Top 5 Labor Day Weekend Recipes on the Grill

It’s officially one of three weekends in America dedicated almost exclusively to hamburgers, hot dogs, grills and beers, yes Labor Day weekend!

These are my top 5 recipes on the grill for your weekend BBQ!

1. Bacon Wrapped Hot Dogs

2. Grilled Jalapeño Poppers

3. Blue Cheese Stuffed Burgers

4. Mexican Chorizo Meatballs

5. Chili Lime Garlic Grilled Shrimp

What are you waiting for, fire up the grill, grab a cold one and enjoy a weekend of good food, friends and relaxation!  Happy Labor Day Weekend from LLB!

Smoked Brisket

Aw the almighty smoker. Not all of us own one ourselves, but I’m sure if you’re from Oklahoma, someone in your family does! My grandpa’s was passed on to my Dad after he passed away and we put it to good use while I was in Oklahoma this summer.  This is our recipe for Smoked Brisket.

Ingredients (marinade)

• 12-14 lb boneless trimmed brisket
• 1 cup soy sauce
• 1/2 cup brown sugar
• 1 tbsp liquid smoke
• 1 tsp garlic powder
• 3 tbsp white vinegar

Start by placing the brisket in a large bowl or dish, leaving enough room for it to be covered in the marinade. Next, combine all of the marinade ingredients in a medium bowl.

Then pour the marinade over the brisket to cover.

Cover with aluminum foil and place in the refrigerator for 6-8 hours. I left mine overnight.  If you value food over sleep, I turned my brisket every 2 hours so that both sides would get all the juicy marinade in there, but I understand if you value sleep, just do a couple flips before going to bed!

After the brisket is well marinated, it’s time to give it a good rub!

Ingredients (dry rub)

• 4 tbsp kosher salt
• 2 tbsp black pepper
• 2 tbsp garlic powder
• 2 tbsp onion powder
• 1 tbsp chili powder
• 2 tsp oregano
• 2 tsp parsley
• 1 tsp sugar

Combine all of the ingredients in a small mixing bowl, then rub generously over the entire brisket.

Oh yeah, looking good and ready to start smoking!

Place on a large sheet of foil in the smoker and begin the smoking process.

While the meat starts to smoke, prepare the wet mopping sauce.

Ingredients

• 1/2 cup white vinegar
• 1/2 cup canola oil
• 1/2 cup red cooking wine
• 1 onion (sliced)
• 3 cloves garlic (crushed)
• 1 lemon (sliced)
• 1 tbsp black pepper
• 1 tbsp kosher salt

Place the vinegar, oil and wine in a medium saucepan over medium/high heat. Bring to a slight boil, then add the, onion, garlic lemon, pepper and salt.  Reduce to low and simmer for 15-20 minutes.

Take the wet mop out to the smoker and generously brush the brisket.

Continue this process about every 30 minutes for the next 6-8 hours while the meat is smoking.

Remove that gorgeous piece of meat from the smoker and let rest for 15-20 minutes before slicing.

Slice thinly for a delicious meat plate or for placing on a bun and making into a delightful BBQ sandwich!

This delicious smoked meat was the star of the BBQ!

♦ Gluten Free Option: This recipe is gluten-free.

♥ All pottery seen on the littleleopardbook can be purchased by visiting www.longaberger.com/muffetbond or e-mailing keepsakebl@sbcglobal.net.

Watermelon Tomato Salad

What says summer more than fresh watermelon?  We’ve hit the peak of summer and this little salad is the perfect side for a BBQ or a fresh and healthy lunch!

Ingredients

• 3 cups cubed (or balled) watermelon
• 2 cups grape tomatoes (sliced in half)
• 5 oz feta cheese
• 1/4 cup fresh mint (chopped)
• 1/2 red onion (chopped)
• 2 tbsp balsamic vinegar
• 1/4 cup olive oil

Start by slicing open a watermelon and cutting out cubes or use a watermelon baller (if you ball like that, haha) as my Dad so perfectly displays! He’s such a baller

Place into a large bowl, then begin slicing the grape tomatoes in half and add to the watermelon.

