The Stanley team loves BBQing so much we’re always looking for an excuse to fire up the grill, shake up a few cocktails and get down. Here are some of our favorites for a backyard gathering, such as featuring a herb stuffed cedar plank salmon; or smoked, grilled flank steak, served thinly sliced fresh roasted root vegetables, and all of the fixings you could want at a cookout. And every gathering needs a signature drink, such as the Stanley Cider Mule, a perfect mix of sweet, spicy, and strong to kick.
Fresh Grilled Vegetables With A Dijon, Olive Oil, And Lemon Glaze
Forget boring, limp veggies thrown in as an afterthought: This recipe is designed to convert even the staunchest meat fanatics.
1. Get yourself some good organic carrots, asparagus, fingerling pomme de terres (that’s taters, for the less continental), onions, etc. Cut them plant bits into your desired shape, though we suggest a ‘long aspect ratio’ for good, even roasting.
2. Take a drink of your cocktail.
3. Whisk together liberal amounts of olive oil, balsamic vinegar, kosher salt, fresh ground pepper, lemon juice, and dry Italian herb mix. Don’t sweat the exact measurements; just make sure it tastes good. Glaze, check!
4. Add the veggies and the glaze to a large mixing bowl and toss.
5. Cocktail break. Hey, you must stay hydrated.
6. Grill the glazed veggies at medium-high heat on the top rack (in the lid) of a gas grill. This step is essential! The hot/dry/indirect heat at the top rack is the only way to get a good even roast without turning your veggies into a less-than-appetizing charcoal briquette.
7. Turn the veggies at the 6-8 minute mark or once they start to get a bit black at the edges. Then roast for another 6-8 min or until they look roasted, nicely roasted. Finish cocktail. If not serving veggies immediately, toss them into a crock to keep warm for hours!
Fresh Grilled Vegetables With A Dijon, Olive Oil, And Lemon Glaze
One Side Grilled Broccoli
End up with extra veggie glaze? Perfect, you can make these flavorful florets with the remainder.
- Make a second cocktail, take a sip.
- Cut your broccoli into long stem style bits and blanch in a pot of water seasoned with kosher salt and a smashed clove of garlic. Boil for 1-2 minutes.
- Remove broccoli and quickly cool the running cold water over it in a colander. You want to completely halt the cooking effect.
- Coat the broccoli with the same glaze you made for your veggies, described above.
- Now, we aren’t roasting these evil green bits, we’re grilling them on high heat. Broccoli is beefier and can stand up to direct heat better than less robust flora. Preheat your grill on high, and slam the broccoli down directly on the lower main grill surface for 5-10 minutes (or until they look right). DON’T flip them, just pull ‘em off when they look ready to go. Only charring one side is a Michelle Fleming (our Marketing Manager) trick, and it’s clutch.
- Finish with a spritz of fresh lemon juice.
Slow-Smoked Dry Rub Cured Flank Steak
- Take flank steak(s) out of the fridge and make very slight crosshatch slices on both steak surfaces with a SHARP knife (is there any other kind?).
- Rub your favorite seasoning onto the surface of the meat. Massage it into the crosshatching that you created in the step above. Be liberal with the seasoning since seasoning tastes awesome.
- Smoke the steaks at 180-200 F in steady hickory or apple smoke. This can be done in a smoker or on a grill with a wood chip box. Total cook time 3-4 hours. Yeah, we know it’s a long time, but trust us, it’s worth it.
- Pull the steak off the grill, and slice it into pieces. Cut perpendicular to the grain of the meat.
- Enjoy.
Smoke Finished Herb Stuffed Chinook Salmon Fillet
Grilled fish can be a minefield, but this recipe is perfect even for BBQ newbies.
- Go fishing (or to the store) and obtain salmon fillet(s). Also, get cedar planks approximately the same size as the fish mentioned above.
- Rinse off the fillet and layout on a large cutting board. Carefully - bordering on sensually - pat both sides of the fillet dry with paper towels. Ignore the confused and horrified stares of those around you who don’t understand the connection you and this fillet share.
- With the skin facing up, roll the fillet into an arch shape and put a roughly ½ inch deep perpendicular slice every 2-3 inches down the length of the fillet. These slices will serve as pockets for our fresh herb stuffing and relax the fillet and help it stay flat on the grill.
- Chop a seafood fresh herb mix, stems, and all. If the old Norse Vikings could eat herb stems, we can too. Take a sip of aquavit or mead, contemplate entry to Valhalla, and repeat.
- Stuff the herb chop into the slices that you’ve made in the fillet.
- Flip the stuffed fillet so that it is flesh-side facing up. Coat the flesh with a liberal olive oil, kosher salt, and fresh ground pepper.
- Soak cedar planks in water for 10 to 30 minutes before cooking.
- Heat grill to medium-high.
- Put fillet, flesh side down, onto the grill. This will sear the flesh, lock in some moisture, and give a nice crispy texture.
- Keep searing until the fish starts to free itself from the grill surface. It will stick if you move it too early. Once the fish frees up, turn the fillet 45 degrees to get a lovely gill hatch pattern. Once you’ve shifted the fillet, only sear for two minutes.
- Put cedar plank down on grill surface and flip the fillet (skin down on wood, flesh towards the heavens) onto the plank.
- Cook until plank catches fire around the edges; this will provide a nice finish smoke taste. Yet, keep an eye on things with a meat thermometer to make sure you don’t overcook the fish.
- Finish with a sprinkle of fresh lemon juice
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