Easy July 4th BBQ Recipes

This Sunday is the 4th of July. If you remember back to Memorial Day, I created a blog post on Quick & Easy Memorial Day Recipes. Head over and check out the blog if you need some easy appetizer or dessert ideas for this weekend. This blog will be similar, but BBQ focused. To prepare, I’ve scoured the internet to find theee best, easiest grill recipes. I’m sharing a picture, recipe and what I would do differently, if anything. So, toss these items on the grill and enjoy your company this 4th of July.

Brown Sugar Grilled Pineapple

You Need:

• 1 Pineapple
• 1 stick butter
• 1/2 cup brown sugar
• 1/4 tsp cinnamon
• 1/4 tsp vanilla

What to Do:

• place butter in microwave for one minute to melt
• in a medium sized mixing bowl, mix together butter, brown sugar, cinnamon and vanilla
• slice pineapples in rings – don’t make them too thin! They will thin out a bit after being grilled
• heat grill on high
• grab a basting brush and generously coat pineapple sides with butter mixture.
• place pineapple on grill for two minutes
• Rotate 90 degrees after char marks form on pineapple and leave on grill for one minute longer
• flip and do same thing on other side (2 minutes, 90 degrees, one minute longer

**the original recipe called for four minutes on each side of pineapple, but I felt it charred my pineapple TOO much. I would stick with three minutes on each side. We did not do this, but these pineapple slices would go great with some vanilla ice cream!

Grilled Sweet Potatoes with Cilantro Dressing

What You Need:

• 3-4 medium sized sweet potatoes
• olive oil
• salt
• 1/4 cup chopped cilantro
• 1 tsp lime zest
• 2 tbsp fresh lime juice

What to Do:

• peel sweet potatoes and slice lengthwise (you can do thinner like French fries or thicker like chips)
• coat sweet potatoes in olive oil
• in small mixing bowl, combine: 1/4 cup olive oil, 1/4 cup chopped cilantro, lime zest and lime juice
• preheat grill on high
• lay sweet potato on grill grates 3 – 6 minutes each side
• remove sweet potatoes from grill and toss with cilantro dressing

** if you have time, soak sweet potatoes in water prior to grilling to soften them up!

Mexican Street Corn

You Need:

• 6 ears yellow corn
• 1/2 cup mayo
• 2 tbsp finely chopped cilantro
• 1 clove minced garlic
• 1 tsp cayenne pepper
• 1 cup Cotija cheese
• 1/2 tsp Chile powder
• 1 lime (for wedges)

What to Do:

• preheat grill to medium heat
• place Cotija cheese in shallow dish long enough to fit corn
• in large mixing bowl, mix together mayo, cilantro, garlic and cayenne pepper
• place corn on grill for approx. 10 minutes, turning every couple of minutes
• remove corn from grill
• use basting brush to brush mayonnaise mixture on all sides of corn
• then, roll corn in Cotija cheese
• sprinkle corn with Chile powder
• squeeze lime over top corn or serve with lime wedges

** my grocery store did not have Cotija cheese and the corn turned out delicious!

BBQ Chicken

You Need:

• 14 chicken drumsticks
• 1 stick butter
• 1 bottle sweet baby rays BBQ sauce
• 2 packages Italian seasoning
• 1 tsp basil

What to Do:

• preheat oven to 350 F
• in a large saucepan, melt butter
• once butter is melted, whisk in BBQ sauce, Italian seasoning and basil. Bring to a boil
• once mixture is boiled, remove from heat and coat drumsticks generously in sauce mixture
• bake in oven for 30 minutes
• halfway through baking chicken, preheat grill on medium-low heat
• coat chicken in BBQ mixture once again before placing on grill
• grill for 20 minutes (10 minutes on each side)

**this was my favorite of all recipes! Baking the chicken prior to grilling really was key.

Juicy Lucy Burger

What You Need:

• 2 lb ground beef
• american cheese
• hamburger buns

What to Do:

• roll beef into medium sized balls (you will be thinning them out to round burger shape)
• place ground beef on plate and cover with saran wrap
• using palm of hand, flatten ground beef into round, disc-like shape
• place piece of cheese in center of round shaped ground beef
• top with another patty
• pinch and seal edges
• depending on thickness of burger, place on grill (about 6-7 minutes on each side)
• serve on bun

**to prevent a too thick burger, thin patties out to desired thickness. Remember, this is essentially two patties!

BONUS Lemon Blueberry Bars

What You Need:

• 1/2 cup butter
• 1 package yellow cake mix
• 2 eggs
• 2 packages cream cheese
• 1/2 cup sugar
• 1 tbsp. lemon zest
• 3 tbsp lemon juice
• 2 1/2 cup blueberries

What to Do:

• Preheat oven to 350 F
• line 13x 9 inch pan with foil and spray with cooking spray
• microwave butter until melted (about 1 minute)
• with mixer, mix together melted butter, cake mix and 1 egg to create dough
• use about 2/3 of dough mixture to create crust in bottom of your pan
• beat together cream cheese and sugar until mixed
• add egg, lemon zest and juice
• pour over crust
• top with blueberries
• pinch the remaining dough through fingers to create top crust and press lightly onto mixture
• bake for 55-60 minutes
• remove from oven and once completely cooled, remove foil from pan and cut into bars

You’re all set! As usual, let me know if you make any of these recipes. I love to see your creations! Also, I’m sharing my last minute Amazon Prime 4th of July looks. Order today to get them by the 4th!