grilling

How to Make The Best Grilled Asparagus

Tender, smoky, and sweet, the best grilled asparagus is the perfect, healthy 15-minute side dish for any meal.

Side dishes are the connectors of the dinner table, the unifiers that bring the meal together. And because there’s usually more than one side dish to your dinner menu, it’s a good idea to keep the recipes easy.

So when I have a main dish that calls for a few ingredients and techniques to employ, I turn to my tried and true simple recipes.

This 15-minute, 2-ingredient grilled asparagus (plus salt and pepper) is definitely at the top of that list.

The best grilled asparagus becomes smoky and sweetly caramelized when the grill does it’s job it does so well, when the outside of these bright green spears become lightly charred and crisped, and the interior soft and tender.

Behold, these are the simple steps for making this vegetable side dish creation the easy way.

continue to the recipe… about How to Make The Best Grilled Asparagus

Grilled Zucchini With Goat Cheese and Pine Nuts

When the garden overfloweth, it’s time to heat up the grill for a turn-eth on the coals-eth for an easy side dish of grilled zucchini topped with creamy goat cheese and pine nuts.

Zucchini are the David Copperfield of the vegetable kingdom.

One minute you’re gazing upon 3-inch still-room-to-grow zucchini when BOOM! with the slight of mother nature’s hand that cute little mini squash has suddenly turned into a 4-pound gargantuan with enough flesh for 324 loaves of zucchini bread or 41 pepperoni stuffed zucchini boats.

That’s veggie magic folks.

And this zucchini side dish is magic too. It’s healthy. It’s easy. And like the Italians do, it can be plated and set on a table to be ,served warm or at room temperature so it’s perfect for serving at a potluck or party.continue to the recipe… about Grilled Zucchini With Goat Cheese and Pine Nuts

The Secret to Grilled Baby Back Ribs

The trick to making perfect grilled baby back ribs every time is to cook them low and slow in the oven before grilling them. Trust me, it works!

The Best Grilled Ribs Recipe

This weekend we’re packing the coolers, loading up the truck with big boy toys and heading out of town with friends to the mountains. It’s one of our favorite weekends filled with deep breaths in the stunning outdoors, leisurely morning coffee time on the aspen tree-lined deck, and way too much laughter. More than most could possibly bear.

After all, we’re a funny and sarcastic group. Or at least we think so.

Besides hanging, hiking, and harassing, it’s the perfect occasion to get together and cook. Our grocery list takes precedence over the contents of our weekend-packed bags. Memorial day calls for chillin’ and grillin’ and nothin’ says grillin’ like RIBS!

My husband has spent many a day trying various methods to create the most succulent pork baby back ribs to suckle and savor upon. So what’s his big secret?

Take them to the oven before they ever hit the fire. Most think baby back ribs need to be cooked over an open grilled flame, but using the grill as a finishing agent instead of your main cooker is the key.

We season then refrigerate, and bake the ribs low and slow until its time for an introduction to the open flame. Sounds like most dating gigs right?

What’s in Grilled Baby Back Ribs?

This grilled ribs recipe requires a handful of ingredients, many of which are spices. The key ingredients are the pork ribs, apple cider, barbecue sauce, and the pork rib rub.

This pork rub is from my brother-in-law, a Virginian cum Texan with a penchant and passion for grilling and smoking. We first tasted this pork rib rub over Easter two years ago and it’s been a go-to for us ever since. I think my husband dreams of this rub as he covets my brother-in-law’s ultimate smoker.

How to Cook Ribs on the Grill

If you’ve never grilled ribs before, don’t be scared! It’s a straightforward process anyone can master. Simply whisk together the homemade pork rub and rub it liberally over the surface of the ribs. Refrigerate the ribs for at least 4 hours, or overnight.

Once the ribs have chilled, place them on a high edged baking sheet that’s been lined with a wire rack. Pour 1 cup of apple cider into the baking sheet and bake the ribs low and slow for 90 minutes. Add more apple cider to the ribs and bake for another 90 minutes before grilling them.

You’ll need to grill the ribs over medium-high heat for roughly 10 minutes per side. Remember: you’re just looking to get some color on them, they don’t need to cook any longer.

Can I Use Pork Spare Ribs Instead?

Most likely, yes. Pork spare ribs aren’t as thick as baby back ribs, so you may need to reduce the amount of time the ribs are in the oven. You’ll know the ribs are ready to be grilled when the meat easily pulls away from the bones.

What Barbecue Sauce Should I Use?

You can use your favorite barbecue sauce in this recipe. It doesn’t matter what style of barbecue sauce it is as long as you love the taste! If you’re itching to make your own barbecue, try making my Raspberry Chipotle BBQ Sauce.

