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Think of decent weather, summertime, and out of doors activities, and you'll soon be thinking of planning a picnic. There isn't anything like sharing food in outside to give you masses of reasons to smile.

Setting fire to the griddle for a picnic generally brings on thoughts of hamburgers, hot dogs, and grilled chicken. That's all dandy and certainly toothsome, but, rather than the usual old barbecue recipes do you want your grilled food to stand out a little from the rest? Perhaps there are ways to present well-known favorites on the griddle in new ways,or even try something totally different. Here are one or two thoughts about new methods to griddle up some summer dishes:

Sauce Ideas

One well-liked ingredient in many grilled main dishes is barbeque sauces and other kinds of glazes and marinades. There are many hundreds or possibly thousands of recipes to add more flavor to whatever you're cooking. If you have been barbecuing for years, you have probably made your own sauces or have found one or two favourites. But , maybe it is time to rethink those sauces.

Begin by messing with a complete range of ingredients. Don’t limit yourself to the ingredients you have been using. We know you instantly pull out the mustard, ketchup, brown sugar, vinegar, and honey, but what else is there to make a sauce for the grill?

Have a look first in the fruit bin. Consider the lemons, limes, oranges, apples, and yes, even the watermelon, strawberries, blueberries, and kiwis. Now, pull open the vegetable bin and grab the fresh tomatoes, cucumber, bell peppers, celery, onion, and even avocados. Turn to your cupboard and take out the apple jelly, orange jam, maple syrup, raisins, dried cranberries, red wine vinegar, tarragon vinegar, and all of the dressings, including Ranch, French, Thousand Island, and Green Goddess. And, do not forget the spice rack. There's basically nothing off boundaries “grab it all.

Don’t be scared to grate, smash, or cook ingredients together that you could never have employed in the same sauce before. Mix contrasting flavours “tasty with sweet, tangy with smooth, creamy with crunchy “until you have a unique sauce you can call your own.

Now, marinade, glaze, or brush the sauce onto whatever you are griddling. Try a fruity white sauce on meat; a tomato-based hot sauce on fish; or a savoury herbed sauce on fruit. Put it on the grill and see what occurs. You’ll have new dishes which will perk up and surprise the taste receptors. And, isn’t that what barbecuing is all about?

Main Dish Ideas

If you are used to throwing a steak on the grill, but want to experiment with other cuts, try barbecuing full roasts. With the right preparation and set up, you can put a giant meat roast or pork roast on the grill, either in a rack or on a rotisserie and surprise your folks and guests with a tender and juicy roast that did not come out of the cooker.

Rather than your common cut up chicken pieces, wings, or legs, try grilling an entire chicken. The juices stay in better when the chicken is entire. Undecided if you have the time for a complete chicken? You can also “butterfly” a chicken by cutting out just the spine and pushing it down flat, keeping the chicken full but providing a flattened version that cooks up in almost no time. Or try these grilled chicken cutlets in a lemon rosemary sauce.

Fish is another grilling favorite at picnics. Use fish that's firm and solid so it griddles well and doesn't break up or become dry. Oily fish like salmon is perfect on the griddle, but there are numerous other sorts of fish that work equally well. Fish griddles best when you don't have to flip it with a spatula, that's the reason why you need to invest in a grilling basket which encloses the fish and you flip the basket instead of the fish itself.

Other seafood that's perfect picnic food for the grill is shrimp, scallops, and lobster. Shrimp can be griddled unpeeled to help to keep them from overcooking. Lobster can be griddled in the shell, also. Employ a tray made for the griddle with smaller slots to keep smaller seafood, like shrimp and scallops, from falling thru. Marinade the seafood in a selection of flavours for a different flavour whenever you have a griddling picnic.

You are saying your taste for a delicious grilled burger is too powerful to pay no attention to? You've still got a lot of selections for variety at your picnic. You can dress up your burgers inside-and-out with numerous different tastes. Remember; beef isn’t the sole burger in the town! Ground turkey, pork, or. Chicken are very good substitutes for those who wish to have a different sort of burger at this year's picnic. But , don't stop there. Salmon and crab beef make great griddled patties, too.

Besides what goes into the pattie, think beyond conventional recipes and marinate your ground beef or fish with anything from red wine to a mixture of Worcestershire, soy sauce, or steak sauce, lemon juice, or balsamic vinegar. Add to the inside of the burger, or as condiments, a spread of flavorful cheeses, hot or mild peppers, nuts, and salsa. Instead of throwing a raw onion on top, caramelize some onions in a cast iron skillet on top of the griddle over low heat. The incredible sweetness will surprise and delight you and your visitors. These are no longer your grandpa’s burgers!

Sometimes, you need to reconsider the way that you ready your main dishes at a grilling picnic to make serving simple. Think shish-kabobs and you hardly need to bring plates! These bite-size pieces are a great way to cook, serve, and eat your favorite foods simply at a grilling picnic. Alternate cut up meat, beef balls, poultry, or seafood with grape tomatoes, pieces of sweet onions, peppers, zucchini, yellow squish, or mushrooms. Some foods lend themselves very well to a tropical taste, too. Include pineapple lumps or citrus with chicken or seafood for a taste of the islands.

Other Dessert Ideas

Sure, you can serve popsicles and watermelon, but the grill is right there, all fired up. Isn’t there something that you can do to put it to work making pleasant desserts? You can start with the old stand-by and toast marshmallows, but do not stop there. Keep going and put together ‘S’mores ‘ using the classic ingredients of toasted marshmallows, graham crackers, and a chocolate bar. Or, you can create unique kinds using toasted marshmallows with stuff like oatmeal cookies, peanut butter cups, white chocolate, and flaked coconut as feasible ingredients. You may have heaps of fun coming up with your own distinct creations here.

Expanding on the pudding theme is easier than you could think with a griddle. As an example, go ahead and cut up that watermelon you brought… But wait.

How about grilling it before serving? Yes, you can griddle water melon, too. Cut it off the rind, into about one inch thick pieces. Grill quickly on both sides till grill marks show. Put it on a plate and drizzle a little bit of balsamic vinaigrette over each piece. The saltiness of the vinaigrette compliments the sweetness of the watermelon in a unimaginable way. Now That is a grilled picnic pleasure!

Choose dessert classics that may be griddled, like pound cake with fruit compote or simple berries tossed together in a barbecuing basket until just lightly charred. You can make banana boats in foil stuffed with mini marshmallows and chocolate chips, or perhaps your preferences lean toward grilled apple slices crowned with a syrup of brown sugar and raisins. Grilled pineapple rings is another classic.

Serve these simply on a plate as they are or use them to top slices of angel food cake or pound cake with a drip of chocolate. As you can see, you can bbq just about anything you would like to serve at your picnic. Even though you choose to serve sandwiches, why not grill them?

When you fire up your grill for your picnic, don’t limit the menu to hotdogs and burgers. Use your imagination. If you can cook it, you can grill it!

Glenda Bule is a zealous collector of bbq recipes and is a contributor to the Easy Recipes For Dinner internet site.