Preparing for the 4th of July doesn’t have to be complicated nor keep you in the kitchen for days. Fourth of July Recipes should be easy, keep in the heat, and taste good.
Creative Commons License photo credit: A. BlightThere

Wet Hot American SummerThere are five categories of food (salads, meats, sides, desserts, and drinks) you will want to prepare for you guest at your celebration.

Salads

The most important thing to remember about salads is that they must be able to keep in the heat. You may choose to have a large cooler at the party just so you can keep salads safe until ready to serve.

You may also consider putting your salads in bowls of ice. Go to the local dollar store, Target, or Wal-Mart and choose metal containers with handles. Pick up ice, fill the buckets with ice, and put your salad bowls on ice.

Some great salad choices, that you won’t need to worry about, are: Potato Salad with Fresh Herbs and Lemon, Cabbage and Corn Slaw , or Watermelon Salad.

These salads are quick and easy to make. You will find all the fresh ingredients at the local market and they are safe to stay out in the heat while lunch is being served. No matter what salad you make if it has any cream ingredient it is important not to put it out until the last minute, and keep it as cool as possible while serving.

Meats

When choosing meats for your gathering make sure, you have thought about all of your guest. Do you have any vegetarians coming, what about the kids, and do any of your guest have health restrictions.

For most, you can pick up chicken, a brisket, hamburger, or hot dogs. If you have, vegetarians choose readymade veggie patties found in your grocer’s freezer. These burgers are actually very tasty and grill up just like a meat-based burger.

You want simple meat to cook go for the hot dogs, hamburgers and brats. If you are looking for something more elaborate, choose to smoke ribs or a pork shoulder. If you really want to go all out how about roasting a whole pig. Your guest will be happy with any of these dishes.

  • Dressed up dogs – I tend to go with a full beef frank like Hebrew National dogs, but if you like a little more flavor then choose a brank that is a combination of beef and pork. Just make sure to read the label to see what is in your dog.

Dressing them up can happen in many ways – so have different condiments on hand for your guest. Sauerkraut, onions, yellow mustard, coleslaw (my favorite), salsa, cheeses, peppers and pickles or relish are just a few things your guest might like.

When choosing a hot dog always get a beef frank like Hebrew National dogs or go to the local meat shop and have them make your hot dogs for you.

  • Sizzling Burgers – I love a grilled hamburger. Most people just grab a box of burgers out of the meat department at the grocery and throw them on the grill.

I prefer to make the patties myself adding simple ingredients to spice them up. A meat with 15-20% fat is a good choice or you burger will be dry. The meat should be chick or sirloin and I like bigger chunks of meat rather than ground to mush.

Now choose your spices. I like a simple Morton’s Natures Seasons blend or McCormick’s beef grinders for my burger. But you could do a simple salt and pepper. Add some onions, hot sauce, or Worcestershire sauce. I am not much for spicy but you could also go with jalapeno or hotter pepper, onion, and cilantro.

When grilling your hamburgers pay attention to them so they don’t dry out. You may consider adding a drip pan below the burgers and filling it with beer and letting the steam help cook the burgers. This will add a bit of flavor and moisture to your burger.

  • Veg Burgers – Growing up with a vegetarian in the house you learn to eat a lot of different kinds of foods that are made to be like the real thing. I can say that over the past 20 years veggie burgers have come a long way.

My favorite brand is Gardenburger. I like this burger because it is made with vegetables and not meat substitute. I also find when you grill them they don’t dry out.

You can find different flavors of veggie burgers. I like a burger that has a bit of spice such as the Black Bean Chipotle Veggie Burger by Gardenburger. It has a flavor and again is made from real ingredients and not just meat substitute mush.

One hint about grilling your veggie burgers grill them from frozen. It will help keep in the moisture and the flowers will be released into the burger as you grill and not the air as it does when you thaw them on the counter. Veg burgers grill in about the same time as a regular burger, but you will want to spray them with veg spray so they don’t stick to the grill.

I haven’t really worked with Ribs or a Whole Pig so I am going to let the expert Steven Raichlen of Primal Grill gives you the facts and recipes. If you haven’t ever watched, his show, you can check him out on PBS. You want to talk about grills and grilling this guy knows what he is talking about.

  • Ribs – there are many ways to do ribs. Here are some options

Kansas City-style ribs

First timers Ribs

Pineapple-glazed Baby Back Ribs

  • Whole Pig Out – Some ways to grill or cook a whole pig.

North Carolina Pig Pickin’ – this recipe calls for the whole pic and grilled on a charcoal or in a barbecue pit. You will need to order this from your grocery store or go to the local butcher and have him get a high quality pig for you.

Need some tips on cooking a whole pig then check out The 7 Secrets to Cooking a Whole Pig A good tip the king of pork points out is to keep sweet sauces inside the pig so they won’t burn. This is a good tip when grilling any meat. Inject your meat with your sweet sauce and then in the last hour baste your meat with the sauce so it doesn’t burn.

Sides – side dishes are the perfect thing to ask your guest to bring. Sides are easy and many people can pick them up at the store on the way to the party. Some great side options are:

Desserts- here are three simple desserts for you to try. These deserts use simple ingredients from the grocery store.

If you want to be really adventurous create your own 4th of July cake. There are a lot of steps and is a good recipe for someone who has had some cake decorating experience.

Red, White and Blue Trifle form FoodTV.com Sandra Lee has a 4 star rating and what I like best is all of her food is easy to make and uses mostly grocery store items.

Drinks – Lots and lots of drinks should be included in your menu. Have plenty of water on hand, and then expand the drink menu to include lemonade, soda for the kids or ice cold beer for the adults.

Some great drink recipes can be found when you visit 4th of July drinks. There are a variety of both alcohol based and non-alcoholic drink recipes.

Remember the most important things at your July 4th celebration is for you to have as good of time as your guest do. Make sure to have everyone get involved in bringing the food, or helping decorating so that you won’t have to be stuck doing all the work of the day.