4th of July Meat Maddness

For some reason, the 4th of July dinner table was mostly meat. I didn't take any pic's of the food, because they were all new recipes, but since they were all do-overs, I'll take pic's next time I make them. OK - we did have a big green salad (thanks Jen!) and some baked beans (thanks Jo!) and some grilled asparagus, but everything else was MEAT! Grilled Wings*, Orange Chicken* - also grilled, Pork Tenderloin* - also grilled, Hot Dogs, and BBQ baby back ribs. (Do you see a theme??? Well of course - it was the 4th and grilling is super easy!)

Unfortunately, none of there recipes will be used for lunch at CF Academy because we just can't grill for that many kids at lunch, but maybe a special meal?!?!

This was such a great low-carb meal until we got to dessert - brownies, cinnamon pinwheels* (just made that up, but it's what Mom always made with leftover pie crust when she made pies), and red, white, and blue french vanilla cake. The only pic I have is of the cake. I'll post the tutorial I used to make this cake, but next time I will add tons more of the "spots".

* - recipes below

Grilled Wings

Ingredients 

Makes about 10 servings 

Wings:

1/2 cup soy sauce  
1/2 cup Italian-style salad dressing  
3 pounds chicken wings 

Sauce: 

1/4 cup butter  
1 teaspoon soy sauce  
1/4 cup Frank's RedHot

Directions

Combine 1/2 cup soy sauce, Italian dressing, and chicken wings in a large, zip-top bag. Close bag and refrigerate 4 hours to overnight. I did them overnight and when I woke up in the morning, I turned the bags over to make sure they were marinating evenly. 

I used a paper towel and rubbed the grill with some olive oil to prevent sticking, then preheated the grill to medium heat. 

In a small saucepan, melt the butter. Stir in the 1 teaspoon soy sauce and the Frank’s sauce. Simmer on low for about 3-5 minutes. I made all of the sauces the night before so all I had to do was warm them up to serve.

Remove the chicken wings from the marinade. Cook the wings on the grill, turning occasionally, until the chicken is well browned and no longer pink, 25 to 30 minutes. Serve the wings with the sauce on the side. These wings were great on their own, but the hot sauce will satisfy those who like to eat fire!

Honey Orange BBQ Chicken

Ingredients

Marinade: 

 

½ cup freshly squeezed orange juice
¼ cup olive oil
¼ cup hot sauce
¼ cup Dijon mustard
1 tablespoon grated orange zest
3 pounds of boneless chicken breast or thighs, cut into evenly sized pieces (so they cook in the same amount of time)

Sauce:

4 tablespoons butter
¼ cup honey
¼ cup freshly squeezed orange Juice
½ cup of your favorite BBQ sauce – I use Sweet Baby Ray’s
1 tablespoon grated orange zest
2 tablespoons Dijon mustard
½ teaspoon cinnamon

½ teaspoon cloves

½ teaspoon nutmeg


Directions

Mix the orange juice, olive oil, hot sauce, mustard, and orange zest together in a large bowl. Add the chicken to a zip-top bag and add the marinade. Let it marinate for at least 1 hour and up to overnight. I did them overnight and when I woke up in the morning, I turned the bags over to make sure they were marinating evenly. 

Preheat the grill to medium. Let chicken come to room temperature before grilling.

Drain the chicken from the marinade. Grill on each side for 5 minutes, then turn the heat to medium-low and cover the lid of the grill. Continue cooking the chicken until it's cooked through, about 10 minutes more.

To make the sauce, melt the butter in a small saucepan. Whisk in the honey, orange juice, BBQ sauce, zest, mustard and spices.

Remove the chicken from grill to a platter and serve with reserved glaze. I let the chicken rest for about 10 minutes and sliced the chicken into strips for easier serving.

Grilled Pork Tenderloin

Dry rub

1 tablespoon paprika – I used smoked paprika
Kosher salt and freshly ground pepper
1 tablespoon packed light brown sugar
1 teaspoon ground cumin
1 teaspoon mustard powder
½ teaspoon onion powder
½ teaspoon garlic powder
extra-virgin olive oil
Pork tenderloin - about 1 ½ pounds

Sauce:

¾ cup apple cider vinegar
¼ cup packed light brown sugar
¼ cup ketchup
½ tsp red pepper flakes
1 tsp Kosher salt

Directions

Combine the paprika, 1 teaspoons salt, ½ teaspoon pepper, the brown sugar, cumin, mustard powder, onion powder and garlic powder in a bowl. Rub the olive oil all over the pork, then coat with the spice rub. Wrap each tenderloin tightly in plastic wrap and refrigerate 3 hours or overnight.

For the sauce, combine the vinegar, ½ cup water, the brown sugar, ketchup, red pepper flakes and 1 teaspoon salt in a small saucepan over medium heat. Bring to a simmer, stirring until the sugar dissolves; remove from the heat.

Remove the pork from the refrigerator about 30 minutes before grilling. Preheat a grill to medium high. Cook the pork, turning occasionally, until a thermometer inserted into the thickest part registers 140 degrees F to 145 degrees F, about 20 minutes. Transfer to a cutting board and let rest 15 minutes.

Slice the pork and serve with the sauce.