SPICE IT UP

So, are you sick of those hamburgers, hot dogs and steaks yet?

Southern Nevada’s mostly mild climate provides for a nearly year-round grilling season, but the grills seem to come out more during the warmer months. And, as we all know, we’re well into the warmer months right now. The odds are good, then, that the ol’ grilling standbys are becoming about as tiresome as this year’s renditions of "but it’s a dry heat."

What’s a backyard barbecuer to do? Perhaps try expanding his or her repertoire, either by grilling different foods or trying a different method. And that would include hauling out the rotisserie attachment that has been gathering dust in your garage.

Using it will introduce you to a different kind of grilled food, says Matthew Di Bari, acting executive chef at rumjungle at Mandalay Bay. As meats rotate over the heat — preferably mesquite-wood charcoal, as is used at rumjungle — the spinning motion provides for an even caramelizing of the outer surface of the food.

"The flavors are different" when using a rotisserie, agrees Saul Garcia, executive chef at Z’Tejas. "When you use a rotisserie, everything’s nice and moist inside. Take your time, and don’t overcook."

Di Bari suggests starting by marinating the meat, and then basting it with marinade

or sauce as it cooks. If you’ve heard — or experience has shown — that sugar-laden sauces tend to burn on grilled food, Di Bari says, "it’s all about the timing." With beef, for example, he recommends cooking it to rare, then basting it and cooking it just to medium-rare.

What can you grill? Garcia suggests blanching regular or sweet potatoes in boiling water for about 10 minutes, then slicing them, seasoning them with salt and pepper and putting them on the grill. Different varieties of beets can be prepared the same way, he says.

Cut tomatoes in half and season with salt and pepper and add panko for crunch, then grill.

"Zucchini is really good," Garcia adds. "Any kind of peppers. They don’t have to be blanched; just slice and season with olive oil and any kind of seasoning that you like."

Garcia even makes salad on the grill, using romaine cut in half and serving with a dressing of rice vinegar, salt and pepper, or a blue-cheese dressing.

And don’t forget dessert.

"Grill peaches, which gives them a lot of good flavor," Garcia says. "Make a custard. Grill them, puree it all together and finish it up on the stove."

Add some international flavor to the food you’re grilling. Di Bari uses marinades that bring a little Brazilian flair to the meat he rotisseries. Joe Romano, corporate executive chef for Golden Gaming, suggests using Korean bulgoggi barbecue sauce. He bones a whole chicken and marinates it for two days in bulgoggi sauce before grilling it.

Other ways to break out of the norm, he says, include salmon or any other kind of fish, which he marinates. Then he puts the fish on a piece of foil on a grill, with mesquite chips that have soaked overnight in a side smoker.

"Lay the fish in there and put everything on low and it smokes and cooks at the same time," Romano says. The foil promotes even cooking and allows him to put some extra marinade on top of the fish to keep it moist.

A good summertime vegetarian dish, he says, entails fresh corn cut from the cob and tossed with smoked tofu, red peppers, green peppers, a little bit of jalapeno, onions and herbs, "and actually do it the same way you do with the fish — put it on foil and smoke it on the barbecue as well."

The secret is to not limit your options. Try breading balls of mozzarella in flour, egg and seasoned bread crumbs, alternating them on skewers with cherry tomatoes, then grilling briefly.

 

RUMJUNGLE’S JERKED CHICKEN WRAPPED IN BACON WITH GUAVA CHIPOTLE BARBECUE SAUCE

4 pounds chicken thighs (about 10 pieces), cleaned

1 pound sliced bacon

For marinade:

2 ounces dry jerk seasoning

1 cup pineapple juice

3 ounces light brown sugar

 1/2 cup orange juice

2 tablespoons olive oil

Salt and pepper to taste

For sauce:

2 (21-ounce) cans guava paste

7 ounces chipotle peppers in adobo

2 gallons pineapple juice

2 sticks cinnamon

3 star anise

1 pound light brown sugar

2 ounces dried guajillo chili peppers

2 cups orange juice

Salt and pepper, to taste

For marinade: Combine all ingredients and whisk.

Clean chicken thighs and allow to marinate in refrigerator 4 hours to 1 day.

For sauce: In a large sauce pot, combine all ingredients and cook over low heat until liquid is reduced by a third. Puree with an immersion blender or household blender. Strain and refrigerate up to 2 weeks.

Wrap each piece of chicken with bacon, using a bamboo skewer to secure.

Grill or rotisserie until bacon is crisp and chicken is thoroughly cooked, basting chicken with sauce once bacon has become crisp and chicken is almost done, repeating three times for best results. Serves 10-15.

