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Heat Up the Grill! Summer’s Here…
Memorial Day starts the summer season for many people. Here in Texas, of course, we’ve had summer for weeks now, and we’ve been grilling regularly, so we’ve got our supplies of marinades, rubs and sauces ready for the peak season. Here’s a sauce you will enjoy:
- 3 cups fresh orange juice
- 1 oz fresh-squeezed lime juice
- 4-6 chipotle chiles
- 2 tablespoons minced garlic
- 3-4 teaspoons dried oregano
- 1 teaspoon cumin seed
- 1 teaspoon freshly-ground black pepper
- 2 oz red wine vinegar
- 1 teaspoon kosher salt
Put everything in your trusty blender and process until smooth. This version of Adobo Sauce will marinate up to 4 pounds of beef or chicken. Keep a little sauce back for serving with the grilled meat. I prefer using chipotles that are packed in tomato sauce, like I find at specialty food shops; but you can use the ones that say “packed in adobo” if you like (or you can’t find the tomatoey ones).
And here’s a good one with a Caribbean flair:
- 1 head garlic (10-12 cloves), or 4 tablespoons minced garlic
- 1 medium white onion, coarsely chopped
- 1 red bell pepper, chopped
- 1 green bell pepper, chopped
- 1 rib celery, chopped
- 1-2 habanero chiles, seeded
- 3 bunches chives, chopped
- 1 bunch curly-leaf parsley, chopped
- 1 bunch fresh thyme, chopped
- 1 bunch fresh marjoram, chopped
- 1/2 cup fresh-squeezed lime juice
Peel the garlic and place in a food processor. Add remaining ingredients and process until coarsely pureed. Season with salt and pepper to taste and refrigerate. You can rub this stuff under the skin of a whole chicken, then refrigerate the chicken overnight before grilling using the beer-can method. Makes for sweet-hot, very juicy chicken! I think this stuff also makes a great marinade for pork.
Remember: When you use the beer-can method to grill a chicken, you don’t need to use beer! (I can’t believe I just said that.) Chicken broth, or any flavored liquid, can be placed in the can.
Whatever you do this Memorial weekend, I hope you take a bit of time to remember those who have served, and in all to many cases died, to make it possible for us to enjoy a long holiday weekend…
Enjoy the Heat!
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