Top 7 Grilled Thanksgiving Side Dishes
You’ve already got an awesome turkey, now what?
Add some extra flavor to your plate with these top Thanksgiving side dish ideas. All of these recipes gives you about 4-6 servings.
1. Grilled Stout Staffing
2. Twice Baked Planked Potatoes
Ingredients:
4 medium russet potatoes, skin left on and cubed
1/2 cup butter
1/3 cup milk
2 tablespoons sour cream
3 cloves garlic, minced
2 tablespoons fresh rosemary, minced
1/3 cup shredded cheddar cheese
1 green onion, thinly sliced
1 cedar plank
Instructions:
1. While I include a mashed potato recipe, the truth is, they are mashed potatoes, and everyone makes them a little different. Make them how you like them, just as long as they aren’t from a box.
2. Soak a cedar plank in water for at least one hour.
3. Fill a medium sized pot with about an inch of water. Insert a portable steaming basket, cover the pot and bring to a boil. Add the potatoes and steam until fork tender, about 12-15 minutes.
4. Empty the pot and wipe dry. Add the butter and potatoes. Mash while adding in the milk. Add the milk slowly to reach the right consistency. Stir in the sour cream, garlic, and rosemary. Note: The potatoes can be made a day in advance and kept in the refrigerator until time to grill.
5. Prepare the grill for indirect medium heat, 350 F. Mound the potatoes on the cedar plank and top with cheese and green onion.
6. Grill over indirect heat for approximately 20 minutes, or longer if the potatoes have been refrigerated.
There are a million variations for making these potatoes, which is part of the fun. Not only is it an easy side dish that tastes great, but it’s an awesome bit of presentation moving from grill to table.
3. Grilled Mashed Sweet Potatoes
Ingredients:
2 medium/large sweet potatoes
2 Tbsp butter
6 Tbsp marshmallow crème
1 tsp ground cinnamon
¼ tsp ground nutmeg
For Topping
1 Tbsp white sugar (optional)
½ tsp ground cinnamon (optional)
Instructions:
1. Start by preheating your grill for 15 minutes with all the burners on high or the dampers all open. Keep in mind that if it’s chilly outside, you may need to preheat for a few extra minutes.
2. Brush your cooking grates clean and prepare your grill for indirect, medium heat.
3. Clean your sweet potatoes and slice them in half lengthwise. Place them cut side down on the cooking grates and grill with the lid closed for 20 minutes. This will give you some nice caramelization on the sweet potatoes and add that great grilled flavor. Then, flip the potatoes and continue grilling them for 20 to 25 minutes, or until a fork inserted in the middle pushes through easily. Remove them from the grill, and let them rest for about 10 minutes. At this point, you should be able to handle them, but they will still be hot so be very careful. They didn’t invent the game “Hot Potato” for nothing.
4. Gently peel the skin off the sweet potatoes and put them in a bowl. Mix in two tablespoons of butter and six tablespoons of marshmallow crème (both should melt into the potatoes as you mix), and mash the potatoes with a fork. You can use a regular potato masher, but they should be soft enough that a regular dinner fork will whip them up nicely. Stir in one teaspoon of cinnamon and ¼ teaspoon of nutmeg.
5. Pour the sweet potato mixture into a small baking dish, cover, and store in the fridge overnight.
6. When you’re ready to reheat them, make sure that you pull the baking dish out of the fridge at least a half hour before you put them on the grill to let them come up to room temperature.
7. Preheat your grill and prepare for indirect, medium heat. Bake for 30 minutes, stirring about halfway through.
8. Then, if you like your potatoes a little sweeter, mix a tablespoon of white sugar with a ½ teaspoon of cinnamon and sprinkle over the top of the potatoes. Close the lid, and continue to bake your potatoes for an additional 10 minutes.
9. Remove them from the grill and enjoy!
4. Hasselback Potatoes
5. Cider-Glazed Veggies
Ingredients:
1 ½ pounds parsnips
1 ½ pounds carrots
1 large sweet onion
1 tablespoon olive oil
kosher salt
pepper
¼ cup apple cider
¼ cup chicken broth
2 tablespoons butter
1 tablespoon good-quality maple syrup
Instructions:
1. Peel and cut vegetables into 1-inch pieces. In a large bowl, toss parsnips, carrots and onion with the olive oil until the vegetables are well coated. Season to taste with salt and pepper.
2. Bring cider, broth, butter and maple syrup to a boil. Cook, uncovered, until reduced by half and syrupy, about 10 min. Season with salt and pepper.
3. Prepare grill for direct cooking over medium heat (350 to 450 degrees). Preheat a perforated grill pan for 10 minutes.
4. Spread the vegetables onto pan in a single layer. Grill with the lid close as much as possible, stirring occasionally, for about 10 minutes or until the vegetables and tender and lightly charred.
