It's BARBECUE, Baby!

posted July 14, 2012 7:05 PM | |

Sun August 26 at 5:00 PM, Greg_Ace's house

4414 SE Center St, Portland, OR, USA (Map & Directions)

I have procured bottles of the vaunted Salt Lick Sauce in both regular and spicy varieties. They would be excellent with brisket, and anything else really.
posted by mimo at 9:39 PM on July 14, 2012

I can certainly bring some cornbread. If enough people are interested in this meetup, this is probably one where we should do a food spreadsheet, to ensure maximum variety.
posted by Secretariat at 8:27 AM on July 15, 2012

We could probably take care of the red beans and rice.
And possibly some collard greens.
posted by nickthetourist at 9:17 AM on July 15, 2012

This reminded me to post another August meetup, so we can coordinate dates (if it turns out people want to go to both).
posted by Secretariat at 9:28 AM on July 15, 2012

I'll bring cornbreads, whetfree and wheatful, unless I don't come.
posted by Glomar response at 10:26 AM on July 15, 2012

I'll bring cornbreads, whetfree and wheatful, unless I don't come.

And I can bring the dairy-free option.

(do we need to start a list of allergies and intolerances?)
posted by nickthetourist at 2:50 PM on July 15, 2012

Here is a basic spreadsheet for food, drinks, and other stuff people might bring (not to stop anyone from commenting in this thread, just a place to see, for example, how many types of cornbread we're ending up with). I know, we haven't even picked a date yet, so people may need to delete themselves from the spreadsheet if the date doesn't work out.

And, maybe make a note on the spreadsheet if anything you're bringing has dairy, especially hidden dairy (eg, cooked with milk). Any other ingredients anybody would like specifically noted?
posted by Secretariat at 3:26 PM on July 15, 2012 [1 favorite]

August 18th is the only "bad" date for me. I am going to a memorial in Newberg, although I could try to do both.
posted by Glomar response at 8:45 PM on July 15, 2012

Well, since you're the first person to mention a specific date, it should be pretty easy to avoid that one. How does everyone feel about Sunday the 19th or the weekends of August 4th/5th, 11th/12th, or 25th/26th? I have a slight preference for meeting on a Sunday just because it'll be easier to spend Saturday tending the smoker that way; but Saturday's workable too.
posted by Greg_Ace at 8:57 PM on July 15, 2012

As of now, anytime after August 17th is good for me.
Dates prior to that have a very low probability.
posted by nickthetourist at 8:59 PM on July 15, 2012

I will be unavailable the weekend of the 11th/12th.
posted by mimo at 10:02 PM on July 15, 2012

So we're down to Sunday the 19th, or the weekend of the 25th...
posted by Greg_Ace at 8:12 AM on July 16, 2012

Either of those weekends work for me.
posted by Secretariat at 3:12 PM on July 16, 2012

In the interest of avoiding an endless "I don't know, when do you want to schedule yours?" do-si-do with the Trek in the Park meetup, does anyone object if I go ahead and set this for Sunday Aug. 26?
posted by Greg_Ace at 12:52 PM on July 20, 2012

Ummm....Make it so?
posted by nickthetourist at 2:10 PM on July 21, 2012

Woohoo! Since I am new in town and lame, this sounds awesome!
posted by zusty at 4:45 PM on July 22, 2012

Yes.
I make sweet cornbread, so if someone does "normal" cornbread, feel free to bring it.
posted by fiercekitten at 8:22 PM on July 23, 2012

I'm in. Any weekend should work. I could do collard greens if nick and fiercekitten don't want to. I could also do mac and cheese if that seems better.

Or a dessert? What are some BBQ appropriate desserts? Besides red velvet cake?
posted by Lutoslawski at 9:09 AM on July 24, 2012

I think you can probably pull the trigger on this now, Greg.
posted by mimo at 2:37 PM on July 24, 2012

Yep...done.
posted by Greg_Ace at 6:01 PM on July 24, 2012

What are some BBQ appropriate desserts?

Pretty much anything sweet, to be honest.
posted by Greg_Ace at 6:03 PM on July 24, 2012

If I come, can I bring a toddler? We won't stay long, but I would like to meet some more Portland MeFites (and I see Lutoslawski's coming, and I've been meaning to meet him since he has made music in my sauna). I can make some coleslaw to bring.
posted by rabbitrabbit at 4:03 PM on July 25, 2012

rabbitrabbit!! I for one would love it if you came with the toddler.

