Mesquite Grilled Tacos

IT'S TACO TUESDAY! I have to admit I have become a little obsessed with tacos lately. I look at everything and wonder would that make a good taco? I have always loved them but when I found a YouTube channel called Aim'em and Claim'em Smokers doing Taco Tuesdays; I started having them every week. You have to check out James' channel it not only delivers a delicious taco every Tuesday. He is also a very experienced BBQ fanatic. He shares all his tips and techniques for grilling, barbecue and smoking. He has also graciously made his version of two of my tacos on video to share with his subscribers. Go check him out!

Okay now for another delicious taco! This taco gets it inspiration from a meal dear sister had at a local restaurant called The Oyster Bar & Grille. The restaurant is so good! It is sort of an island or coastal twist on Mexican food. Check them out too! They grille all their delicious food with Mesquite. She had Mesquite grilled tuna and buttered grilled veggies with fresh pico. Now doesn't that sound like it would make a great taco meal? It does, oh boy it does! I used a smoking tray you can buy at the store to get that Mesquite flavor. It is so easy you unwrap it and toss it on the grill. The wood chips inside start to smoke and they impart delicious flavor to whatever you are grilling. I grilled zucchini, squash and a red poblano as a side. I grilled both shrimp and tuna for the tacos. I also made a spiced butter to bathe everything in. Many Mexican restaurants serve a spiced butter with their grilled meats. It was amazing! The Mesquite smoke and the butter has to be my favorite part of this recipe. The veggies and shrimp seemed to absorb the most smoke. The butter is flavored with chicken bouillon, garlic and wine! It was great with everything including the pico. Such a great combo. I can't wait to try these tacos with beef or chicken too. That butter and Mesquite are too good not to give it a try. I will caution, do not marinate the tuna and shrimp for more than the time it takes to heat the grill. The lime juice will start to cook them. Check out the photos below you can see the tuna changing color just after 10 minutes. I hope you will give these tacos a try. I loved telling you about them just as much as eating them.

Mesquite Grilled Tacos

Serves 2

Ingredients

12 shrimp, peeled and deveined

1 tuna filet

Juice of 1/2 of a lime

Drizzle of Olive oil

Several dashes of Maggi Seasoning Sauce

Spiced Salt (or salt, black pepper and red pepper flakes)

Mesquite Smoker Tray

2 wooden skewers, soaked

4 small flour tortillas

Pico de Gallo

Spiced Butter (recipe below)

Directions

Place skewers to soak for 20 minutes.

Pre-heat grill on high for 10 minutes. Place smoker tray on grill while pre-heating.

Drizzle shrimp and tuna filet with olive oil, lime juice and maggi seasoning. Turn to coat with marinade. Season both side of tuna and shrimp with spiced salt and set aside. Just before grilling thread shrimp on skewers.

Grill shrimp and tuna for 2 minutes each side for a total of 4 minutes. The tuna will be medium rare, if you prefer it medium or well adjust cooking time. Remove from grill and rest while warming the tortillas. Top or brush with spiced butter.

Place a skillet on high heat, when hot warm the tortillas on both sides until warm and blistered.

To serve place grilled shrimp or tuna in a warm flour tortilla. Top with Pico de Gallo and serve with a ramekin of melted spiced butter.

Do not over marinate the tuna and shrimp!
Ten minutes is just right.

Spiced Butter

Ingredients

1/2 cup butter with canola spread

1 tsp. chicken bouillon granules (Knorr)

1 clove (1/2 tsp.) garlic, minced

1/16 tsp. black pepper

1/16 tsp. red pepper flakes

4 leaves cilantro, minced

1/4 cup white wine (Chardonnay)

Directions

In a medium sized bowl combine all ingredients except wine, whisk to combine. Slowly incorporate wine whisking until thoroughly combined. Place in a container and refrigerate until ready to use.

