What’s on your plate for the 4th? D.C.’s top chefs weigh in with backyard BBQ ideas

Hot dogs and hamburgers are soooo… 1950s? How about a more bangin’ Fourth of July backyard BBQ? Yeah, we have no original ideas either. That’s why we looked in our own backyard to some of the top chefs in the D.C. region for a look-see at what they’re cooking up, Independence Day-wise — in their own backyard. And yes, some of them are traditionalists.

So here you go. And we’ll be shamelessly lifting some of these dishes to serve in our own backyard. Or to have someone serve us, is how it usually works (just putting it on front street).

  • Marc Kennedy, Chef de Cuisine at the new Heavy Seas Alehouse in Rosslyn:“My favorite thing to cook outside is native brook trout over an open fire. We gather berries and other native plants and roast the trout with them.”
  • Executive Chef Greg McCarty of nopa Kitchen + Bar: “My usual Fourth of July looks something like this: Ribs, pulled pork, BBQ chicken and corn. One fun part of cooking outdoors is the chance to use tools that most people don’t use inside their home kitchen. Inside you might be limited to a stove top and an oven but outside you can fire up a grill, smoker, or a camp stove and not worry about excess heat or smoke. Everything smells better outside.”
  • Manuel Iguina, owner of Mio Restaurant: “ This year I will do smoked chicken rubbed with garlic, oregano, pepper and achiote oil. Also five-chile rub smoked baby back ribs, kale and cabbage slaw, elotes (Mexican-style corn on the cob with cheese and mayo) and loaded smoked potato salad.”
  • Chef Michael Schlow of the recently opened TICO:“Cooking outside (and hopefully, eating outside as well) automatically allows me to think differently about what I’m going to make, especially when it comes to making a mess. My favorite meal to cook outside, especially around the Fourth of July, is a giant one-pot dish I affectionately refer to as ‘The Backyard Special.’ It’s an old-fashioned shellfish ‘boil’ where I layer corn on the cob, tiny potatoes, spicy fennel sausage, shrimp, clams, mussels and lobsters, and let them all steam together. After all of the ingredients have gotten to know one another in the giant pot and everything is ready, I grab a big, shallow metal bucket (the kind you might chill a bunch of beers in) and place all of this summer goodness in it and give everyone some spicy, hot sauce-laced drawn butter, a cold beer or crisp, cold white wine, and have at it. My young daughters abstain from the alcoholic beverages, but otherwise love the tradition. Why do I like it? It’s a challenge to get all the components to come out perfectly and few rituals in our house scream ‘summer’ more loudly. The only way to finish the meal correctly is with strawberry shortcake with homemade biscuits, followed by a jump in the pool — after you’ve waited 30 minutes, of course!”
  • Executive Chef Matt Kuhn of Ardeo+Bardo: “ Being from the South, I love cooking up a big pot of frogmore stew, full of sweet corn, andouille sausage, mussels, crabs, red potatoes, clams, okra, Carolina gold rice, all in a spicy tomato beer broth. Great for a big gathering of friends and family.”
  • Executive Chef Allan Javery of Copperwood Tavern: “ My favorite summer grilled food is super simple. Just a cheap cut of steak like London broil, simply marinated for an hour or two with something acidic to tenderize, grilled to a perfect medium rare. Served with grilled baguette and Roma tomatoes that have been marinated in Italian dressing. Slice the steak thin, serve the tomatoes on the grilled bread, accompany with side of choice and voila. Perfect summer meal.”
  • Executive Chef Benjamin Lambert of 701 Restaurant: “I love to cook Peruvian-style chicken on the grill. Since I have a charcoal grill, I can slowly cook my chickens the way I like them.”
  • Executive Chef Mehdi Lahlou of Ulah Bistro: “Summertime and the holiday weekend are perfect for outdoor grilling. And it’s not a perfect Fourth of July unless I have Moroccan-spiced lamb chops grilling over an hot open-flame grill. However, the secret to pulling out their best flavor is all in the marinade — a mixture of fresh-squeezed lemon, chopped cilantro, diced red onion and garlic, olive oil, sea salt, pepper and cumin. Let the meat rest in the marinade for an hour or so and then voila, it’s ready to grill to your perfection.”
  • Executive Chef/Partner Katsuya Fukushima of Daikaya: “ Grilled, kombu-wrapped king crab leg clusters with grilled Meyer lemon and grill-smoked melted butter. Grilled watermelon steaks and tomato salad with baby arugula, Yuzu-honey vinaigrette. Also, watermelon juice and cava spritzer with fresh mint.”
  • Brian Cooke, culinary director at City Tap House: “ Good ole’ fashion burgers with grilled Maui onions and cheddar on potato buns. More importantly is what goes with the burgers. Grilled Silver Queen corn on the cob with chipotle butter, scallions and cotija cheese.”
  • Executive Chef Matt Zagorski of Cuba Libre: ” I love cooking a dry-aged ribeye 16-24 ounces, roasted potato, grilled onion and only HP steak sauce!”
  • Lupo Verde Chef de Cuisine Domenico Appollaro: “ I start the day with some cold craft beer, then grill some steak, Italian sausages and grilled bread for summery vegetable crostini. Switch to Prosecco and white wine or maybe a nice bottle of of Barolo or Taurasi and share with the loved ones.”
  • Executive Chef Orlando Amaro at Station 4: ” The Fourth of July to me is wood, fire, 20 pounds of meat, outside with a beer. Something funny is that by the time the fireworks start, we are already drunk. Something I tend to cook every year is pork chops and brisket accompanied with charred corn and grilled tomatillo salsa.”
