This month's Outdoor Cooking Magic question was: What Do You Grill For Memorial Day?  Thanks to all those that sent in responses!

Here are the answers:

From Jan:

We go camping for Memorial Day...and when we camp, we try to make most of our meals "over the open fire"!  🙂

Lita said:

- definitely steaks & hamburgers (surf & turf, also is a big hit)

- grill corn, green onions(Mexican), zucchini ...

- recipes- simple SuzyQ seasoning, allow the meat to warm to room/outside temperature before placing on grill...

Pulled pork, ribs, hamburgers and hot dogs.

Grady is going up in the mountains to cook with a mule to pack the supplies.  How many of you do that?

I will be cooking up on the mountain that day if the weather is friendly. I will be packed into an area we frequent that time of year around 8500 ft. elevation. The fly fishing is the best you'll ever have for 18-20 inch brookies.

I usually cook the same meal each year and it works real good. I pack up chicken on the mule, marinating in a special sauce to die for. I start with a simple recipe of 1c. brown sugar-1c. apricot preserves- 1c. light sodium soy sauce- 1tsp. minced garlic-1tps. franks hot sauce original, or less depending on how hot you like it. I make two batches of this one for marinate and one for brushing on the grill meat. Marinate for 24 hours for the best flavor. Prepare the volcano with charcoal and start the chicken with some apple chips on the side for smoke. Cook about 35-40 minutes or until the chicken temp is 170 plus. Turn the chicken a lot brushing the other batch of marinate over the meat until done. It should be a dark brown glazed crust on the chicken when your done. Leave the skins on cowboy chaps style for more flavor, guests can take it them off if they want after it's done.

As a side we make cowboy beans and weenies the day before with a Hawaiian style rice a roni which we pack up the mountain in a dry style then we just add water and cook the rice and seasonings. Top with cowboy corn bread and I guarantee there won't be anything left over but the chicken bones eaten clean. If you prepare ahead it is really simple to cook and the whole thing takes about an hour on the mountain. Thanks to our four legged friends we can take the gourmet kitchen to the timber line and have a feast fit for a king.

Jenn gave us a full meal along with instructions!

Memorial Day means patriotic food for us. And of course we grill.  Or Pit.  Or Trash.

Nobody wants to be inside OR turn on the oven on a pretty holiday, so trash can turkeys to go with steaks and hot dogs really, really well!

Bury a 2-foot 2x2 about 6 inches in the ground & layer 2-ply heavy duty aluminum foil around your "stake" so that you have approx a 3x3-foot square covering your grass.  (Say goodbye to your grass when you do this!)

Have those handy and close to you remove the center section of a new (or reserved for cooking) 15-gallon metal trash can so that there's enough hole to work the lid over the stake.  *The lid is going to catch your turkey and become the stretcher to get him to the platter/table. It should look like a silver swimming pool of possibility.

Thaw Tom just enough to rub a mix of 3 sticks of butter + a handful of fresh herbs (can't go wrong with parsley, sage, rosemary, and thyme picked fresh and chopped fine) up under his skin.  ((OR inject some Chicago Steak Marinade...oh-my-gosh-yum!))  Carefully transport your bird out to the yard... avoiding dancing dogs & toddlers in swimwear... and impale him so that his legs just barely almost touch the inside of the lid.  Now the garbage can (pre-washed) gets inverted over the whole thing and charcoal gets placed around the sides & on top of the can.  A 15-20# bag should do the trick.

A 20# bird takes about 2-2.5 hours to cook.

Carefully remove coals to the sides of the cooking area (a fire bucket or wheel barrow come in handy if you want to make it so nobody accidentally walks through them).  Smart people use heavy duty gloves to lift the sides of the trash can straight off their turkey.  Geniuses McGuyver extended handles out of wood or leftover rebar.  Either way, carefully vent the "oven" before you lift it so that the escaping steam doesn't smoke your ankles.

What to serve with?

VIDALIA PACKETS... Your spring Vidalias are going to be getting a little shaggy anyway, so peel 'em and slice both ends so you have two flat surfaces.  Make three cuts (to form six almost-wedges) most of the way down and pack with 1-2 Tablespoons of butter, then double wrap in aluminum foil.  In forty minutes or so they're going to be melt-in-your-mouth tender.  Nestle them atop the bird's coals halfway through or toss 'em on the grill when you start your other goodies.

CABBAGE STEAKS... Keeping the core intact, cut a red cabbage into 6-8 wedges and drizzle with a mix of 1 cup olive oil + 1 small pkg dry italian dressing mix.  Oh-My-Yumminess.  They only take fifteen-20 minutes to cook into delectableness.

GRILL TOP DESSERT... Blueberries & Strawberries are traditional red-white-and-blue desserts.  And you can't beat apple pie for patriotic sentimentality.  For each dessert you need two 8-9" aluminum pie tins and one prepared pie crust, one quart of fruit, and 4-6 tablespoons of matching jam.  Thaw crust according to package directions and unroll in one pan.  Spread fruit jam or preserves as a bottom layer, then top with fresh or frozen(thawed) fruit... If you can't find blueberry jam, rasp- or blackberry goes well with the round orbs of nutrition.  In a pinch remember that apple jelly goes with everything.  Instead of crimping the edges as one would traditionally do with pie, fold over the sections so that there's only 5-6" of fruit showing, then sprinkle the whole surface with granulated sugar. Enlist a youth to poke a few holes in the partner tin (a serving fork or marshmallow roaster does this well), invert it onto the bottom pie plate and staple them together.  (Yep.  Staple.  Have faith.)  These go on top of a turkey's charcoal for 15-20 mins as well or on a grill for 20-30 mins.  You'll be able to smell done pastry and hot fruit.  Remove them from the heat and let them cool.  You'll know they're perfect eating temp when you can handle the pie tins to remove the staples.

*When we do apples or pears we pre-season the fruit with cin/sugar/nutmeg.  Nectarines, peaches, berries, etc seem to imbibed enough sweetness from the jelly and the sugar crusting.

COOL-WHIP... If you have an abundance of enthusiastic mini-chefs they can make soft-whipped topping to go on the pies by putting 2 cups heavy cream & 2 tablespoons super-fine sugar (or powdered sugar in a pinch) in a mason jar with a lid and shaking exuberantly until slightly thickened.  ((If you go too far you'll have butter.))

KICKING ICE CREAM... For active types you can combine 2 cups heavy cream, 1/2 cup sugar, 1 teaspoon vanilla, and 1/2 cup milk in a really sturdy zipper bag (it's worth it to buy name brand here!).  Put in coffee can (or any secure vessel with a lid) and pack crushed ice layered with rock salt around the baggie.  Kick, roll, toss, whatever for 15 minutes.  Remove baggie and massage to redistribute ingredients.  Refresh ice/salt, recap, wash hands off before anyone rubs their eyes, and go back to can-wrestling for 5-10 more minutes.  We're good with soft-serve on our pies.  You're going to be amazed how quickly the ice cream actually hardens!  We use a basin of clean ice water to dunk the baggies before serving to remove any salt.

**You can double bag but make sure to suction as much air out of the second bag as possible with human lungs before immersing in ice/salt.  And plan at least one more re-icing/salting/rolling session as the added insulation of the second baggie makes it take FOREVER longer to form ice cream.

As for me, I have cooked a variety of foods, everything from hamburgers to kebabs to steaks with potatoes on the side.  It's a fun time to get together with family, remember and honor those that have passed on before us and enjoy some awesome outdoor cooking!

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