Ah yes, the July 4th grilling holiday. Oh sure we have Memorial Day as well, but you have to admit, there’s something about July 4th that just screams mesquited meat nuptials. As with Thanksgiving Day meals, this day brings out the home chef that may be better off attending someone else’s party. Oh no, not you. You figure you can handle it. How tough could it be? All you have to do is prepare/season/marinade the meat, build & maintain a fire, cook to perfection and serve. What could possibly go wrong?

All the above, that’s what.
I know very well how awesome it is to be the grilling chef for the day. Having all your friends over and marveling over your glistening meat. But there’s nothing worse than being invited to someone’s house for dinner or lunch and have them completely botch it because they got no damned business even using a gas grill let alone a charcoal one. Fess up, you don’t practice, you don’t pay attention and you don’t ask for help. Call a friend and invite yourself over.
That being said, if you’re willing to put in the time, pay attention and not walk away from the grill you can most certainly grill a few burgers, country style pork ribs and some chicken. It’s easy, but you have to keep your wits about you. The following prose is meant as a reminder of what you should have at the ready. I don’t have the time to go over the finer points or hold you hand through everything.
It’s the day before the party, what are you doing? You’re shopping:
More than enough Mesquite
Hickory chips to add smoky flavors
Method of lighting said Mesquite. Try to use one of those metal chimney rigs.
Wire brush
Heavy leather gloves
Instant read themometer
Long reach tongs (make sure teeth on tongs are smooth, not all spiky. Smooth scalloped edges don’t tear meat)
Free newspaper outside grocery store (helps light mesquite in chimney)
A 5 lb pork roast or leg of lamb (takes long time to cook)
Beef Roast (a little less time to cook)
Chicken (fairly quick)
Sausage (real quick)
See, I get those different kinds of meats because I can have things rolling out of the smoker or grill all afternoon long. And if one fails, another wave of meat will soon be coming out.
Here’s the Biggles Theory. Over the years I’ve fed people some amazing things out of my smokers and grills. 99 times out of a hundred they want to know the spices/herbs/sauces that I used in the production of their meat. Their faces fall when I explain that I base the goodness out of quality meat and cooking it correctly with real wood. The dry rubs are secondary. If I’ve done my job correctly, I can make your eyes roll back in your head by using just salt & pepper. With this in mind, this year I want you people to pay fricken attention to your fire.
Note: If you and your grill are a little rusty, plan to run a fire through your pit today. Just for practice.
When you lay down your coals from the chimney, you aren’t ready to cook. Add some more charcoal or wood, extend the life of your fire. Let it mellow a bit and get your grill heated up. Don’t be in such a damned hurry. In maybe 10 to 15 minutes, spread out your coals so that you have a hot side, medium, low and cool area. This way, you can cook indirectly, directly and have a safe zone in case things get out of control. Lower your grill, let it heat up and scrape it clean.
Tell you whut, if you can build and maintain a good fire. If you can stay by the grill when you food is cooking. If you can pay attention to what’s happening. If you can use that instant read themometer and pull your food at about 138 to 140 degrees F. You will succeed and it will be good.
Plan ahead, give youself and your fire time to get ‘right’, stay by the grill and above all? Have fun.
All ya’lls have a great day!
Biggles