*Buffalo wings can be a great keto-approved option if prepared in the right way.*

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This week’s introduction was written by guest author Annabelle Carter Short, a Sacramento-based food writer, blogger, and photographer. She loves cooking, sewing, creating recipes, and making healthy food that tastes delicious. You can follow her writing at her personal blog or connect with her via Facebook and LinkedIn.

When sticking to a low-carb keto diet, variety is key. Nothing is worse than eating the same thing for breakfast, lunch, and dinner every day just to maintain your diet. You need to mix it up!

In order to give you a few new ideas to work with, I’ve put together a list of some of my favorite keto BBQ recipes. These range from grilled steak to chicken to homemade sauces and everything in between. If you are currently on the keto diet or want to easily create a memorable and healthy dish you’ve never had, you simply have to try out some of these tasty keto BBQ recipes.

Skirt Steak

Skirt steak is often an overlooked piece of meat, but a well-prepared marinated skirt steak comes out incredibly tender and packed full of flavor. Best of all, it is low-carb and gluten-free. It’s perfect for fajitas, stroganoff, and even steak sandwiches.

Try marinating the steak with a zesty lemon, soy sauce, and ginger combination. Allow it to sit for a few hours before cooking to ensure that the flavor is completely soaked into the meat. Then sear it on a hot skillet or grill, making sure to cook it to your preferred temperature. Slice the skirt steak across the grain, and use it however you like.

If you are looking to change things up, try searing the meat with a generous crust of black pepper, and then slice thinly. Add in some butter, mushrooms, and garlic to start sautéing. Once the mushrooms are cooked, add heavy cream and season to taste.

Slow Cooker Pulled Pork

Pulled pork is not only one of the most delicious and comforting barbecue meals, but it can also be incredibly easy to make if you need to save time or don’t have access to a smoker. Using a slow cooker, you can make this pork fork-tender and juicy without having to spend much time cooking.

Throw your pork loin into the slow cooker with some stock, season it to your liking (there are rub options!), and allow it to cook for 6 to 8 hours on low heat. When done, shred the meat with two forks, and season further to your liking. Keeping it keto-friendly, plate this meal over fresh greens or enjoy it by itself

*Backyard burgers can be enjoyed without buns.*

Bunless Burgers

Following a keto diet doesn’t mean that you can’t enjoy the simple pleasure of a backyard barbecue burger. Bunless burgers are a simple twist on the classic hamburger, replacing the buns with lettuce wraps, cheese, or even portobello mushrooms. With many savory options to choose from, this dish is a good spin on the original.

Start with premium ground chuck. You want a nice, fatty meat to provide the juiciest burger possible, so we’d recommend the 80/20-ratio chuck. Take your meat and mash it up a bit to get the consistency right. Some people also like to add an egg here, fresh parsley, or sautéed onions, but there are no wrong answers here.

Now you need to form your patties, season them liberally with salt and pepper, and throw them on the grill. Sit back and enjoy your backyard barbecue party while your burgers get nicely seared on one side. You want to cook the burgers over high heat, so they get nice and crispy quickly, allowing the inside to stay nice and tender. Flip the burger once it’s ready, and throw a slice of cheese on top (if you like it that way). Top it off with fresh veggies or condiments, and wrap it all up in pieces of lettuce.

Lime Grilled Chicken Tacos

An extremely simple keto recipe that you can make in large quantities is grilled lime chicken tacos. This marinated chicken is grilled to perfection, and sliced thin to make a perfect taco.

The only difference here is that you will need to use lettuce wraps instead of tortillas, making this recipe completely gluten- and carb-free.

Grilled Buffalo Wings

Classic buffalo wings will forever rank among the greatest barbecue party foods. They are delicious, fun to eat, and most importantly easy to make!

Take your drumsticks and wings, and thinly coat them with a mixture of melted butter, salt, pepper, and your choice of hot sauce. Throw them on the grill and let them get nice and smokey. Baste the wings generously with extra sauce when they are close to being finished, and enjoy them straight off the grill.

*Grilled chicken is a staple of keto-approved BBQ.*

Balsamic Chicken Kabobs

Nothing is more fun to eat while grilling than chicken kabobs. These hot skewered chunks of juicy chicken are made with a balsamic glaze that gives them a unique flair.

Start by removing any excess fat from your chicken breasts, and cutting them into bite-sized chunks. Once all of your meat has been chopped up, place it in a bowl or Ziploc bag and fill it with a balsamic-and-rosemary marinade. Add plenty of olive oil to ensure the chicken retains its moisture, and refrigerate it for at least an hour.

Skewer them up and throw the chicken directly onto the grill. Rotate as needed, and try to get a nice seared crust on the outside.

Low Carb Sugar-Free BBQ Sauce

Last but not least, it wouldn’t be barbecue without a little BBQ sauce. Despite what you may think, it’s actually easy to make a bold BBQ sauce that is low in carbs and completely sugar-free.

While it is difficult to make a low-sugar BBQ sauce, it is not impossible. Start by mixing together tomato paste, apple cider vinegar, and a sweetener of choice (such as monk fruit sweetener). Add in Worcestershire sauce, mustard, onion powder, chili powder, paprika, and chili flakes. Bring this mixture to a boil and allow it to thicken. Play around with these ingredients to find the right balance for your taste buds. It is that easy. Let it cool or use it right away. Either works.

This means that you can make plenty of BBQ sauce ahead of time for any guests who are also on a low-carb diet. And of course, you can also try using it with other recipes on this list to give more barbecue flavor to other meats.

