Herb Sauces for Grilling Meats

Is there anything better than a recipe that is easily adapted with just one change in the ingredients? These Herb Sauces for Grilling Meats offer three variations of sauces that add big flavor to grilled shrimp, steak or chicken, depending on what herbs you choose.

The best part about them is how easy they are to make. You just put fresh herbs and a few other basic ingredients into a blender and, voila, you have a flavor booster for grilled meats.

The Herbs

For preparing the fresh herbs there are a couple of tools that work well. A sharp 7-5/8″ Petite Chef knife is a good choice for cutting them, but a pair of kitchen shears, like Cutco’s Super Shears also work great. Just snip the herbs into a bowl or directly into whatever you’re making.

These sauces use variations of six basic herbs for different flavor profiles. They are parsley, thyme, dill, basil, rosemary and oregano.

Making the Sauces

All the sauces include garlic, green onions, lemon juice, lemon zest, salt, pepper and olive oil. Because the sauces are pulsed together in a blender, it’s best to cut the garlic and green onions beforehand.

The garlic doesn’t have to be cut small, but should at least be sliced so that it blends well. Slice it using a Santoku-Style 3″ Paring Knife.

The green onions also don’t need to be cut super small, but small enough that they’ll blend easily. Slice them into pieces with a 5″ Petite Santoku knife.

With the base ingredients ready, all you have to do is choose which sauce you’re making and use the herbs related to that recipe.

Herbs for grilled shrimp: parsley, basil and dill.

Herbs for grilled steak: parsley, oregano and rosemary.

Herbs for grilled chicken: parsley, basil and thyme.

How to Use Herb Sauces

Once the sauces are blended together, use some of it to marinade the meat and reserve the rest to baste while grilling. You can also set some aside for dipping.

These Herb Sauces for Grilling Meats would also make great dipping sauces for crusty bread. But, I would recommend mixing the sauce together and letting it sit in the refrigerator for a couple hours to let the flavors really come together before serving.

For fun, you can make all three sauces and have your guests vote on which they like best. We had a tough time choosing in the Cutco Kitchen, but they’re all delicious!

These are great recipes to experiment with as there really are no rules. So have fun, blend up some herb sauces and get ready for a flavorful experience.