Linking to:
Love Bakes Good Cakes: Freedom Fridays with All My Bloggy Friends
The Lazy Gastronome: Taco Tuesday Link Party

Low Country Grill

I have been wanting to try this foil pack on the grill for a long time. My family and I love low country boils. We have drug out the big pot and made several over the years. The idea of cooking it in foil on the grill seemed so much easier. Mom and I decided to try it this weekend. We went shopping for the ingredients, made the Peanut Butter Brownie Yogurt Pie, made Chorizo Tacos for lunch and to end the evening we made this Low Country Grill. It was a full day. The foil packs turned out so delicious! The flavors are intensified cooking them this way, no water to wash a way a drop of that flavor. That being said next time I will add a tablespoon or two of stock, wine, or even beer to each pack. Two of the packs started to caramelize a bit (see last photo). It was not burnt, in fact the caramelized onions were delicious. I just think a little liquid will prevent it from happening. I will experiment a little more on my grill. Every grill is a little different and you have to adjust cooking times and know where the hot spots are. I don't know Mom and Dad's grill that well. So use the recipe as a starting place, adjust to fit your families tastes and your grilling equipment. Just try it! You will not be disappointed. The flavor really gets absorbed by the potatoes and the lemon is delicious on the shrimp. So good and so easy to clean up. You will see!

Low Country Grill
Serves 4

Ingredients

8 small new potatoes, halved
2 onions, cut into 6 wedges
1 lemon, quartered
1 large garlic clove, quartered
2 ears of corn, cut into 4 pieces
2 links of smoked sausage, cut into 4 pieces
32 shrimp (about 1 lb.), deveined
8 small bay leaves
Kosher salt, to taste
Black pepper, to taste
Extra Spicy Mrs. Dash, to taste
Stock, water, wine or beer (optional)

Directions

Pre-heat grill to high heat for 15 minutes.

In the center of four pieces of heavy duty aluminum foil, layer ingredients. Start with 4 potatoes halves, 3 onions wedges, 1 lemon wedge, a piece of garlic, 2 corn pieces and 2 pieces of sausage. Top each with 8 shrimp, season each with salt, pepper and Mrs. Dash. Tuck 2 bay leaves in each packet. (Add liquid if using.) Seal foil packet by rolling the sides of foil over the top; then seal and secure the ends. Place on the grill lowering temp to medium. Cook at medium for 20 minutes. Remove from grill and allow to cool a little before opening.

Jambalaya Grill Packets

Guess what! I am still cooking with foil. In fact I made these Jambalaya Grill Packets three times before I finally took photos. I made it once just for me in recipe development, then I made it for the family. They all loved it. Then my favorite person in the world was here last weekend and I made it for him. I was busy having fun and did not even think about photos. So tonight I made it one more time so I could get photos to share with you. It is an easy, fresh twist on jambalaya. It has all the flavor of an oven cooked jambalaya, but the veggies are more apparent. And you do not have to heat up the house with the oven. You assemble the packets, place on the grill and come back 20 minutes later. Done! It is really a great summer meal. A super easy way to share a taste of Louisiana with your family and friends. I have made it with both white and brown converted rice; both work well. I think the white rice absorbs a little more liquid then the brown, but both taste great. I will caution you about seasoning. Rotel tomatoes have some heat so if your sausage is spicy go light on the creole seasoning. But if your a heat seeker, add red pepper flakes too. That is what I did tonight and it was deliciously spicy. So good! I hope you enjoy it as much as my family and friends.

Jambalaya Grill Packets

Serves 4

                  

Ingredients

2 cups converted white or brown rice

2 tsp. Chicken Tomato Bouillon

1 can Rotel tomatoes

2 garlic cloves, minced

1 onion, chopped

1 small green bell pepper, chopped

2 stalks celery, sliced

12 Shrimp, peeled and deveined

1 link of turkey smoked sausage, sliced

1 large boneless skinless chicken breast, cut into bite size pieces

Black pepper, to taste

Kosher salt, to taste

Creole seasoning, to taste

2 bay leaves, torn in half

Handful of parsley, chopped

2 green onion, sliced

Directions

Pre-heat grill to high heat for 15 minutes.

