Grilling for Halloween? Scary yet Delicious Grilled Excuses to Fire it Up!!

Halloween Grilling? Some Scary Ideas!

This post comes from an article that was written by Derrick Riches from About.com. http://bbq.about.com/ We thought it was worth posting as it fits in with our GrillJunkie theme that the grill is never not fired up. As we approach Winter, we always seem to focus in on the next holiday to make up an excuse to fire up the grill. As summer has ended, Labor Day and Columbus Day are behind us, our thoughts are usually focused on Thanksgiving and possibly grilling, smoking or deep frying the turkey outside. However, don't overlook Halloween as an excuse to fire up the grill and get some real food in them before they fill themselves with candy!

You might think of Halloween as little more than an excuse for the kids to fill themselves up on candy, but it’s a good idea to get some real food in them before the bags of candy start being replaced with bags of empty wrappers. Believe it or not the grill is a great way to put together something hot and satisfying, quick and easily. So consider a fun family meal of grilled foods before or after the kids hit the streets.

Of course hamburgers are a favorite of the grill and children, but think outside the bun and try making up some great Halloween pizzas. If you use cheddar cheese instead of mozzarella you get a pumpkin face for the kinds to decorate with black olives, pepperoni, red, orange and green bell peppers or whatever else you like on a pizza. 

They’ll have a blast topping their own pizzas and since they cook up in a few minutes, they won’t drive you crazy waiting to eat. 

Anything finger food is particularly good for Halloween since the kids will be coming and going during the night. It’s also perfect for the parents out escorting the young ones. Whether you’re having a big Halloween party or not, little grilled treats like buffalo wings or yakitori are perfect little treats to carry around the whole evening. 

To top off your Halloween gathering you must have a Witch's Cauldron of Punch, Chocolate Spiders and Chocolate Covered Mice. So flame on the grill and have a safe and scary Halloween.

Source : http://bbq.about.com/

Delicious Burger Recipe - The Topless Wino Burger

The Topless Wino Burger

Served stacked on the bottom bun only, this burger combines the complementary flavors of ground peppercorns, wine, Dijon mustard, tarragon and cream onto a burger that will knock them out and keep them addicted for life!

Ingredients:

• 1 & 1/2 pounds ground chuck ‐ 80% lean
• 1/3 cup Red wine
• 2 tablespoons Dijon mustard
• 1 tablespoons Green peppercorns
• 1 tablespoon chopped fresh tarragon or
• 1 teaspoon dried tarragon
• 1/3 cup Whipping cream
• 8 slices of applewood smoked bacon - cooked
• 1/2 teaspoon sea or kosher salt
• 1/2 freshly ground black peppercorns
• 1/4 cup of canola or light olive oil
• 4 Hamburger buns or Kaiser roll bottoms

Preparation:

1. In a sauce pan, combine red wine and mustard and place over medium heat on a stove or your grill's side burner if available.

2. If using dried tarragon, add it now. Simmer until reduced by half.

3. Add the green peppercorns and cream and simmer until liquid becomes "sauce‐like". Remove from the heat and add fresh tarragon.
 



4. In a large bowl, gently divide the meat into four equal portions. Each patty should consist of approximately 6 ounces of ground meat.

5. Carefully and loosely form each divided portion into a patty that is ¾ ‐ 1 inch thick and about 4 & ½ inches in diameter, again being careful to not overwork the meat. Make a shallow depression in the center of each of the meat patties with your thumb.

6. Once formed, place patties on a clean plate, sprinkle both sides with salt and press the black peppercorn into the meat, cover and refrigerate for at least 20 minutes.

7. Preheat the grill to medium‐high heat and coat grill grates with cooking oil so as to avoid patties from sticking. Remove patties from refrigeration, brush the burgers with light olive or canola oil, and place the patties on the hot grill grates. Grill and sear patties over medium‐high heat for 4‐5 minutes per side, or to desired doneness being sure they are cooked through and have reached an internal temperature of 165 degrees F. Remove grilled patties from grill and let them rest for 2‐3 minutes.

8. To assemble and stack, arrange burgers on toasted bun bottoms, place 2 bacon slices on each patty and generously spoon some of the wine/mustard sauce over the top. If desired, (or a bit modest), top with upper bun.

Smile and Enjoy the Addiction!

This recipe and 364+ more available from our GrillJunkie Burger-a-Day Cookbook available at Amazon.com.

Burger Recipe: The Holy Cow 3 Cheese Burger

The Holy Cow­ 3 CheeseBurger

(One of our most popular recipes from The GrillJunkie Burger a Day Cookbook)

The trinity of "holy" Swiss cheese, goat cheese and Parmesan‐Reggiano laid on a bed of bittersweet basil will have them praising the grilling gods of which you will be their most adored.

Ingredients:

• 1&1/2 pounds ground Chuck ‐ 80 % lean
• 1/2 tablespoon sea salt or Koshersalt
• 1/2 tablespoon freshly ground black peppercorns
• 2 tablespoons oflight olive or canola oil
• 4 slices of Swiss or Gruyere cheese
• 4 slices of goat cheese  ‐ round and thickly sliced to 1/2 inch each
• 1/2 cup freshly grated Parmesan‐Reggiano cheese
• 1 large beefsteak tomato  ‐ thickly sliced to 1/2 inch each
• 1 handful of fresh basil leaves
• 4 hamburger buns or soft Kaiser rolls, split

Preparation:

1. In a large bowl, gently divide the meat into four equal portions. Each patty should consist of approximately 6 ounces of ground meat.

2. Carefully and loosely form each divided portion into a patty that is ¾ ‐1 inch thick and about 4 & 1/2 inches in diameter being careful to not overwork the meat. Make a shallow divot in the center of each of the meat patties with your thumb.

3. Once formed, place patties on a clean plate, sprinkle both sides with salt and pepper, cover and refrigerate for at least 20 minutes.

4. Prepare the grill to medium‐high heat and coat grill grates with cooking oil so as to avoid patties from sticking.

5. Remove patties from refrigeration, brush the burgers with light olive or canola oil, and place the patties on the hot grill grates.

6. Grill and sear patties over medium‐high heat for 4‐5 minutes per side, or to desired doneness being sure they are cooked through and have reached an internal temperature of 165 degrees F. During the last minute of grilling, top each burger with a slice of Swiss, a tomato slice, then the goat cheese topped off with some Parmesan‐ Reggiano. Close the cover or create a heat "tent" by covering each burger loosely with aluminum foil. Remove grilled patties from grill and let them rest for 2‐3 minutes.

7. To serve, place some basil leaves on the bottom halves of each bun, stack a burger patty on top, and cover with upper buns. Add a few bacon strips to each and you have an entirely new burger.

Enjoy! For more recipes stay tuned to our blog as we post frequently and/or check out our Burger a Day Cookbook.