— Recipe from Matthew Di Bari, rumjungle

GRILLED CAESAR SALAD

2 flat anchovy fillets, drained and chopped

1 small garlic clove, chopped

 1/2 cup extra-virgin olive oil

 1/4 teaspoon salt

 1/4 teaspoon black pepper

12 ( 1/2-inch-thick) slices baguette

1 large egg

2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice, or to taste

3 hearts of romaine (18 ounces)

1 ounce finely grated Parmigiano-Reggiano ( 1/2 cup)

Puree anchovies, garlic, oil, salt and pepper in a blender until smooth.

Prepare grill for direct-heat cooking over medium-hot charcoal (moderate heat for gas).

Brush both sides of baguette slices with some of the anchovy dressing, then grill bread, turning over occasionally, until toasted, 1 to 2 minutes. Add egg and lemon juice to dressing in blender and blend until emulsified, 1 to 2 minutes. Season with salt.

Cut romaine hearts in half lengthwise, then grill, cut sides down, covered only if using a gas grill, until grill marks just appear, about 2 minutes. Cut romaine crosswise into 2-inch-wide strips and transfer to a bowl.

Halve or quarter toasts and add to romaine along with Parmigiano-Reggiano.

Toss salad with just enough dressing to coat and serve immediately. Serves 6.

— Recipe from Gourmet magazine

GRILLED CORN

12 ears of corn

Chili-lime butter or herbed butter (recipes follow)

Salt

Clean tips of corn. Soak unshucked corn in cool water for an hour. Place corn on a very hot grill. Cook corn until husks are charred; about 5 to 7 minutes. Remove from grill and carefully remove husks and silk. Slather with chili-lime butter and salt.

Note: (If you want char marks on the corn, after the corn is shucked, replace it on the grill for 2 minutes longer.)

Chili-lime butter:

1 stick unsalted butter, softened

2 teaspoons red chili powder

 1/2 teaspoon salt

1 tablespoon lime juice

1 teaspoon lime zest

Beat butter until creamy. Stir in chili, salt, juice and zest.

Herbed butter:

1 stick unsalted butter, softened

1 tablespoon dill

1 tablespoon chives

1 tablespoon tarragon

 1/2 teaspoon salt

Beat butter until soft. Add herbs and salt. Blend well. Serves 12.

— Recipe from Wild Oats Marketplace

GRILLED MIXED VEGGIES

1 large sweet onion, sliced into  1/4-inch rings

2 peppers (red, orange or yellow), seeded, cored and cut in half

4 portabella mushrooms, stems removed

2 zucchini, trimmed, sliced lengthwise into  1/4-inch planks

2 yellow squash, sliced lengthwise into  1/4-inch planks

1 pound asparagus spears, ends trimmed

1 cup olive oil and balsamic vinaigrette dressing

1 teaspoon each thyme, oregano and basil

Salt and pepper to taste

Combine first six ingredients in a bowl. Add vinaigrette, herbs, salt and pepper; mix well. Marinate for 1 hour or overnight in refrigerator.

Prepare a medium-hot fire in grill. Place vegetables in grill basket (reserve marinade) and grill for 15 minutes, stirring two or three times. Place veggies on a platter and serve with extra marinade. (If you don’t have a grill basket, the vegetables may be cooked directly on the grill.) Serves 4.

— Recipe from Wild Oats Marketplace

GRILLED PIZZA WITH PESTO AND ROMA TOMATOES

 1/2 cup cornmeal

1 pound fresh pizza dough

Cilantro pesto (recipe follows)

8 ounces pepper jack cheese, shredded

4 ripe Roma tomatoes, thinly sliced

Cooking oil for grill

Prepare a hot fire in the grill. Sprinkle 2 tablespoons cornmeal over work surface. Roll dough into two 10-inch rounds. Brush grill with oil. Place dough on grill. (If your grill has widely spaced grates, cover with foil before grilling.) Cover and cook for 3 to 4 minutes. Turn pizzas over. Spread pesto over pizzas. Sprinkle with cheese, cover and cook for 2 to 3 minutes longer. Remove, garnish with tomatoes, slice and serve.

Cilantro pesto:

3 bunches cilantro

Juice of 1 lime

1 jalapeno, seeded

2 cloves garlic, chopped

 1/2 cup pine nuts

 1/4 cup Parmigiano-Reggiano cheese

 1/2 cup extra-virgin olive oil

Salt to taste

Combine cilantro, lime juice, jalapeno, garlic, pine nuts and cheese in blender or food processor and puree. Drizzle in oil and blend into a paste. Refrigerate until needed. Serves 4.

— Recipe from Wild Oats Marketplace