5. Transfer veggies to a bowl, toss with the apple cider glaze and serve immediately.
6. Grill Brussels Sprouts
Ingredients:
olive oil
coconut oil
kosher salt
black pepper
crumbled bacon
fresh garlic cloves
Instructions:
1. On charcoal over medium heat I baste the vegetables in beef stock every 20 minutes.
2. After 60-90 minutes, I let them rest covered and finish with a little more salt (smoked sea salt works best).
They are green, but still vibrant. They melt in your mouth, but still have substance. They taste like Brussels sprouts, but without the bitterness.
And the smell -- the smoky, salty, nutty aroma is proof enough to put more than just a polite serving of one on your plate. When my 8-year old son, empty plate in hand, turned to me and said, “Daddy, can I have seconds?” I knew I was on to something.
7. Smoked Gravy
Ingredients:
Brine
2 quarts apple juice
1 cup kosher salt
2 tablespoons dried rosemary
2 tablespoons dried thyme
1 tablespoon dried sage
1 teaspoon coarsely ground black pepper
1 turkey, 10 to 12 pounds, fresh or defrosted
½ cup melted unsalted butter, divided
1 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
6 cups reduced-sodium chicken stock
1 large yellow onion, roughly chopped
2 large carrots, roughly chopped
2 celery stalks, roughly chopped
4 small chunks apple wood or 4 small handfuls apple wood chips, soaked in water for at least 30 minutes
Gravy
Reserved pan liquid plus enough chicken stock to make 4 cups of liquid
1/4 cup unsalted butter, cut into 4 equal pieces
1/4 cup all-purpose fl our
⅓ cup dry white wine
2 tablespoons finely chopped fresh Italian parsley
Kosher salt
Freshly ground black pepper
Instructions:
1. In a large pot combine the brine ingredients. Stir vigorously until the salt has dissolved.
2. Remove the neck and giblets from both ends of the turkey and reserve in the refrigerator for the gravy. Cut off and reserve the wing tips for the gravy, too. If your turkey has a trussing clamp, leave it in place. Do not truss the turkey. Rinse the turkey, inside and out, with cold water.
3. Partially fill a cooler with ice. Open a large, sturdy plastic bag in the cooler. Place the turkey, breast side down, in the bag. Carefully pour the brine over the turkey and then add 3 quarts of cold water. Press the air out of the bag, seal the bag tightly, close the lid of the cooler, and set aside for 18 to 24 hours.
4. Prepare a half circle or crescent-shaped fire for low heat. Remove the turkey from the bag and rinse it, inside and out, with cold water. Pat dry with paper towels. Discard the brine. Lightly coat the turkey with some of the melted butter. Season with the pepper.
5. Pour the chicken stock into a sturdy, 9 x 13-inch roasting pan. Add the onion, carrots, and celery. Add the reserved turkey neck, giblets, and wing tips. Place the turkey, breast side down, in the roasting pan.
6. Place the roasting pan in the center of the cooking grate. Position the pan so the turkey legs face the charcoal. Drain, then add 2 wood chunks or 2 handfuls of wood chips to the charcoal. Cook the turkey over indirect low heat (300˚F to 350˚F), with the lid closed, for 1 hour, and monitor the turkey's temperature closely.
7. After 1 hour, to maintain the heat, add 10 to 12 unlit charcoal briquettes to the lit charcoal, using long-handled tongs to tuck the unlit charcoal between the lit charcoal. Drain and add the remaining wood chunks or chips to the charcoal. Carefully turn the turkey over in the pan so the breast faces up. Continue to cook the turkey over indirect low heat, with the lid closed, for a second hour.
8. At the end of the second hour, baste the turkey all over with the remaining butter. If any parts are getting too dark, tightly wrap them with aluminum foil. Once again, add 10 to 12 unlit charcoal briquettes to the lit charcoal to maintain the heat. Continue to cook the turkey over indirect low heat. The total cooking time will be 2 1/2 to 3 1/2 hours. The turkey is done when the internal temperature reaches 175°F in the thickest part of the thigh (not touching the bone) and 165°F in the breast. Note: The internal temperature will rise 5°F to 10°F during resting.
9. Transfer the turkey to a cutting board, loosely cover with foil, and let rest for 20 to 30 minutes before carving. Meanwhile, make the gravy.
10. Strain the pan liquid through a sieve into a large fat separator and discard all the solids. Add enough chicken stock to equal 4 cups of liquid. Place the roasting pan over a stovetop burner set to medium heat. Add the butter and flour. As the butter melts, stir with a wooden spoon and cook until the mixture turns the color of peanut butter, about 5 minutes, stirring frequently. Add 4 cups of the reserved pan liquid (but not the fat) plus the wine. Bring the gravy to a boil, whisking frequently to dissolve the lumps. Lower the heat and simmer the gravy for a few minutes or until it reaches the consistency you like. If the gravy gets too thick, add more chicken stock a little at a time and simmer until it reaches the right thickness. Turn off the heat. Add the parsley. Add salt and pepper to taste.
