Itโs spring, and youโre energized and fresh out of hibernation like a bunch of twitterpatedย Bambiย characters on a mission to have some fun. In my case, the fun is on my newย Blackstone 28 Inch Griddle, where itโs the best time of year to fire up the burners and get cooking.
Weโre over all those hearty soups and cold-weather comfort foods, at least for a little while. Itโs a time to embrace the gardenโs new offerings and fresh produce at local street markets like our weekly Saturday Market on the waterfront in St. Pete. Itโs go time for grilling and here are just 11 recipes to consider whether youโre in the backyard or taking your Blackstone on the road:
1. Play Ball: St. Pete-Style Sausage, Onion And Mango Dogs
The start of baseball season got us thinking about some of our favorite hot dogs and sausages around MLB ballparks, from Dodger Dogs to Fenway Franks to Busch Stadium Brats to Chicago Style Dogs at Wrigley. So the maiden voyage of my new Blackstone 28 Inch Griddle was inspired by that tradition that most of us know all so well.
The Blackstone 28 Griddle has two burner units so you have two cooking zones on your griddle with temperature control on each. Five sweet sausages and five brats had the left cooking zone, and on the right were two yellow bell peppers and two red peppers, along with a yellow onion. We live in St. Petersburg, Florida, home of the always-contending Rays, so a little hometown flair was added by dicing mangoes into hash brown-sized cubes for a subtropical zing.
I bought two French breads at Publix with different crunchy crusts, one a sesame seed and the other poppy and sesame seeds, and cut each one in half. Then I sliced each bun down the middle, careful not to cut all the way through. When the fixins were about ready, I drizzled some oil onto both sides of the bread and placed them on the griddle so they were a little scorched and warm. Mango was like adding a condiment, but I went for the mustard anyway because baseball.
2. Leftover Sausage, Onions and Mangoes
Every once in a while, a leftover is so good that it deserves its own special mention in a recipe roundup post like this, because it comes alive the next day with its own character and presentation. That was the case with the St. Pete-Style Sausage dinner we made with our first griddle outing. Just toss it in a large skillet and serve with crispy pickles or sauerkraut.
3. Time for Fat Bears And You To Start Eating More Wild Salmon
Picture theย fattest Alaskan brown bearย you possibly can, only remember that it was that fat going INTO the winter so all those fat reserves are now expended and itโs time to go out and find more salmon to munch on. We donโt exactly go into that same kind of hibernation in the winter, but we were outdoors less on the average day so itโs sort of the same principle with us humans.
In the spring, weโre looking to load up on protein in the form of salmon as well. My favorite way to do it is with Wild Alaskan Sockeye Salmon on the Blackstone. Buy a full-length filet, coat it with your choice of seasonings or the one in our recipe here, and Blackenstone it! (See what we did there. Itโs spring and weโre creative at last.) Farm-raised is fine, not quite as assuredly healthy as wild salmon but just as pleasurable to make on the griddle. You can enjoyย Salmon Burgersย as well, because unlike fat bears you have hands to hold them
4. Schoolโs Out And Smash Burgers Are In
Spring means classes gradually end and there is more time to do fun stuff as a family. Find a dream Airbnb on a lake or beach or national park, stuff the 28-inch Blackstone Griddle in the back, and make your own food to cut down on expenses and add more quality time. Smash burgers andย Smashed Potatoesย will make everyone happy, and best of all the cooking is fast and easy so you have more time to fish or hike or just breathe in the spring air.
6. Blackstone Breakfast Hash And Grits
Shutterstock/Kiian Oksana
Spring weather means getting up early and taking off Blackstone cover and firing up the burners for some breakfast hash everyone will love. Youโll need a 28-ounce bag of frozen hash brown potatoes, a pound of ground breakfast sausage, six slices of bacon diced well, six eggs, a half onion chopped and spices. Donโt stop there: Throw in mushrooms, Jalapeno peppers, red peppers . . . be creative! The whole point here is to use up whatโs in your refrigerator so itโs an easy and efficient way to start the day, then serve it with fruit, sliced avocado, and toast or biscuits. Make some grits on the side and youโre a crowd-pleaser.
7. Blackstone Diner Style Protein Pancakes
Spring cleaning means you have high ambition and boundless energy these days. You need a great start to your morning to get that engine going. Follow this recipe, but go with protein pancake mix to fuel your big goals for the day.
The cold-rolled steel griddle surface of the Blackstone delivers both the high heat you want and the non-stick surface you want. As long as your griddle is well-seasoned, it is going to make you want pancakes far more than you ever did in the past. Toss in some blueberries for an extra burst of antioxidants, and feel the high of flipping with your special griddle spatula then watch the crispy edges and golden-brown color form. It tastes like diner pancakes, and those are the best, but protein pancakes mean you will get more done.
8. Spring Means Pancake Creativity And Art
Hereโs a bonus tip: Have fun with the size and shapes of your flapjacks! Kids will especially love your inventiveness on the griddle, and itโs a way they can participate in good wholesome fun. Theyโre going to be hanging around more with those long hazy days and free time. We have an iconic diner down here called Trippโs that is known for its Hubcakes, which are giant pancakes as big as an old carโs hubcap, hence the name. Your guests will be amazed. Or you can shape pancakes as Mickey Mouse or other characters. Make them look like baseballs. Whatever you do, youโd better have your syrup A game ready! Blueberry and elderberry syrup, anyone?
9. Fresh Zucchini From Garden Straight To Griddle
The last frost is long gone, and now weโre planting veggies in the garden across the temperate zone and that includes spring zucchini. Itโs a summer vegetable that wonโt be ready to pick for a while, but itโs always in supply at our grocery store so weโre in the mood! Julienne diagonally or slice circles, and load up your griddle with these zucchini slices over Canola oil. Season profusely and in just 10 minutes you have a pile of fresh bliss to serve as a side dish.
10. Blackstone Surf And Turf With Chocolate Covered Strawberries
In our own house, springtime means itโs time to start planning a summer trip to Cape Cod. So of course, we are constantly thinking about lobster. The days are starting to get longer, and that means more time to enjoy cooking a powerhouse dinner entrรฉe like surf and turf on your Blackstone standup grill. The Griddle Guys postedย this videoย recipe a few years back, and itโs pretty mouth-watering, but theย Flat Top Kingโs videoย is even better because spring also is strawberry season in Florida and these chocolate-covered strawberries make this even more exciting.ย Make a perfect ribeye steak on the Blackstone with this recipe, and you canย use a Blackstone dome lidย to ensure that your lobster tails become tender at the same time you are ready to pull off the steaks.
11. Blackstone Spring Vegetable Pasta
This one is straight off Blackstoneโs website, and if theyโre saying itโs a spring dish than who are we to argue? โFresh seasonal vegetables are lightly sautรฉed and tossed in a light lemon cream sauce, then paired with tender chicken and served over a bed of pasta.โ This is garden-to-table so experiment with whatever fresh veggies you find. Hereโs a similarly scrumptiousย Blackstone Griddle Pasta Primaveraย recipe that is basically saying the same thing but with a lot more beautiful pictures and how-to advice.
Weโve got Motherโs Day, Fatherโs Day, graduations and Memorial Day. Weโve got sports galore, from the national pastime to March Madness to The Masters to the Indy 500 to Wimbledon. Itโs a time of gathering and appreciating friends and family.