  • Robb Duncan, executive chef and co-owner of Dolcezza: ” There is nothing like a grilled hamburger with a thick slice of cheese, mayo, ketchup, mustard, onion, pickle and tomato. The reason why is because it’s the ultimate nostalgic comfort food.”
  • Executive Chef Jeremy Cooke of the soon-to-open Chaplin Restaurant & Bar: ” Without question, BBQ brisket. It instantly takes me to all of the get-togethers with my parents and grandparents on my grandfather’s farm — the smell of pine trees and smoked brisket wafting through the air while we played volleyball.”
  • Oval Room Executive Chef Tony Conte: “I like to do grilled pizza. Pizza is my favorite thing to eat. And it is something I could do with my two sons.”
  • Larry Blevins, sous chef at Society Fair in Alexandria:“Hot dogs, pure nostalgia. Endless possibilities with the toppings. It’s satisfying to people of all ages, especially a good hot dog cooked right. And they are easy.”
  • Chef Marjorie Meek-Bradley of Ripple and the new Roofers Union in AdMo: “I love making grilled chicken thighs with grilled asparagus and red onion drizzled with just a simple store-bought vinaigrette. You can marinate the thighs in the same thing, which is nice and easy.”
  • Eric Brannon, executive chef of Matchbox food group (Matchbox, Ted’s Bulletin, DC-3) “My favorite thing to cook outside is a hobo pack. It’s a classic camping dish where ingredients are mixed and wrapped in foil then slow cooked right in the smokey coals of a camp fire. My favorite version combines spicy chicken thighs, jalapenos, tomatoes, onions, spices, garlic and cilantro.”
  • Meredith Tomason, pastry chef and owner of RareSweets:“My favorite food to make this time of year is s’mores. And while store-bought marshmallows and grahams have a place in my heart, I find it much more fun to make the marshmallows and add my own spin with different cookies and maybe some sort of sauce. S’mores are the perfect mesh of hot and cold, sticky, smooth and crunchy. It’s the ideal food to end a great night outside with family and friends.”
  • Matt Adler, executive chef at Osteria Morini D.C.:”I’m very much a traditionalist when it comes to cooking outside. All I really need is a Weber kettle, some good charcoal (I’m a fan of Royal Oak, the preferred brand of street vendors in New York City) and a cooler full of cheap, ice-cold American beer. Preferably PBR, but I’m not picky! Ideally, I’d be cooking a two-inch-thick, bone-in, dry-aged ribeye from Creekstone Farms.”
  • Michael Friedman, executive chef and co-owner at The Red Hen: ”As a kid, my mother would always grill outside in the summertime in our back yard. She would grill a nice-sized flank steak and serve it with a fresh salad. I still remember sitting outside and relishing the warmer days of summer with my family. Nowadays, I still like to cook on my days off. When I have family at the house, I always marinate skirt steaks in a garlicky chimichurri sauce overnight, then char it over high heat on the grill for a minute or so on each side. After it rests, I slice it into thin strips and serve it with a crisp avocado panzanella salad. I also make sure the beer and margaritas are ice cold. Summer never sounded so delicious!”
  • Danny Wells, chef and partner at the recently opened Republic in Takoma Park: “Grilled shrimp. I grew up going to Key West in the summer so we were down there for several July Fourths. We would get fresh shrimp from the Gulf and grill them with Nellie & Joe’s Mojo Criollo.”
  • Victor Albisu, chef/owner Del Campo and Taco Bamba: “We take every opportunity to grill outdoors. My family does a lot of traditional asados, an all-day grilling event with everything from chorizos and sweetbreads to short ribs and different cuts of beef. I love the asado approach to grilling because we enjoy items as they are ready and at all different temperatures. We graze all day.”
  • Barry Koslow, formerly of DGS Delicatessen and chef de cuisine at the not-yet-named new restaurant coming to the W Washington D.C hotel: “Crabs, beer and more crabs. A Fourth of July tradition at the Koslow household. I head down to the waterfront every year, despite the holiday prices, to pick up live blue crabs. Friends, PBR, Old Bay and a turkey fryer are our fireworks.”
  • Chef Luis Zelaya from P.J. Clarke’s: “I love to make churrasco — grilled beef with assorted sauces such as pico de gallo, guacamole, chimichurri sauce, served with traditional rice, beans and corn on the cob.”
  • Wylie Ballinger, executive chef for Brixton, Satellite Room and El Rey: “My wife and I like to grill hamburgers stuffed with chipotle and green chilies and topped with roasted poblano pepper, pepper jack and sliced avocados.”
  • Jim Jeffords, Evening Star Café:“My menu is tomato pie, grilled corn with Old Bay butter, and fresh pork sausage. The smell of the burning pork fat and spices sets the day off right and helps flavor everything else on the grill. Served with white bread and mustard and if you are still hungry, some grilled gulf shrimp and oysters. To finish, watermelon with salt and hand-churned peach ice cream. For beverages, it is bourbon slushies and Budweiser.”
  • Rob Rubba, Tallula:“I just buy some good hot dogs, Martins potato long rolls and we have fun with the condiments in our fridge, from kimchi to classic yellow mustard or even curry ketchup. And, of course, wash it down with an ice-cold beer.”
  • Kyle Bailey, Birch & Barley:“I love to crank out some homemade sausages for the grill. We usually make a hot dawg (emulsified beef and pork), a half-smoke (spicy smoked pork) and a merguez (spiced lamb and pork.) We’ve also gotten really into grilling an entire chicken, brined for 12 hours and rubbed with a killer spice blend. Partially smoked.
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