Tips for Making Ribs on the Grill

Make sure you’re using apple cider and NOT apple cider vinegar for this grilled ribs recipe. You want non-alcoholic cider that hasn’t been flavored with cinnamon or other spices.

It’s also important that you place a wire rack in the baking sheet, as you want some of the fat to drip off the ribs. Plus, you don’t want them cooking directly in the apple cider.

Finally, when grilling the ribs, heat them on the grill first, then baste with sauce. If you add the sauce too early you’ll be sure to end up with blackened crusty outtards thanks to the potential for burning the sugar in the barbecue sauce rather than the savory and delicious variety we all crave.

More Easy Grilling Recipes You’ll Love

If you make this recipe, please let me know! Leave a comment below or take a photo and tag me on Instagram or Twitter with #foodiecrusheats.

4.59 from 24 votes

Grilled Baby Back Ribs

The trick to making perfect grilled baby back ribs every time is to cook them low and slow in the oven before grilling them. Trust me, it works!

Course Main Course

Cuisine American

Keyword grilled ribs, ribs

Prep Time 5 minutes

Cook Time 3 hours 20 minutes

Chill Time 4 hours

Total Time 7 hours 25 minutes

Servings 8 servings

Calories 701 kcal

Ingredients

4 racks baby back pork ribs 9 to 12 pounds
2 cups apple cider*
¼ cup sweet paprika
3 tablespoons dark brown sugar
2 tablespoons pepper
1 tablespoon chile powder
2 teaspoons garlic powder
2 teaspoons dry mustard
2 teaspoons celery salt
1 teaspoon kosher salt
1 teaspoon cayenne pepper
Your favorite barbeque sauce

Instructions

Combine all dry ingredients and generously rub over surface of ribs. Refrigerate for 4 hours or overnight.
Preheat oven to 250 degrees F. Place room temperature ribs on high edged baking sheet lined with wire rack. Pour 1 cup apple cider in baking sheet, place ribs on rack and cook for 1 ½ hours. Add another 1 cup cider and cook for another 1 ½ hours or until meat pulls apart from bones.
Preheat grill to medium high. Grill ribs for 7-10 minutes each side, basting with barbeque sauce. Remove and serve.

Recipe Notes

*Make sure you're using apple cider and NOT apple cider vinegar for this grilled ribs recipe. You want non-alcoholic cider that hasn't been flavored with cinnamon or other spices.
Recipe from Ardie Davis and Paul Kirk

Nutrition Facts

Grilled Baby Back Ribs

Amount Per Serving

Calories 701 Calories from Fat 423

% Daily Value*

Fat 47g72%

Saturated Fat 17g106%

Cholesterol 196mg65%

Sodium 1142mg50%

Potassium 896mg26%

Carbohydrates 15g5%

Fiber 2g8%

Sugar 11g12%

Protein 55g110%

Vitamin A 2133IU43%

Vitamin C 1mg1%

Calcium 115mg12%

Iron 3mg17%

* Percent Daily Values are based on a 2000 calorie diet.

Summer Side Dishes to Make

Ribs, they’re the main event, right? But we all need a little somethin’ extra to complement the Q. Here’s a complete Q-fest menu, ready to be prepped, rattled and rolled into your awaiting belly.

Mediterranean Grilled Pork Chops with Tomato Salad

A fresh and flavorful Mediterranean tomato salad serves as a salsa when it tops juicy grilled pork chops for a 30-minute, quick and easy dinner or BBQ meal.

It’s finally summer, so who wants to spend all day cooking? Not it. Who’s ready for fast and easy? #raisinghand

One of my favorite secrets to easy, flavorful cooking is to take a basic cooking method and dress it up with a fresh and easy recipe topper. Have you tried my Mediterranean grilled balsamic chicken with olive tapenade? Or marinated flank steak with Asian chimichurri sauce? They’re prime examples of easy to create flavor, just like this fast pork chop recipe you’ll soon be making all summer long.

Does this recipe look somewhat familiar? I hope so! Last week I shared my husband’s mastered and always juicy grilled pork chops plus this recipe for a super simple Mediterranean tomato salad. Today I’m sharing how to make two small tweaks and marry the two.

Together they create one healthy and delicious summer dinner that can be prepped ahead or made on the fly, for a dinner that’s ready in 30 minutes.

This summer is shaping up to be the best flavored yet. Let’s go!

continue to the recipe… about Mediterranean Grilled Pork Chops with Tomato Salad

Memorial Day Recipe Ideas: Here’s What I’m Cooking

Celebrate the beginning of summer and Memorial Day weekend with a few favorite recipes made especially delicious when shared with friends and family.

Hello and happy Saturday!

