Too many cooks spoil the pot is not exactly true when you get a group of men together around a a ribbon burner, a lead melting pot, an open fire pit, or a new charcoal grill. In fact, no matter how well the food or the brew turns out, when it comes to cooking with heat the prevalent thought is: the more the merrier!
What is your man’s favorite outdoor cooking experience?
- Low country shrimp boil or old fashioned clam bake? Messy seafood just lends itself to a group of men preparing an outdoor meal. No plates. Heck, why even bother with the silverware? A lead melting pot makes the perfect cooking container, and then just throw the shrimp or the clams, the corn cobs, the boiled and sliced onions, brats, and potatoes right onto the disposable tablecloths and let the feeding frenzy begin.
- Beer can chicken on a grill with industrial gas burners, also affectionately known as beer butt chicken? So your men won’t be able to drink the beer once the chicken is done, but they can pour the top third of each can they won’t need into glasses to enjoy while these tasty birds cook. This is where the more the merrier can really help out. Your merry crowd of men can gather around each other, drink straight from the can, and then shove that can where . . . well, you know where the can goes.
- Smoke and cure your own meat? Whether you decide to make your own bacon, deer jerky or stuff your own brauts, these messy adventures also are perfect for a outdoor cooking adventure. If the ladies are lucky, they can taste part of the finished product.
- Roast a whole hog? Whether it is over an open wood fire pit, or over a lead melting pot, this outdoor cooking adventure is sure to be an all day affair. Anybody have a corn hole game and some horse shoes they can bring along?
- Catch, clean, cook? This lake or riverside eating adventure won’t likely take place in your man’s backyard, but that doesn’t make it any less fun. Rather than take the mess home, clean the fish at a provided cleaning station and eat the catch before anyone back home even knows what they missed.
- Barbecue ribs on a new domed grill? The most popular methods of outdoor cooking may come and go, but the basics of a great menu like barbecue chicken are hard to beat. The most difficult decision your man will have to make is whether or not to share the secret sauce recipe.
If you like to cook outside, you are not alone. In fact, a recent survey rated an outdoor grill as the favorite backyard accessory for nearly 98% of Americans. Large revolving ovens, an additional option for some large outdoor cooking areas, can actually hold as many as 32 pans. Obviously more than you need at home, unless you want to be able to load up the grills and take your cooking show on the road for a college game tailgate. What are your next outdoor cooking plans? How about a field trip to one of the breweries that the majority of Americans have within ten miles of their house, picking up some refreshments, and firing up the grill? Or the fire pit? Any kind of cooking with fire should work!
