Savor the Outdoors Our Employees’ Favorite Grilling Tips By: Lodge Cast Iron / August 3, 2023 Around Lodge, we’re always sharing grilling tips and recipes with each other! So, we gathered some of our favorite grilling tips from Lodge employees to help you level up your grilling game—whether you're firing things up in your backyard, at your campsite, or even at your apartment. E-mail this page Share on Facebook Share on Pinterest Share on Twitter Print this page Mike Fischer, National Sales Manager After a long week of travel, Mike loves to spend the weekend grilling out for his family and friends in the backyard. Here's how he hosts successful cookouts, weekend after weekend! I like to test my grilling menu before the big cookout. It helps gauge how long it will take to get all of the food on the table and prevents me from running out of food when we have people over. The Casserole Pan is my go-to for making sides like mac and cheese or baked beans on the grill. Plus, the cast iron retains heat after you take it off the grill to keep your food warm for serving. I always keep a thermometer nearby to check for doneness—there’s nothing worse than an overcooked steak! During the holidays when oven space is in high demand, we like to use our grill to make a spatchcocked turkey. I like Sear Blends for grilling chicken, steaks, and burgers, but our family also likes to use it to top off eggs in the morning. Beth Paden, Senior Graphic Designer During a busy week, Beth loves to unwind with her husband and dogs in the backyard for dinner. Read on for her favorite ways to serve up low-stress dinners after work. Never grill hungry! At our house, we make a hot dip on the grill first so we have a snack as we cook. Throw a griddle on the grill to prevent things from falling through the grates. It makes it so easy to sizzle fajitas or make smash burgers. On busy weeknights, one of our go-tos is a grilled salad: a combo of veggies and a protein seared on the griddle and then topped with our favorite dressing at that moment. When we grill for our friends and family, we stick with dishes that are customizable like burgers or kabobs. That keeps everyone happy, even the picky eaters! Grilled food should be enjoyed hot! Save dish duty for after your grill and cast iron have had time to cool, then reach for the right tools. We’ve always got pan scrapers and grill scrapers close by! David Fletcher, QA Manager & Metallurgist David and his wife love hosting at their place. For him, gathering close friends around the grill to make something delicious is the perfect way to spend the evening. And if you're lucky, he might even bring out samples of the small-batch beer he's brewing. Before I start grilling, I fire up the grill and let it run for about ten minutes, then I give it a good scrub down. The heat makes it easy to clean off stuck-on food from your last cookout, giving you a fresh start for that night’s menu. Grab veggie burgers for your vegetarian friends! Just remember that they cook quickly, so you can hold off on adding them to the grill until your beef burgers have almost finished cooking. Giving your food time to marinate helps you to layer in flavor on the grill. My favorite is to marinate chicken in Italian dressing for shish kebabs. It’s pretty simple, but really delicious! The Double Play is a great way to transform your grill. I like to use the griddle side to get a nice, even sear on my burgers as they cook. Then, during the last few minutes of cooking, I transfer the patties directly onto the grill grate to lock in the grill marks. Don’t use a wire brush to clean your grill, instead stick to a cleaning tool with nylon bristles and a steel scraper. Ellie Kassebaum, Copywriter On summer weekends, you can find Ellie and her friends sharing homemade cocktails on her roof as dinner sizzles away on the grill. She's got you covered with tips for making the most of a shared grilling area. I live in an apartment and grill on our roof, so it helps to keep it simple and prep ahead of time since I don’t have easy access to a kitchen once I’m up there. Sear Blends come in handy for this because I don’t have to pack a bunch of different seasonings when I head for the grill. Have designated grilling gloves for maneuvering hot cast iron. I’ve sacrificed too many oven mitts to messy grilling projects and they often don’t provide enough heat protection for outdoor cooking. Whether I’m grilling chicken or searing steaks, I love to chop up a bunch of veggies from the farmers’ market and throw them in a skillet for an easy side. Plus, they don’t need much attention, so you keep the focus on your main. Have a backup plan! Sometimes someone's already claimed the grill or a storm pops up, so I like to anticipate how I can recreate my cookout inside—just in case! Often, it’s as simple as using a grill pan on the stove. Don’t forget dessert! I like to throw a fruit crumble or s’mores dip on the grill while we eat dinner and serve it straight from the skillet for dessert. Grill seekers, unite! Recipes