(StatePoint)

Health experts recommend taking festivities outdoors this holiday season, which means your grill may take center stage.

“You can master some impressive culinary feats on your grill, especially with hardwood pellets that add rich, wood-fired flavor to winter dishes,” says Ben Madden, product manager at Bear Mountain BBQ Woods, crafter of gourmet, hardwood pellets.

To celebrate grill-side, Madden offers these recommendations:

Smooth and Smoky

It’s the ideal season to indulge in smooth, smoky flavoring. Achieve this robust flavor profile with the new Bourbon BBQ Craft Blend from Bear Mountain. Straight from barrel to BBQ, these hardwood pellets work well with a variety of meats, rubs and sauces. They’re the secret seasoning in this delicious recipe for Bourbon Pineapple Glazed Ham, created by James Brown of GrillNation.

Total Cook Time: ~6 hours

Ingredients:

• 20-pound ham

• 1 cup pineapple juice

• 2-3 tablespoons mustard.

• 4-5 tablespoons Java House Seasoning

For Pineapple Bourbon Glaze:

• 2 cups brown sugar

• 1 cup bourbon

• 1/4 cup pineapple juice

• 2/3 cup pineapple, chopped

• 2 tablespoons butter, unsalted

• 4 tablespoons spicy brown mustard

Directions:

  1. Thaw ham in fridge for 2-3 days, then in sink for 24 hours. Once thawed, remove both skin and silver skin. Inject ham with cup of pineapple juice. Place in fridge for 12-24 hours.
  2. Place at room temperature for 1 hour. Then, cover surface with 2-3 tablespoons mustard. Season generously with Java House seasoning.
  3. Set smoker to 250 degrees. Let seasoning rest on meat 20-30 minutes. Place ham in baking pan with wire rack. Place in smoker. Then, pour pineapple juice in pan.
  4. Check temperature periodically. Spritz ham every 30 minutes after first 90 minutes.
  5. When internal temperature is 140 degrees, make glaze. Place saucepan over medium heat for 10 minutes. Combine pineapple bourbon glaze ingredients. Simmer for 10 minutes. Remove from heat and let thicken. Glaze ham when internal temperature is 150-155 degrees.
  6. When internal temperature is 165 degrees, remove from smoker. Let rest for 20-30 minutes.

More recipes can be found at grillnationofficial.com.

Fire and Ice

“If you haven’t smoked your ice, you haven’t lived,” says Madden. He’s sure once you try this Old Fashioned recipe, you’ll never use regular ice again:

Prep time: 30 min

Freeze time: ~ 4-5 hours

Ingredients:

• Water for ice

• Bear Mountain Bourbon Craft Blend Pellets

• 2 ounces bourbon

• 1 teaspoon water

• 3 dashes Angostura bitters

• 1/2 teaspoon sugar

• Orange peel for garnish

Preparation:

  1. Start grill. Set to smoke. Add enough water to aluminum baking pan to fill 1-2 ice cube trays.
  2. Smoke water for 20 minutes (more or less, depending on smokiness preference). Remove from grill. Pour into trays. Freeze.
  3. Combine sugar, water and bitters in rocks glass. Stir until sugar dissolves.
  4. Add ice to glass. Add bourbon. Lightly stir.
  5. Run orange peel around glass, give quick squeeze and drop in. Enjoy!

Gift Grill Gear

Need stocking stuffers? With the huge uptick in grilling sales this year, your favorite chefs will need pellets to go with their new grills. Let them select their favorite blends with a gift card from Bear Mountain.

No pellet grill? No problem. Gift Smoke ‘Ems wood pellet packets, which are added over the heat source of any type of grill for up to 45 minutes of all-natural hardwood smoke. For gifting and recipe ideas, visit bearmountainbbq.com.

Not only can delicious holiday meals be prepared outdoors, incorporating wood-fired flavors into your festivities may be such a game-changer you make it an annual tradition.