With 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**

Tags: Barbeque, Cooking, Perfect BBQ Tips by James
3 Comments »

We haven’t been posting much on BBQ lately, which is totally my fault.  In fact we have went through a bit of a Barbeque drought around our household lately.  We did throw some burgers on a few times in the past month - but taking the time for actual barbeque lately hasn’t been something we have scheduled.

However…

I have plans to BBQ a rack of ribs or two and maybe try some other things on this pre-4th of July weekend.  I have to keep my skills up you know?  Don’t want to lose anything with the 4th of July BBQ just around the corner.

Actually I will use anything as an excuse for BBQ - this just happens to be a nationally accepted one.  I use those as excuses as well.  haha

Anyhow, I am a subscriber to Men’s Health - even though I just look at the pictures and nod most of the time.  But this latest issue had some BBQ stuff in it and so I was checking it out and they had a link (even though you can’t click it in a magazine… funny huh) to Men’s Health/bbq.  It is basiclly a one stop BBQ page with lots of recipes, how-to(s) and other crap related to BBQ.

We try hard to give you guys as much gardening stuff & BBQ material as possible, but sometimes we fall short - so we don’t mind passing you on to other sites that have us trumped.  We are not claiming defeat… however - if you want to skim through and check it out, we won’t cry about it.  Not a lot.  Ok… a lot.  But we will do it alone, in a closet - you will never know about it.  Until we blog it and put it on Twitter and Flickr and anything else that ends with “r” and is cool.

So if you have sometime and want to check out some cool recipes, go for it.  Just hit this link…

Men’s Health BBQ Tips - Barbeque Tips & Techniques Provided by Men’s Health Magazine.

Maybe they will contact us and want to give me a job being the resident BBQ badass… BBQ rib badass, master blogger star barbeque man.  Or something like that.  I’m sure they could make a position for me. 

I did see something I think we might try on July 4th weekend - Grilled Shrimp with Cilantro Recipe.

If you aren’t grilling/barbequeing this weekend… why not?  Do work son.  Do work.

Tags: Barbeque, Cooking, Link'age by James
3 Comments »

I don’t normally condone forwards but if it is funny or pertains to my life in general - I let it slide.  So this one hit my inbox yesterday morning and since I haven’t been around to post lately, I had to share with you guys & gals.

So if your a BBQ fan, or a woman… or a man… yup that covers everyone - then you should enjoy this one.

BBQ  RULES
We are entering the BBQ season. Therefore it is important to refresh your memory on the etiquette of this sublime outdoor cooking activity, as it’s the only type of cooking a ‘real’ man will do, probably because there is an element of danger involved.

When a man volunteers to do the BBQ the following chain of events are put into motion:

Routine…
(1) The woman buys the food.
(2) The woman makes the salad, prepares the vegetables, and makes dessert.
(3) The woman prepares the meat for cooking, places it on a tray along with the necessary cooking utensils and sauces, and takes it to the man who is lounging beside the grill — beer in hand.

Here comes the important part:
(4) THE MAN PLACES THE MEAT ON THE GRILL.

More routine…
(5) The woman goes inside to organize the plates and cutlery.
(6) The woman comes out to tell the man that the meat is burning. He thanks her and asks if she will bring another beer while he deals with the situation.   

Important again:
(7) THE MAN TAKES THE MEAT OFF THE GRILL AND HANDS IT TO THE WOMAN.

More routine…
(8) The woman prepares the plates, salad, bread, utensils, napkins, sauces, and brings them to the table.
(9) After eating, the woman clears the table and does the dishes.

And most important of all:
(10) Everyone PRAISES the MAN and THANKS HIM for his cooking efforts.
(11) The man asks the woman how she enjoyed ‘her night off,’ And, upon seeing her annoyed reaction, concludes that there’s just no pleasing some women….

