Elevate Your Summer BBQ with Herbal Blends from the Lombard Farmers Market

Nothing says summer quite like the smoky aroma of food sizzling on the grill. Whether you're a weekend grill master or a casual backyard cook, using the right herbal blends can take your barbecue to the next level. At BackyardPatch Herbs, we’ve crafted blends designed to enhance meats, vegetables, and even grilled fruit, all while keeping things fresh and flavorful.

And what better place to grab the freshest ingredients than your local Farmers Market? Pair our Grilled Meat Rub, Paprika Chicken Rub, and BBQ Spice Blend with market-fresh produce and proteins for an unforgettable outdoor feast!

Grilling with Herbs: The Flavor Boost You Need

Herbs add depth, complexity, and balance to your grilling. Unlike traditional salt-heavy seasonings, our blends focus on fresh, homegrown flavors that complement rather than overpower.

🌿 Grilled Meat Rub – A balanced blend of garlic, onion, thyme, and other aromatic herbs that bring out the natural richness in beef, pork, and even portobello mushrooms.

🌶️ Paprika ChickenRub – A smoky, slightly spicy mix featuring paprika, rosemary, and a hint of citrus, perfect for chicken, turkey, and even shrimp skewers.

🔥 BBQ Spice Blend – The ultimate all-purpose BBQ seasoning with a savory, slightly sweet profile—ideal for ribs, burgers, or roasted corn on the cob.

Farmers Market-Inspired Grilled Recipe

Try this Herb-Rubbed Grilled Chicken with Summer Veggies, featuring our Paprika Chicken Rub!

Ingredients:

• 
  2 lbs chicken thighs or breasts
  
• 2 tbsp Paprika Chicken Rub
• 2 tbsp olive oil
• 1 zucchini, sliced
• 1 bell pepper, chopped
• 1 ear of corn, cut into rounds
• 1 tbsp butter
• 1 tbsp BBQ Spice Blend

Coat the chicken with olive oil and Paprika Chicken Rub. Let marinate for 30 minutes. Toss the zucchini and peppers in olive oil and BBQ Spice Blend. Grill the chicken for 6-8 minutes per side until fully cooked. Grill the veggies and corn for 5 minutes, turning occasionally. Serve hot and enjoy the herbal-infused goodness!

Come See us in Person

This summer, stop by our local Farmers Market, if you are in Lombard, Illinois Tuesday afternoon from 3 to 7 PM and pick up your favorite Backyard Patch Herbs blends to make your grilling season unforgettable!

Crispy Seasoned Shrimp on the Grill - Weekend Recipe

With the weather the way it has been, I feel like I am rushing things by suggesting you get out the grill, but seriously it is Spring and we need some outdoor time.  This light flavorful shrimp dish is perfect.  Serve the skewers over a bed of couscous or quinoa or Arborio rice and enjoy with a side salad.

Crispy Seasoned Shrimp on the Grill

2 lbs. medium shrimp, shelled and deveined

2 Tbls. olive oil, divided

2 Tbls. vegetable oil

1-2 Tbls. BYP SEAFOOD SEASONING or ITALIAN SEASONING

1/2-1 tsp. granulated garlic

1/2-1 tsp. salt, optional

1/4-1/2 tsp. black pepper, fresh ground

1 cup bread crumbs

16-24 wooden skewers, depending on shrimp size

Directions:

Place the shrimp in a bowl. Add the vegetable oil and 1 TB. olive oil and toss to coat. Add the Herb Seasonings, garlic, salt and pepper and mix well. Add the bread crumbs and toss to coat. Cover and refrigerate for 2-6 hours. So the ends of the skewers don’t burn off, soak them in water for the last hour the shrimp are in the fridge. Spray or brush the grill grate with oil before heating the grill so the breading doesn’t stick. Thread the shrimp onto the skewers. Use 4 shrimp per skewer. Be careful that the bread crumbs don’t fall off while skewering. If there is a lot of breading leftover in the bowl, press it into the shrimp wherever it looks to need some. Sprinkle the skewers with the remaining olive oil and grill over medium coals until thoroughly cooked, 6-8 minutes, turning the skewers at least once to cook evenly.


