The Perfect Summer Barbecue

You can’t call it a ‘barbecue’ if you’re not using indirect heat to cook something. Otherwise you’re just grilling and grilling with a crowd is called a cookout. Barbecues, like most good things, take a little bit more time than slapping a hunk of meat on the grill – although that’s pretty good, too.

The ‘Hoe Down and BBQ’ my family hosted on June 25^th had all the components of a perfect summer barbecue. Good friends and family were in attendance. It was hot but we didn’t care; we had a pool to dip into, homemade mojitos and ice-cold beers to assuage the swelter. The breeze picked up the scent of meat slowly roasting over hickory chips soaked in Corona and delivered them to our nose hairs—just for a second—feeding our growing appetites.

The menu that evening was simple and not a thing was cooked indoors except my mother’s blueberry pie:

• Grilled Hearts of Romaine with Pickled Red Onions and a Homemade Roasted Garlic, Chive and Scallion Buttermilk Dressing
•  Herbed Potato Salad (courtesy of Clay, a fabulous cook, friend and neighbor)
• Blueberry Slab Pie
• Barn Chicken (the most tender grilled chicken you’ve ever had—but the recipe will forever be a family secret)
• Hickory and Corona Barbecued Pork
• Grilled Corn with Lime Zest and Sea Salt Compound Butter
• Meryn’s Fruit Dip (aka cool whip and cream cheese whipped into submission accompanied by sliced seasonal fruit—gone in three seconds)

I was too busy running in between the grill and the guests to take photos. You know what? I take that as a good sign.