Yes, July 4th is soon to be here again. So why not join our American friends and family members in helping them celebrate Independence Day with some typical American holiday season foods and drinks?
Why is a UK-based food and drink blog helping to commemorate the day when the Americans beat Britain? Well, why not? It'll be some fun. Besides which, my American-based day job does give all staff July 4th as a company-wide public holiday so it would be rude not to!
Go for succulent beef bites that remind you of burnt ends, (Yum!) perfectly roasted baby potatoes smothered in melted cheese, sweet slices of onion, grilled asparagus wrapped in delicious, salty prosciutto, and finally, some garlicky shrimp will fill the plates and bellies of your friends and family as they feast away the 4th of July.
Ingredients
Beefy Burnt-end Bites:
12
beef short ribs, bone-in, uncut
Your favourite beef BBQ seasoning
Your favourite beef BBQ sauce
Roasted Baby Potatoes + Rotisserie Cheese:
3 lbs.
assorted mini potatoes
¼ cup
melted butter
Salt, pepper, and garlic powder to taste
3 lb. (approx.)
brick of cheese – from deli counter
Prosciutto Wrapped Asparagus:
2 bunches
fresh asparagus
20 slices
prosciutto
BBQ Blooming Onions:
4
sweet onions
4 tbsp. olive oil or melted butter
Salt and pepper to taste
Green onion, sriracha, and aioli for garnish
Grilled Shrimp Skewers: 24
jumbo shrimp, peeled and deveined 8
bamboo appetizer skewers
2 cloves garlic, minced
2 tbsp. butter, melted
Directions
Start with the beef. It takes the longest. Preheat your grill to 250°F. Remove the bones from the rest of the beef ribs, then slice the meat into bite-sized chunks – leaving in some of the fat. Toss the prepped beef in your favorite beef seasoning. Slow cook the beef in a Napoleon Stainless Steel Topper, using indirect heat, for 2 hours.
PRO TIP 1: Add smoke by using your favourite wood chips to the Napoleon Smoker Tube
PRO TIP 2: You can always pre-cook these beefy burnt-end bites before the main event and finish them off the next day.
While the beef is slowly cooking, wash and slice the potatoes in half. Toss them with the melted butter, seasoning them to taste with salt, pepper and garlic powder. Once the beef has been on for nearly an hour and a half (90 minutes), turn the heat up to around 350°F place the potatoes onto a prepared baking sheet. Roast them on the grill for about 45 minutes, tossing them every so often, until soft inside and crispy outside.
Now that the beef and potatoes are cooking, prep the asparagus by rinsing them under cold water, then breaking the stems off about an inch from the bottom. Asparagus’ woody part will naturally break off here.
Slice the prosciutto in half and wrap the good part of the asparagus. Set aside – in the fridge.
Blooming onions on the BBQ are easy and fun. Plus, there’s no deep frying needed. Take a sharp knife and cut off the top, and if needed, the bottom of the onion so that it will sit straight. Use a couple of chopsticks to make sure that you don’t cut all the way through the onion. Cut down through the top of the onion like you would cutting it into sixths, but stop when you hit the chopsticks so you don’t slice all of the way through.
Drizzle with the melted butter, season to taste. Set aside.
Skewer the shrimp and set aside in the fridge until you are nearly ready to serve.
Once the beef bites have been on for about 2 hours (120 minutes) and the potatoes have become crispy, you are nearly ready to eat. Turn the burners under the beef up to medium and toss the bites with your favorite BBQ sauce. Remove the potatoes from the baking sheet and put them into a shallow pan. Load the onions onto the grill, and the potatoes, and the asparagus.
Carefully load the cheese onto the rotisserie spit rod, securing it in place with the rotisserie forks. When you load the cheese, load it so that when the spit is on the grill, the cheese will rotate over top of the potatoes – this may not necessarily be in the middle of the spit rod, but over to one side. Put the cheese-laden rotisserie onto the grill and turn on the motor. Close the lid and allow the cheese to start melting, the onions and the asparagus will cook.
Finally, when everything looks melty, gooey, crispy, and tender, it is time to preheat the side burner. Grab the shrimp from the fridge, melt the butter and add the garlic. Sear the shrimp over the side burner, brushing thoroughly with the melted butter.
Serve everything together and enjoy. If you found that you have way too much cheese left, a couple loaves of bread, sliced and placed underneath the dripping cheese is never a bad move.
How will you fill your grill with a 4th Of July Feast? Tell us using your favorite social platform. Use the hashtags #fillYourGrill, #4thOfJulyBBQ, and #NapoleonGrill – and don’t forget, pics or it didn’t happen!
Happy Grilling!
This feature has been prepared with the expert assistance of Andrea Alden of www.Napoleon.com
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