Big Game & Party Recipe Ideas

Wing Prep

• Yep! You read that right. Just a couple ingredients.
• Pat the chicken wings dry with a paper towel
• Season each wing with a good amount of bbq rub. Place in the fridge while you preheat your grill or smoker.

Grill Prep

• Light a chimney of charcoal. This usually takes close to a full chimney so don't be shy.
• Place a "vortex-type" device in the center of the kettle grill on the fire grate with the smaller opening facing up. The vortex-type device is basically a thin sheet of sheet metal roll into a circle shape with a smaller opening at the top and a larger opening at the bottom. This shape causes the heat from the charcoal to create a vortex effect with high-heat temperatures.
• When the chimney of charcoal is ready, pour the briquettes in the vortex-type device. Place the grill grate back in the grill above the charcoal. Place 1-2 small chunks of bbq smoking wood directly on the cooking grate right above the hot briquettes. Anything works as long as it's a bbq wood. I like apple, cherry, hickory, or mesquite.
• Place the wings directly on the cooking grate in the area on the outside of the vortex-type device, for direct heat. Don't place the wings directly over the coals. They will burn quickly.
• Check the temp of the wings about every 15-20 minutes. They don't take long. With the vortex effect, the heat in the grill should range anywhere between 400-700 degrees F.
• When the wings reach an internal temperature of around 185-190 degrees F, remove them from the heat. From there you can toss them in your favorite sauce or glaze, or you can eat them with just the dry rub. However you like it. Enjoy!

• Trim the excess fat off of the brisket. My general preference is to take the fat cap down to about 1/8 of an inch. Round the thinest part of the flat off ever so slightly. The super thin meat will overcook compared to the rest of the brisket.
• Apply a generous layer of your favorite beef dry rub over the entire brisket. Make sure to get the sides too, not just the top and bottom. Get outta here with those mustard and oil binders. The seasoning shouldn't have any problem adhering to the meat without them.
• Preheat your smoker to 225-300 degrees F. If you are using a pellet grill, I recommend closer to 225 F. If you are using charcoal or an offset smoker, 275-300 works well as long as the heat source isn't too close to the meat to char it.
• Smoke the brisket until it reaches about 170 degrees internal temperature. Check to see if the rub is adhered enough to the meat. As long as it's adhered to the meat, it's time to wrap it.
• I like foil. It's cheaper than butcher paper, and easier to use. I recommend the heavier duty, wide foil from the big box stores. Wrap tightly in foil with about 1/4 cup of beef broth.
• Let the wrapped brisket smoke until the meat is around 202-205 degrees F internal temperature. Start probing the flat of the brisket. That's the thin part. If it isn't probing tender like butter, let it keep going. Lower grade beef tends to take a couple extra degrees.
• When the flat is probing tender, remove the brisket from the smoker. Keep the brisket in the foil, and let it rest for 30 mins to an hour. Remove from the foil and slice AGAINST THE GRAIN. The grain changes directions when you get from the flat to the point, so make sure you change your slicing direction to keep cutting against the grain. Enjoy!

• Preheat your smoker to 225 degrees F
• Open the cream cheese and place it on a double layer sheet of cream cheese.
• Season each side of the cream cheese block with the BBQ Rub. If you want you can score the cream cheese first before you season it. You can use whatever pattern you want. Just make sure you use a good sharp knife, and only lightly score it. If you cut too deep, it will fall apart while it is cooking.
• Place the cream cheese that is still on double layer of foil on the smoker grate. Let it smoke for 2-3 hours.
• While the cream cheese is smoking, mix your jam or jelly with the apple juice to create a glaze-like mixture.
• About 10-15 mins before you pull the cream cheese off the smoker, glaze it with your jam or sauce mixture. Let is smoke for 10-15 more minutes so the sauce can slightly tack up and adhere to the cream cheese.
• Enjoy with crackers. Wheat thins or pita crackers are best for this. Club crackers work too.

• Preheat your smoker to 225-250 degrees F
• Apply a liberal layer of the beef rub to the outside of the chuck roast. Place the roast directly on the grill grates. Let the roast smoke until it reaches an internal temperature of about 165 degrees F.
• Place the roast on a double sheet of aluminum foil. Mix 1/4 cup of BBQ sauce with 2 tsp of apple cider vinegar in a small bowl. Pour the mixture over the top of the roast. Wrap the roast tight with the foil, and return to the smoker. Let smoke until it reaches an internal temperature of 195 degrees F.
• Remove the roast from the smoker. Let sit in the foil for 5-10 minutes. Cube the roast up into about 3/4 inch chunks. Pour the remaining BBQ sauce over the chunks of roast. Carefully toss the chunks of roast in the sauce. Leave them in the foil. Return the foil with the chunks of beef to the smoker. Leave the foil open so the sauce can tack up on the meat.
• Leave the pieces of roast on the smoker for 30-60 minutes, or until the chunks become tender enough to pull apart with your fingers. Let cool for 5-10 minutes. Enjoy!