RECIPE THEME:

Each month a theme is chosen and a number of recipes on that theme from my massive archive will be shared.  This year we have 12 new topics, different from the topics of last year.  To find the recipes of last year, check out this recipe link or search the blog with the topic Recipe2018. 

You can search the monthly theme by looking for the theme keyword in the search box and it will pull up the recipes on that theme as posted, so look at the bottom of the recipe in each posting for the KEYWORD in the () to search for each  month.  All recipes this year will be tagged Recipe2019 so you can find them all.

The themes are:

Jan 2019 – Chicken and Dumplings (CDumpsJan)

Feb 2019 - Pasta Dishes (PastaFeb)

March 2019 - Edible Flowers (FlowerMar)

April 2019 - Seafood Recipes (SeafoodApr)

May 2019 - Cajun And Creole

June 2019 - Vegetarian Dishes

July 2019 - Zucchini Recipes

August 2019 - National Mustard Day – mustard recipes

September 2019 - Quiche

October 2019 - Crock Pot meals

November 2019 - Pies

December 2019 - Mocktails

End of Season Grilling Butter - How Tuesday

With  Labor Day fast approaching I thought it was the perfect time to share a quick, easy, made with fresh herbs, butter recipe you can use on burgers or steaks to give them some extra flavor right off the grill.

I chopped the herbs fine, grated the lemon with a micro-plane and minced the garlic by hand.  (I hate cleaning the garlic mincer.)

Using a fork I blended the herbs into the butter.  I prefer a fork to a spoon when blending butter, as it mixes well, breaks up the butter and is easy to handle.

Then I rolled the butter into a small short log and placed int he refrigerator for about 30 minutes while the grill heated and the steaks cooked.

We seasoned the steaks with salt and pepper and a drizzle of oil.  We grilled them on a closed grill 6 to 8 minutes (more if desired.)  Cut a slice of herb butter and place in the center of each steak.

Easy and wonderfully flavorful.  The citrus brightens the flavor, but some like a more savory taste you you can try it without the lemon.

End of Season Grilling Butter 

½ cup (1 stick) butter, unsalted

1 Tbls parsley, chopped

1 Tbls chives chopped

1 Tbls tarragon, chopped

1 clove garlic, minced

½ tsp lemon zest

Blend herbs into room temperature butter with a fork.  Roll butter in wax paper or plastic wrap, chill one hour. Serve on streaks, chops or burgers.

Charcoal Grilled Chicken - Weekend recipe

First time grilling out!  It is early for grilling season, but sometimes once the weather gets warm I need to be outside and it is way to early to start gardening, so I am going to grill instead.

You don;t need much for this, just some garlic and thyme as the herbs ingredients, but with added lemon this is a special treat.

Charcoal Grilled Chicken

Roaster chicken

 2 Lemons

grate off about 2 Tsp lemon peel from one of the lemons

A large bunch of fresh thyme

One head of garlic

3 tablespoons of butter

salt and freshly ground pepper

Rinse the chicken with cold water (remove giblets and stuff), and pat dry. Salt and pepper chicken cavity thoroughly.  Cut garlic in half  crosswise, so the cloves are all exposed. Insert this into the cavity along with your large bunch of thyme and two lemons cut in half.  (You may only be able to fit 1 1/2 lemons depending on the chicken.  Melt three tablespoons of butter and stir in some lemon peel you grated off the lemons before placing in chicken.  Pour over the chicken, sprinkle with freshly ground pepper and generous amount of salt.

To prepare your grill, get your charcoal hot and then scoop them to the exterior edge of the grill, create a plate with tin foil and place it in the middle hole where there are now not coals. Place the gill grate in the grill and put the chicken on  it above the foil plate and cook for an hour and a half.  it will be juicy and flavorful and you will wonder why you never tired it before.  Do not keep opening the grill, leave the chicken alone for  at least one hour.

When it is close to finished (use a thermometer to know that it has reach 180 degrees in the thickest part of the meat) add vegetables to the grill to make a perfect side.

