Independence Day Spectacular!
Some hacks, gadgets, and a recipe to help you celebrate the July 4th holiday.
On occasion of the short week, and seeing this weekend will be a grill-heavy one for many, I’ve put together one big barbecuing post to give everybody some ideas, hints, and an easy recipe for the holiday. Enjoy the Fourth!
GADGETS
Everybody needs to start spiralizing their hot dogs before grilling them; doing so creates more edges that become crispy and that capture more toppings while keeping things juicy. You can do so by hand, or can get yourself a spiral slicer like the Curl A Dog (I love mine).
I swear by the Grill Rescue brush. It’s made of fire-resistant fabric and uses steam to clean the grates of a grill, just dunk it some slightly soapy water before wiping things down.
If you grill a lot of vegetables like I do, you need to invest in a grill basket, period the end. This list by Serious Eats has many good choices.
HACKS
I love a kebab, whether meat, shellfish, or vegetables. What I don’t love is when the food on the kebabs starts to spin when I turn the skewers over. The solution is obvious yet genius: Use two skewers!
Smashburgers are the rage right now, as are the pricey Blackstone griddles people use to make them. If you have a cast iron skillet, however, you can smash like a pro by using it on your gas or charcoal grill. (I happen to have a small stovetop cast iron griddle which also works like a charm.) You can also use the bottom of a saucepan wrapped in aluminum foil to smash the burgers in question.
If you are a charcoal grill person, but might not have a charcoal chimney starter, you can use a cardboard egg carton or drink caddie (like you get at Starbucks) to fire things up in an upcycled blaze of glory.
You’d think, as I did for a long time, that making mustard at home involved some kind of wizardry that was out of reach for the average cook. Well, I’m here to tell you it’s a simple and mostly hands-off process that yields flavorful mustard that makes everything it touches taste better. The only catch is you need roughly 3-4 days for things to come together, so if you want to serve some up for your holiday barbecue, get cracking! Homemade mustard also makes a fantastic host/ess gift.
Whole Grain Country Mustard
Makes approximately 1½ cups
¼ cup yellow mustard seeds
¼ cup brown mustard seeds
½ cup apple cider vinegar
¼ cup beer (I use a lager or a stout if I have it)
2 teaspoons light or dark brown sugar
1 teaspoon kosher salt
Yellow mustard seeds are generally mild in flavor; brown seeds are spicier. You could make this recipe using all yellow seeds if you wanted; you could also switch up the ratio of yellow to brown to take the spiciness factor up or down. I find this 50/50 combination to yield mustard with a bit of heat but not an overwhelming amount. Most grocery stores have yellow seeds, but brown are harder to find there; you can get them at specialty food stores or online at retailers like Kalustyan’s or Penzeys.
You can use water in place of beer; you can also use white wine or sparkling wine to make mustard of the Dijon variety.
I like the mellower flavor of apple cider vinegar here, especially when I use beer, but you can use any light kind of vinegar you like; soon I want to try this recipe with white balsamic vinegar.
If you want to get really crazy, play around with the flavors and add fresh herbs such as thyme or tarragon or rosemary, or minced garlic, or some prepared horseradish.
Combine the mustard seeds, vinegar, and beer in bowl or a jar with a tight-fitting lid. Cover bowl with plastic wrap or seal the jar and let stand at room temperature for at least 2 days if not longer; this allows the seeds to absorb the liquid and to become softened.
Using a food processor, add the soaked seed mixture and the salt and sugar to the bowl and process until coarsely ground and thickened, about 2 minutes. Scrape the sides of the bowl down as needed. The mustard is not going to become super smooth, but you can process it longer to make it less chunky.
Put the mustard into a jar or sealed container and let sit at room temperature for about half a day before refrigerating. This allows for the mustard seeds’ bitterness to mellow and for the flavors to meld. It will last in the fridge for months.