Recipes and Grilling Instructions

Van's Grilling Baste was created over 50 years ago by the Van Valin Family...ranchers who wanted to enhance, not mask, the natural flavors of the meat they proudly raised. Originally served at round-ups, Van's will draw a discerning crowd to your table, too. Unlike tomato-based sauces, Van's light oil base sears the outside of your meat, sealing in its juices and flavor. Perfect for beef, pork, chicken, fish and wild game.

Since we started offering Van's to the general public, folks have come up with some interesting ways of using it that we never thought of. We've had people add it to their soups, sautee vegetables, cook tofu, bake with it, broil chops, you name it. The point is, you don't know if you don't try. Get creative!

Steak, Chicken, and Hamburger

Stir and liberally baste Van's Grilling Baste on your meat and allow to sit for 10-20 minutes... longer if you prefer a stronger flavor. With Van's you need only remember two words: "Turn & Baste". Immediately after turning the meat on the grill, baste it. The more you turn and baste the better it tastes. You may experience flare up during grilling. A little flame helps to sear the exterior of the meat. To calm excess flame, squirt with water and lower your grill's heat setting.

Special note for Gas Grills: Gas grills are notorious for flare up. If you have to use gas try cooking on one of your grill’s upper racks that is further away from the flame.

Salmon, Halibut, and Shrimp

Baste steak thoroughly with Van's Grilling Baste and marinate for 2-3 hours. Fish is less porous than steak or chicken so it takes longer for Van's to be absorbed. Place fillet skin down on a sheet of tin foil. Roll up each side of the foil to the edge of the fillet leaving the side that is face up uncovered and exposed to your grill's heat. Baste the fillet often during cooking until the very center of the cut is still raw and remove the steak from the grill. By the time you serve the fillet the center will have cooked to perfection.

Important Note: Meat always continues to cook after it's taken off the grill so it is important to pull it off the heat before it’s fully cooked. This is especially true for fish, as it cooks very quickly.

Special note for Halibut: Thicker fillets and cheek meat can be placed directly on the barbeque without tin foil and can be cooked just like a steak.

We tried grilling shrimp kabobs with Van's not too long ago and we must say it might be the best shrimp we've ever tasted. We recommend you try it. Be sure to marinate the shrimp, without the shells, for 15-20 minutes prior to grilling and baste them while they're on the grill. They cook very fast so keep an eye on them.

Waterfowl Kabobs

Cube goose or duck breasts into 1” x 1” pieces. Place the cubes in a Ziploc bag with plenty of Van's and marinate overnight. Wrap cubes, along with a small piece of either jalapeno or pepperoncini, in 1/3 strip of bacon and slide onto a skewer. You should be able to fit 6-7 wraps on each skewer. Place the kabobs on your grill and cook, turning often, until bacon is golden brown. Enjoy. You won't believe you're eating waterfowl!

Important Note: Soak your wooden skewers in water prior to cooking. Wet skewers tend to last longer on the grill.

Wild Game

Baste, marinate, and grill your elk, deer, moose, and caribous steaks the same as you would your steak and chicken with a few minor notes:

1) It is especially important to “Turn & Baste” your wild game frequently. Wild game is much leaner (less fatty) than beef and can dry out over a hot grill very quickly. Van’s light oil base keeps your wild game moist and locks in the natural flavors of the cut.

2) Meat always continues to cook after it's been taken off the grill so be sure to pull your wild game off the heat sooner than you would your T-Bones. Remember, if a steak is too rare you can always cook it more but you can’t make an overcooked steak rare.