As a military community, Memorial Day is a time for us to pause and celebrate the lives of our beloved fallen comrades. From coast to coast, Americans will rally together to honor those that have made the ultimate sacrifice. There will be special ceremonies or much-deserved recognition.
Because Memorial Day brings such a strong sense of community and not to mention a well-deserved day off for most of us, it has morphed into a time to gather together and enjoy each other’s company. In addition, the weather starts to warm-up, which makes it perfect for outdoor festivities. As a result, barbecues have become a popular way for family and friends to join together.
Are you thinking about throwing a barbecue or need inspiration for a delicious dish for a potluck?
Well, heat-up the grill and gear up for a roundup of mouth-watering barbecue ideas straight from MilitaryShoppers.com that will have your friends and family asking for more!
Start by preparing your own homemade barbecue sauce.
- 1 8-ounce can tomato sauce
- 2 tablespoons tomato paste
- 2 tablespoons brown sugar
- 1 tablespoon apple cider vinegar
- 2 tablespoons Worcestershire sauce
- 2 tablespoons prepared mustard
- 1 teaspoon paprika
- 1½ teaspoons olive oil
- 2 cloves crushed garlic
In a pan, cook garlic in olive oil until soft. Mix in remaining ingredients and let simmer for 20 to 25 minutes. Refrigerate afterward.
That sauce can be used for a number of other dishes. Slather your homemade barbecue sauce on top of hamburger patties for BBQ burgers or paint hot dogs with it for an extra kick. Another easy option for your homemade barbecue sauce is to spread it over this finger-licking Ribs recipe.
What do you like to eat at a neighborhood barbecue?
Grab 2½ pounds of country style pork ribs and place it in a large pot with enough water to cover. Season with 1 tablespoon of garlic powder, 2 tablespoons of salt and 1 teaspoon of black pepper. Bring the water to a boil and cook ribs until they are tender. While this is happening, make sure your grill is at a temperature of 325 degrees. Place the boiled ribs in a foil baking dish and pour 1 cup of barbecue sauce on them. Cover with foil and cover for 1 to 1½ hours or until internal temperature of pork has reached 160 degrees.
My husband’s absolute favorite Memorial Day dish is pulled pork. He’s not big on pulling meat off ribs, so this perfect for him to get the taste of pork in a moist and tender way. You’ll need a handy-dandy slow cooker to prepare the pork.
This recipe also calls for a package of pork ribs. Cook the ribs in the slow cooker with one can of beef broth on high for 4 hours. After, take ribs out and shred meat in a foil dish and add barbecue sauce. Cover with foil and bake in grill for about 10 minutes.
Although my parents weren’t born in Texas, they have lived there long enough to have picked up on some of the delicious Lone Star State food like beef brisket. I love brisket so much that I had to take on this opportunity to share Memorial Day recipes, just so I can share with you what makes me so happy.
This recipe is pretty simple to follow, it actually takes a bit of tender love and care to follow through (AKA it takes some patience!). Are you up for the brisket challenge?
You can use your oven or grill, but make sure the temperature is around 350 degrees to cook. First mix together your dry ingredients in a small bowl: dash of salt, 2 tablespoons of brown sugar, 1 tablespoon onion powder, 1 tablespoon garlic powder, 1 tablespoon ground mustard, 1 tablespoon smoked paprika and 1 tablespoon pepper.
Rinse your 6-pound fresh beef brisket with water and pat dry. Puncture holes into the brisket on each side with a knife. We cut the meat in half to help with cooking and preparation. Rub all the dry ingredients all over your 2 pieces of meat and cover it and store in the refrigerator for the night. That process cures the meat.
When you’re ready to grill, place the cured meat in a deep foil pan. Mix together your wet ingredients: about 1½ cups of barbecue sauce, ½ cup of liquid smoke, ¼ cup of Worcestershire sauce. Pour the mixture on top of the meat and make sure it’s fully coated. Before covering with foil, make sure the fat side is facing up.
Cook for about 5 hours. Once the meat is fully cooked, spoon pan juices over top of the brisket. Let stand for about 10 minutes and cut across the grain. Enjoy!
Be sure to add some crowd favorite side dishes like coleslaw, corn on the cob and potato salad to the menu too.
What’s your tried-and-true side dish for neighborhood barbecues and potlucks? Share your recipe with MilitaryShoppers and you could win.