Drain Rotel tomatoes reserving the liquid in a 2 cup measuring cup. Add enough water to the tomato liquid to equal 2 cups. Combine rice, bouillon and tomato water in a bowl stir and set aside for at least 5 minutes. Place tomatoes over rice mixture.

Chop garlic, onion, bell pepper, and celery place on top of tomato and rice mixture. Stir to combine and place in the center of a four pieces of heavy duty aluminum foil. Place a fourth of the shrimp, sausage and chicken on top of each packet. Season each with salt, pepper and creole seasoning. Tuck half a bay leaf in each packet. Seal foil packet by rolling the sides of foil over the top; then seal and secure the ends. Place on the grill lowering temp to medium. Cook at medium for 20 minutes. Remove from grill and allow to rest five minutes. Serve garnished with parsley and green onions.

Linking to:
Reasons to Skip the Housework: STH Link Party #81
Love Bakes Good Cakes: Freedom Fridays with All My Bloggy Friends

Creole Catfish Foil Packet

I am really enjoying cooking with foil these days. It is so easy and mess free. Something you might not know about me is I do not like cleaning pots and pans. I don't mind loading the dishwasher, but washing the pots is not my thing. They are heavy and cumbersome. So these foil packets on the grill are amazing! NO POTS!!! It is a complete meal in a foil pouch. For this foil pack I turned to those familiar Louisiana flavors. I started with rice, using converted rice pre-soaked in water and bouillon for extra flavor. Then I add the trinity of onions, celery and bell pepper. I chose both catfish and shrimp for the protein. And to finish the dish, I added a slow cooked tomato flavor with chili sauce and fresh tomatoes. The end results a deliciously moist catfish filet over rice and veggies with almost a shrimp creole topping. It really turned out great! I was a little worried that the rice would be over or under cooked. But it was perfect. I will definitely use this technique for more foil packets featuring rice in the future.

Creole Catfish Foil Packet

Serves 1

Ingredients

1/2 cup converted brown rice

1/2 tsp. Chicken Tomato Bouillon

1/2 cup water

1 small garlic clove, minced

1/2 cup onion, chopped

1/2 cup green bell pepper, chopped

1/2 cup celery, sliced

1/2 cup grape tomatoes, quartered

1 catfish filet                                                    

Mrs. Dash Extra Spicy, to taste

Sea Salt, to taste

2 to 3 Tbsp. Chili Sauce

4 Shrimp, peeled and deveined

2 to 3 sprigs parsley, chopped

1 green onion, sliced

Directions

Pre-heat grill to high heat for 15 minutes.

Combine rice, bouillon and water in a bowl stir and set aside for at least 5 minutes.

Chop garlic, onion, bell pepper, celery and tomatoes place on top of rice mixture. Stir to combine and place in the center of a piece of heavy duty aluminum foil. Place catfish filet on top and season with Mrs. Dash and salt. Top with chili sauce then place shrimp on top. Season the shrimp with more seasoning. Seal foil packet by rolling the sides of foil over the top; then seal and secure the ends. Place on the grill lowering temp to medium. Cook at medium for 20 minutes. Remove from grill and allow to rest five minutes. Serve garnished with parsley and green onions.

Want more Foil Packets?

Check out these posts:

Southwest Catfish Foil Packet

Hawaiian BBQ Chicken

Hawaiian BBQ Chicken

Recently I picked up a bottle of Frog Bone Bayou BBQ Sauce at Bergeron's. I bought it for Father's Day. When I did a taste test I decided it was too sweet for dear Dad but I could not wait to use it for a Hawaiian BBQ Chicken. The sweet Cajun heat of the sauce was just begging to be paired with chicken, pineapple, onions and peppers. If you ask me they are made for each other. This sauce is not too sweet and it has a little bit of Cajun spice. It is delicious on chicken but I bet it would be amazing on pork, shrimp and fish. I will be experimenting with it some more. 