3-day weekends bring on all of the desires of wanderlust, relaxation, and deciding what’s on the menu.

I was on a phone call with a client yesterday. After talking shop I couldn’t wrap things up before asking the most pressing question of our whole conversation: What are you cooking for Memorial Day?

His answer was unexpected of sorts, and a reminder of why we’ve come to celebrate this 3-day weekend with food. “Meat. Lots of meat.” He was joining his wife’s family at his father-in-law’s home where every year for Memorial Day they celebrate the life of her brother who was killed in action. He explained more, “My father-in-law spends days preparing and grilling so much meat for 40-50 people. I don’t know how he does it every year, but it’s important to him that he does.”

Memorial Day is a special holiday where we shouldn’t forget the real reason it was established: to honor our fallen patriots. And like so many traditions, it’s food that brings us together to do so. And so with a very grateful heart and a full stomach, we salute you and the families who’ve loved and lost.

continue to the recipe… about Memorial Day Recipe Ideas: Here’s What I’m Cooking

Montreal Steak and Peppers Kebabs

This simple Montreal steak seasoning marinade tenderizes any cut of meat thanks to a soak in red wine vinegar and oil with a blend of salt, spices, red pepper, paprika, garlic, and more for a bell pepper-packed steak kebab (or kabob) worthy of any summer barbecue or potluck party.

This recipe is brought to you by McCormick Spices

If you were to ask my husband what he craves for dinner most any night of the week, his first answer has been and always will be “steak!” He’s for sure the master of the BBQ but typically cooks filets on the stove with plenty of butter, or his favorite ribeye cut over the coals. But man, those delicious cuts can get a bit spendy.

So lately we’ve been on a skewered-kebab mixed with watching-the-budget-kick which calls for more fiscally-aware cuts of meat (how P.C. does that sound?) that does best when marinated and tenderized for flavor. And nothing makes it easier than a simple mix of Grill Mates® Montreal Steak® Marinade, especially when you’re cooking for a crowd on the 4th of July.

When McCormick asked me to try out their Grill Mates® Montreal Steak® Marinade, I knew right away the perfect recipe to try it out on. This summer is all about grilling our best, and with these kebabs aka kabobs, oh baby, we’re sticking it to ’em with tender steak and layers of sweet bell peppers.continue to the recipe… about Montreal Steak and Peppers Kebabs

Grilled Lobster Tails with Smoked Paprika Butter

Lobster tails just might be the most classic show-someone-special-you-love-’em meal of all time, and when they’re grilled with flavor-packed smoked paprika butter, these tails guarantee you’ll kiss the cook.

Last week I sent out my monthly newsletter for August (you can sign up here if you aren’t already) and asked readers for suggestions on what kind of recipes they’d like to see on the old Foodie le Crush. The response was terrific, thank you so much for all of the amazing replies! While I can’t feature every single e-mail, I’ll be picking out a few that represent some of the more popular requests, so please, keep the suggestions coming!

Our first feature is from Sarah, who wrote:

“I’d LOVE to see some date night dinners for two. Your blog is very family-friendly, which is wonderful, but everyone needs a little date night every once-in-a-while, right? Love your content! I’m 26 and read your blog to get away from the crazy that comes with trying to set yourself up for success at this age. It’s hard! Keep up the great work!”

Thank you Sarah, and good on you for moving yourself forward! I’m totally with you on date night eats, cooking is one of me and my husband’s favorite things to do together.

But if you’d rather spend time being together instead of in the kitchen chopping and sauteíng, this super simple grilled lobster recipe is guaranteed to wow the one you love.continue to the recipe… about Grilled Lobster Tails with Smoked Paprika Butter

30 Days of Easy Grilling Recipes to Make in June

These 30 easy recipe ideas for chicken, meat, seafood, and vegetables are cooked on the grill and made into easy main meals, skewers and salads, for easy outdoor, summer cooking.

Ahhh June, the lazy-hazy-dog days-of-summer are officially upon us! Beach trips, cookouts, and easy livin’ abound. School’s out, and many of us are welcoming relaxed schedules these next few months, so the task of meal planning is much less stressful.

In between ordering pizzas poolside and dining al fresco at our favorite local haunts, we’re embracing the slower pace, and scheming up easy, laid back dinners. To mark our sixth installment of our 31 Days Series, we’re firing up the grill, and this month’s meals are all about things we can cook outdoors, because let’s face it, it’s too darn hot for those ovens!

Whether you’ve got an old-fashioned charcoal grill, a fancy gas, or a George Foreman kitchen version, get yours going, because we’ve got a tasty grilled lineup ahead.continue to the recipe… about 30 Days of Easy Grilling Recipes to Make in June

How to Grill the Best Ribeye Steak

There’s nothing more classic to come from the grill than a thick-cut, perfectly cooked bone-in ribeye steak with a secret slather of flavor.

