Last Blast of Summer: Party Plans

Last Blast of Summer Party Plans

One of the biggest BBQ days of the year is a little more than a month away: Labor Day. That leaves about five weeks to get your plan in place for an outstanding last blast of summer party, whether it’s at your house, at the lake or wherever you spend your extended holiday weekend.  Instead of doing everything at the last minute, a little planning goes a long way in helping you get the items you want and save money and time.

Menu: Meat of course!  The week before Labor Day usually finds great meat sales at most supermarkets.  Be on the lookout for great deals on pork and beef ribs, pork butts, steaks and chicken. These holiday sales are also a great time to stock your freezer for football season. Pork butts may drop as low as 98 or 99 cents a pound and rib prices may dive as low as 1.99 a pound.

Sauce and rub: Making your own sauce ahead of time guarantees the flavors will be combined and the sauce ready to rock. Don’t make your own sauce? Search online for recipes for just about any kind of BBQ sauce you can imagine. Beware of recipes that take commercial sauce and “fix it up.” Start from scratch with fresh ingredients and try a few recipes to find what you really like. Involve family and friends for taste testing your new sauces.

Like sauce, there are plenty of different rub recipes out there.  However, a lot of the rubs you can buy are actually pretty good.  I’ve suggested Dizzy Pig rubs before and still do. Other rubs I’ve tried and really like include Wizzy’s Smokin’ Rub, available online (http://www.smokinrub.com/) and Plowboys Rubs, available at Bass Pro Shop, Amazon and other places online. 

Whether you make or buy rub, application is still the same: apply it liberally; cover the entire surface of the meat. No need to physically “rub it in,” simply season the meat a day before, wrap it tight with plastic and an overnight rest in the fridge will let the seasoning do its job. Consider putting a thin coating of yellow mustard on the meat before applying rub. This helps the rub adhere to the meat and also helps make a good crusty bark on the meat without a mustard flavor. Try it sometime! 

Charcoal:  Scan sale flyers and store aisles for charcoal sales at department and big box stores. Often you’ll find twin packages of Kingsford charcoal bound together in plastic.  These may have a total weight ranging from 26 to 40 pounds.  Sometimes charcoal sale prices are amazingly good, so stock up when the price is right. Remember, football season demands great BBQ too!  Prices will vary by brand and charcoal type. 

Be sure to have plenty of side dishes to compliment your meats and please your party crew.  Take the time to stock up on good beer. This time of year, summer craft beer is widely available.  Popular summer brews available in our area include Bell’s Oberon Wheat, Victory Headwaters Pale Ale and Sweetwater IPA.  If you’re a cider fan, Kopparberg, Woodchuck, Strongbow and Crispin are all excellent brands. 

Coming up:
Pigs and Peaches BBQ Festival:  August 26 and 27 in Kennesaw.  Competition BBQ teams, Kidz Que, live bands, arts and crafts vendors and more.  http://www.pigsandpeaches.com

Atlanta German Bierfest: August 27 at Woodruff Park in Atlanta.  German beer and food, bands, kids zone and more.  http://germanbierfest.com/