The Grill Box
Preparation Guide
Guest Chef Spencer Watts has created tasty summer dishes with BC seafood and bold flavours! We hope that everyone making these dishes will enjoy the fresh flavours and easy grilling techniques as much as we have. Get ready for your sizzling BBQ feast!
— Guest Chef Spencer Watts, Chef Brandon Pirie, Cam Pirie & Tide to Table Family
About this Guide
This page includes step-by-step directions, tips and photos to illuminate processes and the end product of each dish. As always, don’t treat these instructions as the ‘only way’; take the info that is most helpful to you and above all else, have fun experimenting as you are grilling!
And if you haven’t already, be sure to get your Grill Box ordered, before they’re gone!!
getting started — Thawing Frozen Seafood
Thawing frozen ingredients is a simple, but important step. The best way to thaw fish is to leave it in the fridge overnight. This ensures a gentle thaw and preserves the protein in its best state. However, we will also include a few sneaky ways of accelerating the process if you’re running short on time. Some of the alternatives can work surprisingly well!
Let’s Get Grilling
Chef’s Tip: All courses in The Grill Box can be prepared on a BBQ. Pre-heat your grill with the indirect method:
one side of grill on high heat / other side of grill off
Tuna Tataki & Summer Succotash
Quick to prep and grill, zesty flavours, succulent bites!
What’s in the box
Albacore Tuna (1/2 loin, frozen)
Cowboy Rub spice mix (2oz cup)
Summer Vegetable Succotash (16oz tub, frozen)
Dill Cream (2oz cup)
Maple Vinaigrette (2oz cup)
Suggested Garnish
Pea sprouts or fresh dill
Day Before
Thaw tuna in fridge overnight
Watch Chef Spencer prepare the Grill Box
Chef’s Tip: Tuna loin is sushi grade and Tataki is always served raw throughout, so just the edges are cooked.
Chef’s Tip: IQF vegetables (individually quick frozen) generally taste fresher if you cook them from frozen, rather than thawing them out ahead, in which case they tend to oxidize more and sit in their own juices that they shed during thawing.
Directions
Pre-heat your BBQ with the indirect method:
one side of grill on high heat / other side of grill off
Tuna — Part 1
On day of BBQ, remove thawed tuna from vacuum sealed bag
Pat tuna dry on all sides using kitchen towel
Lightly brush tuna with oil
Season tuna with ¼ tsp salt and the Cowboy Rub
Make sure to coat all sides
Vegetable Succotash
In a small saucepan on the side burner of the BBQ, or “hot” side of the grill, add the Dill Cream and the Vegetable Succotash
Slowly reduce until the cream is thick and coats the vegetables
Season with a pinch of salt and black pepper
Keep Succotash warm
Tuna — Part 2
Lightly spray tuna with nonstick cooking spray, all sides
Grill tuna on the hot side of the grill 45 seconds to 1 minute on each side
So the outside is cooked, but it’s raw in the middle
Remove from heat and brush the grill clean
With a sharp knife, slice tuna
(one large slice for each portion, or two slices per portion if the end tapers)
Plate a portion of the Succotash per person, with slices of tuna on top. Drizzle a bit of Maple Vinaigrette on everything, garnish with fresh dill or pea sprouts. Enjoy!
Candied Salmon Kebabs & Basil Butter
What’s in the Box
Candied Wild Alaskan Coho Salmon Kebabs, marinated in brown sugar & soy sauce (4 x ¼ lb skewers, frozen)
Basil Butter (2 oz cup)
Day Before
Thaw fish in fridge overnight
Preparation
Take Basil Butter out of freezer about 2 hours before you want to grill the Salmon Kebabs so it can come up to room temperature
Remove kebabs from vacuum sealed bag and pat dry
Spray Salmon Kebabs on both sides with non stick cooking spray and grill on the hot side of the BBQ
After 1 minute, ¼ turn the salmon
Cook for 1 more minute
Place salmon on the side of the BBQ that’s off, on top of a small sheet of foil
Slather with Basil Butter and close lid
After 1 minute, remove from heat
Brush grill clean and enjoy - have your napkins ready!
Chef’s Tips: Thawing Frozen Fish
Recommended Method: In the fridge
Most fish thaws best in the fridge. Place the package on a plate and put it in the fridge the evening before or early in the morning on the day you’d like to serve it. This method takes some planning ahead of time, but will reliably produce good texture.
Alternate Method: In the microwave, defrost setting
In a pinch, you can defrost thick filets in the microwave. Each microwave is different, so we recommend you experiment to find the right settings; you want to thaw the fish without cooking it. As the protein cooks, it will turn from translucent to white. If your microwave does not have specific instructions for defrosting, try defrosting for 5 minutes on the defrost setting. Look to see that the fish is no longer frozen on the inside but also make sure that too much of the outside isn’t turning white.
