The standard portable grill is truly meant for utility.
Easily moved and smaller than its larger counterparts (backyard grills), portable grills serve their purposes – a means to cook wherever you are.
To us, using a portable grill is not a reason to compromise on the variety or quality of meals you can prepare. In fact, a portable grill should only help you refine your outdoor cooking game.
Boasting both functionality and versatility, our TG Series Portable Grill is perfect for the on-the-go or away-from-home BBQ'er looking to get the most out of every grilling experience. And we have a few portable grill recipes that should help you do just that.
A Quick Review: What is the TG Series Portable Grill
The newest member of the Smokin' Ugly family, the TG Series Grill is a portable grill designed to let you easily bring barbecue wherever you go.
Made from robust stainless steel and easily assembled, the TG series travels well and is ideal in a wide variety of outdoor cooking situations – from the tailgate or campsite to your backyard.
Aside from being a portable charcoal grill, the TG has two other functions: with a few quick adjustments it becomes a griddle as well as a pizza oven.
3 Mouthwatering Portable Grill Recipes
Being that the TG is indeed a triple threat in the world of outdoor cooking, we've curated three recipes aimed at letting you use the grill to its fullest extent – and impress those you're cooking for:
- For the Grill – beef kabobs
- For the Griddle – smash burgers
- For the Pizza Oven – dijon chicken calzone
For the Grill – Beef Kabobs
A grilling favorite and easily customizable to your tastes, beef kabobs are full of flavor and enjoy the benefit of being simple to make. Plus they make it easy to get a serving of protein and vegetables!
Kabob Ingredients:
- 2lb beef (cut into cubes)
- Cherry tomatoes
- Onion
- Green bell pepper
- Red bell pepper
- Mushroom
- Zucchini
Marinade Ingredients:
- 1/4 cup olive oil
- 1/4 cup soy sauce or Worcestershire sauce
- 3 cloves garlic, minced
- 2 tablespoons fresh basil, chopped
- 2 tablespoons fresh thyme, chopped
- Salt and pepper to taste
Instructions:
- In a medium bowl, whisk together the soy sauce, brown sugar, garlic, olive oil, ginger and black pepper.
- Add 2lb cubed beef to a shallow container and pour the marinade over it. Stir to fully coat the beef pieces with the marinade.
- Cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate for at least four hours or overnight (preferably overnight).
Immediately Before Grilling (this is where things take a turn toward personal preference).
- With the exception of mushrooms and cherry tomatoes, dice up vegetables into 1-2 inch pieces
- Begin assembling your kabobs – we recommended a 2:1 order – two vegetables for every piece of beef.
- Once your TG has a bed of smoldering coals, it's time to start grilling. Place the kabobs onto the grill and cook for 4-6 minutes per side. Those who prefer their beef more well-done should grill a few minutes longer. Don't forget to rotate and turn your kabobs as necessary, ensuring that each piece gets cooked evenly.
For the Griddle – Smash Burgers
The quintessential fast food and stalwart of picnics and backyard barbecues, a grilled hamburger almost never misses.
But as we see it, there's no one way to make a great burger (and yes, absolutely we advocate for preparing a burger while the TG is in grill mode). To those who disagree we present the smash burger.
While its history is as hard to lock down as that of the burger itself, the smash burger is a unique style of burger that has been around since the early 20th century. A crowd-pleaser, the smash burger's cook time is faster and its flavor profile is arguably more pronounced than a grilled burger.
Ingredients:
- 1lb ground beef (80% lean)
- 2 teaspoons oil
- 1 white onion (diced)
- 4 slices cheddar cheese, optional
- 4 burger buns
Seasoning Ingredients:
- 1 teaspoon garlic powder
- 1 tablespoon Worcestershire sauce
- 1/2 teaspoon onion powder
- A dash of smoked paprika
- Salt and pepper to taste
Instructions:
- Place the ground beef in a bowl and season with all of the seasoning ingredients, mixing everything together with your hands.
- Preheat the griddle. Once it's hot, lightly grease the griddle with oil and saute your diced onions.
- Once the onions have caramelized, remove them.
- Divide the seasoned beef into four equal portions and shape each one into a patty.
- Place the patties onto the TG's griddle (which should be at about a medium heat) and flatten with a firm spatula or griddle-safe burger press
- Cook for 3-4 minutes on each side, flipping only once.
- Place a spoonful of your cooked onions on the top of each burger and cover with cheese.
- Allow the burger to cook for another minute or so (or until the cheese has reached a desired level of meltiness)
- Remove burger from the griddle, replacing them with your buns.
- Toast the buns for a minute or two until lightly browned.
- Assemble your burgers and enjoy!
For the Pizza Oven – Dijon Chicken Calzone
While we love making Neopolitan-style pizzas when the TG is adjusted to an oven, let's use it for a similar, yet different dish.
With a unique flavor profile, our dijon chicken calzone is a gourmet take on the traditional calzone.
Ingredients:
- 1 large chicken breast, cooked and shredded
- 1/2 cup Dijon mustard
- 1/4 cup low-fat cream cheese, at room temperature
- 2 tablespoons freshly grated Parmesan cheese
- 3 cloves garlic, minced
- 1/4 cup fresh spinach, finely chopped
- 1 teaspoon extra virgin olive oil (EVOO)
- 2 tablespoons fresh oregano, chopped
- 2 tablespoons fresh basil, chopped
- Salt and pepper to taste
- 1 cup mozzarella cheese, shredded
- Pizza dough (homemade or store-bought)
- Approx. 1 cup of cornmeal
Instructions:
- Preheat the TG Grill in pizza oven mode.
- Fill the fuel bottom with charcoal, as we’ll be adding wood for our fuel source.
- Once the charcoal has burned down, fill your basket up with your choice of wood. (We suggest oak.)
- Put the wood in the back of the basket and add enough to get the fire up to temperature. As the fire heats up, construct the calzone.
- Add EVOO to a frying pan and bring to medium heat. Combine spinach, garlic cloves, basil oregano, salt, and pepper, and cook until spinach is wilted.
- In a medium bowl, combine chicken, Dijon mustard, cream cheese, Parmesan cheese, mozzarella cheese, and spinach mixture.
- On a lightly floured surface with cornmeal, roll out your pizza dough into an 18-inch circle.
- Spread the chicken mixture evenly onto half of your pizza dough.
- Fold the remaining side of the dough over to enclose and press down lightly around the edges with a fork to seal.
- Place the calzone on the preheated TG Grill and cook for 10 minutes, checking after five minutes to make sure it doesn't burn. Using a long-handled spatula or pizza peel rotate the calzone to ensure even cooking.
- When the calzone is lightly golden brown and the cheese inside has melted, remove from the TG and allow to cool for 5 minutes before cutting into slices and serving.
Upgrade On-the-Go Grilling With the TG Portable Grill & These Recipes
The TG Series Portable Grill is the perfect grill for anyone looking to take their outdoor cooking game up a notch. Whether you’re grilling at home, tailgating or camping, this triple-threat of a portable grill has got you covered with its three functions.
And with these three delicious recipes, you can truly take advantage of all the features the TG has to offer.