I'm so sorry we haven't made proper dinner plans. I've been out of town quite a bit and you know, the general craziness has been happening this past month.
posted by Lutoslawski at 4:07 PM on July 25, 2012

My house isn't exactly kid-proof, but I don't see a problem with bringing a toddler. I'm sure at least some of us will be able to help keep an eye out for mischief.
posted by Greg_Ace at 4:42 PM on July 25, 2012

Don't worry, our house isn't kid-proof either and we're used to keeping an eye on him! Awesome. I will bring the slaw.

Lutoslawski: same here, summer is insane, I think this is literally the only day that wasn't booked until mid-Sept.
posted by rabbitrabbit at 4:47 PM on July 25, 2012

Banana pudding.
posted by fiercekitten at 8:43 PM on July 25, 2012

another dessert possibility is pecan pie. peeeeecaaaannn piiiiiiieeeeee
posted by mimo at 6:05 AM on July 26, 2012

Yeeeeeeeesssssssssss!
posted by Greg_Ace at 9:02 AM on July 26, 2012

On second thought, that depends - is it pi-CAHN pie, or PEE-can pie?
posted by Greg_Ace at 9:02 AM on July 26, 2012

Yeah, I can't think of anything we generally do that isn't toddler-appropriate, except for:

language
booze
possibly small board game pieces on tables
fire contained within a fire pit
Jazz

So really, safer than most everyplace else in the world.
posted by Secretariat at 12:11 PM on July 26, 2012 [1 favorite]

It'll probably be to warm to have a fire going, the music selection is flexible, and I think we can make everyone promise not to booze up the little one. Curbing our language could be trickier.
posted by Greg_Ace at 12:18 PM on July 26, 2012

Our normal evenings include bad language, booze (uh, for us, no beer in the sippy cup), fire pits and jazz. True facts. He will feel right at home. Looking forward to seeing you guys.
posted by rabbitrabbit at 1:05 PM on July 26, 2012

language
booze
possibly small board game pieces on tables
fire contained within a fire pit
Jazz

This makes it seem like our meet-ups are modeled after speakeasys, which I kind of adore.
posted by Lutoslawski at 2:14 PM on July 26, 2012

The password is "Swordfish"
posted by Greg_Ace at 2:19 PM on July 26, 2012

Will there be time and grill room to grill corn on the cob, if I pre-soak them?
posted by 0bs01337 at 9:01 AM on July 30, 2012

Yep. They'd have to be grilled in shifts, 4-5 at a time; but since they don't take long that shouldn't be a problem. Or if someone wants to bring a larger grill, of course.
posted by Greg_Ace at 4:01 PM on July 30, 2012

Then I will bring some amount of corn on some number of cobs.
posted by 0bs01337 at 6:33 PM on August 1, 2012

I'm thinking you should bring about 8,000 kernels.
posted by Secretariat at 11:40 PM on August 2, 2012

We wouldn't want a shortage- that could lead to a kernel panic.
posted by Secretariat at 11:42 PM on August 2, 2012 [1 favorite]

And we'd have to send out Colonel Cobb to quell the uprising.
posted by Greg_Ace at 5:49 PM on August 3, 2012

I'm going to bring banana pudding.
posted by Lutoslawski at 12:33 PM on August 8, 2012

I updated The Chart.
posted by Lutoslawski at 12:36 PM on August 8, 2012

sunday Sunday SUNDAYYYY

Don't forget to check out the spreadsheet at the top of the post!
posted by curious nu at 4:47 PM on August 20, 2012

It looks like it'll be a pretty big turnout, so extra chairs/tables are welcome if you can bring them. At least it should be a lovely day for dining al fresco.

And yes, please do update the spreadsheet so we can aspire to a good balanced food selection. We need more veggies!! So far we have: meat, hot sauce, cornbread x3, red beans + rice, possibly collard greens, banana pudding, cole slaw, corn on the cob, ice cream.
posted by Greg_Ace at 7:08 PM on August 20, 2012

I think the problem is the theme- what else is a Barbecue specific veggie? I generally think of collards, coleslaw, and corn. It's possible I could break with the theme and bring some raw veggies for dipping. I should have some cherry tomatoes ripening by Sunday, so I'll bring those.
posted by Secretariat at 4:43 PM on August 21, 2012

Fair comment. I was trying to accommodate non-meat-eaters, but as you insinuate such folks wouldn't be too likely to come to a barbecue in the first place.

