With 67 games in 21 days, March is the perfect time for some grilling madness! Besides having an excuse to grill every night of the week for almost an entire month, March weather is excellent grilling weather. You won’t freeze your fingers off holding your beer, you won’t sweat to death just standing there, and, probably most important of all, there’s no mosquitoes yet!
But if you’re gonna grill every night, you’ll need more than just your go-to recipes to keep your friends and family interested in your endeavor – one can only eat so much steak…of course we have no idea how much that is and we’ve tried to find the limit several times. But as they say, variety is the spice of life! So, with that in mind, we’ve put together a collection of some unique and delicious recipes to keep the fire burning all month long!
Pickle Poppers
Ingredients
- 12 whole baby dill pickles
- 1 8 ounce package cream cheese, softened (1/2 cup)
- 2 ounces cheddar cheese, finely shredded
- 1 – 2 jalapeño peppers, seeded and finely chopped
- ¼ teaspoon garlic powder
- Salt and pepper to taste
- 12 thin slices deli ham or turkey, halved
- 2 tablespoons jalapeño jam or hot pepper jelly (optional)
Directions
- Preheat oven to 350°F. Halve the pickles lengthwise. Carefully scoop out the centers. Pat dry.
- In a medium bowl combine cream cheese, cheddar cheese, jalapeños, garlic powder, salt, and pepper.
- Transfer cream cheese mixture to a re-sealable plastic bag. Snip the corner of the bag and pipe cream cheese mixture into the pickle halves.
- Wrap each pickle half with ham and secure with a toothpick, if needed. Place pickles in a foil-lined baking pan. If desired, brush with jam.
- Bake about 15 minutes or until heated through.
MOINK Balls
(Beef & Pork = Moo & Oink = MOINK)
Ingredients
MOINK Balls
- 36 frozen beef meatballs, thawed
- 12 slices bacon
- 1/4 cup of Meyer’s Smokehouse Seasoning
Cherry Chipotle BBQ Sauce
- 1 bottle Meyer’s Original BBQ sauce
- 1/4 cup cherry juice
- 2 tablespoons Parkay® squeeze margarine
- 1/4 teaspoon chipotle powder
Directions
- Fire up. Prepare a smoker for indirect cooking.
*Alternatively, you can set up a charcoal grill for 2-zone cooking by placing a chimney full of pre-heated charcoal briquets on one side of the grill’s charcoal grate in order to create direct and indirect cooking zones. Adjust the smoker or grill vents to bring the temperature to about 325°F and add 2 to 3 chunks of your favorite smoking wood to the charcoal for flavor. On a gas grill, adjust the temperature knobs so that one half of the grill is off and the other half is heated enough to maintain a temperature of approximately 325°F on the indirect side.
Prep.
- Cut the bacon slices into thirds and wrap each meatball with bacon. Secure the bacon with toothpicks then dust the meatballs with the BBQ dry rub seasoning.
- Place the MOINK balls on the cool side of the grill, cover, and allow them to cook until the bacon is browned and crisp, approximately 35 minutes.
- As the MOINK balls smoke, combine the BBQ sauce and cherry juice in a small saucepan and simmer over medium-low heat until the cherry juice has reduced and the sauce has thickened, approximately 10 minutes. Stir in the margarine and chipotle powder.
- Remove the MOINK balls from the grill. Pour the sauce into a medium sized bowl and use the toothpicks to dip the meatballs into the sauce.
- Plate the MOINK balls and serve immediately.
Smoked Miso Wings
Ingredients
- 3 pounds chicken wings
- 1 cup white or yellow miso paste
- 1/4 cup rice vinegar
- 2 tablespoon mirin
- 1 tablespoon honey
- 1 teaspoon minced fresh ginger
- 1 teaspoon toasted sesame oil
- 1/2 cup water
- 1 teaspoon sesame seeds (optional)
- 1 tablespoon chopped cilantro (optional)
Directions
- Combine the miso paste, rice wine vinegar, mirin, honey, ginger, sesame oil, and water in a mixing bowl and blend well to combine.
- Place the wings in a large re-sealable freezer bag and add the marinade. Seal the bag while removing as much air as possible. Use fingers to work the wings inside the bag to ensure that they are evenly covered with the marinade.
- Refrigerate the wings for a minimum of two hours, overnight is better.
- Prepare a smoker or a grill for 2-zone indirect cooking. Adjust the smoker or grill to bring the temperature to about 225°F in the indirect zone and place 2 to 3 chunks of your favorite smoking wood on the fire.
- Once the smoker or grill is ready, remove the wings from the marinade and pat dry with paper towels.
- Place the wings on the main cooking grate in the indirect heat. Allow the wings to smoke for approximately 1.5 hours until they are tender and have reached a minimum internal temperature of 160°F.
- While the wings are cooking, pour the sesame seeds into a dry frying pan and turn the heat to medium. Let them sit there and toast until they get fragrant and golden brown, about 30 to 60 seconds. Remove them quickly so they don’t burn.
- Remove the wings from the smoker and garnish with the toasted sesame seeds and cilantro before serving.
Shroom Skewers
Ingredients
- 1/2 pound medium fresh mushrooms
- 1/4 cup butter, melted
- 1/2 teaspoon dill weed
- 1/2 teaspoon garlic salt
Directions
- Thread mushrooms on four metal or soaked wooden skewers. Combine butter, dill and garlic salt; brush over mushrooms.
- Grill over medium-high heat for 10-15 minutes or until tender, basting and turning every 5 minutes.
Grilled Squash
Ingredients
- 3 tablespoons olive oil
- 2 garlic cloves, minced
- 1/4 teaspoon salt
- 1/4 teaspoon pepper
- 1 small butternut squash, peeled and cut lengthwise into 1/2-inch slices
Directions
- In a small bowl, combine the oil, garlic, salt and pepper. Brush over squash slices.
- Grill squash, covered, over medium heat or broil 4 in. from the heat for 4-5 minutes on each side or until tender.
Image used under license from Shutterstock.com
