This holiday is smokin' at Cheapskate HQ for the 4th of July, and that includes getting out the BBQ grill for a backyard blowout. So read on as I light up the sky with recipes, selected especially for Independence Day dining.
Click on any Recipe Name and you'll be directed to my original blog post of eats illustrated with yummy photos and tasty text.
Smoking Pastrami
In my Baldwin Hills neighborhood of Los Angeles, there is quite a show of fireworks. I don't set them off like I did as a kid -- now I light up the kitchen with my own culinary fireworks!
I am always ready for a 4th of July picnic, so read on to see how I do it deliciously cheap.
Let's start with the main meat course. This Chintzy Chef cooks with chicken the most because it's the cheapest.
And dark meat is the best bargain. I can even get boneless and skinless chicken leg quarters on sale for around 99 cents per pound at my local Latin market. Ready, aim, and fire a 21-gun salute ethnic groceries!
Use your favorite BBQ sauce for traditional red, white, and blue backyard poultry broiling. I just season cheap chicken pieces with salt and pepper and slather on the BBQ sauce. Before serving, slice into the thickest part of the chicken piece to make sure the juices run clean - no pink or red is allowed!
Next to chicken, pork is one cheap protein and I like to smoke it. Smoking thick meaty Country-style Pork Ribs are my favorite. I boil the ribs until tender (you can also wrap them in foil and oven roast) then throw them on the gas grill for an hour of smoking. This is a tasty shortcut to using traditional all-day smokers. My blog post shows you how to smoke pork ribs 2 ways on a gas grill.
A Classic Potato Salad is my cool preferred side dish for grilled protein. I use a whole lotta mayo and boiled eggs, but it's easily vegan by leaving out eggs and using a tasty mayo substitute.
During BBQ offseason on cold winter days when I'm hunkered down in my bunker, like George Washington at Valley Forge, I Easy Bake Spare Ribs until the porcine flesh surrenders moist and tender. If you don't like smoke in your eyes then this is a great way to go.
What makes America great is our mosaic of cultures, so why not get multiculti and try my recipe for a Thai-style Chicken Satay with a Peanut Dipping Sauce. The Japanese version of grilled Shish Kabobs is called Yakatori. And Japanese chefs like to grill it all, even chicken livers. If that is too pungent for you it's okay to substitute liver with pieces of regular chicken fillets. Everything tastes better when served on a skewer.
Los Angeles has a bustling Koreatown and I have had the pleasure to try a few Korean BBQ joints. Enter and you are enveloped in smoke from the tabletop grills, loaded down with marinated beef and chicken. I have my own cheap$kate version of Korean BBQ you can make for your next backyard gathering.
It's all about the marinade that mainly consists of garlic, soy sauce, and brown sugar. It's a potent combination you should try out sometime. Just click here for my Korean-style BBQ Chicken recipe. The photo below shows grilled boneless and skinless dark meat leg quarters.
Beef hamburger is just too darn expensive for the Tightwad Cuisinier. But fortunately, Dollar Tree comes to the rescue with two quarter-pound patties for a buck!
I have a South of the Border spin with my Mexi-Turkey Burger. It packs a lot of flavor with the namesake ingredient, Mexican chorizo, which has a deep-flavored red chile taste, spiced with paprika, Mexican oregano, and garlic powder. And you can use regular ground beef instead of poultry. Get out the salsa for my Mexi-Burger.
Attention all you lovers of smoked pork, the following entree will have you asking for seconds and thirds. I like to smoke a whole pork shoulder when I throw a patio BBQ party.
You can't go wrong with grilled hot dogs, and I have a couple of unusual recipes I think you will enjoy (it's easy enough to substitute hot dogs with your favorite specialty sausages - if you're the artisan type).
Use your favorite BBQ sauce for traditional red, white, and blue backyard poultry broiling. I just season cheap chicken pieces with salt and pepper and slather on the BBQ sauce. Before serving, slice into the thickest part of the chicken piece to make sure the juices run clean - no pink or red is allowed!
Next to chicken, pork is one cheap protein and I like to smoke it. Smoking thick meaty Country-style Pork Ribs are my favorite. I boil the ribs until tender (you can also wrap them in foil and oven roast) then throw them on the gas grill for an hour of smoking. This is a tasty shortcut to using traditional all-day smokers. My blog post shows you how to smoke pork ribs 2 ways on a gas grill.
A Classic Potato Salad is my cool preferred side dish for grilled protein. I use a whole lotta mayo and boiled eggs, but it's easily vegan by leaving out eggs and using a tasty mayo substitute.