Next, add the feta cheese, mint and onion.  Chill in the refrigerator until ready to serve.

Before serving drizzle with the olive oil and vinegar and toss well.

This dish was a huge hit at my family BBQ last month, along with its friends the pulled pork, skillet potatoes, jicama slaw and smoked brisket!

… yeah, that’s a lot of food!  I ♥ BBQ’s!

♣ Vegetarian Option: This recipe is vegetarian.

♦ Gluten Free Option: This recipe is gluten-free.

♥ All pottery seen on the littleleopardbook can be purchased by visiting www.longaberger.com/muffetbond or e-mailing keepsakebl@sbcglobal.net.

Cast Iron Skillet Rustic Potatoes

So you may have noticed a trend in my recipes lately, the overwhelming use of a cast iron skillet! Two weeks after my time in Oklahoma I realized my Dad had been holding out on me, there were 2 cast iron skillets hiding in the corner of a kitchen cabinet!

After finding out this new little family secret, I immediately busted out my LLB “recipe to-do list” and began making anything I had desired to make with my nonexistent cast iron skillet!

These potatoes were the perfect BBQ side dish but would work well with any meal! Easy to make, yet packed with flavor and the presentation looks great!

Ingredients

• 4 tbsp butter
• 4 baking potatoes (sliced)
• 1/2 white onion (sliced)
• 4 cloves garlic (crushed)
• 4 fresh thyme sprigs
• 2 tbsp steak seasoning
• 1 tbsp rosemary leaves

Start by slicing the potatoes and onions.  A mandolin would be great for this, but if you don’t have one (like me!) do it the old-fashioned way and slice away with a knife!

Next, melt 2 tbsp of butter in a 12″ cast iron skillet over low heat.

Then begin layering the potatoes, slightly overlapping, on to the melted butter.

As you go, layer onions and sprinkle seasonings and one clove crushed garlic over each layer.

Continue layering the potatoes and seasonings.

Once filled to the top (should be about 4 layers) slice the additional 2 tbsp of butter into cubes and place on top of the potatoes.

Place in the oven at 375° for 30-35 minutes.

Crispy, flavorful, rustic deliciousness!

A great alternative to fried potatoes!

♣ Vegetarian Option: This recipe is vegetarian.

♦ Gluten Free Option: This recipe is gluten-free.

Jicama Slaw

For our family BBQ a couple of weeks ago I decided to change-up my Pulled Pork Sliders with a new Jicama Slaw.  It went over extremely well!  No mayonnaise or heavy dressing, just lots of fresh veggies and spices that make it a delightfully flavorful, yet light side dish!

Ingredients

• 1/2 head red cabbage (shredded)
• 1/2 head green cabbage (shredded)
• 1 large jicama (peeled and julienned)
• 1 red bell pepper (julienned)
• 1/2 cup carrots (julienned)
• 1/4 cup green onions (chopped)
• 1/4 cup cilantro (chopped)
• 1 lime (juiced)
• 1/2 cup white vinegar
• 1/2 cup olive oil
• 2 tbsp dijon mustard
• 2 tbsp orange juice
• 1 tbsp brown sugar
• 1/2 tsp ground coriander
• 1/2 tsp black pepper
• 1/4 tsp celery salt
• 1/4 tsp ground cumin

Start by combining all of the chopped, shredded and julienned vegetables into a large bowl.

Next make the vinaigrette dressing by whisking together all of the ingredients from the juiced lime down.

Now lightly pour the dressing over the slaw. If you prefer a “less-dressed” slaw, only use part of the dressing and reserve the rest in the refrigerator to dress a salad or more slaw in the future.

Now toss together well.

And with that the new and improved BBQ side dish is ready to be served!

That extra crunch and flavor of the jicama adds something that people just eat right up!

With no mayonnaise and very little sugar, this slaw is delicious and guilt free!

♣ Vegetarian Option: This recipe is vegetarian.

♦ Gluten Free Option: This recipe is gluten-free.

♥ All pottery seen on the littleleopardbook can be purchased by visiting www.longaberger.com/muffetbond or e-mailing keepsakebl@sbcglobal.net.