to get your sear on. Fireside Tomahawk Ribeye Here, we celebrate a massive steak simply: with crusty bread, a slathering of compound butter, and our Fireside Garlic & Herb Sear Blend. Smoked Whiskey Wings Sweet and savory with a bit of a kick, these wings taste great with a cold drink on a summer night. Smoked Skillet Queso Rich and creamy with some spice, Smoked Skillet Queso is a great appetizer to prepare when you need to feed a crowd. Citrus Shrimp Tacos with Avocado Aioli This taco recipe starts with 1½ pounds of shrimp, seasoned with Sizzling Citrus and dressed with Southern twang (AKA Duke’s Mayo). Then, we top everything off with grilled avocado slices and a south-of-the-border-inspired aioli. Flanken-Style Short Ribs & Tennessee Smoke Butter Don’t snooze on this special cut of short rib, sliced across the bone for small, tender riblet-style pieces. Here, we keep things simple with a generous sizzle, some charred scallions, and our Tennessee Smoke Sear Blend. Grilled Smashed Potatoes with Warm Bacon Vinaigrette These smashed potatoes are the perfect combination of savory and sweet to add to your grilling menu. Grilled Lobster Tails with Garlic Butter and Charred Lemon With its buttery-sweet flavor and perfectly tender texture, it’s no wonder that lobster enjoys perhaps the most luxurious reputation among all seafood. Double Chop with Kickin' Skillet Corn This impressive cut may require a special order from your butcher, but have no fear, that’s about as complicated as this recipe gets. We use our Southwest Kick Sear Blend to give this chop a little scoot in its boot. Sizzling Citrus Skirt Steak Tacos This recipe features our Sizzling Citrus Sear Blend—specially crafted for high-heat cooking and not so shy on zingy, zesty flavor. We top it all off with a cool crema, fresh, crunchy slaw, plus a squeeze of grilled orange slices. Grilled Duck Breast with Orange Sauce This cooking process is simple, but the results are sure to impress. Smoked Cream Cheese With Hot Honey Drizzle The skillet will keep the cream cheese warm and looks great on your table—if it makes it that far. Smash Burgers With Garlic Butter Buns Why are they called smash burgers? Because you flatten the meat patty with a hot, cast iron burger press on the grill. Contributed By: Lodge Cast Iron We hope you enjoy our stories and recipes! Follow us on Instagram, Facebook, and Twitter, and tag your Instagram food photos with #lodgecastiron for a chance to be featured on our feed! 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Savor the Outdoors Our Employees’ Favorite Grilling Tips By: Lodge Cast Iron / August 3, 2023 Around Lodge, we’re always sharing grilling tips and recipes with each other! So, we gathered some of our favorite grilling tips from Lodge employees to help you level up your grilling game—whether you're firing things up in your backyard, at your campsite, or even at your apartment. E-mail this page Share on Facebook Share on Pinterest Share on Twitter Print this page Mike Fischer, National Sales Manager After a long week of travel, Mike loves to spend the weekend grilling out for his family and friends in the backyard. Here's how he hosts successful cookouts, weekend after weekend! I like to test my grilling menu before the big cookout. It helps gauge how long it will take to get all of the food on the table and prevents me from running out of food when we have people over. The Casserole Pan is my go-to for making sides like mac and cheese or baked beans on the grill. Plus, the cast iron retains heat after you take it off the grill to keep your food warm for serving. I always keep a thermometer nearby to check for doneness—there’s nothing worse than an overcooked steak! During the holidays when oven space is in high demand, we like to use our grill to make a spatchcocked turkey. I like Sear Blends for grilling chicken, steaks, and burgers, but our family also likes to use it to top off eggs in the morning. Beth Paden, Senior Graphic Designer During a busy week, Beth loves to unwind with her husband and dogs in the backyard for dinner. Read on for her favorite ways to serve up low-stress dinners after work. Never grill hungry! At our house, we make a hot dip on the grill first so we have a snack as we cook. Throw a griddle on the grill to prevent things from falling through the grates. It makes it so easy to sizzle fajitas or make smash burgers. On busy weeknights, one of our go-tos is a grilled salad: a combo of veggies and a protein seared on the griddle and then topped with our favorite dressing at that moment. When we grill for our friends and family, we stick with dishes that are customizable like burgers or kabobs. That keeps everyone happy, even the picky eaters! Grilled food should be enjoyed hot! Save dish duty for after your grill and cast iron have had time to cool, then reach for the right tools. We’ve always got pan scrapers and grill scrapers close by! David Fletcher, QA Manager & Metallurgist David and his wife love hosting at their place. For