During BBQ offseason on cold winter days when I'm hunkered down in my bunker, like George Washington at Valley Forge, I Easy Bake Spare Ribs until the porcine flesh surrenders moist and tender. If you don't like smoke in your eyes then this is a great way to go.
What makes America great is our mosaic of cultures, so why not get multiculti and try my recipe for a Thai-style Chicken Satay with a Peanut Dipping Sauce. The Japanese version of grilled Shish Kabobs is called Yakatori. And Japanese chefs like to grill it all, even chicken livers. If that is too pungent for you it's okay to substitute liver with pieces of regular chicken fillets. Everything tastes better when served on a skewer.
Chicken Satay - ready for the grill.
Los Angeles has a bustling Koreatown and I have had the pleasure to try a few Korean BBQ joints. Enter and you are enveloped in smoke from the tabletop grills, loaded down with marinated beef and chicken. I have my own cheap$kate version of Korean BBQ you can make for your next backyard gathering.
It's all about the marinade that mainly consists of garlic, soy sauce, and brown sugar. It's a potent combination you should try out sometime. Just click here for my Korean-style BBQ Chicken recipe. The photo below shows grilled boneless and skinless dark meat leg quarters.
Beef hamburger is just too darn expensive for the Tightwad Cuisinier. But fortunately, Dollar Tree comes to the rescue with two quarter-pound patties for a buck!
I stuff my crumb-catcher with grilled hamburger slathered in BBQ sauce, sauteed mushrooms, and melty cheese.
I have a South of the Border spin with my Mexi-Turkey Burger. It packs a lot of flavor with the namesake ingredient, Mexican chorizo, which has a deep-flavored red chile taste, spiced with paprika, Mexican oregano, and garlic powder. And you can use regular ground beef instead of poultry. Get out the salsa for my Mexi-Burger. Attention all you lovers of smoked pork, the following entree will have you asking for seconds and thirds. I like to smoke a whole pork shoulder when I throw a patio BBQ party.
Allow me to introduce you to a Currywurst, which is a sausage or hot dog that's grilled and topped with a spicy sauce consisting of ketchup, Worcestershire Sauce, cayenne pepper, and curry powder (dried cumin). This Berlin, Germany delicacy started just after WWII as street food for British and American soldiers stationed there. It sounds like a weird combination of ingredients, but it works and it's easy to make, so give it a go - it makes a great appetizer served with toothpicks.
Currywurst
Another Eastern European entree is made with grilled Sausages, Sauerkraut and Beer. Now that's a combination I can get behind! Again, I cooked this dish on a stovetop but you can cook the sausages over an open fire for extra charred flavor and finish with a bath of beer and sauerkraut.
I like plain hot dogs with just relish and mustard. To add some veggie crunch, try my traitorish Benedict Arnold version of a Chicago Dog. I can't get dayglow green relish out here in LA so I tweaked the Windy City's fast food classic by adding some chopped lettuce along with traditional sliced tomato. Check out my wacky video below, where my Chicago Dog is the punchline.
I steam my buns, how about you? I first noticed this technique while waiting in line for a Hot Dog from our most famous L.A. purveyor of tube steaks at Pink's Hot Dogs. They pulled out a bun from the steamer and built if from there.
I went home and tried it by just adding a couple of buns for a minute in the steamer along with cooking hot dog wieners. The buns become supple and any stale bun will rejuvenate this way. Check out how I do it in the video below.
And click here to see all my Hot Dogs of Summer including a Chili Dog and a Kraut Dog.
If you have traveled the South then you've run across BBQ Pulled Pork. Mainly served between buns and topped with BBQ sauce, this crowd-pleasing self-serve sandwich has it all: smokey tender pork that's seasoned with a dry rub of sugar and spice.
Just set out a tub of Pulled Pork along with hamburger buns, BBQ sauce, sliced onion, pickles, and Coleslaw, and get out of the way as the line forms. And I have an easy gas grill smoking method you can see in my video below.
Pork Carnitas are my favorite tacos. This version is a less oily gringo version, than what's served at a taco truck, but I add citrus juices and Mexican Cola for extra flavor.
While not done on a BBQ grill it's still one of my go-to backyard holiday foods, so I gotta give you the recipe anyway. You can always give it a quick smoke pass to kick it up a notch. It really is the perfect party food because you sit back and let your friends build each taco their way. Go to the following blog post to see some tasty Homemade Salsas to serve with any tacos you like to make.
And pork is still cheap these days, especially when it comes on sale at my local Latin market, Superior Grocers. So you won't break the bank feeding your lovers of all things porcine.