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If you have feedback on these recipes or want to share other keto-approved BBQ ideas, please get in touch!

Annabelle Carter Short
Food Writer

EAT ALL ABOUT IT

Here are the top BBQ and related food news stories you need to know about this week:

*The barbecue wings at Jersey Shore BBQ are included on the list of best wings in New Jersey. (Photo via Jersey Shore BBQ / Facebook)*

If you love wings and live in/near New Jersey, you don’t want to miss Pete Genovese’s list of 44 best places to eat wings in NJ. Genovese released this list just before the Super Bowl (go Chiefs!), but you don’t need a good football game to grab great wings. The list includes two barbecue joints (TSTBBQ and Jersey Shore BBQ) and many good bars.

Eater NY critic Robert Sietsema has rounded up his five best bacon dishes in NYC, including the bacon appetizer at Peter Luger Steakhouse and the maple bacon danish at Bourke Street Bakery.
Unkl Moe's BBQ & Catering in Rochester, NY is seeking a buyer, reports the Democrat & Chronicle. Moses "Unkl Moe" Smith and his wife Bernice have been in business for 18 years but looking to retire, so if you’ve ever wanted to own a joint upstate, now might be a good opportunity.
The Columbia Spectator recently wrote a short profile of Harlem’s Dinosaur Bar-B-Que and its connections to the New York barbecue scene.
If you live upstate, you may want to check out Finger Lakes Barbecue, which was profiled by the Finger Lakes Times. This joint focuses on Central Texas-style barbecue and often sells out of staples including brisket, ribs, pulled pork, and chicken.
The Hartford Rib Off event will return to Connecticut on June 19 and 20 this summer. It will include live music, food and drink vendors, and a Kansas City Barbeque Society sanctioned competition.
Finally, in an unusually revealing article, Pure Grit BBQ founder Kerry Fitzmaurice wrote about overcoming struggles and doubts to launch her new barbecue restaurant. Pure Grit is expected to open in late spring or early summer of this year in Manhattan.

IRL BBQ

Here are the top BBQ and related food events coming soon to the New York metro area:

*Hill Country Barbecue Market is hosting a weird and wild musical through February 11.*

January 26 - February 11, 2020: A musical called Das Barbecü is currently being performed at Hill Country Barbecue Market in Manhattan through February 11. The performance, a reimagining of Wagner’s Ring Cycle that takes place in Texas, is a musical farce about mismatched lovers who meet during a double shotgun wedding. Five actors play more than 30 characters. This is the first full production to be performed in the lower-level music space of Hill Country Barbecue. Naturally, BBQ will be served during the show. Read a full preview here. More info here.

Saturday, February 22, 2020: Sink your teeth into the best charcuterie — sausages, patés, hams, salumi, and more — at the fifth annual Charcuterie Masters in Queens. Enjoy unlimited tasting of more than 60 varieties of charcuterie, dishes from NJ Ham Master Rodrigo Duarte Chef, Pitmaster Josh Bowen of John Brown Smokehouse, Anastacia Song of American Cut, and Chef Hugue Dufour of M. Wells Steakhouse. Buy tickets here.
Saturday, February 29, 2020: Food Karma Projects, the team behind Brisket King and Pig Island, is premiering a new, original food festival in late February called Bowl of ‘Zole in Brooklyn. The event will focus on pozole and mezcal, and is curated by Arik Torren (owner of Fidencio Mezcal) and Danny Mena (chef, restaurant owner, and cookbook author.) There will be 9 pozoles and 50 mezcals to try, plus other goodies. Buy tickets here.
Saturday, February 29, 2020: Celebrate Texas Independence Day with the Texas Exes NYC at HIll Country BBQ Market. The Texas Exes NYC group will be hosting a Texas-sized celebration in NYC at Hill Country. Tickets cost just $10. Come early to get your free Shiner or Tito's and take advantage of specials on drinks and food on our specially crafted menu just for Texas Independence Day. More info here.
Saturday, April 11, 2020: Don't miss the 2020 NYC Bacon and Beer Classic in April. The event, at the Brooklyn Expo Center in Greenpoint, will turn into a foodie paradise filled with decadent bacon dishes, free-flowing craft beer, and games. Cheer on NYC's fiercest foodies as they go head to head in the Hormel Black Label Bacon Eating Contest, challenge your friends in cornhole, ride a bacon seesaw, and more. Buy tickets here.
Saturday, April 18, 2020: Mark your calendars for the Jeff Michner BBQ Benefit 2020 at Pig Beach. Following the successful 2019 version of the event, this will feature many of the top pitmasters from around the country at Pig Beach in Brooklyn. Read about the 2019 edition of the Jeff Michner BBQ benefit here and this listing will be updated when tickets are officially available.
April 18 - 19, 2020: The 8th Annual Hot Sauce Expo NYC will be back for two days in 2020. The event will be held at the Brooklyn Expo Center in Greenpoint and features tons of hot sauce samples, barbecue and beer to purchase, fun on-stage events, and more. Buy tickets here.
Wednesday, April 22, 2020: If you love brisket, you won’t want to miss Brisket King 2020 in April. More than 15 chefs and pitmasters will be there serving up their best takes on brisket, pastrami, and more. Early bird ticket sales are available now, so get them before prices go up! Read about the last edition of Brisket King to get a better sense of the event. More info here.

Looking for more events? Check out the full NYC BBQ calendar here.

SAY HELLO

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7 Low-Carb Keto BBQ Recipe Ideas