Tags: Barbeque, Cooking, Funny by James
3 Comments »

All to often we are asked how we figure the amount of food to feed people at our barbeques.  This is a tough question, simply because appetites vary and so do portion sizes.  Of course when you add in multiple items (chicken, ribs, brisket) it just complicates the equation even more.  So my hope is that I can help figure this out with some simple math.  We hope to be adding a nice “Rib Calculator” soon to help people out with some of these problems, but until then… let me give you the math.

How Many People Does a Rack of Ribs Feed?

Well this depends on a few things.  First, are ribs the only thing you are going to be BBQing?  Secondly, how many people are going to be attending your BBQ?  Once you have those two things answered, we can move on.

Lets say you are only BBQing ribs on this occasion, then you need to figure about 3-4 ribs per person.  This is about to get confusing, so it will be best just to use an example.

So if you had 10 people showing up, then this is your math problem. 

10 (people) x 4 (ribs per person) = 40 (total ribs)

Now that you have the total amount of ribs, you can take that number and divide it by the estimated ribs per rack and round up.

40 (total ribs) / 12 (estimated ribs per rack) = Ceiling(3.3) or 4 (total racks of ribs)

I know this is nerdy as hell, but you get the idea.  Of course if you want, you could always go to the store with the total ribs number (40 in this case) and hand picked your ribs based on the final number adding up to your total ribs number… more power to ya.  But remember, this is an estimate - so if your friend brings his friend and his friend brings his girlfriend and his girlfriend is a cookie monster type chick… you are going to be under-supplied.  So I feel it is best to over supply a bit and who can gripe about leftover BBQ right?  Not this kid.

Now of course if you are feeding a crapload of dudes and you think your estimated ribs per person might be a bit higher… then adjust the equation accordingly and you should be fine.  If you are like me and are going to be making several items… then you need to adjust for that as well.

How Do I Determine How Much Meat To Cook At My BBQ?

So your not just doing ribs, you are going to do a brisket and some chicken to tag along with the ribs.  Or maybe you are doing some sausage and some chicken legs, you know… just a bbq buffet of sorts.  This can throw anyone off their rocker when it comes to math if you don’t know what you’re doing.  So let’s try to hash it out the best we can.

Ribs are a staple at our BBQs, so we want to make sure to do the math on that first.  I like to bring it down to 2 ribs per person in this case, so use the equation above and modify it accordingly.  This should get that figured out quickly.  Then depending on your other items you can figure it up.

Let’s just say you are doing a brisket to accompany your ribs, so how do you figure that?  Usually if I am doing both a brisket and ribs, then I will buy a smaller brisket - something in the 6-12 lbs range.  Then you can slice it when it is all said and done and you have a nice compliment to go along with your rib selection.  Now if you are doing a large number of folks, then grab a bigger brisket, or possibly two small ones.  I like to figure about 1/4 to 1/2 pound of brisket per person just to be safe.  If, of course, you are feeding ribs as well.

Now let’s throw one more thing into the equation.  Let’s say you have some chicken fans showing up, so you are going to put a few birds on the grill.  You can choose a few options… beer can chicken is a great option, but also you can go with chicken legs.  My suggestion for smaller groups would be a beer can chicken, if you are having several people over, then I would do chicken legs.  The cool thing about chicken legs, you can just judge 1 per person for the most part.  So if you are having 12 people, grab a 12 pack of chicken legs.  Simple.

If you are going to do beer can chicken, I would judge it as about one small chicken will feed 4-6 people (if you are serving other meats as well).  So use that to best gauge your chicken supply.

What about those jalapeno popper things you always talk about?

These are tricky, since you probably will be eating a few as you go and people will flock to grab some the minute they see you have them on the grill.  The cool thing though it is easy to figure how many a batch of jalapenos will make.  If you make them like I do, you can get two out of each jalapeno - so 15 jalapenos will make… you guessed it >> 30 armadillo eggs.  That is what they are called by the way, armadillo eggs.  If you do not know how to make them, then look at our How to make armadillo eggs article.  I figure about 3 per person, then I round up 10 more.  Reason being is because these get CONSUMED quicker than anything and you will look down and all of a sudden you have eaten 4 and the meal isn’t even started yet.  haha  They are THAT good.  So if you have 15 people coming… here is your math problem of the day.