“Which one do you like best? This one. Or this one?”

I put my family through this photo editing process at least once a week. But given that this is 100% my husband’s recipe/passion/craving-every-single-week, consulting him on which photo to lead this post was part of the process.

“Definitely the one on the grill,” he replied. Really? But it’s not on a plate. It’s not all styled out. It’s not my usual style of pic.

“Exactly. It’s a big, beautiful ribeye grilled to perfection on a grill. Isn’t that what you want to show?”

Yes. Yes it is. Why do I always overthink it?

This grilled steak is the epitome of summer. Big. Juicy. And it serves a crowd. Or if you’re my husband, serves enough for dinner and leaves some for a breakfast burrito in the morning.

He’s smart that way.continue to the recipe… about How to Grill the Best Ribeye Steak

Raspberry Chipotle BBQ Ribs

The secret to the best barbecue ribs starts in the oven and is finished with this spicy sweet and tangy raspberry chipotle BBQ sauce.

It has been our Saturday routine for years. We wake up, my husband cracks his first Diet Coke of the day and we ask each other, “What do you feel like for dinner?”

Barring Smudge’s early morning soccer and basketball games, or my weekend honey-do-list, we jump back into bed, flip on the TV and take a tour of the cooking shows while eating Frog In the Hole. Our dinner time feast is typically chosen thanks to what we discover from PBS and Food Network and the talents of Tyler Florence, Jamie Oliver, Anne Burrell and one of our own, The Pioneer Woman.

Our weekend food tour inspired me to start sharing recipes on Saturdays, because I figured you’re looking for ideas too. And so here we are, with the first installment of Weekend Eats.

Each Saturday I’ll be sharing a seasonal recipe idea for what to have for dinner come Saturday and Sunday, with the occasional breakfast or brunch thrown in. Rounding out the post will be a few suggestions of what to pair with my main dish, recipes from other food bloggers, and some favorites from FoodieCrush too.

First off the block, ribs!

continue to the recipe… about Raspberry Chipotle BBQ Ribs

Grilled Chicken Breasts with Chive Herb Butter

This is my quick and easy go-to method for grilling chicken. Top it with a homemade lemony herb compound butter and you’ll take it to the next level.

Butter. It’s the secret sauce.

We all know it’s best slathered on freshly baked breads and muffins, hot corn on the cob, or as the essential base for the craziest, cheesiest mac & cheese, but it’s quickly become one of my favorite additions for anything that comes off the grill, too.

I’ve shared my penchant for compound butters before, like in this recipe for lime and chili chicken skewers or my husband’s now famous porcini infused butter atop filet mignon.

With flavored butters there’s no need to wait for a marinade to infuse the meat with flavor and moisture. All that’s required is a hot grill, hot chicken and sliced butter flavor boosters straight from the refrigerator in the form of these chive and herb butter slices. From there, the hot grilled breast meat finishes the job by decadently melting flavor onto each morsel of chicken.

Flavored butters are not only becoming my secret sauce, but like Wonder Woman’s golden cuffs they’re becoming my secret grilling weapon. If only I had the rest of the outfit (ahem…and that bod), imagine the work in the kitchen that could be done.

About the Recipe

I shared my favorite tips for the best grilled chicken breast here. It’s a quick and simple recipe and the building block for any BBQ. But when you’re craving more flavor and time is of the essence, flavored butters are a great option.

During the summer months I make different buttered combinations (truffle butter, garlic butter, sriracha butter) to have on hand to use for meats, chicken, fish, veggies and pretty much anything that comes off the grill. Yes, even fruit—honey, cinnamon and thyme is a favorite. The sky truly is the limit on what flavor combinations you can create.

Simply soften the butter until it’s mixable and add your favorite flavors. Dollop onto a piece of plastic wrap, roll into a log and place in the refrigerator for an hour or up to 1 month. Then, simply slice as needed.

Remember flavored butters aren’t limited to the grill. Use them for slathering on the outside of grilled cheese sandwiches, to season steamed veggies or boost your favorite sauces.

And with that, you’ve just become a grilling super hero.

If you make this recipe, please let me know! Leave a comment below or take a photo and tag me on Instagram or Twitter with #foodiecrusheats.

5 from 1 vote

Grilled Chicken Breasts with Chive and Herb Butter

There's no marinade involved with this recipe. Instead, this compound butter seeps into the hot grilled chicken to infuse all of the delicious herbed flavor.

Prep Time 1 hour 15 minutes

Cook Time 40 minutes

Total Time 1 hour 55 minutes