I seldom cook with beef because it's just too darn expensive, but when I splurge it's for ribeye steak. I just season it with salt and pepper, that's it. Sometimes I'll finish it with a little BBQ sauce. But if you want to impress your guests then try out my Carne Asada recipe. Ribeye (or any favorite tender cut) is marinated in cilantro, green onion, garlic, lime juice, and a little ground cumin. When done, chop the meat for Carne Asada Tacos or a Warm Steak Salad.
Whew, I'm beat. Man, that's a lot of recipes...time for some Red, White, and Brew!
If you are smoking meat, then throw on a slab of corned beef brisket for Homemade Pastrami. I always freeze 2 or 3 corned beef briskets when they are around 2 dollars per pound during St. Patrick's Day and week sales during the month of March.
My Smoked Homemade Pastrami recipe is as tasty as any Jewish Deli version - so says everyone I've served it to. I think it's because the smoky flavor is more intensely fresh off the grill than from a deli where the pastrami has been sitting in the cold case for a few days. Hey, don't take my word for it, give it a shot, and get ready for all the high fives sure to come your way!
Seafood and a BBQ grill go together. You have to have a delicate touch as fish is easy to overcook. But it should be done quickly so you won't smell too smokey slaving over the grill.
My Cajun nephew Zakk has put in his time as a line cook, and he gave me a Top Chef performance in his recipe video for Blackened Fish with Sweet Potato Hash. While he does his sauteing in the kitchen, you can grill the fish over an open flame, instead of the stovetop.
My Mom once took over my cheap$kate kitchen and set off a flavor M80 bomb: Cajun Potato Salad. It was so good I had to make a video to share her recipe with you.
For my vegetarian friends, the following recipes are for you. My sister Denise has a fav veggie Eggplant Burger (and easy enough to BBQ instead of frying pan sauteing).
Pulled Pork Dry Rub
Click on photos to see larger.
Just set out a tub of Pulled Pork along with hamburger buns, BBQ sauce, sliced onion, pickles, and Coleslaw, and get out of the way as the line forms. And I have an easy gas grill smoking method you can see in my video below.
Pork Carnitas are my favorite tacos. This version is a less oily gringo version, than what's served at a taco truck, but I add citrus juices and Mexican Cola for extra flavor.
While not done on a BBQ grill it's still one of my go-to backyard holiday foods, so I gotta give you the recipe anyway. You can always give it a quick smoke pass to kick it up a notch. It really is the perfect party food because you sit back and let your friends build each taco their way. Go to the following blog post to see some tasty Homemade Salsas to serve with any tacos you like to make.
Carnitas Taco
And pork is still cheap these days, especially when it comes on sale at my local Latin market, Superior Grocers. So you won't break the bank feeding your lovers of all things porcine.
I seldom cook with beef because it's just too darn expensive, but when I splurge it's for ribeye steak. I just season it with salt and pepper, that's it. Sometimes I'll finish it with a little BBQ sauce. But if you want to impress your guests then try out my Carne Asada recipe. Ribeye (or any favorite tender cut) is marinated in cilantro, green onion, garlic, lime juice, and a little ground cumin. When done, chop the meat for Carne Asada Tacos or a Warm Steak Salad.
Carne Asada Marinade
Whew, I'm beat. Man, that's a lot of recipes...time for some Red, White, and Brew!
And, long may it pour.
If you are smoking meat, then throw on a slab of corned beef brisket for Homemade Pastrami. I always freeze 2 or 3 corned beef briskets when they are around 2 dollars per pound during St. Patrick's Day and week sales during the month of March.
My Smoked Homemade Pastrami recipe is as tasty as any Jewish Deli version - so says everyone I've served it to. I think it's because the smoky flavor is more intensely fresh off the grill than from a deli where the pastrami has been sitting in the cold case for a few days. Hey, don't take my word for it, give it a shot, and get ready for all the high fives sure to come your way!
Seafood and a BBQ grill go together. You have to have a delicate touch as fish is easy to overcook. But it should be done quickly so you won't smell too smokey slaving over the grill.
Blackened Fish with Sweet Potato Hash
My Cajun nephew Zakk has put in his time as a line cook, and he gave me a Top Chef performance in his recipe video for Blackened Fish with Sweet Potato Hash. While he does his sauteing in the kitchen, you can grill the fish over an open flame, instead of the stovetop.
I have a deep-fried Fish Taco recipe that's easily adapted for outdoor grilling. Just leave off the batter and grill the fish for a lighter and healthier pescado. Check out my recipe for all the details, including a cool Creme Topping.
