Game Day Grilling Using Hardcore Carnivore!
After Mr. San Diego bought his Traeger last year, grilling and barbequing have become an obsession in our household. Out of all my husband’s hobbies, this has been the most delicious by far. Plus, it has been something we have been able to do together! We have found our favorite pitmasters, watched countless YouTube videos, and now have an entire pantry shelf full of seasonings, rubs, and sauces.
My husband loves the classic slow-and-low smoked barbecue approach, and I…well, I’m really impatient and grew up eating carne asada that took no longer than twenty minutes to grill. Waiting an extra hour for a 16-hour smoked brisket to “rest” in a Yeti cooler made me realize how much I wanted a classic grill of my own so I could learn how to make my favorites and not die of hunger or old age. Plus, food cooked over charcoal tastes great, and I really want to learn how to cook directly on the coals themselves.
That is why I was SOOO excited when the ol’ ball-and-chain bought me my very own Weber Charcoal Grill for Christmas! Now I can live-fire cook like Jess Pryles and join the gang of girls that grill! If you don’t know, Jess Pryles is the owner of Hardcore Carnivore, a chef, and a meat expert. Her line of seasonings are some of my absolute favorites, and her YouTube videos on grilling methods and recipes have taught me so much! She is smart as hell and breaks down her cooking methods and choices in a way that doesn’t make me feel overwhelmed.
Major girl-crush aside, I decided that I would take on the responsibility of grilling for the big game and use only Hardcore Carnivore seasonings! The two that we use the most in our home are Black and Meatchelada. Black is aptly named since it’s an activated charcoal rub and is amazing on burgers, steaks, and red meat of all kinds. It is hands down the most-used seasoning in our pantry. Meatchelada is a chili-lime rub and goes great on taco meat, wings, fajitas, and the rim of your beer glass with a Mexican lager. The other three are Amplify, which is great for veggies; Red, which is great for pork and chicken; and Camo, which I’m told is great for game meats but I have yet to use it.
With the festivities only a couple of days away, I wanted to share my game-plan early in case y’all are looking for ideas that are easy and delicious. It means I get to eat them twice (now to share and again on Sunday) and I am all for delicious practice! I made Chili-Lime Grilled Wings, Bacon-Wrapped Jalapeno Poppers, and Grilled Green Onions - all using Hardcore Carnivore seasonings. They’re super easy to do, taste amazing, and they just happen to be low-carb!
Chili-Lime Grilled Wings
These wings are straight from the Hardcore Carnivore website. They are SOO easy and muy delicioso! Check out the link to recipe below. These were brined in Lonestar Rio Jade beer and I added a bit of fresh lime juice when I took them off the grill. The flavor was AMAZING! I love that I didn’t have to make some fancy marinade. I just needed some HC Meatchelada to season them and limes to finish them off!
Recipe Link: Meatchelada Chili Lime Grilled Wings
Bacon-Wrapped Jalapeno Poppers
Poppers are really easy! So easy that I didn’t even look for a recipe and simply eyeballed the mixture. I bought whipped cream cheese (much easier to mix than blocks) and shredded cheddar cheese to make the filling. To season the mixture, I sprinkled in some HC Black to taste, and that’s it - it’s all they needed, not even salt! After filling and then wrapping the jalapenos with bacon (don’t use thick cut), I sprinkled some HC Red on them and used a wooden toothpick to keep the bacon from unwrapping. If you’ve never grilled bacon before, watch the video below - it’s super helpful and will help you avoid murdering your poppers.
cebollitas asadas
You may call them green onions, but I call them cebollitas because I’m half-Mexican and that’s what they were called when I was growing up. Mr. San Diego had never had them grilled until we started dating, but now he loves them just as much as I do. Cebollitas asadas translates very simply to grilled green onions.
This is another one that I went off-recipe with because they’re really simple. First, chop off the root ends at the bulbs and the tops to even them out. Place a few onto some foil and sprinkle them with lime juice, a little salt, and some HC Meatchelada. Wrap them in the foil so they’ll steam and throw them onto the grill until the bulbs are soft. Once they’re done and off the grill - this next part is key - squirt more fresh lime juice on them, add just a little more salt, and bite off the bulb to enjoy!
If you decide to make these, let me know in the comments below! I’d love to hear how it went. Otherwise, let me know what your game day grilling plans are so I can try them out on my own. Have a great weekend, football fans!