Who's cooking on the Fourth?

[navychop]

Not smoking, this time. I'll be boiling shrimp for 10-12 people, and frying up catfish. With the shrimp in the pot will be taters, carrots and corn. Just got a new 60 qt ss pot with strainer to crank them out in. Gotta show my yankee in-laws how we-alls eat in the South! And the proper way of preparing shrimp!

Just finished putting in a new patio over much of the back yard. Plastic wood, not composite, so ground contact is ok. One spot left concrete, for the grill, burner and two WSM bullets. Plus a slate walkway in case it gets crowded in the cooking area.


So what are you folks fixin' up for the Fourth?

 

[sampatterson]

For us, fried chicken, potato salad (mustard, miracle whip, sweet pickle juice variety), baked beans, Lays Regular potato chips, and bread&butter. Homemade strawberry ice cream for dessert.

 

[riffjim4069]

Not smoking, this time. I'll be boiling shrimp for 10-12 people, and frying up catfish. With the shrimp in the pot will be taters, carrots and corn. Just got a new 60 qt ss pot with strainer to crank them out in. Gotta show my yankee in-laws how we-alls eat in the South! And the proper way of preparing shrimp!

Just finished putting in a new patio over much of the back yard. Plastic wood, not composite, so ground contact is ok. One spot left concrete, for the grill, burner and two WSM bullets. Plus a slate walkway in case it gets crowded in the cooking area.


So what are you folks fixin' up for the Fourth?

Nothing...I'm crashing your party.

 

[navychop]

Extended family coming over? Big crowd, anyone?

I remember as a kid the Fourth was always a big gathering somewhere. Seems to no longer be like that. Or maybe, it's just that way around New Orleans.

 

[navychop]

Nothing...I'm crashing your party.

Bring beer.

 

[stimpson]

Will be doing flat iron steaks and taters on the performer and smoke a bunch of ribs and wings on the drum. Then we are going to head out and watch our local minor leage baseball team, The Arkansas Travelers. The ball park is right next to the river where the city will shoot off the fire works, so, for no extra charge, after the game is over you can stay and watch the fire works from the ball park. They also keep the concessions (BEER) going as well. Pretty sweet. You still have your seat, drink, and restrooms.

 

[HD MM]

So what are you folks fixin' up for the Fourth?

We'll be at a friends house for a party at their house overlooking a beach on Lake Erie. While we aren't required to bring anything, we will be taking in plenty of good eats, drinks and a nightcap of a firework show....

As for cooking, I think you've convinced me to do something of my own, possibly on Sunday. I've been meaning to do a clambake for quite some time. Maybe I'll do that....

 

[bhelms]

I'll be heading-up the "Chuck Wagin" crew at our Scout troop's 4th Fest fundraiser. Central PA puts on a huge fireworks display as the culmination of a day-long activity event. It's all done on the PSU campus, but it is not a university event. Held there because the area and infrastructure can handle the huge crowds and traffic. (Think home football game when Beaver Stadium and PSU temporarily become the 4th largest city in the state!) Anyway, we park cars and get paid to do it. We'll park close to 2,500 cars and net perhaps $2,000 for the day's effort. It has become an annual family event for us. Hard work but fun at the same time. Approx. 50 scouts and family members will participate, more or less, over the day (7AM to past midnight for this buckaroo!) and we have to feed them 3 meals as part of their compensation. (Part of the proceeds are given to each scout to help with summer camp expenses, in accordance with how many hours they and their family members work.)

For breakfast - "Egg McUpchucks" (Micky-D's knock-off) on the grille; egg with choice of meat and cheese on a buttered and toasted muffin, tater patties, lotsa "camp Joe", juice.

Lunch - "Clem's" BBQ chicken and ribs (donated to us) warmed in an oven, burgers and dogs with all the fixin's, plenty of sides, corn on the cob, watermellon "bug juice". (This is the big meal of the day.)

Supper - MTO cold sandwiches delivered to the work sites (we cover several entrances) so the folks can eat while they work and the clean-up crews can get a head start on all the rest of the "kitchen" before the fireworks begin.

Nothing fancy here, but lots of it!


Central PA 4thFest -- The Greatest Volunteer Fireworks Show on the Planet!

 

[jrp]

Smoking: Boston butt and ABTs. The girls at the checkout at Fareway were giggling about meat named "butt".

Having dinner for my daughter's boyfriend that leaves for Air Force basic July 8th.

 

[HIFI]

Bring beer.

thats all I'm doing!who needs food?

 

[Bobby]

Having dinner for my daughter's boyfriend that leaves for Air Force basic July 8th.

Four days later, July 12th will be my 48th anniversary of doing the same thing. San Antonio is hot in July.....

 

[jrp]

Four days later, July 12th will be my 48th anniversary of doing the same thing. San Antonio is hot in July.....

That's where he's headed. A quality young man. I'll be interested to see the changes in him when he comes home (anticipating good things).

Thanks for your service.

 

[kenny911]

I'm not only grilling on the fourth, I'm grilling on the 2nd, 3rd, and 5th. Its going to be madness this weekend.

 

[navychop]

The smell wafting around the neighborhood might attract visitors. Meaning, More Grilling!

 

[jrp]

Had to get another butt yesterday, more company coming that originally planned for. Both are smoking away as I type.

Pulled pork, ABTs, and fresh raspberry pie. I wonder if someone else is making a vegetable?

 

[jayn_j]

I'll be heading-up the "Chuck Wagin" crew at our Scout troop's 4th Fest fundraiser. Central PA puts on a huge fireworks display as the culmination of a day-long activity event.

Our scout troop is 'cooking' 8000 flags tonight for the annual Rockford Flag retirement ceremony. Probably take all night, and I expect I won't have much interest in standing in front of a fire tomorrow

 

[cybok0]

We'll be at a friends house for a party at their house overlooking a beach on Lake Erie. While we aren't required to bring anything, we will be taking in plenty of good eats, drinks and a nightcap of a firework show....

As for cooking, I think you've convinced me to do something of my own, possibly on Sunday. I've been meaning to do a clambake for quite some time. Maybe I'll do that....

That's one of the many things I hate about PA., Fireworks are illegal.

 

[kenny911]

Taking a break from BBQ tonight. I think I overdid it these past few days.

 

[navychop]

Of Interest:

We expected 10-12 to show and boiled up 20 lb shrimp, heads on and fried up 8-10 lbs catfish fillets. 8 showed.

One woman insisted on NO heat whatsoever. Well, I don't like it too hot, so I agreed to put very little in. Not good enough. OK, less than half the amount of cayenne. She went to my wife. No cayenne at all. Shrimp was good, but not great. But that lady didn't like it anyway.

Sigh. The good news is, I will never listen to anything she says again. She eats my food, or not. She had the catfish option.

Gave a lot of shrimp away, for people to take home. STILL eating shrimp. Cold shrimp. Shrimp salad. Shrimp sandwiches. Soon, scampi & creole. Probably finish it off over the next couple of days, before it spoils and needs to be tossed.

The new 60 QT SS pot is REAL nice, and it fits in my dishwasher. But it overlaps just a bit over the edge of the round burner. Anyone know if the larger, heavier square burners put out more heat, or are just larger?

 

[kenny911]

Even if 12 people showed up, that is a lot of food.