Memorial Day is this weekend, which means the grills are ready prepped and ready to go. You're thinking of the next savory, mouth-watering recipes to make that. 

All too often we miss out on creative ways to use coffee. Yes we love drinking it in the morning, enjoying our favorite coffee pod flavors or coffee shop brew all day, but in doing this we are missing out on tons of great opportunities to enjoy even more java joy! Think coffee is only meant for coffee pods? Think again! Here are some of my favorite coffee recipes – next time you can’t decide what to make, try any one of these 5 recipes and you will not be disappointed.

Quick Red Eye Pork Chili 

1lb ground pork
1 can pinto beans
1 large onion coarsely chopped
1 cup strong dark coffee
1 tsp cayenne pepper
2 tsp granulated garlic
1 tablespoon bacon grease
salt and pepper to taste

Season the raw pork with pepper and salt. Brown the pork in hot bacon grease, add onion, cayenne pepper and garlic. Cook until onion is soft and translucent. Add beans with all the liquid from the can. Add coffee. Cook for 15 minutes or until about half of the liquid is gone. Serves 3-5.

Steak with Coffee Rub
2 2-inch thick filet mignon steaks
1 tsp instant coffee
1 tsp fresh ground black pepper
2 tsp kosher salt
1 tsp granulated garlic
1 tsp granulated onion

Combine all ingredients except for the steak. Sprinkle the steak with the combination and grill. Serve with mashed potatoes. Makes 2 servings.

Non-Traditional Spicy Red Eye Gravy
1 tbsp ham or bacon grease
1 tsp granulated onion
1 beef bouillon cube
1 tbsp hot sauce
1 cup strong, hot black coffee

Place bouillon cube in hot coffee, after bouillon cube has dissolved, add hot sauce. Heat grease in frying pan, add onion then pour in coffee mixture. Bring to a boil, then serve with ham and biscuits.

Southern Coffee Barbecue Sauce
1 cup ketchup
1 tbsp molasses
2 tbsp sugar
¼ cup apple cider vinegar
1 tsp black pepper
1 tsp instant coffee

Mix all ingredients together and let sit overnight at room temperature. Use on chicken or pork. 

Fast Southwestern Grilled Chicken with Coffee Mole
1 whole chicken cut into 8 pieces
1 tbsp granulated garlic
1 tbsp granulated onion
1 tsp cumin
1 tbsp cocoa powder
1 cup strong, dark coffee
1 medium onion finely chopped
1 tbsp soybean oil
1 tsp minced garlic
2 tsp cayenne pepper
1 cup chicken stock
1 tbsp butter
Salt and pepper to taste

Rub chicken with soybean oil, granulated garlic, granulated onion, some of the salt and pepper. Place on grill. As it cooks, place butter and cocoa powder in skillet, and heat, mixing them together. Add finely chopped onions, minced garlic, cumin, cayenne pepper along with more pepper and salt. Mix thoroughly and let cook for about 1 minute. Add chicken stock and coffee. Cook over a low heat until reduced by about 50%. Serve over the grilled chicken or on the side.

Try any of these recipes and you will find that coffee no longer needs to be confined to coffee pods, it has a permanent place in the kitchen! However, it’s not time to abandon coffee pods altogether! We will still enjoy them as they were meant to be enjoyed – as part of our coffee pod morning wakeup call or late afternoon pick-me-up.