This time I made another foil pack on the grill. I layered onions, peppers, pineapple and chicken. Then added a little more Cajun seasoning and a good drizzle of Bayou BBQ. Then I sealed the packet and grilled. It is such a great no watch grill meal. Fast and delicious. I did garnish with a little cilantro. It was fresh and delicious with the BBQ and pineapple flavors. I got a little lazy and did not make a side dish. But next time I will definitely make some rice to soak up the delicious sauce. There was quite a bit of delicious sweet and spicy sauce in the bottom of the packet. It would be great with Microwave Spiced Rice or Mexican White Rice as a side. So give it a try real soon for an easy sweet and spicy weeknight meal.

Hawaiian BBQ Chicken
Serves 2

Ingredients

1/2 medium large red onion, cut into 1" dice
1/2 green bell pepper, cut into 1" dice
1/2 can chunk pineapple in juice
1 large boneless skinless chicken breast, cut into 1" pieces
Olive oil
Kosher salt, to taste
Cajun seasoning, to taste
Frog Bone Bayou BBQ Sauce (a sweet and spicy BBQ sauce)
Cilantro to garnish

Directions

Preheat grill to high heat for 10 minutes.

On one half of a sheet of heavy duty aluminum foil layer ingredients; onion, bell pepper, pineapple and season with salt. Season chicken with Cajun seasoning and drizzle with olive oil. Place chicken on top of veggies and drizzle with BBQ sauce. Seal foil packet by folding the other half of foil over the top; then seal and secure the edges. Place on the grill lowering temp to medium. Cook at medium for 10 minutes. Carefully flip packet over, be careful not to tear foil and cook 10 more minutes. Remove from grill and allow to rest 5 to 10 minutes. Serve garnished with cilantro.

Check out Frog Bone Bayou BBQ Sauce and all their other sauces. 

Here is a link to their website: Frog Bone Cajun Sauces 

I purchased this sauce and was not compensated 

in any way. All opinions are my own.

Linking to:
Buns In My Oven: What's Cookin' Wednesday
Carole's Chatter: Food on Friday - Pineapple

Southwest Catfish Foil Packet

Several weeks ago I made Picante Fish a recipe I found on a YouTube channel called Texas Style Cuisine. It was so easy, healthy and delicious. It gave me all kinds of ideas for more foil packet meals. The possibilities are endless and experimenting will surely be delicious. But even better the clean up is almost nothing. I mean I used a plate here to take a pretty picture for you, but honestly you could enjoy this meal right out of the foil pack. This foil packet is still southwest in flavor. I built a bed of canned black beans and corn, then topped with bell pepper, red onion and tomatoes. The veggies protect the fish and helps to keep the fish moist while grilling. To season the fish I used a homemade Fajita Seasoning and green salsa. Both add Southwest flair, but the salsa adds moisture and flavor. I topped with a fresh flourish of cilantro. It was so good! I love how you get almost all the food groups in one neat packet. This is such a fast, easy weeknight meal. I plan to make it many more times in the future. I hope you enjoy it too.

Southwest Catfish Foil Packet

Serves 1

Ingredients

1/3 cup can low sodium black beans, rinsed and drained

1/3 cup can no salt added corn, drained

1/4 cup green bell pepper, chopped

1/4 cup red onion, chopped

6 grape tomatoes, halved

Kosher salt, to taste

Black pepper, to taste

1 tsp. olive oil

1 catfish filet

1/2 tsp Fajita Seasoning

2 Tbsp. green salsa

Cilantro chopped

Directions

Preheat grill to high heat for 10 minutes.

