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Grilled Beef and Basil Rolls

NibbleMeThis
NibbleMeThis Posts: 2,295
edited November -1 in EggHead Forum
I needed some appetizers while my folks visited us this weekend so I tried these little guys from Raichlen's Barbecue Bible. I have found it's hard to go wrong from that book. They were quick, easy, and made a great presentation.

Also, I couldn't help but notice that the ingredients are the same as the umami burger (different proportions though).

Grilled Beef & Basil Rolls
Source: slightly adapted from The Barbecue Bible

1 lb ground beef, lean
4 cloves garlic, finely minced
5 teaspoons fish sauce
2 Tablespoons sugar
2 teaspoons black pepper
40 leaves fresh basil, rinsed

Mix together the beef, garlic, fish sauce, sugar and black pepper. (Note: The quantities above are doubled from his recipe except the fish sauce, I kept it the same) Divide into little "meat gnocchi".

DSC_0618resized.jpg

Wrap each meat dumpling with a basil leaf. Make sure to wrap the leaf tightly and then thread onto a skewer. Pierce them at the point where the basil leaf overlaps to keep it together. Do 5 per skewer.

DSC_0620resized.jpg

Preheat your Egg to 400f and then grill direct for 2 minutes per side.

DSC_0622resized.jpg

These were a great little appetizer and I would make them again.

DSC_0624resized.jpg

You definitely will want to add some sort of dipping sauce, like a sweet chili sauce or sweet and sour sauce.

NOTE: His recipe said it yielded 50-60 rolls. Mine (with quantities doubled) only made 40 rolls. Not sure what the difference is, mine don't look that much bigger than his.
Knoxville, TN
Nibble Me This

Comments

  • ozegg
    ozegg Posts: 50
    They look delicious ill have to try them sometime.
  • Chris,
    Been eying that recipe, but my basil leaves aren't very large :(
    what size basil leaves did you use??
    Think Thirdeye posted some last year with GIANT basil leaves :blink:
    may have to break down and do it any way :woohoo:
    thanks for the inspiration B)
  • Looks cool, though I'd probably press the meat out flat and roll it with the basil inside to allow for some char on the beef. This reminds me of the Vietnamese dish sometimes translated as "leaf-bound beef", where the leaf in question is fresh betel.
  • Smokey
    Smokey Posts: 2,468
    Those look good!
  • NibbleMeThis
    NibbleMeThis Posts: 2,295
    I did have to pick the biggest leaves from our garden.

    I made my meat rolls BEFORE wrapping with leaves, which might have been why mine yielded only 40 while his did 50-60.

    What Raichlen did was place a leaf on cutting board (but still a large one) and then sized the meat roll to the leaf, so I did it kind of backwards. But doing it his was should help you use a little smaller leaves.

    But these would be good just as a plain meatball with basil chopped up into them.
    Knoxville, TN
    Nibble Me This
  • That looks very good Thanks for the idea
  • WooDoggies
    WooDoggies Posts: 2,390
    Those look delicious and I'd like to try my hand at them this weekend. A couple questions... how did the basil hold up to the heat in keeping it's flavor and 2 minutes per side at 400 was enough to cook them all of the way through?

    By the way, very nice pictorial.

    john
  • fishlessman
    fishlessman Posts: 32,665
    looks great, another reason to make a sweet chili garlic sauce, i love that stuff. those ingredients make a great marinade for chicken kabobs
    fukahwee maine

    you can lead a fish to water but you can not make him drink it
  • NibbleMeThis
    NibbleMeThis Posts: 2,295
    Actually, the basil held up better than I thought, yes.

    And the 400 was hot enough and they were cooked through. But I was cooking them to order as folks wanted a bite, only cooking 1-2 skewers at a time directly over a hot spot that had developed in the back left side from the Egg being opened so much.

    If I was going to do a bunch at once, I'd probably go higher (450-500) and make sure it was preheated evenly.
    Knoxville, TN
    Nibble Me This
  • cookn biker
    cookn biker Posts: 13,407
    Those would be great for and Eggfest! Thanks for posting, they look really great!
    Molly
    Colorado Springs
    "Loney Queen"
    "Respect your fellow human being, treat them fairly, disagree with them honestly, enjoy their friendship, explore your thoughts about one another candidly, work together for a common goal and help one another achieve it."
    Bill Bradley; American hall of fame basketball player, Rhodes scholar, former U.S. Senator from New Jersey
    LBGE, MBGE, SBGE , MiniBGE and a Mini Mini BGE
  • WooDoggies
    WooDoggies Posts: 2,390
    Thanks for the tips!



    john