Crockpot Bar-B-Que chicken - Weekend recipe

Fire up the grill or use your oven for this quick and easy BBQ chicken.

Crockpot Bar-B-Que Chicken

6 to 8 servings

6 to 8 boneless, skinless chicken breast halves

1 cup ketchup

1/3 cup Worcestershire sauce

1/2 cup packed brown sugar

1 tsp. chili powder

1 tsp. thyme

1 tsp. savory or sage

1/2 cup water

Directions:

Ideal slow cooker size is 5-quart. Place chicken in slow cooker. Whisk together remaining ingredients in a large bowl. Pour sauce mixture over chicken. Cover and cook on high 1 hour, and then on low 4 to 6 hours, or until chicken is tender but not overcooked.   If the sauce begins to dry out as the dish cooks, stir in another 1/2 cup water.  You can substitute the 3 tsp. of seasonings with 1 Tbls.of Backyard Patch Bar-B-QueSpice Mix

Weekend Recipe - Basil Grilled Chicken

This perfect recipe to use fresh basil from the garden is great with lemon basil, purple basil, Thai basil or your favorite pesto basil.

Lemon basil with tangerine marigolds

Basil Grilled Chicken 

3/4 tsp. coarsely ground pepper
4 chicken breasts, skin removed
1/3 cup butter or margarine, melted
1/4 cup chopped fresh basil

BUTTER:

1/2 cup butter or margarine, softened
2 T. minced fresh basil
1 T. grated Parmesan cheese
1/4 t. garlic powder
1/8 t. salt
1/8 t. pepper

Press 3/4 tsp. pepper into meaty side of chicken. Mix 1/3 cup butter and 1/4 cup basil in bowl. Brush chicken lightly with some of the mixture. Allow the rest to remain and room temperature so it is spreadable.  Grill chicken over medium coals for 8 to 10 minutes per side or until cooked through, basting frequently with remaining basil and butter mixture.

For the basil butter, mix 1/2 cup butter, 2 Tbls. basil, cheese, garlic powder, salt and pepper in small mixer bowl. Beat at low speed until blended and smooth. Remove to serving bowl and set aside. 

Once cooked, serve chicken with whipped basil butter and linguine or other pasta and fresh seasonal vegetables for a complete meal.  then toss a few fresh leaves basil leaves on for garnish!

Herbal Recipe - Grilled Broccoli Raab

Although somewhat unconventional, grilling dark leafy greens like broccoli raab is a fun way to add subtle smokiness. Here, we bump up the flavor by tossing it with a garlic-rosemary vinaigrette.

Photographer: Ken Burris

Grilled Broccoli Raab

1 bunch broccoli raab, (about 1 pound), trimmed

Dressing:

2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil

2 teaspoons red-wine vinegar

1 teaspoon garlic powder

1/2 teaspoon rosemary, fresh chopped

1/4 teaspoon thyme, fresh chopped

1/4 teaspoon salt

1/2 teaspoon freshly ground pepper

Directions:

Cook broccoli raab in a large pot of boiling water until bright green and barely tender, 1 to 2 minutes. Drain in a colander and rinse with cold water; drain well.

Combine oil, vinegar, herbs, salt and pepper in a large bowl. Grill the broccoli raab, turning once, until tender and the leaves are just beginning to char, 1 to 2 minutes per side. Toss the broccoli raab with the reserved dressing.

If you love grilled vegetables and herbs we recommend our salt-free dressing mixes as the perfect marinade.  You can find them all in out Etsy Shoppe.

What is a Meat Rub?

What really makes a rub a rub is how it is applied. I suppose that you could say sprinkling salt and pepper over a steak was like adding a rub, but this really isn't what we mean when we talk about rubs, particularly a traditional barbecue rub. A rub should coat the surface of the meat. You should work a rub evenly into to the meat to get the flavor inside as much as possible.    

Rubs come in two varieties, wet rubs and dry rubs. A dry rub is made of herbs and spices and can be either sprinkled over meat or actually rubbed in. A wet rub contains a liquid ingredient, usually oil and is coated over the surface of the meat. Beyond this, practically anything goes. What you want in your rub is really a matter of personal taste. You want a good rub to add flavor and color but you don't want it to overpower the flavor of the meats you are rubbing.   

