Looking for a fun way to celebrate summer with your kids before it’s time to face the back-to-school rush? It’s a great time to throw a recteq Campfire Themed Party to enjoy some delicious summer eats while the nights are still long and slow. Get the recteq fired up and let’s enjoy our favorite campfire tastes with a new smoky twist. No need to head to the woods to get the tastes of your childhood, just head to the backyard and your recteq wood pellet grill for delicious eats even better than you remember them.
Savory Smoked Baked Beans
Did you know you can make Baked Beans on your recteq wood pellet grill? It’s true! Any baked bean recipe will taste a little better than before when infused with wood smoke flavor and heated low and slow over the grates. We recommend an enameled cast iron pot for the best result. Remember, one of the incredible things about cooking on a recteq is that you can cook multiple dishes simultaneously, so you could throw these on the grates along with your main course.
Jerky
Whether or not you are actually hiking through the woods or are simply setting up a “camp fire” in your own backyard, BBQ Smoked Beef Jerky is a great idea for a healthy snack that is easy to pack and eat. Lucky for you, we have the perfect recipe on standby. For this better-than-store bought Jerky, combine flank steak, seasonings, and sauce, and give it a good 24 hour marinate. You’ll be dehydrating this beef jerky for about 5 or 6 hours on low so pack your patience, but the results will be worth the wait.
Hot Dogs
Talk about easy crowd-pleasers! Hot dogs might not make your list of top recipes, but they will always be a hit, especially with the kiddos. Ready to make these even better than ever before? Here are a few ideas to get you started, but as we mentioned last week, it’s all about the toppings.
- Bacon: What makes everything better, besides cooking on the recteq wood pellet grill? The answer is always: bacon. Bacon-wrapped hot dogs couldn’t be easier: just wrap a slice of bacon around each frank and secure with a large toothpick. Then cook them at 400℉ until the bacon is nice and crispy!
- Criss-Cross Cuts: Besides making the hot dogs look a little more gourmet, the crisscross cuts help that delicious smoky flavor steam up and cook the meat even better. Simply score each one with a knife in little X’s all the way across.
- Seasonings & Sauces: As always, you really can’t go wrong with recteq’s signature rubs for bringing the best tastes to your cooks. For hot dogs, we recommend a generous shake of Ron’s Screamin’ Pig Rub to make them next-level tasty, or for a little touch of sweetness try Rossarooski’s Honey Rib Rub.
- Wrap ‘em up: Here’s a variation everyone will love. Make your hotdogs even tastier by wrapping them with canned croissants. These monster “pigs in blankets” will disappear before you can say “shoot yeah”.
Foil Packet Meals
These are super simple and an easy way to skip the dishes! You can even serve them right outside, without plates. For Foil-packet meals, you simply start with a double layer of 18” square pieces of aluminum foil. Chef John recommends building a foundation of sliced onion, fresh herbs (rosemary, thyme, and sage), and some garlic. Next, we’ll add some thinly sliced sweet potatoes and chicken thighs. For the best results, don’t put more than two portions in each packet. Next sprinkle with Ron’s Screamin’ Pig Rub (or your choice of Rubs) and a generous drizzle of Olive Oil (a squeeze of fresh lemon would also be great). Seal those packets up good and tight and cook on the recteq for about 25 minutes at 420℉. Be careful, these are hot and full of steam, so remove carefully with a spatula. You can also try different combos of meats or fish and veggies. What a great one-dish meal, leaving plenty of time to focus on dessert.
S'mores
We can’t talk about campfires without giving some attention to everyone’s favorite campfire treat: S’mores! Rich, melty chocolate, gooey marshmallows, and crispy toasted graham crackers…what’s not to love? To make classic S’mores on your recteq wood pellet grill, you’ll want to grab a Mesh Cooking Mat and all the classic S’mores ingredients. (May we suggest that mini candy bars are a delicious upgrade from standard chocolate squares). Stack your graham crackers with chocolate and then pop a marshmallow on top of each while your recteq preheats to 400℉. Finally, roast these for about 6 to 8 minutes to get them good and melty. Looking for a variation? Try our S’mores Smoked Cake Bars. Chef Greg also suggests layering chocolate and marshmallows in a cast iron skillet, heating through, and serving as a graham cracker dip. YUM.
What are you doing with your family to celebrate the end of the summer season? Tag us on social media:
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