When the weather is hot and sunny, there’s nothing better than firing up the grill. With the right tools, outdoor cooking offers endless possibilities. From steaks and burgers to seafood and even vegan dishes, you can grill just about anything if you get creative enough. For those looking to expand their repertoire this summer, we’ve collected some easy BBQ recipe ideas to help you impress family and guests alike. We’ve also compiled some tips for those who’re unfamiliar with the ins-and-outs of grilling with cast iron cookware.
Le Creuset's Alpine Outdoor Collection
Le Creuset has always been synonymous with quality and durability, and now we’re taking that outdoors with the Alpine Outdoor Collection. Crafted from our legendary enamelled cast iron, this cookware set combines thoughtful details with ease of use to enhance the outdoor cooking experience. Each piece has been carefully designed for cooking over an open flame — whether you’re grilling in your backyard or heading out to the campgrounds.
Alpine Outdoor Collection Round Skillet
The Alpine Outdoor Collection Round Skillet is a versatile workhorse ideal for searing, sautéing, stir-frying, and griddling outdoors. Boasting raised loop handles, this cast iron skillet is easy to maneuver on the grates with a low-profile design that allows grill hoods to close. Coated in rugged enamelled cast iron, the Round Skillet is ready to use without needing to be seasoned and easy to clean. It’s also the perfect size to fit on most grills while leaving space to cook alongside it. The Alpine Outdoor Collection Round Skillet is ideal for seared steaks, fried eggs, toasted sandwiches, pancakes and more.
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Alpine Outdoor Collection Square Grilling Basket
The Alpine Outdoor Collection Square Grilling Basket handily solves one of the biggest struggles in grilling, allowing you to grill smaller or more delicate foods without worrying about them sticking or falling through the grates. The perforations on the bottom of the basket still allows heat to reach the food for smoky chargrilled flavour. The Grilling Basket’s rugged enamel coating provides even heat distribution without the need to season. It’s the perfect size to fit most grills while leaving you with enough space to cook alongside it. Durable and easy to clean, the Alpine Outdoor Square Grill Basket ideal for fish and shellfish, asparagus and other small vegetables, roasted potatoes and more.
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Alpine Outdoor Collection Round Pizza Pan
For the more ambitious outdoor cook, the Alpine Outdoor Collection Round Pizza Pan provides a large, smooth surface ideal for baking, roasting, searing, and griddling outdoors. It’s big enough to accommodate a large pizza and offers exceptional heat distribution for a perfectly crispy crust. Crafted from enamelled cast iron and specifically designed for cooking over an open flame, the Pizza Pan is completely encased in a rugged matte black enamel that is ready to use and requires no seasoning.
Buy nowLe Creuset Easy BBQ Recipe Ideas
There is something about barbecuing that you just can’t replicate in the kitchen. The smoky flavours and delicious charing are hard to pass up. To help you better prepare for a long season of outdoor cooking, we’ve put together some of our favourite easy BBQ recipe ideas. Whether you’re hosting a big backyard blow out, or preparing a quiet family meal, these easy BBQ recipe ideas are sure to please.
Grilled Lamb Chops with Spring Vegetables and Chimichurri
Grilled lamb chops are always a crowd pleaser. The chimichurri in these Grilled Lamb Chops with Spring Vegetables is a bright and herby twist on the traditional meal. The best part is you can customize this easy BBQ recipe idea with whatever seasonal vegetables you have on hand.
This recipe is a delicious excuse to use your Round Skillet. The cast iron skillet will keep all the meat juices and chimichurri from dripping down onto the bottom of your grill, giving them more time to absorb into the lamb chops. This will leave you with a perfectly tender and juicy meal.
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Lobster Tails for Two (with Seaweed Compound Butter)
For many Canadians, lobster season is an always-anticipated part of summer. Take advantage of it with our Lobster Tails for Two (with Seaweed Compound Butter) recipe. Even if you are using frozen lobster tails, this easy BBQ recipe idea is a sure way to elevate an intimate evening with your partner. The rich umami of the Seaweed Compound Butter enhances the savoury flavour of the dish, creating the impression of freshly caught lobster.
Using the Alpine Collection Square Grilling Basket will help you achieve that smoky, chargrilled flavour without worrying about your vegetables slipping between the grates. This enamelled cast iron grill pan offers superior heat distribution, ensuring that your food cooks consistently.
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Grilled Steak for Two (with Seaweed Compound Butter)
Grilled steak is a time-honoured classic. This recipe for Grilled Steak for Two (with Seaweed Compound Butter) elevates the meal by adding the rich, umami flavour of the compound butter. Whether you’re celebrating an important milestone, or sharing a quiet evening in, this easy BBQ recipe idea is sure to hit the spot.
The Alpine Collection Round Skillet is the ideal cookware for this dish. The enamelled cast iron skillet easily handles the high heat for searing while keeping the butter in the pan where it will have more time to melt and absorb into the meat.
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Grilled Halloumi Sandwiches
If you’re unfamiliar with it, halloumi is a type of cheese originating from Cyprus that is known for its exceptionally high melting point. This makes it very popular in summer dishes because you can put it directly on the grill without having to worry about it melting right through and making a mess. For a quick and easy BBQ recipe idea, these Grilled Halloumi Sandwiches are filling and packed with flavour.
Your Alpine Round Skillet is ideal to both grill the halloumi and toast your bread. The enamelled cast iron skillet doesn’t require seasoning and is easy to clean, saving you both time and effort.
