Get out the grill and try these grilling marinades and sauces
The ladies from A Cut Above Catering get us geared up for warmer weather with grilling marinades and sauces. They share recipes: balsamic marinated ribeye kabobs, a delicious lemon-garlic marinade for chicken and fish, a bourbon mushroom sauce, and a “White BBQ” sauce with un-aged white whiskey.RECIPES:
Bourbon-Mushroom Sauce
Prep time: 15 minutes
Total time: 30 minutes
Baby Portobello Mushrooms | 2 cups, thinly sliced
Butter, salted | 1 tbsp
Olive oil | 1 tbsp
Garlic | 3-4 cloves, minced
Bourbon | 1 ½ cups, [we suggest Jim Beam]
Heavy Cream | 1 ½ – 2 cups
Parsley | 1 tbsp, fresh chopped
Rosemary | 1 tbsp freshly chopped
Kosher Salt | to taste
Ground Black Pepper | to taste
Directions
Remove woody ends of mushrooms and slice thinly. Over medium heat, melt the butter and olive oil in a large skillet. Add mushrooms and stir well to quickly coat the mushrooms. Arrange in a single layer, and bring the heat to medium-high. Sauté 5-7 minutes until mushrooms are golden. Add salt and sauté 5 more minutes. Add bourbon (off the heat) and increase heat to high. If using a gas flame, sauce will ignite, so use caution. Simmer until the alcohol is burned off, about 10 minutes. Add pepper, herbs, and cream. Simmer until cream has reduced by half and thickened, about 10-15 minutes. Serve immediately or cool before refrigerating. Sauce will keep in the fridge up to 5 days. Reheat on the stove, not in microwave and add a bit of cream when reheating. Serve over chicken or beef.
Yield: 1 quart
Prep time: 5 minutes
Total time: 10 minutes + marinade time
Ingredients
Balsamic Vinegar | 1 ½ cups
Granulated Sugar | 1/4 cup
Dijon Mustard | 1 tsp
Garlic | 2-3 cloves, minced
Basil, dried | 3 tsp
Parsley, dried | 3 tsp
Oregano, dried | 1 tbsp
Crushed Red Pepper | 1 tsp
Kosher Salt | 2 tsp
Ground Black Pepper | 2 tsp
Olive oil (not extra-virgin) | 2 ½ – 3 cups
Directions
In a large bowl or food processor, whisk together balsamic, sugar, garlic, and Dijon mustard until sugar is dissolved and ingredients are combined. Add herbs, salt, pepper, crushed red pepper and whisk again. While whisking, or with food processor running, add the first ½ cup of olive oil VERY SLOWLY…a few drops at a time, working up to a slow steady stream. You can add the rest of the olive oil slowly in a steady stream, slowing down if the emulsion starts to break. You should end up with a nice shimmering, slightly thickened vinaigrette. The garlic and Dijon help this emulsify, while the use of olive oil instead of extra-virgin olive oil will create less smoke on the grill. If you’d like to make this as a salad dressing, use extra virgin olive oil and add ½ cup grated Pecorino Romano cheese.
Prep time: hours and minutes
Total time: prep + cook time
Mayonnaise | 1 ½ cups
Un-aged White Whiskey | ¼ cup [we suggest Jacob’s Ghost]
White Wine Vinegar | ¼ cup
Black Pepper | 1 tbsp
Creole Mustard | 1 tbsp
Salt | 1 tsp
Sugar | 1 tbsp
Garlic | 2 – 3 cloves, minced
Prepared Horseradish | 2 teaspoons, to taste
Directions
Whisk all ingredients until combined. Serve with beef or chicken. This sauce is great for marinating, basting, and serving! If you wish, you make reduce the Whiskey in a sauté pan to burn off some of the alcohol, but note the flavor will be less prominent.
Yield: 1 quart
Prep time: 10 minutes
Total time: 10 minutes + marinating time
Ingredients
Lemon Juice | 1 cup (about 3-4 lemons)
Lemon Zest | 3 lemons
Garlic | 4-5 cloves, minced
Whole Grain Mustard | 2 tbsp
Honey | 3 tbsp
Salt | 1 tsp
Ground Black Pepper | 2 tsp
Thyme | 2 tbsp, fresh, chopped
Basil | 2 tbsp, fresh, chopped
Olive Oil | 2 ½ – 3 cups (not extra virgin)
Directions
Zest the lemons, and juice them in a large bowl. Add garlic, mustard, honey, salt, pepper, and herbs and whisk until combined. Slowly add the first ¼ cup of olive oil a few drops at a time, slowly working up to a steady stream. Slowly add the rest of the olive oil until a nice emulsion is achieved. This makes a great marinade for chicken or fish. Just note that the high level of acid in this marinade will start the cooking process, so be sure to only marinade your chicken or fish in this marinade for a half hour – one hour.
For more information on how you can sign up for one of their classes, check out their website at acutabovecatering.com