There is just one word to really describe summer’s in Texas…HOT! You can’t escape it, so you just have to find ways to deal with it. One way that you can deal with the summer heat is by keeping your kitchen cool. Cooking dinner on your grill dome in your outdoor kitchen lets you enjoy a delicious home cooked meal without having to spend the rest of the night in a hot house. Here are a few of our favorite summer recipes that can be cooked outside on your Grill Dome.
Meatloaf is a quick and easy crowd pleaser. This recipe adds a fun twist by putting them on a sandwich.
For the meatloaf:
1 lb ground beef
1/2 lb ground pork
1/2 lb ground veal
2 eggs
1/2 cup milk
2 tsp minced fresh garlic
1 can diced fire roasted tomatoes
2 cups quick oats
1 cup chopped carrots
1 tbsp worcestershire
2 tbsp dijon mustard
2 tsp chopped fresh thyme
1 tsp salt
1 tsp pepper
In a large mixing bowl, mix together all of the ingredients except the oats and the meats. Next, add the oats and meats and use your hands to gently mix to incorporate.
For the sauce:
1/2 cup brown sugar
3/4 cup ketchup
2 tbsp cider vinegar
Mix all ingredients until smooth.
Form the meatloaf in a rectangular shape on top of a broiler pan (make sure to line the catch pan on the bottom with aluminum foil to help with cleanup) then cover all sides of the meatloaf with the sauce (make sure to save some of the sauce to top the meatloaf when it’s time to make the sandwiches). I like to use a broiler pan versus a meatloaf pan for several reasons:
You can easily coat both the top and sides with the sauce
The meatloaf can take on more smoke flavor b/c more surface area is exposed
The fat drips off into the catch pan below, preventing burning at the surface of the meat
Preheat your Grill Dome to 350° using an indirect setup with the Indirect Cooking Rack, Ceramic Stone and Main Cooking Rack. Bake the meatloaf until an internal temperature of 165°. Once done, set aside and let rest for 5-10 minutes.
For the sandwiches:
Fresh sourdough bread
Lettuce (I prefer Arugula)
Sliced tomato
Stack your sandwich high with slices of the smoked meatloaf, lettuce, tomato and drizzle some of the extra sauce. Serve and enjoy!
Here is a fun twist on fish tacos. These Tilapia Burritos can be smoked on your Dome without much prep.
Ingredients
Rub
1 part – cumin
1 part – Chile powder
1 part – Garlic powder
1/4 part – black pepper
Burrito
1 whole wheat burrito wrap
Mexican Cheese – melt some on wrap before building your burrito
veggies – tomatoes, lettuce, onion -chopped
sour cream & Salsa
Instructions
Add rub about 15 minutes before cooking
Grilled direct at 275 until outside golden brown, I used apple wood chips – firebox half full so I got a pit grill affect.
Memphomaniac’s Pepparoni Pizza
No matter what season it is, everyone loves a good pizza! Cooking one on your Grill dome is easy and delicious.
Ingredients
1 Publix Brand Pizza Dough
1 Batch Memphomaniac’s Pizza Sauce (Link)
Olive Oil
Boar’s Head pepperoni
Mozzarella
Feta
Tone’s Italian Seasoning (Has oregano, thyme, basil, etc.)
Instructions
I’ve found that I really don’t like rolling out pizza dough. Like Rick said, it seems like every time you push it one way, it pulls in the other. I have solved my problem, though. I get my wife to do it. She still has the same problems as I do, but she can wrestle with it while I’m starting the fire, cooking the sauce, prepping peppers, etc. And she does seem to get to a point eventually when the dough works for her.
I use Boar’s Head pepperoni when I want to splurge, but mostly it’s Hormel.
We use any old mozzarella. We like a little feta sometimes.
Be sure to brush the crust with olive oil before applying the sauce and toppings for color and crispness around the edges.
I also sprinkle Tone’s Italian Seasoning (Sam’s – has oregano, thyme, basil, etc.) over the cheese before I put it on.
As far as handling the pizza, I do the following based on advice I’ve gotten here.
Corn meal on the peel and the stone.
Work fast. Don’t give the pizza time to stick to the peel.
Apply less sauce than you think you should. Dump about a quarter to half cup in the middle and then swirl it out to the sides.
Don’t get carried away with the toppings (volume). I remember trying to load down my first pizzas and had problems with handling and everything cooking correctly.
Before you put the pizza on the stone, lift up one side and blow in a little puff of air under there to help it ride off the peel.
To be honest, as I sit here, I can’t tell you how long it takes to cook. It’s not more that ten minutes. I just peek down through the chimney opening to see what’s going on.
There’s nothing “gourmet” about this pizza unless you consider cooking over wood charcoal gourmet, but it sure is simple and good.
These are just a few of the many things that you can fix on your Grill Dome. You can keep your house cool and still fix delicious meals that your family will love. Still cooking on a traditional grill? Now is the perfect time to make an upgrade. The dinner possibilities will be endless. Come out and get your Grill Dome today, your thermostat will thank you!