Super Bowl Game Day Grilling

For me game time grilling is out of the question and halftime is too!  Nobody wants to be at the grill unless a TV is nearby.  Pre-game grilling is where it's at for this big game day. An early evening kickoff makes an afternoon appetizer party a great way to nosh, nibble and 'pre-game' as my kids would say, before kick-off.

Grilling appetizers is fun, fast, and an easy way to mix it up with a variety of offerings. Just think of the fun serving grilled cheese sticks, pot-stickers, ravioli, quesadillas, and more to your appreciative guests!

Here are three ideas to make your Super Bowl grilling a fun and easy game day party.

1. Hit the Freezer Section at the Supermarket:

Cheese Sticks and Bread Sticks make easy appetizers right from the freezer to the grill.  Medium to low heat- you'll know when they're done.

Large Ravioli, fresh (we love Costco for these) or frozen is another easy finger-food appetizer.  Coat lightly in olive oil, grill at 400F.  Add a simple dipping sauce such as marinara or vodka sauce.  Raviolis crisp and puff-up when grilled at medium heat.

Potstickers are easy to grill with GrillGrates.  Frozen or not with little coat of oil to the grill at medium heat.  Postickers usually come with their own sauces another time saver.

2. Grill Cheese Quesadillas and Hit the Refrigerator for Salsas & Toppings:

Quesadillas on the grill and a nice platform to put salsas, sour cream, guacamole etc. 

• Two flour tortillas with a cheese mix in the center is a 5 minute grill at 400F.  
• Lightly coat with olive oil- a mister is real handy for applying the oil. 
• A couple of turns for nice grill marks and stiffness.
• Add toppings on or off the grill.  

I make a plate of cut slices for people to build their own toppings.  Grill peppers, brats and other goodies for toppings if you are looking for extended grill time.  OR- raid the refrigerator and clean out your sauces, greens and sour cream!

 

3. Throw a Pizza Party for the Super Bowl!

Use either MamaMary's par-baked crusts, make your own or buy the pre-made pizzas and grill them at 400F.  Check out dozens of grate pizza recipes on grillgrate.com.

• Pizza Grilling Tip:  At temps above 400F the bottom will burn before the toppings are hot.  The more toppings just lower the heat and the crust will stay golden brown and crispy.

What are you grilling for the Super Bowl? 

Share you pictures and recipes!

• Facebook

• SuperBowl Pinterest Board

• Recipe and Feedback link

GrillGrate, Eat Well!  Game ON!

 

The Science of Grate Grilling

After two years in the market with GrillGrates, we are finally ready to better explain how and why GrillGrates work so much better. A lot of feedback from customers, some insightful reviews from foodies and barbecue pro's has helped us realize how truly different Grill Grates are.

Craig "Meathead" Goldwyn of Amazingribs.com has written the most thorough review of the dynamics of GrillGrates to date. We met recently in Memphis at the NBBQA conference and had the chance to discuss further.

Craig thinks GrillGrates grill more effectively for several reasons:

• Conduction (direct heat) The heat is distributed evenly through the GrillGrate to the top of the rails making for not only outstanding searing but more surface area contact with the food for crispier chicken and crunchy sear marks.
  
• Convection (hot moving air) The valleys between the rails swirl with heat. Juices from meat and vegetables vaporize for moist flavor that rises back into the food. For pizza, pasta, garlic bread this will be a dry heat making for crispy but not burned foods. Pizza crusts and flour tortillas are outstanding from the combination of conduction and convection.
  
• Infrared (reflective heat). The panels themselves radiate heat because there is a lot of surface area that is heated up by the grill.
  

I need a Georgia Tech engineer who can get me some heat motion video! Shelley are you out there?
GrillGrate, Eat Well!
More Grate science to come.

GrillGrates: VIAGRA for the Grill!

That statement is not a Bradism, that quote comes from Sterling Ball aka Big Poppa of Big Poppa Smokers. Big Poppa Smokers is a new entrant to the BBQ world and he's coming in with gusto. The company is born from Sterling's passion for better grilling and smoking. In his videos you'll also see his other passion, which goes perfect with grilling- music. Check out what Big Poppa has to say about GrillGrate- and check out some the other cool products he's carrying too!

Expand Your Grilling Repertoire and Grill A 3 Course Meal this Memorial Day Weekend!

America is heading to their backyard grills this weekend, now more than ever. Backyard grilling is one of the positives coming out of this challenging economy. More time around the grill with friends and family is never a bad thing. Are you grilling more these days? Here are a few tips to take your grilling up a few notches and stretch the food budget too.

1. Start with Appetizers- Extend grilling and chilling time and give everyone a little nosh. Delight your guests with Grilled Ravioli, Quesadillas or Pizzas. Now for the best part- they are all simple on the grill- especially with GrillGrates.
2. Do a Grilled Vegetable Plater- part 2 of extending grilling and chilling time. Fill the grill with a medley of vegetables- whole and sliced: zuchinni, squash, peppers, carrots, and peeled wedges of beets, sweet potatoes and more. Coat or spritz with olive oil, cracked pepper and salt. Grill ahead of the main course and plate all together and keep warm under foil while you tend to the main course. Grilled vegetables will compliment every grilled meal.
3. Grill Dessert- Quesadillas make marvelous desserts. Easy to make ahead of time and 10 minutes on the grill delivers a finishing flourish to an easy three course meal. Try Christoper Columbus Apple Pie or Laura's sliced pears and goat cheese, or my personal favorite- raspberry chocolate yummy.

Grill More and Eat Less this Memorial Day Weekend!
2 min video for easy, healthy, and impress your friends fun three course meal on the grill.

NRA Hot Chef Grilling Challenge on YouTube

I could not resist entering this grilling challenge! Produce a 2 minute video and incorporate hot trends in restaurant fare as reported in the 2009 research from the other NRA- the National Restaurant Association. I focused on #2 top trend (#1 was local organic) which was bite size mini desserts. Winners get a trip to Chicago to attend the National Restaurant Show and do a demo on the main stage. Nice prize, nice contest.

Our raspberry chocolate yummy is a tasty dessert for the table but sticking to bite size pieces will be more difficult. To round out the video we grilled ravioli for appetizer- again a hot trend of appetizers for the table and salmon and asparagus for the main course. We grill appetizers often, it gets everybody noshing and cocktail hour gets a bit of an extension. This recipe fits into our Grill More, Eat Less mantra as long as you stick with the bite-size dessert trend!



Here is a link to all the entries and you can rate my video there but not from inside this blog. I used GrillGrates as the contest also called for new techniques, but I did not to make it a GrillGrate commercial-in fact I never even mentioned them- I was focused on the food! Win, lose or draw it was fun to enter, and I continue to be amazed at the power of YouTube and all this social media stuff!