Happy Independence Day America!
I don't know how the rest of you folks out there celebrate, but to me, the 4th means one thing:
Barbecue
Yes, beneath the glowing warm fuzzies I get from thoughts of our great nation's founding, there is one activity that seems to tie all Americans together on the 4th. Some cities have parades. Other towns have marching bands belting out one patriotic song after another. Yet others have community picnics and potlucks.
But the one thing that practically every American does all across the vast 50 states (speaking of vast - I just got home after driving from sunny Chicago all the way back to sunnier Los Angeles. Driving through American really gives you a feel for the enormous size and variety of our country.) is bust out the old charcoal grill, or their fancy gas grills, and they get to cooking.
Nothing says American like getting out the grill and cooking up a storm!
What's on the menu at my house?
Babyback Ribs
Put on a nice rub, throw 'em on the grill with indirect heat and smoke and let them cook, slow and low, for about 3 hours. Add some BBQ sauce (Sweet Baby Rays Honey Chipotle BBQ sauce is my favorite - sweet, but with a good kick at the end of it) near the end and you've got a winner.
Beef Ribs
Getting the same treatment as the babybacks.
BBQ chicken
The secret to good BBQ chicken is to cook it in the oven first at a low 325 degrees until it's almost done. This helps keep the the chicken from drying out - especially breasts (which don't have a lot of fat and thus are always at a risk of drying out.) But for BBQ, chicken leg quarters is where it's at. By cooking it in the oven, your chicken will simmer in its own juices (much of the fat will render off in the oven, so this also helps prevent your grill from going nuclear.)
Once you're done cooking the chicken in the oven, coat it with your favorite BBQ sauce and toss it on the grill for a quick searing. Don't cook it too long - we don't want the sugar in the BBQ sauce to burn. Just long enough for the sauce to harden and form a nice glaze while the chicken soaks up all the great grill flavors.
BBQ Cabbage
Melt some butter in a frying pan. Add bacon and onion. Cook for ~5min, until it's brown and delicious. Save the grease when you remove the bacon onion mix to a mixing bowl. Add BBQ sauce, mix.
Take one head of cabbage. Cut out the base, making a nice hole in cabbage. Now, using a grill brush, baste the whole cabbage with the bacon drippings. Sprinkle some salt and pepper on the cabbage. Add the bacon onion BBQ sauce mix into the hole, put a couple pats of butter on top.
Make a small ring out of aluminum foil, adjust its diameter so that it keeps the cabbage from tipping over and spilling the filling everywhere. Put that cabbage on the grill, set to indirect heat, and smoke that sucker for an hour.
You'll swear you've died and gone to heaven.
Grilled corn
Sweet corn, seasoned with parsley garlic butter and a dash of salt and pepper. Grill on medium to medium-high heat. Rotate the corn about 45 degrees every couple of minutes (more than one minute, but less than three.)
Vegetable trio
Bell peppers, red and sweet onion, and one of the larger, milder chilies (think pablano or something similar) to give it a little kick. Season with a mix of lime juice and EVOO (extra virgin olive oil), a little salt, some chili powder and cumin, and a little garlic.
Toss it in a grill basket and let the grill do its magic.
Corn and Avocado salad
Fresh corn, avocado, and cherry tomatoes. Crisp, clean, and refreshing.
I'll post more detailed recipes if time allows - I've got work to do!
So what are you grilling today?