Most dry rubs contain such things as paprika, chili powder, granulated garlic, cayenne, etc. To get these dry ingredients to stay on requires the natural moisture of the meat.  You want to enhance the flavor of the meat without over shadowing it, so a good rub will be a mixing of strong spices with mild, complimentary ones to create an even distribution. If you're going for a hot spice combination, chose a blend with chili powder, cayenne or paprika. It will give the meat a good color and add the level of heat you want without making the meat too hot to eat.

This example is a Sweet / Hot blend with a combination of sugar and spices.  It will get you started on a journey to create some rubs of your own.

Spicy Barbecue Rub

2 tablespoons salt

2 tablespoons brown sugar

2 tablespoons ground cumin

2 tablespoons chili powder

2 tablespoons freshly ground black pepper

1 tablespoon cayenne pepper

3 tablespoons paprika

Combine all ingredients. Use on a large piece of beef, chicken, lamb or pork when barbecuing or spit-roasting. Store in an airtight container in the refrigerator up to 1 month.

If you want to try out the sugar and salt-free rubs of the Backyard Patch, see this Etsy listing.

Tuesday Recipe - Sage Butter

Do you like butter on cooking steak?  Then a sage butter will be amazing.  Because you are using fresh sage for this, the flavor will be more gentle and sweet than strong dried sage making it a good companion for oven roasted potatoes, grilled summer squash and grilled chicken. 

Sage butter

2 1/4 sticks butter, softened

1 tablespoon finely chopped fresh sage leaves

3 tablespoons finely chopped fresh flat-leaf parsley leaves

10 pitted medium green olives (1/4 cup), roughly chopped

2 anchovy fillets, finely chopped

Place softened butter in medium bowl. Add remaining ingredients; mix until well combined. Place butter mixture on a piece of plastic wrap about 8 in. long. Roll mixture into a log about 2 inches in diameter; wrap tightly. Chill until required.

Formed into a log and wrapped in plastic wrap, butters like this will keep for up to 1 month in the freezer and up to 5 days in the refrigerator. Allow to soften slightly at room temperature before slicing into rounds. You can halve the quantities given here, if preferred.

If you love herbal butters, the Backyard Patch makes a selection of different blends crafted especially to blend into butter.  You can find them allhere.

Herb Recipe - Honey Mustard Chicken

Enjoy another recipe over on Facebook.  And come back each Tuesday for more!  We also post a weekend recipe too!

Honey Mustard Chicken

A honey and mustard coating flavors succulent boneless, skinless chicken thighs. Red potatoes baked with the chicken soak up the juices.

4 (6-ounce) boneless, skinless chicken thighs

1/2 teaspoon salt

Coarsely ground black pepper

4 tablespoons Dijon mustard (or herb mustard)

2 tablespoons honey

1 shallot, finely chopped

1 Tbls. minced fresh thyme leaves or ½ teaspoon dried

½ Tbls. minced fresh savory or 1 tsp. dried

1 pound small red potatoes, cut into halves

Olive oil cooking spray

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 375 degrees F.
2. Sprinkle chicken thighs  with 1/4 teaspoon salt and pepper. Place in a 13 x 9-inch baking dish. Combine mustard, honey, shallot and herbs in a small bowl to form a paste. Spread over thighs, covering them completely.
3. Add potatoes to the pan and spritz with olive oil spray. Sprinkle potatoes with 1/4 teaspoon salt and pepper.
4. Bake about 50 minutes, stirring potatoes once, until potatoes and chicken are tender.

What is an Herbal Meat Rub?

What really makes a rub a rub is how it is applied. I suppose that you could say sprinkling salt and pepper over a steak was like adding a rub, but this really isn't what we mean when we talk about rubs, particularly a traditional barbecue rub. A rub should coat the surface of the meat. You should work a rub evenly into the meat to get the flavor inside as much as possible.     

