Stay In & Cook Out (7 Pages, 3 Articles)

Stay In And Cook Out: Post Your Photos Below

In these uncertain times, there’s one thing that remains constant: 1 BTU = 1055 joules of pure cooking power. OK, so that may not mean much to most of us, and there may be no toilet paper for miles in the age of COVID-19, but you can still rely on the BTUs of your grill or smoker to cook some fantastic food for you and your family. After all, social distancing doesn’t mean you can’t have any fun. Now is the perfect time to get outside and enjoy a backyard barbecue.

Go outside, grab your tongs (and maybe a beer while you’re at it), and spend some quality time at the grill or smoker. And we can still get “together” online to cook and share recipes, stories, and one liners. If you want to see what other people are up to, search for the hashtag #stayincookout. And if you feel like it, post your own photos, videos, and recipes at the bottom of this page. Or just post something to make us laugh! We could all use more fun in our lives right now. Who knows – you could become internet famous!

If you head out to the grill and realize that it’s been a while since you last fired up, take a quick look at our BBQ Season Checklist for some basic maintenance reminders. Maybe now’s the time to scrape out the old gunk and get your machine purring like a kitten.

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We’ve heard reports of local stores running out of ground beef. If you’ve been asking “Where’s the Beef?” stretch out what you have by mixing it with chopped mushrooms. Our Beef and Mushroom Blended Burgers have so much savory umami flavor no one will suspect there’s less ground beef in them. Or make burgers with other ground meats. You can probably still get ground pork, and then turn it into spicy Pork Satay Sliders with Thai peanut sauce and sesame lime scented slaw. Ground lamb also makes fantastic Greek Gyros with a creamy yogurt sauce and fresh tomatoes in pita bread that will please the whole family. Or transform some corned beef brisket into Reuben Burgers grilled until crusty all over with melted Swiss cheese, sauerkraut and Russian dressing on toasted rye bread.

Let’s see… what else can we turn into a burger… Got brats? Re-assemble a few links to make rich and gooey Brat Burgers with Beer Cheese Sauce. Heck, you could even re-live the comforts of Thanksgiving with a box of stuffing and some ground turkey made into Turkey and Stuffing Burgers with Cranberry BBQ Sauce and sweet potato fries. Or order some kangaroo meat online to make Butter-Stuffed Kangaroo Burgers. Enjoy them with a pint of Foster’s beer. There’s lots of burger options! You can get all kinds of exotic meats from Durham Ranch. If it’s beef or nothing, order up some of the best beef available and get it delivered. Top meat suppliers like Allen Brothers, Porter Road, and Snake River Farms have lost a lot of their restaurant business in recent weeks, and they would be more than happy to send you a few pounds of high-quality meat to grill or smoke at home.

Ran out of a key ingredient? Store shelves are empty? A simple swap might do the trick. The Food Substitutions Bible, authored by our own Dave Joachim has more than 6,500 substitutions for ingredients, equipment, and techniques, including emergency substitutions, time-savers, healthy swaps, alternatives for hard-to-find ingredients, and ideas for varying a dish in countless ways. Organized from A-Z, this award-winning book is in its 2^nd edition. It even has entries for things like “Barbecue Sauce,” “Grill,” and “Wood Smoke.” If you don’t have it, substitute it. Read more about The Food Substitutions Bible here.

Or maybe you just want to get outside and celebrate spring. ‘Tis the season for grilling lamb, asparagus, potatoes, and scallions. Check out some of our favorite springtime recipes below.

Either way, it’s high time to have a barbecue. Join us! Let’s #stayincookout while we can.

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Hamburger, Sloppy Joe, Salisbury Steak Recipes

By: Meathead

Our growing section on hamburgers will help you understand all the angles in making big fat juicy steakburgers or thin crispy diner burgers, and the techniques are very different! We’ll take you on a tour of the regional styles of hamburgers, and even give you the secret sauce recipe.

Lamb Recipes

By: Meathead

If cooked properly lamb can be as good as beef. It seems lamb is like liver or anchovies. Some people just hate them and it’s usually because of a traumatic childhood experience. Our lamb recipes may just change your mind about this misunderstood ingredient.

Celebrate National Hot Dog Month with the Best Wurst On the Planet

By: Meathead

The hot dog is an iconic American food beloved every which way in every region of the country. July is National Hot Dog Month, so grab a pack of dogs, and get grilling with our best recipes for hot dogs and sauces. We also reveal some interesting history on hot dogs and the truth about what really goes into them.

Chicken Recipes

By: Meathead

Flavorful, moist, buxom marinated chicken breasts. Unbelievably juicy and tasty turkey. Mouth-watering duck. These recipes will win you a prize at the local competition or amaze your tailgate crew at the big game. Americans buy more chicken than any other meat.

Beans Recipes

By: Meathead

Beans are an important part of American culinary heritage. This section contains the canon of American bean dishes, always found accompanying local versions of barbecue. Their roots are often in other cultures, but the recipes have been thoroughly Americanized.

Vegetable, Slaw, Salad, And Dressing Recipes

By: Meathead

What parent hasn’t thrown up their hands at a child’s reluctance to eat vegetables. Brussels sprouts, lima beans, broccoli, even asparagus all experience the same rejection. But sometimes, a simple change in cooking technique can quickly elevate their status at the dinner table and turn those frowns upside-down.