Tips For The Perfect 4th of July Barbeque

BBQ ON THE FOURTH OF JULYWith the 4th of July only a day away, I know some of you folks are chomping at the bit to get out there and BBQ with your friends and family.  With the Fourth of July falling on Friday this year, most folks will be off of work and likely be either BBQing on Friday or getting it all prep’d & ready for a big Saturday BBQ-fest!

Whatever your plans, use the tips below to throw the Perfect 4th of July Barbeque.  If you have some tips of your own, feel free to leave them in the comments area.

Tips For The Perfect 4th of July BBQ

Be sure to plan ahead for your 4th of July BBQ.

It might seem like an easy thing to throw together a backyard BBQ, and in some cases that is true.  However, if you want to throw the “Perfect” 4th of July BBQ – throwing something together last minute is not the “cool” thing to do.  If you are inviting folks over and wanting everything to go smoothly, you should already have decided what foods you are going to cook, what drinks will be served, appetizers… you know – the whole she-bang. 

If you are going to be having a full day of stuff, you will want to have some games lined up, music and anything else to try and entertain people while the food is being Q’d to perfection.

See what I mean about planning?

And you were just going to throw some burgers on the grill and half ass the rest of it?  **shakes head**  Don’t invite me to your little “BBQ”.

Sharpen your skills, not just your knives.

The last thing you want to do is plan everything to the “T” and everyone get there only to serve them mediocre food.  It is a shame when people get excited to share in fellowship and great food and then leave with a feeling of emptiness and disbelief.  They go home and cry themselves to sleep, and spend the next week wondering why… I mean WHY things went down the way they did.

Eventually they will find new friends, friends that actually deliver when it comes to BBQ.  So do you want to be that guy/gal that doesn’t deliver or the one that comes through and has everyone talking about how KICKASS your BBQ was?  That is what I thought. 

Be sure you do your signature foods, don’t try new stuff when you have to be on point, it could end up killing you in the end.  If you do not feel like bringing your “A” game, see the next tip, it is just for you – we will call it a special super intraweb spectacular BBQ tip of the day… just for you.

**Special Super Intraweb Spectacular BBQ Tip of the Day**

Keep everyone as drunk as possible (if possible).

I know not everyone drinks alcohol – and I won’t hold that against you.  But if the truth of the matter is that you are not up on your game when it comes to the actual BBQ of the foods… then you need to be sure you keep your patrons as drunk as possible. haha  This will make everything taste good… great even.  By the time the party is over, you will be the baddest dude on the block and be known for your killer BBQs and how great your food is.

Smart eh?  That is why I’m the expert and you’re reading this blog post wondering how to throw the best BBQ in the world.  Don’t be sad… it is just how it works.

Dust off your old records & 8-tracks for some good tune’age.

Tired of the new songs on the radio these days?  So is everyone else.  If you pull out some old music, everyone will be hi-5′ing you by the third song.  Everyone loves old music… not SUPER old music, but the hits… from any genre.  Seriously.  Throw on some Eagles and see if everyone in the room isn’t mouthing the words by the end of the chorus.  Crank up some Hank Williams Jr. or Journey and watch the party turn up a few notches. 

Music makes anything better – accept taxes.  Taxes would still suck with a live symphony playing in the background.  But when you are throwing a BBQ – a killer BBQ, you have to have some good music to listen to.  Be sure to stock up and burn a few CDs before everyone shows up.  Or if you have satellite radio – then get it ready to go.

If you don’t know what music to grab for your special occasion – go hit up MusicGoat and find something you like.  With new podcasts all the time, you are bound to find something you like.  Tell ‘em Double D sent ya, he will take care of the rest.

Don’t invite that guy that makes an ass of himself anymore.

No one wants to watch someone throw up on themselves while they are eating ribs.  And along the same lines, no one wants to end up fighting someone at the end of the night because he/she “looked at his girl”.  We all know and have a few of those friends that take it to the edge and then some… or maybe could start fights with a few shots of liquor in them.  Why do you want to jeopardize your entire BBQ & rep by invited this d-bag? 