A bag of tortilla chips and a light Seafood Ceviche made with budget fake crab is a chill appetizer to greet the guests with.
A bag of tortilla chips and a light Seafood Ceviche made with budget fake crab is a chill appetizer to greet the guests with.
Seafood Ceviche
My Mom once took over my cheap$kate kitchen and set off a flavor M80 bomb: Cajun Potato Salad. It was so good I had to make a video to share her recipe with you.
For my vegetarian friends, the following recipes are for you. My sister Denise has a fav veggie Eggplant Burger (and easy enough to BBQ instead of frying pan sauteing).
Eggplant Burger
Portabella Mushroom Burger
There is nothing better at stoking appetites than walking past the kitchen and inhaling the savory perfume of seasoned legumes slow cooking on the stovetop.
A tasty meat substitution is an earthy Portabella Mushroom Burger that's topped with grilled bell pepper and cheese (or a cheese substitute). Roast a few ears of corn to serve with the veggie burgers or go a little further and make my Roasted Cream Corn.
It's all about the veggie sides when you have a BBQ patio party, and boy do I have the recipe for cherry (tomato) flavor bombs to prove it. You can simply drizzle a little olive oil and season any fave summer veggie to grill over an open flame.
A new favorite veggie to grill is Sweet Potatoes and Yams. They are the cherry bomb of tubers. Grill until soft and sweet with an extra charred flavor. I like to slice them thick to get a creamy soft interior.
Now you do have to watch closely as the high sugar content will cause them to burn easily. But a little blackening is just extra flavor!
Click on any recipe name to get my recipe details for Russet and Sweet Potatoes, Yams, Grilled Bell Peppers, Zucchini with Herbs, and Braised Romain Hearts (originally done inside, but easy enough to do outside).
You gotta have chilled Potato or Macaroni Salads when you grill meat. I have a colorful Peanut Coleslaw made with red cabbage. But a regular Coleslaw is good enough for me.
The kernels pop with flavor, like a string of firecrackers, when you work your way around an ear of my Boiled Corn. And it goes with any type of picnic you pack. Click here to see how I do it.
While your guests await the main event, get them started with sparkling light salads such as a refreshing Watermelon, Mango and Spinach, hearty Black Bean & Corn, and an exotic, but simple, Korean-style Cucumber Salad, tangy Cuban Salad, or luscious Pears & Spinach with Herb Cream.
If you are doing burgers, then you want fries to go with it, and my double-fried French Fries do the trick.
And great grocery deals are happening this week, too. Steak, hamburger, chicken, corn, watermelon, and ribs are all on sale right now. Be sure to check out your local grocery fliers for all the holiday deals.
It's all about the veggie sides when you have a BBQ patio party, and boy do I have the recipe for cherry (tomato) flavor bombs to prove it. You can simply drizzle a little olive oil and season any fave summer veggie to grill over an open flame.
Braised Romain Heart
A new favorite veggie to grill is Sweet Potatoes and Yams. They are the cherry bomb of tubers. Grill until soft and sweet with an extra charred flavor. I like to slice them thick to get a creamy soft interior.
Now you do have to watch closely as the high sugar content will cause them to burn easily. But a little blackening is just extra flavor!
Russet and Sweet Potatoes
Click on any recipe name to get my recipe details for Russet and Sweet Potatoes, Yams, Grilled Bell Peppers, Zucchini with Herbs, and Braised Romain Hearts (originally done inside, but easy enough to do outside).
You gotta have chilled Potato or Macaroni Salads when you grill meat. I have a colorful Peanut Coleslaw made with red cabbage. But a regular Coleslaw is good enough for me.
The kernels pop with flavor, like a string of firecrackers, when you work your way around an ear of my Boiled Corn. And it goes with any type of picnic you pack. Click here to see how I do it.
While your guests await the main event, get them started with sparkling light salads such as a refreshing Watermelon, Mango and Spinach, hearty Black Bean & Corn, and an exotic, but simple, Korean-style Cucumber Salad, tangy Cuban Salad, or luscious Pears & Spinach with Herb Cream.
Watermelon, Mango & Spinach Salad
If you are doing burgers, then you want fries to go with it, and my double-fried French Fries do the trick.
Light up with fireworks of flavor for the 4th when you serve my Mango Salsa! Grab a bag of tortilla chips to go with my colorful Fresh Peach and Mango Salsa while you watch nighttime fireworks with a soundtrack of triggered car alarms and barking dogs.
Have a Super Cool 4th of July!
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