Your grill should only be covered for a few reasons: bad weather, you’re out of town, it’s winter, you’ve passed away or married a vegan. Those are all pretty explanatory except for “winter.” Get a jacket and get out there! Sheesh. But if you happen to be averse to winter, we can’t really blame you – this is Central Texas after all. For the sake of this blog let’s just assume you own a coat.
So, you’ve grabbed a coat, jacket, or just wrapped yourself up in blankets, whatever, and yanked the cover off your grill prepared to sizzle up a sultry winter evening! Good for you! And luckily, we’ve got some marvelous winter BBQ recipes to get the whole family outside filling plates and enjoying your warm, summer-like company. Plus, we went ahead and included some that just require an oven because sometimes it does get pretty darn cold!
Bacon Wrapped Carrots
Ingredients
- 2 pounds carrots, well-scrubbed or peeled
- 1 pound bacon
- 1/4 cup maple syrup
Directions
- Wrap the carrots in the bacon.
- Arrange on a wire rack on a baking sheet and roast in a preheated 400F/200C oven until the bacon is crispy and the carrots are tender, about 20-30 minutes, glazing with the maple syrup halfway through. OR Roast/fry the bacon wrapped carrots in a skillet over medium heat until the bacon is crispy, and the carrots are tender, about 20-30 minutes, glazing with the maple syrup halfway through.
Spicy Honey Chicken and Sweet Potato Kebabs
Ingredients
- sweet potatoes
- chicken thighs
- sweet onion
- olive oil
- spices – garlic powder, chili powder, salt, pepper, cumin, paprika, and red chili flakes
- honey
- apple cider vinegar
Directions
- Start off with par-boiling the sweet potatoes first. Peel the potatoes and cut into 1-inch cubes. Place into a small saucepan, cover with water, and bring to a boil. Once boiling, set your timer to 5 minutes and cook until they are nearly cooked through. Drain and transfer to a bowl to cool.
- While the sweet potatoes are cooking, make your spice mixture, which consists of seven different spices that blend so nicely and complement both the chicken and potatoes in the most perfect way. Then make the glaze, which is literally honey + apple cider vinegar whisked together.
- Toss the chicken with half of the spice mixture. Divide the remaining spice mixture between the sweet potatoes and onions and toss to combine.
- Thread chicken, sweet potatoes, and onions onto the skewers. Make sure to soak the skewers in water for at least 30 minutes to prevent burning. Brush the skewers with half of the honey glaze.
- Cook on pre-heated grill over medium direct heat for about 8 minutes, turning frequently. Remove from grill and brush on the remaining glaze. If desired, garnish with fresh basil before serving.
Grilled Chicken Nachos
Ingredients
- 8 ounces tortilla chips
- 2 cups finely grated cheddar cheese
- 1 cup chopped cooked chicken meat (a rotisserie chicken is great for this)
- 1/4 cup Meyer’s Original BBQ Sauce
- 1/2 cup sour cream
- 1 tomato, chopped
- 1/4 red onion, chopped
- 1 jalapeño, thinly sliced
- 1/2 bunch cilantro, chopped
- 1/2 avocado, chopped
Directions
- Preheat grill and prep ingredients: Preheat your grill for high direct heat. While the grill is heating, prep the ingredients.
- Mix BBQ sauce with chicken: Mix the cooked chicken with the BBQ sauce and set aside.
- Make sour cream BBQ sauce: Mix the sour cream with BBQ sauce and set aside.
- Make foil boats: Take the sheets of aluminum foil and crimp the sides so that you have “boats.”
- Assemble nachos: Arrange a layer of tortilla chips over the bottom of the foil. It’s okay if some of the chips overlap, but all chips should have some exposure at the top. Sprinkle with most of the cheese (reserve some to go on top of the chicken). Sprinkle the BBQ sauce coated cooked chopped chicken over the chips. Sprinkle with remaining cheese.
- Grill: Place nacho boats on pre-heated grill, cover and cook for 5 to 10 minutes, until the cheese is melted and the chips are lightly browned at the edges. If your grill doesn’t have a cover (as in a campfire), either make a large foil packet to put the nachos in, or tent the foil boats with another piece of foil. Some of the nachos prepared this way may not be as crispy, but they’ll still be great.
- Serve: To serve, drizzle with sour cream BBQ sauce and sprinkle with extras such as chopped tomato, red onion, jalapeño, and/or cilantro.
Stuffed Butternut Squash
Ingredients
- 2 whole butternut squash
- 1 tablespoon unsalted butter, melted
- pinch of kosher salt
- 2 tablespoons unsalted butter
- 1 cup Basmati Rice
- 2 cups chicken broth (or vegetable broth)
- 1/2 cup cheddar cheese, shredded
- 15 ounces black beans, drained and rinsed
- 2 cups salsa
- 1 cup frozen corn kernels, thawed
- 1/4 cup freshly chopped cilantro
- 1 teaspoon cumin
- 1 teaspoon chili powder
- 1 teaspoon garlic powder
- salt & pepper to taste
- 4 tablespoons cheddar cheese, shredded
- Guacamole
- Sour Cream
Directions
- To make the butternut squash bowls preheat the oven to 400°F. Scrub the outside of the squash clean and cut each in half down the middle from the stem to the root end. Scoop out the seeds and place on a baking sheet so the inside of the squash is facing up. Melt 1 tablespoon unsalted butter and brush a little on each squash. Sprinkle each squash with a pinch of kosher salt and roast in the oven for 50-60 minutes or until very soft when pierced with a fork.
