Labor Day BBQ

 For years we’ve been making an annual trek to Central Oregon where we celebrate the end of summer in the mountains. Cold nights and sunny warm days (if not plain old hot). College Football kicks off its season and the Oregon Ducks almost always have their first game at home. And while we don’t make the trip over to Eugene these days, instead opting for some R&R at Black Butte Ranch, we don’t miss the game. In sum, it’s the perfect setup for a Labor Day BBQ.

 We use a combination of our Original PK Grill, shown here with a Snake River Ranch wagu tomahawk streak dwarfing a thick cut pork chop, and an older Weber Spirit gas grill. The gas grill got a new cast iron grill grate, replacing the original porcelain coated cast iron grill. The great thing about both of these brands is that they are timeless. These aren’t throw away appliances, the parts for the Weber almost always available to keep your old workhorse going season after season, year after year. 

Slow cooked baby backs were on the weekend menu as well. We cooked some of the ribs on our new Weber Kamado and some on the PK grill. 

I have to give a nod to the potato salad we also got to enjoy. Normally we would indulge in some homemade potato salad but this year we got a gift from my son that we wouldn’t want to turn down. He’s been the deli manager at the local meat market where he started as a “hop” serving customers at the counter, then apprentice butcher, and now deli manager. 

The salad is a house recipe that he has “doctored up” to add a little spice. It is truly good, in fact he tells me that folks from out of state have complimented the potato salad as being some the best they have had this side of the Mississippi. I’ll take their word for it, since it’s been a while since I’ve had any from the southeast for a while. 

I should also mention we started the long weekend with some fresh Oregon chinook salmon on the grill served up with fresh romaine lettuce, homemade caesar dressing, and some sweet corn trimmed off the ear and sautéed with some red bell peppers. 

while the Labor Day holiday marks the end of summer, right now is prime time for outdoor cooking. Fresh caught salmon, fresh picked corn, vine ripe tomatoes, and apples, plums, peaches, and I could go on. All that means the best meals you can find in your own back yard! 

It won't be long before we're talking about smoked turkey on the grill, but in the mean time, a few more weeks of summer awaits.