Dad's Root Beer Miso & Brown Butter Lingcod
with Root Vegetable Gratin & Lemongrass Cream
What’s in the Box
1lb Lingcod, marinated in Dad’s Old Fashioned Root Beer Miso & Brown Butter marinade - frozen
Root Vegetable Gratin - frozen tray
Day Before
Thaw fish and vegetable gratin in fridge overnight
Directions
Remove lingcod from vacuum sealed bag and pat dry with kitchen towel
Remove lid from Root Vegetable Gratin and wrap the top with clean aluminum foil
Place on the “off” side of the BBQ
Season fish with a pinch of salt and spray with non stick cooking spray
Grill the fish for 1½ minutes
¼ turn and cook again for 1 more minute
Flip fish and place on a small piece of foil on the “off” side of the grill
Remove foil from Vegetable Gratin
Close lid and cook fish until it reaches 145-155F internal temperature
Remove veg and fish from grill and enjoy!
Dark Cherry & Chocolate Brownies with Cherry Caramel Sauce
What’s in the Box
Dark Cherry & Chocolate Brownies (frozen tray)
Cherry Caramel Sauce (2 x 2 oz cups)
Suggested Pairing
Serve warm with a scoop of vanilla ice cream, and drizzle with the Cherry Caramel Sauce
Warm, Serve & Enjoy
Take the Cherry Caramel Sauce out of the freezer about 2 hours before you want to warm up the brownie, so it can come to room temperature
Remove brownie from the packaging
Cut brownie to desired portions
On a small piece of foil, lightly warm on the “off” side of grill
When brownie is warm, plate with Cherry Caramel Sauce and a scoop of vanilla ice cream. Enjoy!
Add-On: Cedar Planked Spot Prawns with Lime Baste
Optional Add-on Course
1lb Spot Prawns in Lemon-Cilantro Herb Rub, on a cedar plank ready for grilling
Persian Lime Baste (2oz cup)
Thaw
Thaw prawns and Lime Baste in fridge at least 12 hours before dinner or overnight
Grilling Instructions
If using a charcoal BBQ: prepare a mature coal bed large enough to fit the cedar plank directly on top of the coals
Chef’s Tip: If you have a grill rack or resting rack that you can put directly on the coals this can help even out the hot spots. If you don’t have one, then the plank can go directly on the coals just fine (it’s already pre-soaked in ocean water so it won’t burn too quickly)
Just before putting the plank on the coals, fan them with a piece of cardboard or a hairdryer to get rid of excess ashes and soot
Place plank on coals or rack and immediately pour the Lime Baste on the prawns as evenly as you can.
Dab them with a basting brush to ensure each prawn is evenly coated with the baste.
Put a couple coals on any exposed edges of the plank to really get the smoke going, then immediately put the lid on the BBQ with all of the vents closed if you have any.
If using a propane BBQ, then just remove the grill and place the plank directly over the flames on high heat. Note that it will likely take a bit longer to cook this way (approximately 5-8 minutes with the lid down).
Cook for 4-6 minutes until all the prawns have turned opaque and shiny
Transfer the prawns, plank and all, directly to a platter so you don’t stain anything with the drippings
Dad’s Root Beer Old Fashioned Cocktail
A summer twist on a classic cocktail, perfect for grill-side sipping.
Support two exceptional, Vancouver-Island based companies - Dad’s Root Beer and Shelter Point Distillery!
Ingredients
1 bottle Dad’s Root Beer
Did you know that Dad’s Root Beer Canada is now headquartered out of Campbell River, BC? This is a tasty product. Try it!!
2 oz Shelter Point Montfort 151 Whisky
Shelter Point Distillery is a stunning place to visit on Vancouver Island. Patrick and his team make a range of whiskey’s that they will deliver straight to your door. Everything about the way that they do business is inspiring! Click the link above to order yours! We recommend the 151.
2 dashes Angostura Bitters
Method
Dad’s Root Beer Syrup:
Empty the entire bottle of root beer into a pot and reduce on medium heat by about 80% until it’s a syrup-like consistency.
Add 2 tsp of root beer reduction to a tumbler glass along with the Shelter Point Whisky and the Angostura Bitters.
Stir until evenly mixed. Add ice and stir again for 30 seconds.
Garnish with an orange twist.
To do this you want to peel a strip of orange zest with a vegetable peeler, being careful to get little to no pith from the orange. Gently express the orange oils into the cocktail by holding the peel over the glass with the outside of the peel facing down, then folding the orange in half and lightly squeezing it so the oils spritz into the tumbler. Then run the peel around the rim of the glass once, twist the whole strip up into a curly-q and drop it into the glass.
Best enjoyed next to fire under stars - or with multiple courses of grilled seafood.