On a sheet of heavy duty aluminum foil layer ingredients; black beans, corn, bell pepper, onion and tomatoes. Season with salt, pepper and drizzle with olive oil. Place catfish filet on top of veggies and season with fajita seasoning and green salsa. Seal foil packet by rolling the sides of foil over the top; then seal and secure the ends. Place on the grill lowering temp to medium. Cook at medium for 20 minutes. Remove from grill and allow to rest five minutes. Serve garnished with cilantro.

Linking to:
Yesterfood: Treasure Box Tuesday
God's Growing Garden: Tuesdays with a Twist
Buns In My Oven: What's Cookin' Wednesday

Mexicana Beef Tacos

I think I have found that secret ingredient that makes restaurant tacos and fajitas so tasty. It is called Maggi Seasoning Sauce! For years my dear sister has said she thought they used soy sauce in their marinades. She was not far off. We now know it is Maggi. It is similar to soy but it has more of a smokey note. When you taste it you will immediately think, that's it! It has a very familiar and memorable flavor. Now that I have convinced you that you need Maggi Sauce, don't fret if you can't find it. One chef says you can substitute equal parts soy sauce and Worcestershire sauce. I found my bottle at the international grocery. It is also available online too.

You might be wondering how did I discover this secret? It was totally by accident. I bought the Maggi Seasoning Sauce to make another recipe. When I did a taste test of my new purchase I knew I had found a new flavor secret. I could not wait to experiment. Now I did not make the recipe I bought it for, I decided to try to recreate some tacos I had at a restaurant in Bossier City. The Carne A la Mexicana at El Mariachi are so delicious! They are served fajita style with the tortillas on the side just like the Alambre Chicken Tacos. It is a simple but favorful plate piled high with grilled skirt steak smothered in tomatoes, onions and peppers. They serve it with rice, refried beans, a dollop of sour cream and guacamole. They are so good! What I like about these tacos is it eats like ground beef, meaning it is easy to eat. No pieces of steak or veggie that you can't bite through. But then it taste smokey and fresh like fajitas. It is not heavy on cumin or chili powder the spices commonly found in ground beef tacos. As a bonus if served straight up without sides and toppings they are very healthy too. 

Well, I feel like I have nailed the flavor perfectly. The marinade makes the skirt steak smokey and savory. The pico adds fresh tangy and saucy flavor. I used my homemade Pico de Gallo but your can use store bought or your favorite recipe. If you like spicy add more jalapeno to the pico. It will be great! What I am still missing is their secret to grilling the skirt steak. They get a perfect crust and a medium rare center. So I am still practicing and perfecting the grilling. But I could not wait to share these tacos with you. They are so good! Trust me you have to try these on your next taco night.

Mexicana Beef Tacos
Serves 4

Ingredients

1 lb. skirt steak
Juice of 1 lime (3 Tbsp.)
3 Tbsp. Maggi Seasoning Sauce
3 Tbsp. vegetable or olive oil
2 tsp. chipotle hot sauce
Black pepper, to taste
Kosher salt, to taste
3 to 4 cups Pico de Gallo
8 small flour tortillas

Directions

Place skirt steak in a food storage bag. Combine lime juice, Maggi sauce, oil and hot sauce, whisk to emulsify. Pour over steak, seal storage bag removing as much air as possible. Place in the refrigerator for about 2 hours. Flip bag over every 30 minutes if possible during the 2 hours.

Remove the steak from the refrigerator and let it come to room temperature. Pre-heat grill to high heat for 10 minutes. Pat steak to remove excess marinade and season with salt and pepper. Grill for 3 to 4 minutes a side. Remove from grill and let it rest 20 minutes. Cut steak into 1/2” dice and set aside.

Heat a large skillet to medium high to high heat. Add Pico de Gallo and sauté until most of the moisture has evaporated. Add the steak and sauté until heated through. 