• Preheat your smoker to 225 degrees F
• Remove the stems from the mushrooms
• In a mixing bowl, mix together the cream cheese, onion powder, garlic powder, smoked paprika, black pepper, and parmesan cheese.
• Place a small spoonful of the cream cheese mixture into each mushroom, so each one is filled evenly
• Place the mushrooms on the grill grates. Let cook for 40-60 minutes. Remove the mushrooms when they reach the desired consistency. I like to wait until the cheese gets a faint yellow color to it, and the mushrooms soften. This usually takes about 50 minutes.
• Remove from the smoker, and enjoy!

• Whisk together the ingredients for the dressing. Place in the fridge to chill.
• Pour 1 Tbsp of Olive Oil into a large pot. Heat the oil on medium heat. Place the couscous into the hot oil. Toast the couscous for 4-5 minutes, stirring frequently. When the couscous turns golden brown, add the broth.
• Bring to a boil. Lower the heat to medium low, and cover. Let the couscous simmer for 7-10 minutes. When it is tender, remove it from the heat, and let cool.
• Mix together all of the ingredients for the salad in a large bowl. Add the couscous, and the dressing to the salad. Let chill in the fridge, or serve immediately. I like to let the salad chill in the fridge for about 20 minutes. Enjoy!

• Preheat your smoker to 250 Degrees F. Note: Any wood is great for this recipe, but I prefer to stick to fruit woods such as apple.
• Mix together the cream cheese, sour cream, Sweet Paprika Dry Rub, minced garlic, and grated cheese. Fill each jalapeño half with the cream cheese mixture. 
• Place the jalapeños on the grate of your smoker. Smoke for 45 minutes to an hour. Remove from the smoker, and enjoy!

• Spray the chicken wings with a bit of cooking oil. Coat evenly with your favorite rub. Place on the smoker and smoke at 225 for 1-2 hours or until the internal temperature of the meat is around 175-180 degrees.
• Remove the wings from the smoker, and place in the air fryer at 375 degrees for 5-10 minutes until the skin is crispy. Check every 2 minutes or so.
• Coat the wings in sauce in a large mixing bowl. Enjoy!

• Cook the steak however you would like. Use a simple beef rub, or just salt, pepper, and garlic. I usually reverse sear the steak to medium rare. Let the steak rest for at least 10 minutes, then slice into small chunks. In a large pot, boil the eggs for about 10-12 minutes. Cut the potatoes into a few chunks and boil them until they are fork tender. I usually just boil the potatoes and eggs at the same time.
• When the eggs are done boiling, put them in a bowl of ice water to stop them from cooking, and to cool them down. When the potatoes are done, drain them, and let them cool down to room temperature.
• Dice the onion and the red bell pepper. Heat the frying pan up on medium heat with about 1 Tbsp of olive oil, and throw the onions and peppers in. Add the salt, black pepper, paprika, chili powder, oregano, lemon juice, and parsley. Cook on medium heat until the onions start to turn slightly transparent. Remove from the heat and let cool.
• Peel the hard boiled eggs, and chop them into small chunks. Chop the potatoes into small chunks. In a large mixing bowl, add the eggs, potatoes, onions, peppers, and beef. Stir them until the mixtures looks evenly incorporated. Preheat your oven or smoker to 350-375 degrees F.
• Place one of the empanada wrappers in the palm of your hand. With you other hand, put about 1 spoonful of the mixture from the bowl in the middle of the empanada wrapper. With your free hand, close the empanada and seal all of the edges. Fold one of the corners over itself and continue to fold the edge over itself until the sealed edge looks like it is braided or twisted. Alternately you can seal the edges like a pie crust by pinching them. Just make sure the edges are sealed so you nothing leaks out when they are baking. Don’t use water on the edges, like you would with a wonton or egg roll wrapper. Water causes the edges to not be able to stick together.
• Spray a baking sheet with cooking spray. Place the empanadas on the baking sheet. Bake the empanadas in the oven or smoker for 25-30 minutes, or until the tops start to turn slightly golden brown. Remove, and enjoy! Be careful when eating the empanadas, as they are piping hot inside.

• Combine all ingredients in a mixing bowl and stir until well incorporated. You can enjoy immediately, but it is even better after a few hours, or overnight. Enjoy!

• Prepare macaroni noodles according to package instructions. Rinse and Drain. In a large mixing bowl, add mayonnaise, apple cider vinegar, sugar, dijon mustard, salt, and pepper. Mix until well combined.
• Add the onion, cucumber, bell pepper, shredded carrot, and macaroni noodles. Mix until well combined. Cover with plastic wrap, and chill in the fridge for 1-2 hours. Enjoy!

• Preheat your grill for high heat. Shuck the corn. Place the corn directly on the grill greats and cook until there are slight bits of char on some kernels on all sides of the corn. Let cool. Use a knife to cut the corn off of the cob
• Put the corn into a mixing bowl.  Add all of the other ingredients to the corn.  Mix well to combine ingredients.  Chill in the fridge for at least an hour before serving.  This allows the flavors to soak in and the salad to cool down. This salad is best served cold. Enjoy!