15 (people) x 3 (armadillo eggs per person) = 45 (armadillo eggs total)

Then…

45 (armadillo eggs total) + 10 (inflation) = 55 (total armadillo eggs FOR REAL)

Take that…

55 (total) / 2 = Ceiling (27.5) = 28 (total jalapenos needed)

You can then pick up a 50 pack of pre-made bacon, and a bag of stick cheese or two.  You are good to go!

Planning food for BBQs isn’t easy, but hopefully with a bit of math and know how you can do it on your own.  The good thing is that if you mess up by over supplying your party… no biggie, you can send some home with people or you can eat it the next day!  Leftover BBQ is AWESOME, trust me.

One last thing… and you used to ask your teacher… when will I EVER USE THIS MATH STUFF IN REAL LIFE!  With BBQ of course.

Tags: Barbeque, Cooking, Perfect BBQ Tips by James
6 Comments »

A clean grill is a happy grill.  Or something like that.  The problem is, and I am sure some of you have experienced it…

When you clean your grill the normal way, you are left with meat and your other BBQ items sticking to your grill and that my friends… is not Good Eats.  I totally stole that.  Don’t tell.

So here is the answer to that problem.

Normally what we do is NOT clean our grill all that often in the sense of scrubbing with a wire brush and all that jazz.  I like to have a seasoned grill that is easy to cook on.  So, about every 4-6 uses of the grill I will take a brush and clean it as much as possible.  I don’t go overboard with it… just clean the top of the actual grate and enough to get it “happy” again.

I’m sure you are thinking…

Why is this dude telling me this, who doesn’t know how to clean a grill?

True.  That part is a given.  If you can brush your teeth… you can clean a grill.  At least that way you can.

Now here comes the tips and tricks that get you to the top of the top of the grilling game.  If there is such a thing.

There is a trick to keeping things from sticking to your grill… a simple trick that will save you time scraping meat off your grill.  What you do after you clean your grill thoroughly with a brush you then need to re-apply oil/grease to it.  Now what I do is take a bit of cooking oil and apply it to a napkin/paper towel/rag of sort and then apply that oil onto your grill evenly.  It shouldn’t be soaked by any means… just make sure you wipe the entire grate portion until all has been covered.  This will keep the majority of things from sticking to the grill the first time you BBQ on it again.

Pretty cool huh?  Yeah I know.  Moving on.  Now what do you do in between the big cleaning sessions?  You know, the 4-6 weeks between deep cleanings.  I learned this one from a friend of mine and so I must give him credit for this one.  Thanks Benny.

Each time you BBQ in between deep cleanings you can clean your grill with a Yellow Onion.  Yup… clean it with food.  ;)  Weird huh?  What you do is get a nice fire going, so your grill is hot and getting cooled down some for your BBQ and you take one Yellow Onion and cut it in half.  After doing so, take one half of it and run, don’t walk… to your grill.  With a gloved hand, be sure it is gloved, you take the onion half and use it like a sponge all over your grill.  It will sizzle and hiss at you, and smell AWESOME.  Use this to clean your grill with throughout and it will take off some stuff (leaving your onion blackish on the bottom).  It will also knock off the majority of the nonsense into the fire that is of the bigger variety.

After that… your grill is ready to clean.  If you want to do this again with the other half… feel free.  Do it as much as you want.  If you don’t use the other half, take it and wrap it in foil and add just a tad bit of butter and leave it on the grill.  You will have a great topper for your meat products when the meal finally arrives!

Get to cleaning, only 4-5 more days until the biggest BBQ day of the year!

Tags: Barbeque, Cooking by James
2 Comments »