Place a skillet on high heat, when hot warm the tortillas on both sides until warm and blistered. To serve place beef mixture in warm flour tortillas.

Note: You can add additional toppings of you choice. I have tried cheese, sour cream and guacamole all delicious.

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Linking to:
Miz Helen's Country Cottage: Full Plate Thursday
Love Bakes Good Cakes: Freedom Fridays with All Bloggy Friends
God's Growing Garden: The Great Blog Train
The Lazy Gastronome: Taco Tuesday Link Party

Piri Piri Chicken

Have you ever heard of Piri Piri? It is Portuguese in origin and popular in South Africa. Recipes vary but the common ingredients are chilli, lemon, oil, red bell peppers and garlic. It is used as a sauce, marinade or seasoning. It was new to me when I saw a recipe for Mixed Grill with Spicy Piri Piri Sauce in a cookbook. But it soon became a favorite in our family. In a previous post, I shared a Father's Day meal where we used piri piri sauce on pork and beef. Well now there is a new restaurant in town call Boneheads that specializes in Piri Piri fish, chicken and shrimp. They have four different sauces ranging from mild to very hot. I have tried them all and they are delicious. I decide to try a twist on the Piri Piri Sauce recipe I had made in the past. I wanted to use birds eye chilies. I only used six even though I saw recipes that called for more. It turned out much spicier than the previous version. You could call this one hot and the other mild. The funny thing is that once grilled, the chicken is not hot at all. The fresh sauce has great heat and lingers on the tongue. But the grilled chicken has more sweetness of the red peppers than the spice of the birds eye chilies. It is so delicious! I chose to make some sides you might find at Boneheads or Nando's another popular Piri Piri restaurant chain. Both serve a spicy yellow rice. While only one serves a sweet soy broccoli. I loved this meal! It was a great healthy plate and the best part, I have more Hot Piri Piri Sauce for experimenting. I see Piri Piri Mayo and Piri Piri Mushrooms in my future. I hope you will put Piri Piri on your menu.

Piri Piri Chicken

Ingredients

2 red bell peppers

6 birds eye chilies* stems removed

4 Tbsp. lime juice

2 tsp sugar

1/4 tsp sea salt

2 garlic cloves, minced

1 tsp ground cumin
2 tsp olive oil

1 lb. boneless skinless chicken breast

Kosher salt, to taste

Directions

Combine bell peppers, birds eye chilies, lime juice, sugar, salt, garlic and cumin in blender; puree. Drizzle in olive oil and continue to blend until all ingredients are liquefied. Pour sauce into a Mason jar and store any leftovers in the frig. Add chicken to a zip top bag. Pour in enough sauce to cover chicken, squeeze out air and seal the bag; turn to coat the chicken with the marinade. Refrigerate, turning bag occasionally, marinade at least 30 minutes*. Remove chicken from marinade and season both side with salt. Grill chicken on a medium high grill about 6 minutes a side (time may vary depending on your grill) and serve with reserved sauce.

Note: You can make this sauce as mild or spicy as you like. Add jalapeno for a mild sauce, a serrano for a little more heat or use birds eye chilies for hot. If you want more heat add more peppers.

Marinating depends on the protein. If using pork and beef it can go for up to 8 hours; if using shrimp, fish or chicken it should not be marinated that long. Try 30 minutes.

Linking to:
Ms. enPlace: See Ya in the Gumbo
The Tumbleweed Contessa: What'd You Do This Weekend?
Reasons To Skip The Housework: Skip The Housework Link Party
Memories By The Mile: Treasure Box Tuesday
Stone Cottage Adventures: Tuesdays with a Twist
Anyonita Nibbles: #tastytuesdays
Dizzy Busy & Hungry: Wine'd Down Wednesday
Love Bakes Good Cakes: Freedom Fridays with All My Bloggy Friends
The Diary of a Real Housewife: Friday Favorites
Mary's Kitchen: Real Food Friday