Two Amazing Holiday Grilling Recipes

It is hard to believe we are already wishing each other Happy Holidays in 2020. Now that we are at the end, things have really flown by! The Outdoor Appliance Store is here to wish you and your loved ones a merry holiday season! Our gifts to you are these amazing holiday grilling recipes. Bring your family and friends together with great food in your outdoor kitchen. Take advantage of a warm, Floridian Hanukkah or Christmas and enjoy yourself outside.

Grilled Prosciutto Wrapped Asparagus

Prep Time: 40 Minutes (This time may vary based on how long it takes you to wrap each spear.)

Cook Time: 7-8 Minutes

Serves: 4-6

The star of Thanksgiving is undeniably the big bird, the turkey. Many families also make a turkey for Christmas. Or if you live in Whoville, maybe you make roast beef. But another Christmas favorite is ham. This asparagus dish is a unique way to add another protein to your Christmas spread. This dish works well as an appetizer or as a side. It is also very easy to do. Plus, it makes you look like the grilling master we know you are.

Ingredients:

Fresh asparagus spears – about 1 lb or 12-15 medium-sized spears.
- You want the diameter of the base of the spear to be about ½” to ¾” wide.
- The smaller your spears, the shorter your cook time. Larger spears need a longer cook time.
1 tablespoon of olive oil
Thin sliced prosciutto
- You need half the number of prosciutto slices as asparagus spears. If you have 16 asparagus spears, you need 8 slices of prosciutto.
- Pancetta or bacon work for this dish, as well.
Your choice of seasoning
- We like to use black pepper. But whatever seasoning you think will be best, go for it! We just recommend you stay away from adding more salt. Prosciutto is already very high in salt content.

Prep Notes:

Wrap your asparagus with the prosciutto the night before you grill. Chill overnight in the fridge. This gives a deep prosciutto flavor to your asparagus.

Remember to cut your asparagus before wrapping. The bottom, thick part of the asparagus has very high water content. It does not cook as well as the rest of the spear. Remove the thick, bottom parts first and discard.

For easy wrapping, cut your prosciutto before wrapping. Measure your slices against your asparagus spears. Cut each slice to size and then wrap. This helps you avoid too much prosciutto per spear.

Directions:

Take your cut, cleaned asparagus, and roll each spear in the olive oil. We like to do this on a baking sheet lined with tin foil. Make sure to completely cover each side of each spear.

Sprinkle your black pepper, or another choice of seasoning, onto the asparagus.

Wrap each spear with a slice of precut, thin prosciutto. You now have a choice. You can either put your wrapped spears in the fridge to chill or head straight out to the grill. We recommend pre-chilling to enhance the prosciutto flavor. But grilling immediately after prep is still absolutely delicious!

Preheat your grill to medium-high heat. Spray your grill pan with your choice of cooking spray. You can also cook your asparagus directly on your grill grates if you choose. Spray grates before placing asparagus. Watch your flames carefully when grilling directly on the grates. You do not want to burn your spears.

Grill for about 3 minutes and then flip. Grill for another 3-4 minutes or until prosciutto is crispy. Be careful not to over grill. Over grilling creates soggy, wilted-looking asparagus. The asparagus should still have a little crunch to it in places, too.

Finally, serve and enjoy!

Grilled Latkes

Prep Time: 30 Minutes

Cook Time: 5-8 Minutes per latke

Serves: 12-15

Potato pancakes are a classic Hanukkah dish. Latkes are a delicious blend of potatoes, onions, and eggs. Traditionally, latkes you serve latkes with either applesauce or sour cream.

Ingredients and Cooking Materials:

2 cast iron skillets or one large griddle
Cheesecloth or flour sack towel
Cheese grater
Food processor
3 lbs of large russet potatoes
3 large eggs
1 large yellow onion (white onion is also fine)
3 tablespoons matzoh meal
1 ½ teaspoon kosher salt
¼ teaspoon ground black pepper
Applesauce and/or sour cream
Grapeseed oil
- Any oil with a high smoke point, like canola, avocado, or sunflower oil, is fine. Just pick one that also does not leave a strong flavor on your food.

Food Prep:

Begin by washing and scrubbing all your potatoes. Do not skin them. But you do want to remove any eyes or imperfections. Dry your potatoes with a clean cloth.

Peel your onion and slice it into quarters.

Directions:

Your latkes start with your onions. Pulverize quartered onion pieces in your food processor. Add in your eggs, matzoh meal, salt, and pepper. Whirl it in the processor to blend completely. Take this batter and pour it into a large bowl.

Shred your potatoes. Shred using either your food processor or a cheese grater. As you shred, move large bundles of potato to a large bowl of cold water. This helps to prevent the oxidation of your potatoes. Oxidation ruins the color of the fresh potato shreds. This water process also removes excess starch.

Before adding shredded potatoes to the onion mix, remove as much water as possible. You remove the water by hand squeezing or with a cheesecloth.

Add wrung out potato shreds to your onion batter. Mix completely.

Preheat your grill to medium-high heat. Place griddle or skillets on the middle of the heat. Grease your cooking pan with your oil. You want a thick covering of oil on top of your cooking surface. But not so much that your latkes are completely covered.

Drop roughly 1 -2 tablespoons of latke batter onto the griddle. Spread them out to your desired size. About ¼ inch thick is ideal.

Cover your pan and fry your latkes for 3-4 minutes on each side. Flipping latkes is sometimes easier with two spatulas instead of one.

Place grilled latkes on a plate lined with a paper towel. Blot to remove excess oils.

Serve your fresh latkes with applesauce or sour cream!

Note: You can also pre-make latkes and serve the next day! They heat up great. Make your latkes and store them in the fridge. When you want to heat them up again, pop them in the oven at 350 degrees. Place the latkes in a flat layer on a baking sheet. Do not grease the baking sheet. Allow them to bake until crisp again. This usually takes about 10 minutes.

From our team at The Outdoor Appliance Store, we wish you a Happy Holidays! We hope you enjoy these delicious grilling recipes.