Restaurant owners are looking to enhance cooking techniques that feel nostalgic but are also healthy. Designed to fit into industrial kitchens and high-volume restaurants, commercial wood grills are perfect for creating healthy meals. From savory smoked ribs, pulled pork, to grilled recipes like kebabs and even stuffed peppers.
Conventional gas or electric grills lack the intrinsic value of smoke. With smoker grills or multi-functional options, you can introduce big, bold flavor using nothing more than charred hardwood. Best of all, you don’t have to sacrifice nutrients or load your meat and veggies in oils and butter to achieve that tasty sear. Take your skills back to the foundation and try one of these healthy grilled recipes!
Smoked Beef Ribs | Starting With Wood-Fired Grill Essentials
For many aspiring pitmasters, choosing smoked beef ribs for your first venture into wood-fired cooking may seem counterintuitive. Aren’t ribs all about sauce? What sauce? By putting your faith in the beef and leaving sugary marinades on the shelf, you can make mouths water while strengthening your bones (pun intended).
Tips for Buying Beef Ribs
Look for a rack of ribs that has been trimmed back or plate ribs that still have a decent amount of marbleization on the meat but not so much fat on the outside.
Preparation
- Start by trimming off the white silverskin on the back of the ribs. You want smoke to penetrate, so season liberally with a salt-based rub.
- You can use your typical BBQ rub of coarse salt, pepper, garlic powder, and smoked paprika. Remember, we are going for healthy here, so leave that sugar out!
- Once you have applied the rub, set your ribs directly on the grill grate over hot coals. Get a nice light crust going; this process also locks in moisture.
- Once you see color, move the ribs to indirect heat. On a commercial wood grill for restaurants. This means either pushing the coals to one side or using a second rack.
- Set the grill for indirect cooking anywhere from 250-275 degrees. Beef is hearty, so you will want to use a stronger wood like oak or hickory. Avoid fruitwoods for this recipe.
- Smoke your ribs until they reach an internal temperature of 203 degrees. You’ll know they are done when the meat has pulled back from the bone about halfway.
Something magical happens when cooking beef ribs on a wood-fired grill. Since hardwood burns so hot, it really starts to circulate and melt the internal fat of the meat. This bastes the inside of your ribs while they cook, and you will never need to add oil!
Chicken Kabobs | Temperature and Healthy Grilled Recipes
Chicken kabobs are an obvious choice for healthy grilled recipes. They are also notoriously boring and bland. The marinade and veggie selection you choose will make or break these. Marinate as follows:
Directions
Marinate your chicken in a lemon juice, olive oil, oregano, and minced garlic bath for at least 30 minutes.
- After your meat has soaked, skewer even portions of chicken, red onion, bell pepper, and zucchini. Keep your pieces as consistent as possible for even cooking.
- Place skewers directly over flame. You want to grill these at as high of a temperature as possible. A commercial wood grill really snaps the outside of the veggies and gets your chicken that perfect golden brown.
- Every 2-3 minutes, flip your kabobs. Total time should be around 8-12 minutes, depending on the size of your cubes.
- Let your kabobs rest for about three minutes, and serve. Don’t stress if the chicken comes out of the grill seemingly dry; it will steam a little on the plate, returning all the juices to the meat.
Achieving high temperatures on a wood-fired grill can be accomplished by using the grill while your wood fuel is at a glowing ember stage. The infrared heat from the coals will cook the center of your chicken much faster than an oven.
Grilled Stuffed Peppers | Sumptuous Vegetarian Cooking on a Wood-Fired Grill
Stuffed peppers are the perfect veggies to make on a wood-fired grill. They feed a crowd and look impressive, but often lack that savory “umami” that diners love. The key is to char your peppers slightly before stuffing.
Directions:
- Prepare your filling by mixing cooked quinoa or farro, black beans, diced tomatoes, spinach, and feta or goat cheese. We like farro because it has a heartier and nuttier texture than rice.
- Before stuffing your peppers, place them skin side down directly over the flame on your commercial wood grill. You want to par-char the outside of the pepper so that it easily removes from the skin when bitten into.
- Stuff your peppers with the farro mixture and place either directly on the grill or in a cast-iron skillet. Ideally, you want to move them to indirect heat but if you don’t have a top cover with a stainless steel roast dome.
- Roast until the cheese is melted, about 10 minutes. Drizzle with balsamic reduction or Greek yogurt and serve.
By cooking your stuffed peppers on a wood-fired grill, you are allowing the smoke to penetrate the grains used in your stuffing. This creates a complexity that your oven just can’t reproduce.
Cooking With Durable Wood Burning Grills
Ready to spice up your menu? Aztec Grill is proud to be the ultimate supplier of commercial wood-burning grills. Perfect for healthy grilled recipes and everything in between, our commercial wood-fired grills utilize a patent-pending airflow technology similar to a conventional heating system to eliminate hot spots and cool zones. Our wood-fired grills are built with heavy-duty stainless steel and specialize in creating cooking environments that rival modern appliances with old-world craftsmanship.
If you are looking for a commercial wood grill for restaurants, contact Aztec Grill. We have everything you need to wow that next dinner guest.