermometer registers 165 degrees. Remove and let the temperature rise to 170 or 175 and serve.
Sausage, lemon and rosemary skewers
You can use any type of sausage you like. Layer chunks of sausage with slices of red onion, lemon slices, and rosemary sprigs and place them on a hot grill. The lemon and rosemary add all kinds of good flavor and smoke to your sausage and elevate a truly simple dish. Serve with rice, couscous, or crusty bread and ice-cold white wine or a dry rosé. This recipe can easily be doubled or tripled.
If you’re using bamboo skewers, be sure to soak them in cold water for about an hour. This will prevent them from burning over the hot grill.
Serves 1 to 2.
INGREDIENTS
- 1 sausage, sweet or hot or your favorite sausage cut into 3 inch pieces
- 1 medium red onion, cut into ½-inch thick rounds
- 1 lemon cut into 1 inch round slices, pits removed
- Bunch fresh rosemary
INSTRUCTIONS
- Skewer a piece of sausage, then a slice of red onion, then a slice of lemon, and then place a sprig of rosemary onto the skewer (it’s hard to skewer, so tuck it in next to the lemon and the moisture from the citrus should help it adhere). Repeat.
- Preheat a gas or charcoal grill to hot, about 400 degrees. Place the skewers directly over the fire and grill for about 5 minutes per side, until the sausage is 150 degrees when tested with an internal meat thermometer. Timing depends on the thickness and type of sausage you use, but about 5 minutes per side.
Caramelized grilled peaches with Greek yogurt
I wanted to try something new with grilled stone fruit and had an idea to create a quick caramel by “melting” sugar in a cast iron skillet on a hot grill. Then I added a peach, cut in half and pitted, cut side down in the hot sugar. The peach releases its beautiful juices and caramelizes with the sugar, creating a quick, beautiful dish that can be served for dessert or as a side dish. (You can even serve with toast and mash it on like a grilled jam!)
This recipe is for two peaches and can easily be doubled or tripled. Feel free to substitute any ripe summer stone fruit you have access to. Serve with iced or hot tea.
Serves 2 to 4.
INGREDIENTS
- 2 tablespoons sugar
- 2 ripe peaches, nectarines, plums, or apricots, cut in half and pitted
- About ½ cup Greek yogurt or creme fraiche
- Edible flowers or herb flowers for garnish, like nasturtium, calendula leaves, thyme or chive flowers, etc., optional
INSTRUCTIONS
- Preheat a gas or charcoal grill to hot, about 400 degrees. Place a heat-proof heavy skillet (I used an 8-inch cast iron skillet) onto the hot grill. Let it get hot for 1 minute. Sprinkle on the sugar and let it heat up.
- As soon as it turns to liquid (it will look like sugar water in a matter of minutes) place the peaches, cut side down, directly into the hot sugar. Be careful; it’s very hot. Using a heat-proof spatula or grilling tongs, swirl the peach around in the sugar so it absorbs it. Grill for about 2 to 3 minutes.
- Carefully flip the peach over and grill for another 1 to 2 minutes. Carefully flip once more, cut side down, for 1 more minute. The peach should be golden brown and softened but not mushy.
- Carefully place on a serving plate and let cool for a few minutes. Spoon the yogurt inside the cavity and sprinkle with the edible flowers, if using. Serve warm or room temperature. If grilling the peaches ahead of time, don’t add the yogurt or flowers until just before serving.
Other grilling recipes
Fire up the grill. It’s almost summer barbecue season
- Grilled whole eggplant with tomato sauce and Parmesan
- Grilled Indian-inspired chicken
- Grilled shrimp with a lime-green sauce
Step up your grilling game with 3 marinades and a rhubarb sauce
- Lime-cumin-chili-red wine marinade/sauce
- Quick ginger-soy-rice wine marinade
- Fresh herb-yogurt sauce/marinade
- Rhubarb-ginger BBQ sauce
This article was originally published on WBUR.org.
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