DON’T DO IT.

Save face before you even half to and let them make other plans… be known for your fantastic ribs, not your a-hole of a “friend” that tried to make out with your wife and ended up getting the cops called.

Be safe & have fun for heaven’s sake.

The whole point of a perfect 4th of July BBQ is to celebrate and have an awesome time.  Sometimes you get to caught up with the whole thing and want it to be perfect… and honestly, even though this goes against my title and some of the tips… perfect sometimes is imperfect.  That’s right, let a few things slide.  Don’t sweat the small stuff.

Having fun is the most important thing – so as long as you are not compromising that rule… you should be ok.  Keep the other tips in mind, but don’t lay it down like the law.  Step outside the box a little and be sure you are safe in doing so.

Drink responsibly and have a killer BBQ this 4th of July.  Oh yeah…

KEEP THE FIREWORKS AWAY FROM YOUR BBQ PIT.  Geeez.  **shakes head**

P.S. - If you are looking for our KILLER BBQ Ribs How-To… look no further…

How to smoke pork ribs for your 4th of July BBQ

Watch Food Inc. – Let It Change The Way You Eat

Everyone had been mentioning it to us for a while.  Saying either watch it… or don’t – it is that impactful.  Which is strange for someone to say.  Watch it… or don’t.  Pretty easy to make a decision there… win/win.

But what they are meaning (and after watching, we can vouch)… it isn’t something you can “un-watch”.  In other words, you will NEVER see food the same way again. 

Being an urban farmer, we understand how important it is for us to grow our own food if/when we can – eat local… all natural if at all possible – but seeing this Movie made that choice even MORE of a priority.

We watched it on afternoon, then later that afternoon headed to the store and bought almost 100% organic products.  After watching it, I can honestly say I didn’t want to eat a hamburger for the first time in my life.  And listen folks… I AM a hamburger.  Throw a couple buns around me… I promise half my body weight is bacon already and burgers from the last 3o years of my life (yes I ate Gerber’s burgers I’m sure) – and you got one burger-fied fat boy.  I couldn’t imagine the number of burgers I have ate in my life.  So I’m sure the damage is done… but still, I just can’t picture shoving one of those “ammonia cleansed meat filler” burgers in my face ever again.

Now don’t get me wrong – I will eat a burger if it is known to be all natural or I can verify it – or make it myself…  but those fast food burgers that used to be consumed because it was “easy”… no more. 

I say all that to say this… I finally ate my first burger since watching Food Inc. last night.  We made it ourselves here at the house.  All natural Texas raised beef, bacon, organic cheese, organic lettuce, tomato, anaheim chiles on a whole wheat bun…

Watch Food Inc?  Then You Understand How Great This Burger Is.

Eat your heart out foodies.  It was tasty. 

Have you seen Food Inc?  Some people said one day they watched it online – I’m not buying it… but they seemed like credible sources.  They showed it on PBS the other night on POV – which is awesome.  Everyone should watch it if they haven’t… and we actually watched it a second time when it was on PBS.

Here is a link to the Food Inc. Trailer for those of you wanting to watch Food Inc. online for free (cheaters!) – Food Inc Trailer (HD).  It’s the best we can do for you.

How did Food Inc. change your life?  Did it?  Did it not?  Share your feelings about Food Inc. in the comments section below.

So You Want To Eat Organic? Start Here!

We have been eating organic as often as possible – not only from our garden, but even when we hit the store… because you can’t grow everything year round eh?  When the farmer’s market isn’t in full swing, we have to do what everyone else in America does – go to the grocery store.

While crusin’ around on Facebook today, someone posted this:  12 Most Pesticide-Laden Fruits & Vegetables

I don’t want to sound like an alarmist, but seriously… can you ever eat a peach from the grocery store again?!?!  HOLY HELL!

I will let everyone get back to what they were doing, just had to share this little tidbit.  Hope it didn’t ruin your lunch.