him, gathering close friends around the grill to make something delicious is the perfect way to spend the evening. And if you're lucky, he might even bring out samples of the small-batch beer he's brewing. Before I start grilling, I fire up the grill and let it run for about ten minutes, then I give it a good scrub down. The heat makes it easy to clean off stuck-on food from your last cookout, giving you a fresh start for that night’s menu. Grab veggie burgers for your vegetarian friends! Just remember that they cook quickly, so you can hold off on adding them to the grill until your beef burgers have almost finished cooking. Giving your food time to marinate helps you to layer in flavor on the grill. My favorite is to marinate chicken in Italian dressing for shish kebabs. It’s pretty simple, but really delicious! The Double Play is a great way to transform your grill. I like to use the griddle side to get a nice, even sear on my burgers as they cook. Then, during the last few minutes of cooking, I transfer the patties directly onto the grill grate to lock in the grill marks. Don’t use a wire brush to clean your grill, instead stick to a cleaning tool with nylon bristles and a steel scraper. Ellie Kassebaum, Copywriter On summer weekends, you can find Ellie and her friends sharing homemade cocktails on her roof as dinner sizzles away on the grill. She's got you covered with tips for making the most of a shared grilling area. I live in an apartment and grill on our roof, so it helps to keep it simple and prep ahead of time since I don’t have easy access to a kitchen once I’m up there. Sear Blends come in handy for this because I don’t have to pack a bunch of different seasonings when I head for the grill. Have designated grilling gloves for maneuvering hot cast iron. I’ve sacrificed too many oven mitts to messy grilling projects and they often don’t provide enough heat protection for outdoor cooking. Whether I’m grilling chicken or searing steaks, I love to chop up a bunch of veggies from the farmers’ market and throw them in a skillet for an easy side. Plus, they don’t need much attention, so you keep the focus on your main. Have a backup plan! Sometimes someone's already claimed the grill or a storm pops up, so I like to anticipate how I can recreate my cookout inside—just in case! Often, it’s as simple as using a grill pan on the stove. Don’t forget dessert! I like to throw a fruit crumble or s’mores dip on the grill while we eat dinner and serve it straight from the skillet for dessert. Grill seekers, unite! Recipes to get your sear on. Fireside Tomahawk Ribeye Here, we celebrate a massive steak simply: with crusty bread, a slathering of compound butter, and our Fireside Garlic & Herb Sear Blend. Smoked Whiskey Wings Sweet and savory with a bit of a kick, these wings taste great with a cold drink on a summer night. Smoked Skillet Queso Rich and creamy with some spice, Smoked Skillet Queso is a great appetizer to prepare when you need to feed a crowd. Citrus Shrimp Tacos with Avocado Aioli This taco recipe starts with 1½ pounds of shrimp, seasoned with Sizzling Citrus and dressed with Southern twang (AKA Duke’s Mayo). Then, we top everything off with grilled avocado slices and a south-of-the-border-inspired aioli. Flanken-Style Short Ribs & Tennessee Smoke Butter Don’t snooze on this special cut of short rib, sliced across the bone for small, tender riblet-style pieces. Here, we keep things simple with a generous sizzle, some charred scallions, and our Tennessee Smoke Sear Blend. Grilled Smashed Potatoes with Warm Bacon Vinaigrette These smashed potatoes are the perfect combination of savory and sweet to add to your grilling menu. Grilled Lobster Tails with Garlic Butter and Charred Lemon With its buttery-sweet flavor and perfectly tender texture, it’s no wonder that lobster enjoys perhaps the most luxurious reputation among all seafood. Double Chop with Kickin' Skillet Corn This impressive cut may require a special order from your butcher, but have no fear, that’s about as complicated as this recipe gets. We use our Southwest Kick Sear Blend to give this chop a little scoot in its boot. Sizzling Citrus Skirt Steak Tacos This recipe features our Sizzling Citrus Sear Blend—specially crafted for high-heat cooking and not so shy on zingy, zesty flavor. We top it all off with a cool crema, fresh, crunchy slaw, plus a squeeze of grilled orange slices. Grilled Duck Breast with Orange Sauce This cooking process is simple, but the results are sure to impress. Smoked Cream Cheese With Hot Honey Drizzle The skillet will keep the cream cheese warm and looks great on your table—if it makes it that far. Smash Burgers With Garlic Butter Buns Why are they called smash burgers? Because you flatten the meat patty with a hot, cast iron burger press on the grill. Contributed By: Lodge Cast Iron We hope you enjoy our stories and recipes! Follow us on Instagram, Facebook, and Twitter, and tag your Instagram food photos with #lodgecastiron for a chance to be featured on our feed!
