A Simple Grilling Sauce

This simple grilling sauce is a quick and easy basting and drizzling sauce that adds SO MUCH FLAVOR to chicken, turkey or pork. It takes just minutes to put together, and it’s endlessly customizable. All you really need is a fat (for moisture), an acid (for a little zing), your choice of herbs and garlic. I’ve used both fresh and dried herbs and it doesn’t seem to matter. And you can use as much or as little fresh garlic as you like.

This is a recipe I’ve been making literally for nearly 30 years, and its origin is kind of amusing if you can bear with me for a minute or two. So, I’d recently bought my very first kettle-style grill, and not long after that my local grocery store had a special on boneless, skinless turkey breast halves. I love, love, love a good deal, especially on proteins (which can be so expensive). So I snagged one and proudly brought it home to grill that weekend.

But once I got it home, the reality of the situation sank in. Turkey breast can be so dry and flavorless! I really didn’t want to suffer through two or three meals of bland, dry turkey, even if it came off of my shiny new grill. I was simply desperate to avoid drying that turkey breast out and to make it taste good, if not fantastic.

Origins…

So, I came up with this little sauce, and it worked GREAT! The turkey was moist, and the lemon, herbs and garlic added a ton of flavor. I saved out about half of the simple grilling sauce to drizzle over the sliced turkey at the table. This further ensured against dryness and amped up the flavors even more. It was a real hit!

But I have a little confession to make – I never really gave it a name. Because of the way the recipe came about, in my head I always thought of it as my “desperation” grilling sauce.

Let’s be reals – if I’d called it that in the recipe title would you have even looked at the recipe? Much less tried it? Okay, that’s what I thought. And it’s fine, really, it’s fine. But I do hope you’ll give this little sauce a try the next time you’re grilling turkey, pork or chicken. 

About the Ingredients

For the fat, I’ve used margarine, but you could use something else of your choice. Butter would be fine, or maybe a rendered poultry fat (though I’m not sure if it would burn). The acid is important, it adds brightness and a little “zing” to the sauce. I’ve always used lemon juice, but red or white wine vinegar could be very interesting, or even rice wine vinegar. Depending on what you’re grilling, I might try cider vinegar but I’d stay away from plain white vinegar as it would add nothing but the acidity, IMHO.

Now comes the fun part. I’ve always used basil as the main herb in this simple grilling sauce, because it complements poultry and pork so well. I like a little cilantro, though there are many who can’t stand the taste of it. It adds a little “bass note” that to me balances out the basil. The oregano serves a similar role, and the crushed red pepper flakes add just a little heat to spice things up a bit.

Then there’s the garlic, which I really couldn’t do without. Fresh garlic, either minced or run through a garlic press, adds so much to this sauce. It adds to the umami of the finished dish, the savory taste that brings it all together. 

Preparing and Using this Simple Grilling Sauce

This comes together almost ridiculously fast. Just melt the margarine or butter, then squeeze the lemon juice right into it. Be sure to check for any little bitty seeds that slip through the grate on the juicer, and fish them out.

Add the herbs and crushed red pepper, then add the minced or pressed garlic and give it all a stir. I usually reserve about half of the sauce in a separate bowl to serve at the table, letting each diner drizzle a little over their serving of meat (or whatever else they’d like).

My hubby is the grill master at our house, and he simply brushes or spoons a little of the sauce over the meat when he puts it on the grill, then every time he turns it. That’s it! If you try this simple little grilling sauce, please let me know what you think in the comments section, and I always love to see pictures!

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