To be honest, I’m not much of a griller these days, but I do like grill-type food in the summer, with lots of fruits and vegetables. These are a couple of things that I fix.
I really love bison/buffalo burgers. Honestly, I usually just season with salt and pepper and pan fry them, and I like them a little pink. Bison is mostly grass fed and pretty lean, so it can be dry if cooked too well done. I don’t eat them on a bun, but as a main protein accompanied by other things like sauteed mushrooms, green veggies or salad, and a baked potato.
I do mushrooms two different ways that are fairly similar. Slice 1/2 pound of mushrooms and cook them with scallions in olive oil (I like it better than butter in this case) until mostly cooked through (did you know that you can’t overcook mushrooms; see video below), add about 1/4 to 1/3 cup of either dry white or red wine and about a tablespoon of Dijon mustard. Cook down to reduce the liquid and alcohol. If I’m adding white wine, I splash in some heavy cream and cook down to a sauce consistency.
Another grill-type food I do is St. Louis style pork ribs. I usually buy mine in a 3-rack Swift Premium package from Costco, cooking one right away, and freezing the other two for later. The 3-rack package is about ten pounds. I remove any silver skin, and cut the ribs into serving size pieces (1 to 3 ribs), rub them all over with lemon juice, then coat them with a dry rub that I make. This is just about the right amount for a rack of St. Louis style ribs:
- 1/4 cup brown sugar
- 2 teaspoons chili powder (not powdered chili)
- 2 teaspoons sweet paprika
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 1 teaspoon dry mustard
- 1 teaspoon dried oregano leaves (not ground oregano)
- 1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
- 1/2 teaspoon onion powder
- 1/4 teaspoon ground pepper
You could spice this up a bit, if you wanted to, with a little cayenne or other dried chile.
Put the ribs meat-side down in a large baking pan (I use an old lasagna pan, which holds them snugly) and cover tightly with aluminum foil. Bake in a 300 degree oven for two hours, or until the meat is tender. I have also done this part of the cooking in a crock pot, but I honestly don’t remember how long I cooked them.
Drain the liquid from the pan, but don’t throw it away immediately, as you can mix some of the liquid with thick barbecue sauce to make a thinner glaze. At this point, you can finish the ribs either in a very hot oven/broiler, or on your gas or charcoal grill. Glaze the ribs and grill on one side, then turn and glaze again. Watch that they don’t burn, but turn and glaze until they are finished the way that YOU like them! I don’t usually make my own barbecue sauce, but here is a recipe to try. This is not spicy:
- 2 teaspoons olive oil
- 1/2 cup onion, finely diced
- 1 clove garlic, minced
- 1/2 cup cider vinegar
- 1/2 cup water
- 1/2 cup ketchup
- 1/2 cup brown sugar
- 2 Tablespoons molasses
- 2 Tablespoons spicy mustard (like Guldens’ Spicy Brown Mustard)
- 1 Tablespoon Worcestershire Sauce
- 2 teaspoons chili powder (NOT powdered chili pepper)
Instructions:
- Heat oil in a saucepan over medium-high heat and sauté onion & garlic for 2 minutes until golden brown.
- Add everything else and bring to a boil. Reduce heat and cook uncovered, stirring occasionally, for about 25 minutes. Sauce will thicken as it cools.
I love steak, and I like it rare. Any kind will do, but I’m partial to Ribeye. Grilling is great, but I also like a steak cooked in a hot cast iron skillet, and simply seasoned with salt and pepper.
My favorite sides? Simple vegetables and salads – and potatoes. I love fresh sweet corn, any kind of salad, and green vegetables prepared very simply. A good salad to try is a Caprese salad:
- Sliced tomato fresh from your garden or farmer’s market
- Thinly sliced red onion
- Fresh mozzarella cheese, sliced
- Fresh basil leaves
Layer ingredients on a plate, and dress very simply with good olive oil, vinegar, salt and pepper.
I know that some of you have really good recipes to share, so let’s hear about them (even if you have shared them before.)
Now is the season for really great produce and what is better, really?
Now, here is that video about mushrooms that I was talking about:
Stella's Place 
I just remembered that I have a package of dried porcini mushrooms in my pantry. Guess what I’m having for dinner with a Bison burger?
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My grilled meal is chicken breast cooked on the grill with either a teriyaki sauce that I make or slathered in Ranch Dressing. Also, I like corn cooked in the husks down in the coals, zucchini, mushrooms, or whatever skewered, and watermelon to go along with it all. Other favorites are slaw, potato salad, and baked beans, and a hot dog……….all along with watermelon.
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What’s NOT good on the grill LOL! Stella, my favorite is bison steaks! The. Best. Steaks. Ever. ! Better than beef steaks! 500 degrees, 2 minutes on each side, then put over on the unlit side and 4 minutes on each side. Perfect and pink in the middle! Walmart used to sell 2 steaks to a pack for $12. Didn’t take long for them to discontinue that…
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Sounds good! I have had bison steak, but it’s been a while.
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And it uses my favorite ingredient!
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👌😉
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My favorite is kebobs – I was taught the recipe with lamb, which was fine but seldom available here so I use ribeye, sirloin, whatever’s on sale at our local Kroger (which is the most awesome meat market I’ve run across ever.) Cut meat up in 1″ cubes (smaller bites if you prefer) and marinate in 1/2-1/2 Mogan David Concord Grape wine and regular Wishbone Italian dressing. That’s it – I like to do it overnight and if using mushrooms, squash in the mix, throw them in there, too. Onions, peppers, cherry tomatoes, use your imagination. I used to thread them on the skewers for presentation but now we use a special hootus on the grill to cook it all together. Just, yum.
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Grilled burger with grilled pineapple 🙂 Yummo!
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FOund this today, no although burgers aren’t my favorite, it looks really good.
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Grilled okra. Wash well, dry thoroughly, toss in olive oil, season with sea salt and cracked pepper and grill until charring. I never thought I wouldn’t like okra except fried or in a gumbo but man alive grilled is best. Seriously, it’s best when it starts to get black.
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I can’t stand okra but now you’ve gone and made me want to try this! 🤓 😉
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My favorite burger, after ground bison, is a patty melt – burger on buttered toasted rye bread, swiss cheese, grilled onions and mustard. I also like charcoal grilled burgers with sauerkraut and swiss.
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Patty melts are also my favorite, if they are good.
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Great diner food.
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Czar puts thinly sliced potatoes & onions in foil , adds pats of butter and lots of onion & garlic powder, folds it up tightly & flat, then cooks it on the grill with the meat. Cooks quicker the thinner the potatoes.
I like sliced squash and eggplant painted with olive oil then grilled. Easy peasy.
Put fish on oiled foil, cover with sliced onions & multi-color bell peppers. Season as you like. Fold up tightly then cook. Got this at a fancy restaurant in Miami.
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I think in the fancy restaurants they call this “en papillote”.
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Santa Maria style tri-tip coupled with a mustard coleslaw. Perfect combo. If I’m feeling porky then it’s either apple juice injected smoke pork butt or spare ribs. Both smoked with hickory, apple or pecan and both with my homemade bbq sauce.
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I love just about everything on the grill, but sometimes in the middle of winter I crave grilled summer vegetables. I’ve been known to shovel the snow from the path to the Weber and fire up the grill to satisfy this craving!
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