In any case, cherry (or regular-sized, for that matter) tomatoes would be good.
posted by Greg_Ace at 5:07 PM on August 21, 2012

I also just looked at the spreadsheet again and noticed that curious nu will be bringing grilled mushrooms and peppers, so we should have a nicely varied menu.
posted by Greg_Ace at 5:10 PM on August 21, 2012

Going to have to bow out on this one. Updated the spreadsheet.
posted by 0bs01337 at 1:40 AM on August 22, 2012

But, think of the corns!!!

Actually, I bought some cheap sweet corn from a farmers stand the other day and it was just no good. I wonder if Oregon's corn has been affected by hot weather too? Or maybe it's just because I bought the 5 for a dollar corn.
posted by Secretariat at 7:42 AM on August 22, 2012

I've gotten some decent yellow corn from the grocery store recently, so who knows. Maybe you were just unlucky. Is anyone else willing to volunteer to bring corn? We could get by with about a dozen ears, and split them in half. We can nibble them in remembrance of our absent comrade 0bs01337.
posted by Greg_Ace at 8:14 AM on August 22, 2012

I probably overcooked it- it was very small corn.

I think I'm going to focus on cornbread- I made a test recipe today but I'm not sure it's really the cornbread recipe I want to bring- rats, guess I'll just have to make more delicious cornbread. I may also bring butters, since it seems like there's a number of breads- maybe honey butter and chive butter? Could be good on corn too.
posted by Secretariat at 10:45 AM on August 22, 2012

Two words: Garlic and Butter.

Also, I'm only about 50% on being able to attend at this point, so I'm changing my response to maybe. I may have to drive up to Seattle that day to pick up a friend, which means I either won't make it or will have to bring said friend. Unfortunately this threatens your coleslaw, and I am also supposed to bring extra plates, bowls, and cutlery. Because of these obligations, I will try very hard to make it! But you may want to obtain emergency backup coleslaw if your barbecue experience would be ruined without it.
posted by rabbitrabbit at 10:56 AM on August 22, 2012

Greg, do you feel like we need the extra plates and bowls and stuff? I forget what we've used at your place before. There's a local lending library where I can actually check out cheap place settings if you need more of anything. (Or we can be lazy and use paper and feed it to the grill.)

Paper plates are one of those things where I can go either way- it's either, yay, supporting our local economy! Or yay, saving resources!
posted by Secretariat at 5:06 PM on August 22, 2012

I've got about 16 reusable-by-design plastic plates (shoulda gone to Goodwill and gotten cheap real plates instead but oh well), and a whole mess of plastic utensils that I've been doing my best to get people not to throw away so that I can wash and reuse them instead. If rabbitrabbit comes and brings real utensils, great; otherwise plastic works for now and maybe one of these days I'll get around to loading up on real forks and such from Goodwill.
posted by Greg_Ace at 9:04 PM on August 22, 2012

I've got some plastic plates and utensils I can bring, and plastic cups too.
posted by mimo at 6:29 AM on August 23, 2012

I think I've got enough plastic plates/cups/utensils to cover us, thanks. The only thing I don't have is bowls, but those probably wouldn't be needed anyway...unless someone brings soup.
posted by Greg_Ace at 10:27 AM on August 23, 2012

curious nu said he was bringing ice cream, so bowls will be needed, methinks.
posted by rabbitrabbit at 10:30 AM on August 23, 2012

Oh yeah, good catch! So then I guess we do need bowls, "real" or plastic, please, somebody...
posted by Greg_Ace at 12:30 PM on August 23, 2012

I can bring some bowls. Are we good on napkins or an equivalent?
posted by Sibrax at 3:55 PM on August 23, 2012

Yep, napkins are covered, thanks.
posted by Greg_Ace at 7:27 PM on August 23, 2012

I still want to go to the first PDX meetup. I'll be in town. I just have to either convince my wife to come, or get out the duct tape.
posted by Danf at 1:06 PM on August 24, 2012

I'm going to make devilled eggs and maybe some porky greens.
posted by vespabelle at 2:14 PM on August 24, 2012

Just keep seductively whispering this in her ear - she'll come 'round eventually

.
posted by Greg_Ace at 2:18 PM on August 24, 2012

The timing is looking iffy for me. I have a prospective renter coming and we haven't nailed down the time.

