10 unexpected uses for your BBQ

Before you limit your grilling repertoire to easy burgers and boring steaks, think again. Here are ten unexpected uses and recipe ideas for your BBQ in time for the long-weekend.

1. Grill your salad: Instead of the usual cold lettuce and vinaigrette, try tossing the salad on the BBQ for a rich and warm meal starter.

• Grilled Asparagus, Zucchini and Halloumi Salad
• Salad with Grilled Radicchio & Knob Onions
• Grilled Greek Salad
• Grilled Peach Salad with Bresaola

2. Don’t bake—barbeque your bread: Escape your overheated kitchen during the hot summer months and head outdoors to do your baking.

• No-Knead Bread On the Grill
• Better-Than-Pita Grill Bread

3. Get beyond “beer can chicken”: Succulent chicken drunk on a can of beer has become a staple of the summer BBQ. But there are other ways to pair fizzy drinks and poultry.

• Cola-can chicken
• Beer Can Turkey Breast with BBQ Gravy

4. Fire up a sandwich: No need for a sandwich press or toaster when you already have a barbeque fired-up in your back yard.

• Grilled Asparagus Wrap
• Reuben-ish Sandwich
• Grilled Lamb Sandwiches with Grilled Green Onions

5. Vegetarian grill: Though meat is synonymous with a barbeque, a firm tofu steak or even tofu-kabob can make a delicious and healthy substitute to more carnivorous fare.

• Grilled Oregano Tofu with Tomato Salsa
• Savory Tofu-on-a-stick
• Grilled tofu lettuce wraps

6. Outdoor rice: In Spain, paella is often cooked outdoors over a grill. But even Indian lamb biryani can be taken outside.

• Speedy BBQ lamb biryani
• Paella with Rabbit and Artichokes

7. Better than wood oven pizza: You don’t need to be in Italy for a classic wood oven pizza al forno. Your Canadian barbeque can finish a pizza margherita that rivals the stuff of the wood oven.

• Grilled Pizza with goat cheese, caramelized red onions, sauteed zucchini
• Grilled Pizza with Pesto and Buffalo Mozzarella
• Grilled Asparagus and Ricotta Pizza

8. BBQ dessert: Avoid running the oven for hours to make your homemade sweets and bake them in the backyard instead. With the right tools, the results are the same (or better).

• Chocolate Brownie Cake
• Prize Winning Pineapple Upside-Down Cake
• Grilled Banana Split

9. Go for grilled fruit: From spiced oranges to drunken strawberries, try finishing your meal with fruit from the grill for a smoky-caramelized flavour.

• Grilled Plum Kabobs
• Burnt Oranges With Rosemary
• Cinnamon-Grilled Peaches
• Grilled Strawberries with Pimm’s and Vanilla Ice Cream

10. And if you must have a burger…: Here are suggestions that will get you out of your beef burger rut.

• Herbed Turkey Burger
• Thai Curried Beef Burgers
• Salmon Burgers with Dill Tartar Sauce
• Lamb Burger with feta and sun-dried tomatoes