It’s official, summer is coming! Here in Texas, we’re rounding out a rather intense storm season and headed straight for triple digits!
I don’t mind the sweltering weather too much as long as there are plenty of summer BBQ’s and pool parties to attend! There’s nothing like sitting by the pool or the lake with your friends just taking in all the great scenery and all the incredible Texas summer BBQ smells.
What do I crave most at Texas summer BBQ’s? Easy. A few hearty slices of a good smoked brisket and some grilled veggies!
When Pure Flavor® asked me to help out with creating a tasty recipe for their Aurora Bites Mini Sweet Peppers (one of my favorites I might add), I knew exactly what to do. Brisket and Sweet Pepper Salad with Chipotle Buttermilk Ranch.
Let me start with saying, I am absolutley not a seasoned smoker. I have ZERO experience smoking brisket, this was my very first attempt. Now with that said, I did my research and lots of it. I wanted to make sure the brisket recipe I followed lived up to the incredible flavor these peppers put out when thrown on a grill.
I wanted something that was easy to follow, didn’t take 18 hours, and allowed me to play with the flavors a little bit to help match the flavor profile I had in mind for the grilled veggie salad. I searched high and low, watched a ton of YouTube videos, and ran across this recipe video from Ash Kickin’ BBQ.
My experience with this recipe was great! It motivated me to work on my own in the coming months! For now, I’ll be sticking with what I do best – veggie inspired, healthy(ish) recipes! Now let’s talk about this salad.
For the salad and dressing you’ll need:
Sweet Pepper Salad Salad:
- 1 lb. Pure Flavor® Aurora Bites Mini Sweet Peppers
- 4 Large Fresh Jalapeno Peppers
- 1 Red Onion, Quartered
- 1 tablespoon Extra Virgin Olive Oil
- 2 teaspoon Garlic Powder
- 1 teaspoon Pink Himalayian Salt
- Fresh Cracked Black Pepper, to taste
- 4-6 Cups Spring Mix Salad Mix
- ¼ Cup Tomatoes, sliced (Grape or Roma tomatoes will do)
- 1 Avocado, peeled and sliced
- 2 tablespoon Cotija Cheese, crumbled
- 2 tablespoon Fresh Cilantro, chopped
Chipotle Buttermilk Ranch:
- 2 Chipotle Peppers in Adobo Sauce, canned
- ½ Cup Mayonnaise
- ½ Cup Buttermilk
- ½ Cup Fresh Cilantro, chopped
- Zest from 1 Lime + Juice from 1 Half of the Lime
- ½ teaspoon Cumin
- 1 teaspoon Garlic Powder
- ½ teaspoon Oregano
- Pink Himalayan Salt, 1 teaspoon or to taste
Start with prepping the grill.
Preheat your grill for about 10 – 15 minutes. Since we’re looking for a nice char on the peppers you’ll want the grill grates piping hot. If the grates aren’t hot enough when you place the peppers, they’ll get softer than you want them to be before you get the charring effect. Still good, just not exactly what we’re looking for in this smoky salad.
Make the dressing while you preheat the grill.
I love a good spicy ranch. This Chipotle Buttermilk ranch dressing was to die for. I just combined all of the ingredients and pulsed a few times until it was a nice smooth texture. You can control the heat on this dressing by increasing or decreasing the amount of chipotle peppers you use. I went with two for this batch, it was just right. (You can find canned chipotle peppers in adobo sauce in the Latin Foods aisle of your grocery store.)
A good smoky brisket needs a little bit of sweetness and heat!
These sweet peppers have a really delicious, super sweet taste that really compliment some additional spice. I added the sweet peppers, a few fresh jalapenos, the red onion, olive oil, garlic powder, salt, and black pepper to a big bowl and gave them a toss before putting them on a hot grill.
We grilled the peppers and onions on a preheated grill over medium-high heat for about 7-10 minutes on either side, just until we started to see some light charring and cracking on the skin. The roasted, almost burnt pieces, really help bring out the flavor. SO good!
Now the fun part..
There is no method to building this salad, it is really all to your personal preference. As I’ve mentioned before I like to build salads on the serving plate rather than tossing them all together. I think it helps keep everything really crisp, and a bonus it always looks really pretty!
Just start with your bed of lettuce, then add the peppers and onions, grilled jalapenos, avocado, cotija cheese, fresh cilantro, and lime wedges. I preferred to serve the brisket and the dressing on the side of the salad. This salad has a lot going on! In the best way of course!
Will this keep for leftovers the next day?
Absolutely! In fact, here is my lunch the next day!
I separated the greens from the veggies and placed them in two separate containers. That way I could warm up the veggies with the brisket and it wouldn’t weigh the salad down. I chopped up the brisket when I had it for leftovers rather than enjoying it in the slices. That added a great brisket flavor to each bite! Yum!
If you try this recipe out, don’t forget to post a rating and comment!
I’d love to see your pictures on Instagram too! Tag @a_toastedcrumb and @pureflavor!
This post is sponsored by Pure Flavor®. Learn more about Pure Flavor and their commitment to supporting healthier lifestyles by visiting their website.
Sweet Pepper Salad with Chipotle Buttermilk Ranch
Ingredients
Sweet Pepper Salad
- 1 lb. Pure Flavor® Aurora Bites Mini Sweet Peppers
- 4 Large Fresh Jalapeno Peppers
- 1 Red Onion quartered
- 1 tablespoon Extra Virgin Olive Oil
- 2 teaspoon Garlic Powder
- 1 teaspoon Pink Himalayan Salt
- Fresh Cracked Black Pepper to taste
- 4-6 cups Spring Salad Mix
- ¼ cup Tomatoes
- 1 Avocado
- 2 tablespoon Cotija Cheese crumbled
- 2 tablespoon Fresh Cilantro chopped
- 1 Lime sliced into wedges
Chipotle Buttermilk Ranch
- 2 Chipotle Peppers in Adobo Sauce canned
- ½ cup Mayonnaise
- ½ cup Buttermilk
- ½ cup Fresh Cilantro chopped
- Zest from 1 Lime + Juice from 1 Half of the Lime
- ½ teaspoon Cumin
- 1 teaspoon Garlic Powder
- ½ teaspoon Oregano
- Pink Himalayan Salt 1 teaspoon or to taste
Instructions
- Preheat grill to medium-high heat for 10 - 15 minutes.
- While the grill is preheating, prepare the Chipotle Buttermilk Ranch. Combine all of the ingredients listed above in a a blender and pulse 5 - 10 times until you reach a smooth consistency. Place the dressing in a serving bottle and place in the fridge until ready to serve.
- Add the sweet peppers, quartered onion, and jalapenos to a large bowl. Drizzle in olive oil and sprinkle with garlic powder, salt, and pepper. Give it a slight toss.
- Using tongs, place the peppers, onions, and jalapenos on the grill grates and grill over medium high heat for 7 - 10 minutes on each side, or until you start to see slight charred markings on either side.
- Remove the vegetables from the grill and bring them inside to cool slightly.
- Build the salad directly on the serving platter. Lay a bed of lettuce down, add the grilled vegetables, sliced avocado, cotija cheese, fresh cilantro, and lime wedges.
- Serve the dressing on the side of the salad with your preferred choice of meat.*
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