Rubs come in two varieties, wet rubs and dry rubs. A dry rub is made of herbs and spices and can be either sprinkled over meat or actually rubbed in. A wet rub contains a liquid ingredient, usually oil and is coated over the surface of the meat. Beyond this, practically anything goes.

What you want in your rub is really a matter of personal taste. You want a good rub to add flavor and color but you don't want it to overpower the flavor of the meats you are rubbing.   

 Most dry rubs contain such things as paprika, chili powder, granulated garlic, cayenne, etc. To get these dry ingredients to stay on requires the natural moisture of the meat.  You want to enhance the flavor of the meat without overpowering it, so a good rub will be a mixing of strong spices with mild, complimentary ones to create an even distribution. If you're going for a hot spice combination, chose a blend with chili powder, cayenne or paprika. It will give the meat a good color and add the level of heat you want without making the meat too hot to eat.

The advantage of a wet rub (or paste) is that it sticks to the meat better. This is particularly important if you are cooking poultry with the skin on or some other smooth surfaced meats or meats that tend to be naturally dry. The other advantage of a wet rub is that it can help keep meat from drying out. This is especially true when using an oil based rub. The oil acts as a moisture barrier, keeping the natural juices inside the meat. Oils in rubs can also keep meats from sticking to the grill. Remember that a wet rub should have the consistency of a paste, thick.

Lemon peel and tarragon were used in oilive oil

 

As I said, a rub should be worked into meats completely. If you are applying a rub to poultry try and get it in under the skin. Skin blocks flavors so putting a rub on the surface of skin won't do much for the meat. If is also good to apply your rub well before you plan to grill or smoke. A good hour will be enough in most cases, but large roasts, whole poultry, or briskets should be rubbed down the night before or at least several hours before hand. This allows the seasonings to mingle with the natural juices of the meat and sink in. Dusting a pork chop with a rub seconds before it hits the grill will result in a well flavored set of burners and a good supply of smoke from burning spices. It won't add a lot of flavor to the chops.

4 Spice Meat Rub from the Backyard Patch used on a pork tenderloin

I have a whole list of meat rubs for all marinades and rubs that I created for the Backyard Patch because I love the quick easy way you can rub a plain meat in herbs and spices and conjure tastes of far away yet still have a meal in my own back yard. I put together a special set of 5 grilling mixes that has free shipping too!

If you want to try your hand at making your own rubs, check out this post I first did over at the Supporting Artists Blog but have posted on my own blog here: Grilling Rubs for Father's Day.  You can find several rub recipes to get your started.

Weekend Recipe - Lemon Tarragon Pork Chops

Tarragon is an herb that I do not use nearly as much as I should.  The plant is a perennial and only really takes off in the second year.  The first year it is small cute and feel you should not harvest any incase it dies, but it is very hardy, even in cooler areas.  The flavor is anise-like and adds a sweetness to dishes, sauces and dips that is unique and refreshing.  I experimented with it in my new Chervil Green Dressing.

Recently I discovered a grilling recipe from the National Park Board that used Tarragon combined with lemon that I just had to share.  It is a simple rub that makes an easy grilled dish you can put together in a hurry. I always use granulated onion rather than onion powder in my rubs as it keeps from clumping and makes a nice texture on the surface of meats.  Here is my adaptation:

Lemon-Tarragon Pork Chops

4 pork chops, bone in

4 tsp. olive oil

Rub:

1 tsp. dried tarragon, crushed

1 ½ tsp. lemon zest (about 1 medium lemon)

1 ½ tsp. minced fresh garlic blended with a bit of savory

1 ½ tsp. granulated onion

¼ tsp kosher or sea salt

Preheat a grill to medium (or prepare charcoal.)  Place pork chops on a platter and brush with olive oil and set aside.  Mix seasonings together and rub about 1 ½ tsp. of mixture over each chop.  Please chops on preheated grill, close the lid and cook 4 to 6 minutes per side (depending on thickness.)  Be sure the internal temp of the chops reaches 160 degrees F. 

Serve with lemon slices for garnish and a side of green beans.  Check out this recipe from earlier this month:  Dilled Mustard Green Beans