A Grillin' Fourth - An updated Lebanese Garlic Paste Recipe, and a simple Greek Marinade

Happy Fourth Everyone!

This year, just like millions of households across the US we decided to do some grillin' for the Fourth of July. We just kept things simple. I do have one bad habit....I'm notorious for trying to squeeze every single last spark from my charcoal, so a morning of grilling usually encompasses at least several different preparations.

 

This year, along with roasting peppers for future use in sandwiches and salads, I found that the Missus loves simple grilled oyster mushrooms. The mushrooms are simply coated with Greek Extra Virgin Olive Oil, and seasoned with sea salt and oregano. The char was removed from the peppers, and it was topped with Greek Feta from North Park Produce and roasted in a pan.

 

The Missus also wanted some grilled sardines, and I found some fresh local sardines(Iwashi) at Nijiya.

 

I also bought some Lamb Shoulder from NPP, cut it into cubes, and used my general purpose Greek Marinade for the meat. It is so easy that I'm kinda embarrassed to share:

Greek style Marinade for Lamb or Chicken:

1/2 Cup Greek Extra Virgin Olive Oil
1/3 Cup fresh squeezed lemon juice
6-8 cloves of garlic minced
1-2 Tb dried oregano
1 Tb Kosher Salt

- Mix ingredients together. Taste and adjust seasoning.
- Marinade 1-2 lbs of meat overnight.

I used the meat for kabobs:

 

The marinade did a great job tenderizing the meat. I ate these wrapped in a pita with a nice smear of Garlic Sauce.

Speaking of Garlic Sauce, here's an update of the recipe I posted back in 2006. Going for the "Zankou" effect, I added mashed potato to give the sauce body.

Lebanese Garlic Sauce:
2 Bulbs of Garlic peeled and separated
1/2 Cup Lemon Juice
3/4 Cup Extra Virgin Olive Oil
1 Large Russet Potato, boiled and mashed
2 Tsp Kosher Salt

- Combine garlic, lemon juice, and salt in a blender.
- Blend until a smooth "paste" is achieved
- While blender is running, slowly add olive oil into the blender in a thin stream until the mixture thickens.
- After mixture thickens, stop the blender and add 2-3 Tb mashed potato, and blend. Keep adding mashed potato until desired thickness is reached.
- Refrigerate overnight. 

Be aware that your breath will probably be politically incorrect for a while after consuming this.

 

The last item for the grill were some chicken wings. I had eight wings total, so I seasoned four of the wings with sea salt and canola oil. In need of some variety, I took a few tablespoons of the garlic sauce, and a few tablespoons of canola oil, added a touch of salt and rubbed the other four wings down with the mixture. I let the wings sit for about 20 minutes or so.

The garlic wings are on the left, the salt only wings are on the right:

 

I think I'll use my "old" garlic sauce recipe and marinate some wings overnight next time. I do enjoy hardwood charcoal grilled wings seasoned with just salt.

I hope everyone has a fun and safe Fourth of July!

Comments

[Carol]

Wow, those mushrooms look delicious! Hehe, must be a chicken wings day since that's what I whipped up, too.

Hope you and the whole mmm-yoso gang had a great 4th!

[Cliff]

wow that greek marinade IS really simple... will try it though!

btw those mushrooms look really good but how come those oyster mushrooms are so small? the ones i bought were hugee

[Lynnea]

Hi Kirk!
I think it's great that you use the charcoal until the very end. grilled clams are great too and they still cook when the charcoal is on it's last leg.

[mike]

I've been looking for a place to buy fresh sardines. I'll definitely check out Nijiya.

[kat]

wow! everything looks so good!

[Kirk]

Hi Carol - It's the Missus's latest thing....

Hi Cliff - Sometimes simple is best...BTW, use some good quality Greek Olive Oil...and maybe some good oregano from, say Penzy's. When doing things simply, those things matter.

Hi Lynnea - Yes, I just want to squeeze everything out of the coals....

Hi Mike - I've also seen them at Mitsuwa.

Hi Kat - It made for a nice lunch...and dinner.

[foodhoe]

Those mushrooms look really good, I wouldn't have thought oyster mushrooms would do that on a grill... mmm, I've had Zankou before and your pitas must have been amazing.

[Kirk]

Hi FH - Oyster or Eringi(King Mushrooms) are much more flavorful than portabellos, and simple to grill. That garlic paste is heaven if you're a garlic lover.

[Jeff c]

Kirk, love your bbq recipes. I wish I had read this this past 4th. I might have inspired me to go out and brave the 112degree heat and bbq something.

[Kirk]

Hi Jeffrey - You know, I was wondering how hot is was in your neck of the woods...... 112! Sheesh....