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Diner-Style Vegan Burgers
Burgers are a popular go-to for barbecuing. These Diner-Style Vegan Burgers offer a more health conscious alternative that doesn’t skimp on flavour. Made from a base of legumes, nuts, and grains, these vegan burgers make for a tasty and filling meat alternative. And, like with any burger, you can customize these burgers however you like, allowing you to make this easy BBQ recipe your own.
Using your Alpine Round Skillet will let you caramelize the onions and toast the walnuts right on your BBQ before switching to the grill once the patties are ready to get that nice charing. If you’re concerned about the burgers sticking to the grates, you can grill them in your Square Grilling Basket for the same effect.
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Prosciutto & Herb Pizza with Homemade Tomato Sauce
Transform your pizza nights into something truly special with homemade pizza. This Prosciutto and Herb Pizza with Homemade Tomato Sauce takes simple ingredients and makes them into a memorable dish that will have your family coming back for seconds.
Making this recipe on your barbecue with the Alpine Round Pizza Pan lets you recreate the rustic flavours of wood-fired pizza right in your backyard. The Pizza Pan can easily accommodate a large pizza while still ensuring the dough cooks to an even crisp.
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Grilled Steak Skewers and Summer Vegetables with Soy, Peanuts and Cilantro
Another classic staple of barbecue season, these Grilled Steak Skewers and Summer Vegetables with Soy, Peanuts, and Cilantro offer a refreshing middle-eastern twist on the dish. Accompanied by grilled napa cabbage and bell peppers, the steak is marinated in a sweet and spicy sauce and garnished with peanuts and cilantro.
Perfect for grilling vegetables, the Alpine Square Grilling Basket saves you from the hassle of keeping your vegetables from slipping through the grates while still leaving you ample space to grill alongside it. The raised loop handles make it easy to move around while the low-profile design allows grill hoods to close.
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Apple and Serrano Pepper Braised Pork Ribs
If you haven’t already tried your hand at it, braising is a cooking technique that transforms tougher cuts of meat or vegetables into a tender and juicy meal. These Apple and Serrano Pepper Braised Pork Ribs are a great example of the technique at work. This dish is a popular summer party meal for its hands off cooking and shareable nature. Your cast iron skillet handily takes on the role of a braiser for this meal. Its high temperature tolerance and even heat distribution let you sear your meat before slow-cooking it over the grill.
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Grilled Rainbow Trout with Charred Radicchio and Gremolata
Perfect for fishing trips, this easy BBQ recipe idea for Grilled Rainbow Trout with Charred Radicchio and Gremolata is a simple, yet creative way to cook a whole fish. Stuffed with herbs and citrus, this rustic recipe will recall camping trips of your youth while the gremolata and toasted pistachios keeps even the most sophisticated diners satisfied.
As seafood tends to be more delicate than other types of meat, cooking this dish in your Alpine Square Grilling Basket will lend this dish that smoky, chargrilled flavour without worry about the trout falling apart as you grill it.
See the recipeOutdoor Cast Iron Grilling Tips
Any seasoned outdoor cook will tell you that there is a certain art to grilling. While there are a lot of cooking basics that apply just as well outside the kitchen, there are profound differences to cooking over a grill or open flame that take some time to get a feel for. If you’re looking to step up your grilling this summer, here are some handy tips for learning to cook with cast iron cookware.
When cooking with cast iron cookware, it’s important not just to get your grill up to temperature, but to preheat your cast iron skillet or grill pan. This is essential to avoid your food sticking, and to ensure that you can get an even coat of oil on the cooking surface. If you’re not sure how to tell when your cast iron cookware is fully preheated, try adding the oil early on. Once the oil has formed a thin, “shimmering” layer in the pan, that’s your visual cue that your cast iron grill pan is hot enough.
Some of the most raved about qualities of cast iron cookware is its high temperature tolerance and even heat distribution. That’s what makes it the go-to choice for outdoor cookware. Whether you’re cooking on the barbecue or over a fire pit, you’re going to be cooking with much higher temperatures than in a conventional oven. That’s why it’s very important that you monitor and control the temperature in your pan. Keep an eye on your grill’s internal thermometer, but more importantly, you should invest in a good quality meat thermometer to keep tabs on the temperature of your food in your cast iron cookware.
This next piece of advice is important whether you’re searing food on your stove, or grill on your barbecue. When trying to get that nice crisp on your food, avoid overcrowding your cast iron grill pan. This will make sure that there is enough space for the juices to cook off, as well as making sure there is enough available surface area to maximize contact between your food and the cooking surface.
Become a grill master with Le Creuset
Whether you’ve just bought your first grill or are dreaming of grand outdoor adventures, mastering the art of grilling is a valuable skill. Le Creuset’s Alpine Outdoor Collection is enamelled cast iron cookware you can trust to handle even the most ambitious outdoor meals and BBQ recipes. From our Cast Iron Skillet to Square Grilling Basket, this collection has all the outdoor cast iron cookware essentials you need.
This versatile collection was designed specifically for outdoor cooking. The raised loop handles and low-profile design make it suitable for use on a barbecue or any other grill setup. Unlike traditional cast iron cookware, each piece of Alpine Outdoor cookware is coated in rugged enamelled cast iron that is easy to clean and requires no seasoning. These were just nine of our favourite easy BBQ recipe ideas and outdoor cooking tips, but for more inspiration, be sure to visit our blog and make the most out of your Alpine Outdoor Collection.
