Summer Recipes From The Phi Delt Grillmaster - Part 2

By Michael McDearman, Tennessee Delta ’97

Bacon Explosion

What You’ll Need:

1 lb breakfast sausage
1 lb bacon
BBQ Rub
Brown Sugar
Cheese
Pepper chopped
Sweet Onion Chopped
1 link of sausage (we used apple and chicken) chopped

Grillmaster McD’s Tips, Tricks and Techniques

Take the breakfast sausage out of the fridge and work while it is cold. Use a rolling pin to flatten the sausage into a rectangular shape about the width of a strip of bacon. I caramelized the onions prior to spreading them over the sausage along with the peppers. Spread an even layer of cheese and chopped link apple sausage. If you do all of this on a piece of wax paper, the “roulade” technique or pin wheel in the U.S. works well. Roll the meat before it warms too much. If it warms, it sticks to the paper or flexible cutting board.

Next, create a basket weave of bacon. On what will be the inside of the bacon (between the sausage and bacon) spread a thin layer of BBQ rub and brown sugar. Place the rolled sausage on the end of the basket weave (again on wax paper or a flexible cutting board) and roll the bacon around the sausage. Top with a good dose of BBQ rub and you are ready to put it on a preheated 300 F grill or smoker. Don’t hesitate to add wood chips to the grill with a deep V wood chip box and remember that foil is your friend. A heavy duty piece of foil with the edges turned up or a half pan will keep your grill clean and eliminate flare up issues.

Cook to an internal temperature of 165 F, remove and rest for 10 minutes before slicing. Different flavor profiles can be used. Make a breakfast version for the holidays, Italian flavor profile with Italian seasoning, garlic, onions, peppers, sun dried tomatoes, etc…possibilities are endless.

T-Bone Steak with Blue Cheese Butter

What you’ll need:

(1) T-Bone Beef Steak
(4) Sprigs of fresh Thyme
(2) Garlic Cloves – minced
(1) Stick of Butter
(5) Sun-dried Tomatoes
(3) Tablespoons fresh Parsley
(1) Cup of Blue Cheese crumbles

Grillmaster McD’s Tips, Tricks and Techniques

When at the market choosing your steak, run your finger across the meat. If the marbling is bumpy, it will have connective tissue attached. Find the soft white fat for the most juice and flavor!

To prep the steak, take the leaves off the stem of thyme. Pat 2 sprigs worth of leaves and a clove of minced garlic on each side of the steak. We taste both sides of a steak, right? Also, use a food processor to mix the stick of butter (to cream the blue cheese), the blue cheese (no need to add salt with this on the steak), sun-dried tomatoes (for sweetness) and parsley (for freshness). Blend until it is a smooth cream. Store in a zip bag in the fridge if prepared earlier.

The steak should be cooked on a grill grate that has been cleaned and oiled. Preheat it to 350 (medium heat on most grills). Place the steak on the first side until you see one great set of grill marks (usually 5-7 minutes in most altitudes and day). Turn the steak to the second side and cook until 140 degrees internal temp. Remove the steak from the grill putting on a nice Z line of the compound butter. Rest 5-7 minutes and enjoy!

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