During the dog days of summer, I believe it is the best policy to use your toyhauler kitchen to its best advantage. If it’s hot outside, try to cook as much on your outside grill as possible. Why heat up the inside unnecessarily? Besides, what tastes better than a meal cooked over the grill in the great outdoors?

That being said, it is summertime, and the last place I want to be is stuck in the inside of my rig. Here are a few grill-friendly recipes that are sure to please your family and friends.

Grilled Tri Tip
1 cup lemon juice (OK to substitute grapefruit or orange juice, or any combination thereof as well)
1 cup olive oil
1/2 cup soy sauce
1/2 cup sugar
1/2 cup minced dried onions
1/2 cup chopped garlic (I cheated and used the bottled)
1 tbs. salt
1 tbs. black pepper
1- 4lb tri tip trimmed
Combine in a large zip-top bag and marinate the tri tip for 6-8 hours
Grill the tri tip over medium heat until internal temperature reaches 136-137 for rare. Allow roast to rest for 10-15 minutes, and heat should rise a few more degrees to 140. Slice thinly on the bias, against the grain of the meat.

Grilled asparagus with prosciutto
1 bunch asparagus
1 4oz package prosciutto cut in half lengthwise
¼ cup balsamic vinegar
3 tbs olive oil
salt and pepper

Trim the tough ends of the asparagus off. See Cook’s Notes. Carefully wrap prosciutto around each individual asparagus spear. Assemble spears in a shallow dish and pour olive oil over all of the stalks. Roll the spears around to coat in oil. Salt and pepper liberally. Place spears on the grill and cook until prosciutto is crispy and asparagus is tender but still slightly crisp. When removed from the grill, drizzle with balsamic vinegar.

Cook’s Notes: A good way to find where the woody lower part of the asparagus ends is to hold the spear with one end in each hand and snap. Wherever the asparagus snaps naturally is where the fibrous rough part ends and the tender part of the stalk begins.

-Cori Boudreaux