- When squash is nice and soft, remove it from the oven and allow to cool. Scoop out the inside, leaving a nice border all the way around.
- While the squash is roasting, prepare the rice. Melt 2 tablespoons unsalted butter in a large skillet and add 1 cup Basmati rice. Cook the rice until lightly toasted and add 2 cups of broth. Bring to a boil, cover, and reduce heat to low. Simmer for 15-20 minutes until most of the water is absorbed. Remove from heat and rest for 5-10 minutes, covered.
- Fluff rice with a fork and add 1/2 cup cheddar cheese, black beans, 2 cups salsa, 1 cup corn kernels, 1/4 cup freshly chopped cilantro, 1 teaspoon cumin, 1 teaspoon chili powder, and 1 teaspoon garlic powder. Mix that all up and give it a taste. Add salt and pepper to your liking. Reserve until ready to stuff squash.
- Spoon the rice mixture into the squash bowls to fill. Try to divide it evenly. Top each stuffed squash with a tablespoon of shredded cheese, or more to your liking and bake in the 400°F oven until the cheese is melted and everything is heated through about 15 minutes. Remove from oven and serve with sour cream and guacamole. Enjoy!
BBQ Chicken Pineapple Bacon Kebabs
Ingredients
- 2 large chicken breasts cut into 1 1/2″ – 2″ chunks, salted lightly
- 1 1/2 cups Meyer’s Honey Mesquite BBQ sauce
- 1 lb. bacon cut into 1″- 1 1/2″ segments
- fresh pineapple cut into 2″ chunks
Directions
- Combine chicken pieces with 1 cup of the BBQ sauce and marinate for 2-3 hours. (This step can be omitted if you’re in more of a hungry-hurry.)
- Microwave bacon for 2-5 minutes, depending on the thickness of your bacon and how crispy you like it. Let bacon cool slightly.
- Using wooden skewers previously soaked in water for at least 1 hour (or metal skewers!) thread chicken, bacon pieces and pineapple in a pattern. The larger pieces of pineapple are easier to skewer. Fold thin bacon pieces over in half and arrange next to the chicken, being careful to not put the bacon pieces too close to anything else, so that they have space to heat up properly to cook.
- Grill kabobs until chicken reaches 155-160 degrees F. Slather remaining 1/2 cup of BBQ sauce on kabobs when they’re nearly cooked. Cover loosely with foil and let sit for 5-10 minutes before serving.
Whole Grilled Lobster
Ingredients
- 8 tbsp. unsalted butter, softened
- 2 tbsp. finely chopped parsley
- 1 1⁄2 tsp. crushed red chile flakes
- 4 cloves garlic, finely chopped
- Zest of 1 lemon
- Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper, to taste
- 1 live lobster (about 1 to 1 1⁄2 lb.)
- 1⁄4 cup olive oil
Directions
- Combine butter, parsley, chili flakes, garlic, lemon zest, salt, and pepper in a bowl; set aside. Using a cleaver, split lobster in half lengthwise through its head and tail. Scoop out and discard the yellow-green tomalley and break off claws. Transfer lobster halves shell side down, to a baking sheet; crack claws and place them on the baking sheet. Drizzle halves and claws with oil, and season with salt and pepper.
- Heat a charcoal grill or set a gas grill to high; bank coals or turn off the burner on one side (see “Grilling 101”). Place lobster halves, flesh side down, and claws on the hottest part of grill; cook until slightly charred, 2-3 minutes. Flip lobster over and using a spoon, spread lobster with the garlic-parsley butter; continue grilling until lobster meat is tender, 3-5 minutes more.
BBQ Chicken Stuffed Bread
Ingredients
- 3 cups shredded chicken
- 1 1/2 cups shredded mozzarella cheese, divided
- 1/4 of a red onion, chopped
- 1/4 cup chopped fresh cilantro
- 3/4 cup Meyer’s Spicy BBQ Sauce, divided
- 1 baguette crusty bread
Directions
- To a large mixing bowl, add chicken, 1 1/4 cups mozzarella cheese, onion, cilantro, and 1/2 cup of barbecue sauce. Stir well to combine. Add a tiny bit more barbecue sauce if the mixture seems too dry.
- Cut the top edge of the bread loaf off and hollow out 1 1/2 inches deep to create a well for the filling. Spoon the BBQ chicken mixture into the loaf. Sprinkle with the remaining 1/4 cup mozzarella cheese. Drizzle with remaining BBQ sauce.
- Place on a baking tray and bake at 325 F degrees for about 20 minutes or until warmed through.
Image used under license from Shutterstock.com
