Some people maintain that Memorial Day weekend officially marks the start of grilling season and Labor Day, the end. Those people, for the most part, are wrong. Some folks maintain the flame in snowdrifts up to their thighs. Others won't haul out the hibachi until late September because it'll finally be cool enough to cook outside without wilting like a hothouse gardenia. July is National Grilling Month, but that's just kind of incidental.
What we're saying is, so long as our spatula isn't actively frozen or melted to our hands, and monsoon spray does not prevent us from lighting a charcoal chimney, we're going to be outdoors, putting flame to food and quaffing a cold beverage. Why don't you just come along and join us?
Catch up on the rest of our great cookout and picnic tips below, and if you run into a sticky grilling situation - we're here to help. Share your burning questions in the comments or Tweet us @eatocracy and we'll have your festivities back on track in no time.
Achieve Grilling Greatness
– Grate balls of fire? Not on our watch.
– Help! My neighbors stink at grilling!
– C'mon baby, light my fire – just don't skimp on the flavor
– Up your grilling game
– Red hot grilling tips from Eatocracy readers
– 5 grilling mistakes – and how to fix them
– Advice from killer grillers
– Grilling: A love story
– Why girls should grill
Brilliant Burgers
– Burgers – a step-by-step guide
– Best. Burgers. EVER and Best. Cheeseburger. EVER
– Dean Martin's Bourbon Burgers
– Buffalo sliders and fried chicken that raises the bar
– Slider battle!
– Big, bad burgers from around the country
– Food & Wine's favorite burgers
– Top 10 burgers in the United States
Monumental Meat
– Make a brilliant pork butt
– The trick to grilling chicken breasts
– Turn your grill into a smoker and rock these ribs
– Gimme that foolproof fillet of grilled fish
– Five slices of barbecue wisdom
– Five tips for hot dog success
– How to smoke a brisket in your backyard
– Rack up on rib pointers
– Take a stab at a slab – an intro to ribs
– Five steps to steak supremacy
– Hearts afire! Liver, marrow, kidneys and more great offal for the grill
– Whole hog BBQ - the Mount Everest of Meat
– Five cuts of meat to buy and grill
– A prime rib primer
– Lobster roll 101
– What every carnivore should know
Stellar Sides
– Celebrate summer squash
– Best potato salad we've ever had
– How to grill corn
– Great old fashioned butter beans and field peas
– Grilled pizza basics
– All about cole slaw
– The art of the deviled egg
– Ultimate grilled okra
– The only salad that matters right now
– A vegetarian may show up at your cookout. Do not be alarmed.
The Art of Outdoor Dining
– Don't get sick from your picnic! A food safety primer
– 10 Commandments of cookout etiquette
– Grilling by the numbers
– Make your tailgate a touchdown
– 5 picnic no-nos
– How to use grilling leftovers
– Bring your indoor favorite to the great outdoors
– Make a Mexican-inspired outdoor feast
Divine Drinks
– The perfect wine for every grilling scenario
– Iced tea awesomeness every time
– You need to stay hydrated, might as well make it interesting
– Make perfect lemonade
– Ideal wines for grilled burgers, steaks, chicken and seafood
– Frank talk: Pairing wine with hot dogs
– Best burger-friendly wines
– The right wine for that burger you're eating - OK, a few more suggestions
– Wine + BBQ = Heaven
– Chill out with wine
– Drink this with summer seafood
– The United States of Lemonade
And feast on the results of The Picnic Poll to find out what your fellow chefs like for a main dish and drink, burger topping, side dish and dessert.
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The best grilling today will be taking place on the fantail of many NAVY ships!
Enjoy the Steel Beach Alpha!
How come nothing about he rotisserie?
...taking grilling techniques from CNN.... On and the pics of the burgers above, those are meatloaves.
Sigh of nostalgia. Where I grew up (big city, 42 degrees N lat) just being able to just get the charcoal briquets lit was not part of local tradition, as I eventually realized. Oh the Memorial day memories – all up and down the block – man of the house'd be out there in the yard, on behalf of 'the kids' (at wife's behest) – shaking his fist at the grill. Trying to get the coals lit. And there were plenty of apple and crabapple trees in residential yards too – but no concept of bbq, wood as smoke fuel. Much less, what kind of wood ...
Caint WAIT to fire up my new grill this weekend. Nekkid grillin!
Not sure about the visual on this, but enjoy your grilling...