Best Grilled Foods for Your Memorial Day Cookout

Delicious grilled foods with a new twist on cookout classics.

Memorial Day Weekend is the kickoff to summer and the outdoor cooking season. Whether your celebration is cozy or epic, the menu has to be filled with delicious grilled and barbecued foods. If you're looking for a new twist on cookout classics, checkout the eight grilled foods you must try this Memorial Day.

1. Grilled salad: Not all grilled foods have to be meat. Slice heads of Romaine lettuce in half lengthwise, and grill them for 2-3 minutes on a well-oiled grate to make a Caesar salad your friends and family will talk about all summer.



2. Hot Dogs: No cookout would be complete without the all-American dog. Make yours special by heating them on the grill in an aluminum pan filled with a mixture of beer, butter and sliced onions. Yum.

3. Hawaiian Sliders: Sliders are perfect for feeding a crowd because they can please all appetites, big and small. Cook up some mini-patties of ground turkey and serve them in Hawaiian sweet rolls with a thin slice of fresh pineapple and a dollop of spicy barbecue sauce.

4. Grilled Steak Fajitas:  Marinate and grill skirt steaks and serve with a variety of fresh veggies for a make-your-own fajita-fest. Remember to keep the steaks medium rare and slice them thinly for the best flavor.

5. Corn on the Cob: Nothing says summer quite like biting into a crisp, sweet ear of corn. Cook yours directly on the grill with husks on for approximately 15 minutes or until husks are blackened. Turn frequently while cooking. Remove the husks, butter and enjoy!

6. Chicken:  Chicken is a versatile protein, but it's not usually the star of the cookout. Change that by glazing your grilled chicken with a homemade root beer-based barbecue sauce. The root beer provides a rich, caramel-like flavor that really will have everyone licking their fingers as they guess at your secret ingredient.

7. Grilled Citrus-ade:  What? Grill halved lemons, limes and oranges just long enough to mark them. Juice the fruits and combine to make a lemonade-like drink that's a perfect complement to smoky, spicy grilled foods. Use your favorite lemonade recipe, but reduce the sugar slightly as the addition of orange juice will make the mixture sweeter. Add fresh mint for extra zing.

8. Pork Ribs: There's no arguing that pork is the king of the barbecue. But what's the secret to savory ribs that don't just taste like barbecue sauce? After applying your favorite dry rub, wrap the ribs tightly in plastic and refrigerate for 24 hours before cooking. The meat will be so well flavored you might decide to skip the wet stuff all together.


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