Labor Day is here and that means autumn is just a few falling leaves away. Make the most of what’s left of the outdoor cooking season with a big, bold barbecue and pick up all you need to get grilling at your local Strack & Van Til Food Market.
Go classic with thick and juicy, restaurant-quality pub burgers, made fresh daily in Strack & Van Til’s Meat Department from high-quality Certified Angus Beef. Indulge in the cheddar bacon burger, made with Wisconsin cubed cheddar cheese and smoky bacon, Enjoy a Pepper Jack bacon burger, a Swiss and mushroom burger, cheddar burger or mozzarella Italian burger — or bring home a few of each.
“The Bleu cheese pub burger is famously known as a ‘black and blue’ burger, and it’s very popular,” says Meat & Seafood Department Director Gary Teachman. “The tasty black pepper burger is a longtime Strack & Van Til customer favorite.”
For an alternative to beef, choose the spicy Buffalo turkey pub burger or the spinach Feta turkey burger. The Seafood Department offers freshly made salmon burgers that provide important omega-3s. Try zesty dill, Cajun, spinach feta and garlic parmesan varieties.
Expand your barbecue selection with sausage or bratwurst. Pork sausage comes in 10 flavors, including savory mild or hot Italian, holiday Italian with Italian cheese and onions, andouille and Polish, and are made with Strack & Van Til signature seasonings. Sink your teeth into regular, cheddar, bacon cheddar, jalapeño or beer bratwurst made with a beer favorite that changes each season.
Your guests will love the Meat & Seafood Department’s freshly skewered kabobs, made with a protein, fresh bell peppers and onions. Choose center-cut top butt, hand-trimmed fresh natural chicken or Smithfield Prime pork tenderloin kabobs. Seafood kabobs include shrimp, farm-raised Atlantic salmon or tuna. Many Strack & Van Til stores can grill your kabobs for you right in the Seafood Department.
For a special treat, the Meat Department offers the Certified Angus Beef brand in 82% lean ground chuck, 85% lean ground round and 93% lean ground sirloin, ground daily.
“Certified Angus Beef is the best Angus beef available — more selective than USDA Choice and Prime — known for its marbling, which ensures unrivaled flavor, juiciness and tenderness. Only three in 10 Angus cattle meet the 10 standards for quality,” notes Teachman. “Many stores say they have ‘Angus’ beef, but ours is the real deal.”
For recipes and cooking tips, visit CertifiedAngusBeef.com and follow the brand on Facebook, Instagram, Twitter and Pinterest.
Teachman says that the Meat Department also offers bacon-wrapped asparagus, made with fresh asparagus and Strack & Van Til’s special seasoning. To prepare, place bacon-wrapped asparagus in a small metal baking sheet on the grill’s top shelf and cook for approximately 20 minutes, turning often.
Three new salads from the Strack & Van Til Deli are perfect sides for your grilling fare. Deviled egg pasta salad is a creamy pasta salad with plenty of fresh egg, sweet relish and a hint of mustard and dill. Greek poppyseed pasta salad has whole olives and a poppyseed dressing, and Buffalo pasta salad includes fresh corn, celery and white cheese crumble —combined with Campanelle pasta and creamy buffalo dressing.
“Serve Asiago pasta salad, spinach pasta salad with fresh spinach and pine nuts or Caprese pasta salad with fresh mozzarella,” says Deli Department Director Kristin Snow. “Enjoy Our Own homestyle potato or mustard potato, deviled egg potato, premium potato or steakhouse potato salad varieties.”
Coleslaw options include creamy, vinegar and oil or summer slaw with fresh tomato and green pepper. Try traditional baked beans or a Texas-style mix of white, dark red kidney, red, lima and butter beans.
Try this delicious grilled appetizer recipe:
Grilled Smoked Bacon Cheese Skewers
Ingredients
16-ounce Brun-Uusto (baked cheese with smoked bacon)
2 tablespoons olive oil
Salt and pepper, to taste
10 metal or bamboo skewers
If using wooden skewers, soak in water for at least 10 minutes before threading to prevent burning on the grill.
Directions
Preheat grill to medium heat. Cut cheese into 1-inch-wide strips lengthwise for skewering.
Thread cheese onto the soaked skewers. Brush cheese with olive oil. Season with salt and pepper, if needed, but remember that grilling cheeses are often already salty.
Carefully place skewers on the grill. Grill first side until lightly browned — about 1 minute. Flip to grill on the second side, about 1 more minute. Continue flipping until all sides are browned and gently crisped.
Serve immediately with your favorite bread and oil dipping sauce.
May also be made on the stove, using a ridged grill pan.