It's cookout season! Tell us about your favorites...

In My Humble Opinion
1

(For the purposes of this discussion, those of you in the Southern Hemisphere can pretend it’s December. Also for the purposes of this discussion, the Food Fairies have declared that everything we discuss in this thread is healthy, and you don’t have to worry about calories, grams of this, or milligrams of that… well, provided you just talk about it and don’t actually eat it, of course.)

So what’s on your perfect hamburger?
What’s on your perfect hot dog?
And what would be part of your perfect cookout/barbecue? Side dishes, too, please.

My perfect hamburger is grilled, slightly singed around the edges by the flare-ups :smiley: On top I’m melting a slice of real, proper American cheese, anything that comes in individually wrapped slices need not apply. Then some pickles, some lightly fried onions just beginning to go brown, and some ketchup.

My perfect hot dog has pickle relish down the one side of the bun, french-fried onions down the other, and ketchup on top. I know there is an anti-ketchup cabal among the Dopers, and to that I have only one thing to say: Yinz guys are crazy.

My perfect cookout has ribs and barbecued chicken on the grill. The sauce is not too sweet, not too spicy, just good and tangy and smoky. Sticky is a plus. Side dishes are very fresh corn on the cob, good baked beans (really baked, with bacon and onions), and cole slaw, chopped up really fine, with the vinegar dressing, not the mayo kind. If I’m feeling really decadent, which I am, let’s add a bag of riffle-cut potato chips with some of the flodfather’s secret recipe chip dip. For dessert, of course, we’re toasting marshmallows. It’s not like anyone has room for more than a couple 'mallows anyway, right?

Okay, the grill’s good and hot now, what are you having?

2

The ground beef in a burger must be fresh, fresh, fresh!

Mix in a little onion, finely minced is best.

Add one egg to the ground beef, mix well.

Grill untill cooked clear through.

Lots o ketchup, a little onion.

Cheese, to please. :smiley:

3

I assure you that those of us in this part of the Southern Hemisphere will quite happily have a barbie in June. In fact, we had one last week. A true barbecue warrior doesn’t let a little thing like cold stop him (in fact it’s better because all the women stay inside, and they can’t count how many beers us blokes drink when we just “go out to see how Dave/Bob/etc is going with the barbie”). :smiley:

There are two types of barbie I go to and/or hold. The first is Barbecue Classic:
Steak, lamb chops, onions, and sausages on the hotplate. A loaf of supermarket white sliced bread, a tub of margarine, a packet of cigarettes, two cartons of beer, someone’s car door open with the radio blaring cricket. A bottle of bourbon. A dog getting in the way. A bit of a bonfire started with backyard junk when everybody is drunk. No VEGETABLES except the onions. No fruit. No women. True heaven.

The second is one that is happening more and more these days, and is a strange indoor/outdoor hybrid with a strong Asian influence (though this might be because I’m the only white guy in my family). This involves the guys outside barbecuing various types of seafood, and women appearing from the house with goodies such as steaming bowls of pho. Lots of beer, and usually a bottle of XO. Kids running everywhere, and the cats hiding under the house.
To address the OP more seriously, hamburgers are not really common bbq food here. Neither are hot dogs. The exception might be at a big public bbq (say at a kids’ football match) where you will find burgers and hot dogs. We just don’t do the backyard version much. Sausage sandwiches are a big deal with the kids though. Marinated octopus was very fashionable for a decade or so, but I suspect it’s about run its course. Basic red meat seems to be coming back into style - which is fine by me.

4

Hamburgers: Mix meat with worcestershire sauce, fresh garlic, black pepper and red pepper flakes. Grill, when almost done, cover with a sharp cheddar cheese. Add ketchup, grilled onions and Vlassic Zesty dill pickle slices.

Hot dogs (I never grill them unless I’m grilling something else too.) but on this is well… the same thing, fried onions, ketchup, Vlassic zesty dills.

Ribs… I was raised on asian ribs and still prefer those. Soak in soy for about 15 minutes each side, grill, saving the soy. When they’re almost done, bring them in and steam them over the soy. Use the soy mixed with the rib grease as a topping for rice. Never needed BBQ sauce for my ribs.

Steak… depends on the cut. But usually I soak in soy, then grill topping it with pepper and garlic. Serve with grilled onions.

Chicken… well I never was one for BBQ chicken, I prefer it baked with a nice terriyaki or paprika sauce.

5

Hamburgers - grilled to medium, with mustard, red onion, tomato, shredded lettuce and dill pickles on a toasted bun.

Hot dogs - pure beef “ball park” franks, with mustard and dill pickle relish

Fajitas-chicken, beef and shrimp grilled to perfection, served with warm flour tortillias, sour cream, cheese, pico and salsa.

Steaks-grilled medium rare served with a baked potato and corn on the cob

Chicken-grilled until no longer pink inside. Served with fresh grilled veggie skewers

6

Mmm! We just bought a new gas grill. We made hamburgers first. Mix the meat with Worcestershire sauce, garlic powder, salt and pepper. Grill them to medium, and assemble with lettuce, home grown tomato slices, onion slices, mustard and ketchup. Yum!

Next we grilled some sirloin strip steaks (also called NY strips.) I marinated them for 8 hours in a mixture of Italian dressing, Worcestershire sauce, red wine, Paul Prudhomme’s blackened steak seasoning, balsamic vinegar, and salt and pepper. We also made some foiled “potato packets” - cut up new potatoes with sliced onions and green peppers, butter and salt and pepper. Sauteed mushrooms and onions in the house—what a feast!!!

The next thing I want to try is cedar plank grilling. I’m going to grill a salmon. I’ve been watching the food network—they are having grilling shows all the time. Then we’ll do some pork ribs, I think.

I’ve gone grill happy! It’s so easy!

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Cold Corona - Filet Mignon - Steamed Asparagus Day 1
Shaken Bombay Martini (Dirty) - 24 hour Marinated Chicken (preferably Jerk) - Baked Potato.
La Fin Du Mond (Quebeci Beer) - Beef Ribs Smoked 18 hours - Corn on the Cob - Baked Beans.

Anyone want to join us?

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Hey I remember my mom and dad doing these when I was growing up. How long do these need to cook and at what temp? From what I remember, these things are wonderful.

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I actually cheated a bit, and nuked them in the microwave for 10 minutes, then threw them on the grill. I would advise 45 minutes to an hour at medium temp on the grill. (We stayed too late at the bar, and were hungry right now!