5 Easy Recipes for your Memorial Day BBQ

BOWLING GREEN, KY - The U.S. has collectively celebrated Memorial Day, originally named Decoration Day after the Civil War, since 1971 to honor the soldiers who have fallen during their service in our military. This year, reports released by AAA estimate “…more than 41.5 million Americans are expected…” to travel during Memorial Day weekend. Whether you’re grilling at home or traveling nearby for a picnic this holiday weekend, we’ve prepared 5 quick and easy recipes you can easily enjoy with your loved ones.

1. Stuffed Onions

Stuffed peppers are a classic BBQ dish, but there’s little that can rival this recipe combining grilled onions, bacon, and beef. In a bowl mix ground beef, salt, pepper, chipotle, cumin, Italian seasoning, garlic powder (or salt), and chunks of pepper jack cheese together. Cut the top and bottom off of a large yellow onion, peel, and remove the core(s). Cut half way through the onion, so that you can peel apart the layers, and stuff each individual layer with your ground beef mixture. Wrap the onion with bacon, or pancetta, and seal it with a toothpick or metal skewer. Throw your stuffed onions on your Duluth Forge BBQ grill and cook for roughly 15 minutes, or until the internal temperature of the beef is at least 165°F.

2. “Perfect” Homemade Burgers

Skip the finesse and keep it simple to make the “perfect” burger during your Memorial Day cookout this weekend. Start by preheating your Duluth Forge grill and portioning out your ground beef equal to the number of burgers you will be cooking. Without mixing in any seasoning, form your ground beef into ½ to ¾ inch patties. Using your thumb, create small indents or depressions in the center of each burger patty. Once your patties are created, sprinkle your seasoning of choice on each side, and then place on an oiled grill. Once the burger is cooked half way through, flip it once to cook the opposite side. When your burger has a nice even grill on each side, or an internal temperature of at least 165°F, remove from heat and serve immediately with your toppings of choice.

Tips:

• Seasoning after your patties are made will help your burger maintain its shape, not fall apart, and juice while cooking.
• Creating an indent, or small depression, in your patty will help the burger cook evenly and retain its juice leaving you with perfect, mouthwatering burgers in minutes.
• Avoid flipping the burger too often or trying to flatten it by pressing down on it with your grilling spatula. Excess flipping means you never get that good char and pressing down on the burger causes the juice to escape leaving you with a dry burger.

3. Cajun Lime Shrimp Tacos

Smoking your shrimp on a Duluth Forge kamado grill is a great way to add more flavor to your tacos without covering them in sauce. Mix fresh lime juice, Cajun seasoning, freshly chopped cilantro, salt, and garlic powder in a bowl. Marinate your shrimp for a few hours, or 20 minutes if you’re tight on time, in this mixture before cooking. We like using hickory for this recipe, but feel free to use whichever smoking wood you prefer or have on hand at the time. In an aluminum foil pan or grill pan lined with butter, smoke your shrimp for 15-20 minutes if your ceramic kamado grill is heated between 200-250°F, or for 30-45 minutes if your grill is closer to a temperature range of 150-200°F. Cooked shrimp should be pink in color, not translucent, and should have an internal temperature of at least 165°F. Warm tortillas for 1 minute on each side to prevent your tacos from falling apart, and top with your favorite slaw, avocado, cheese, and salsa.

4. BBQ Calzones

We’ve said before that our Duluth Forge kamado grills can make just about anything, and that includes this calzone recipe. Pre-made pizza dough and sauce can be used, but if you have your own recipe or the know how we encourage you to stick with those. Start by heating your kamado grill to 450-500°F and place your pizza baking stone inside. While the grill is heating, flour your counter, roll out your rough, and cut it in to 4-6-inch squares depending on how big you want your cooked calzones to be. On one side of the calzone, add your pasta sauce and mozzarella cheese, sliced pepperoni, sausage, mushrooms, diced tomatoes, and onions. Coat the edges of the calzone with melted butter or water to help create a seal. Fold the calzone in half and pinch the edges closed with your fingers or gently press down on the edges with a fork. Lightly flour your pizza peel to place your calzones on the pizza stone in your kamado grill. Brush the top of your calzone with melted butter and chopped rosemary or olive oil. Cook the calzone for 6 minutes on each side or until the crust is a golden color. Remove the calzones with your floured pizza peel and let sit for a minute or two before serving.

5. Kentucky Bourbon Banana Pudding (No Bake)

This recipe adds a twist to your traditional no bake banana pudding by including a splash of good ole Kentucky bourbon. Start by mixing a splash of honey and bourbon in a small bowl. Peel several bananas and cut into medium sized pieces. Coat the bananas in your honey bourbon mixture in a grill pan, and then barbacue for 4 minutes on each side or until caramelized to a light brown color. Layer the bottom of your serving dish with vanilla wafer cookies, and then cover with your instant banana pudding. Top with your grilled honey bourbon bananas or continue to layer until you run out of all your ingredients. For a modern, extra sweet twist, you can add in layers of caramel, toffee, or cookie crumbles.