How often do you cook with fresh citrus? Until recently, I have not really incorporated the use of grapefruits and oranges into my meals. While citrus is a staple at my house, it’s been more of a snacking food than a recipe ingredient.
As a child, one of my favorite ways to eat a grapefruit was to cut it in half, cut around the segments, remove the seeds, sprinkle brown sugar on top and bake for about 10 minutes- long enough to make it a soft, gooey breakfast treat. We called it Hawaiian Grapefruit in our family, although I’m not sure if that is really what it’s called or if my mom made the name up when we inquired. Regardless, it was delicious. Nowadays, we eat Texas Rio star grapefruit as an anytime snack. Being naturally sweet, there is no need to load it up with brown sugar!
TexaSweet was kind enough to send me several recipes using Texas-grown grapefruits and oranges to try out. I picked three recipes to accompany a smoked brisket at a recent get together that I had at my house. The recipes were all easy to make, tasty and inspiring. I have started to think of grapefruits and oranges in an entirely new light! Before I share my favorite recipe from the bunch, some advice to help you choose the perfect Texas grapefruit:
How to Pick a Texas Grapefruit
- Look for a Texas sticker on the fruit
- Choose a grapefruit with a red blushed skin that feels heavy for its size. Heavy fruit means lots of juice
- “Tropical Beauty Marks” or blemishes are caused by gentle breezes and don’t affect the fruit inside
- Store citrus in a cool area for up to 2 weeks or in your refrigerator for up to 6 weeks
Rio Star® Category combines the two reddest varieties – Rio Red and Star Ruby grapefruit. It has an overall blush on the exterior peel with a deep red interior color which is 7 to 10 times redder than the Ruby Red. October through May is the season for the Rio Star Grapefruit.
And now, a delicious, easy-to-make recipe.
Unfortunately, the day I made the above recipe was cold and rainy so I ended up sauteeing the shrimp in a little butter on the stovetop.
Follow TexaSweet for more recipes and tips on their website or Facebook page.
TexasSweet provided LiveMom with a gift card to purchase ingredients in the above recipe. LiveMom received no further compensation to write this post. All opinions expressed are my own.