This threatens my cornbread offering, although I can make it and get it someone over here in the West who is heading east to Greg_Ace's.

And I might still be able to come, it has just gotten a little complicated.
posted by Glomar response at 11:48 AM on August 25, 2012

Me and Secretariat will definitely be bringing cornbread as well, so there will be no crisis at least if things get wonky for you, though of course multiple sources of cornbread is always ideal.
posted by cortex at 12:30 PM on August 25, 2012

Currently no one is set to bring beer.
posted by curious nu at 5:07 PM on August 25, 2012

Currently no one is set to bring beer.

This could be a problem.
posted by nickthetourist at 6:33 PM on August 25, 2012

I blew the budget on meat, frankly; so it's incumbent upon those who are attending but have no entry in the spreadsheet to furnish potables in our hour of need. Look into your hearts, we beg you, and mitigate our powerful thirsts!
posted by Greg_Ace at 6:55 PM on August 25, 2012

Once again, on review I realize my math is off: pretty much everybody who has committed (or at least sort of) is bringing food. I'll check under the couch cushions for loose change and see what I can do.
posted by Greg_Ace at 7:00 PM on August 25, 2012

I will be bringing some of my homebrew cider-ish; Greg tried itand survived, so, there's that.

Also double checking that this is starting 5ish and not likely to change.
posted by curious nu at 8:55 PM on August 25, 2012

I didn't buy cider yet- I could bring beer instead.
posted by Secretariat at 9:07 PM on August 25, 2012

Well we have a lot of people, so extra cider is probably okay! Especially if itis professional cider.
posted by curious nu at 9:12 PM on August 25, 2012

We'll pick up some beer. Possibly a mini keg of something tasty.
posted by nickthetourist at 10:08 PM on August 25, 2012

We can bring a beer of some type.
posted by fiercekitten at 10:09 PM on August 25, 2012

1) curious nu's cider is very nice. It's closer to the beer end of the scale than the apple-juice end, but that's just an observation rather than any sort of pro/con rating.

2) I set this event at 5pm since it's dinner-centered (-ish), but we can shoot for more of an Early Bird Special thing if there's enough support for it (AARP membership not required).
posted by Greg_Ace at 10:16 PM on August 25, 2012

I do actually get a lot of mail from AARP, although I've never tried to sign up for a membership.
posted by Secretariat at 8:37 AM on August 26, 2012

Hey everyone. I have a miserable cold, so barring some miracle of healing today, I probably am, sadly, not going to make it.
posted by Lutoslawski at 9:22 AM on August 26, 2012

Sorry to hear it, Lutoslawski. We'll miss you. Get better soon!
posted by Greg_Ace at 10:13 AM on August 26, 2012

We were actually going to come., but then had a burglary Friday night, so we are tied up, dealing with that.
posted by Danf at 11:22 AM on August 26, 2012

Oh no, sorry to hear that. I hope the police can recover your stuff.
posted by Secretariat at 11:51 AM on August 26, 2012

We're on our way with cider.
posted by Secretariat at 4:52 PM on August 26, 2012

Now en route, we are.
posted by nickthetourist at 5:02 PM on August 26, 2012

Thanks as always for hosting, Greg!
posted by curious nu at 8:20 AM on August 27, 2012

The meat and everything else was great. My only regret is that I was not able to eat more foods.
posted by Secretariat at 9:05 AM on August 27, 2012

Yes, my apologies to anyone who took home more food than they expected. It was all good, but I thing our ambition outstripped the capacity of our stomachs!

As briefly discussed at the end of the night, I'll post something in (October?) to plan a cocktail-tasting meetup in (November?).
posted by Greg_Ace at 9:52 AM on August 27, 2012

I thing think my food hangover is interfering with my proofreading!
posted by Greg_Ace at 9:57 AM on August 27, 2012

Not sure why I brought three things. That was kinda ridiculous! But, hey, greens and eggs for lunch isn't a bad problem to have.
posted by vespabelle at 10:26 AM on August 27, 2012

I am still stuffed. Thanks again, Greg.
posted by mimo at 10:34 AM on August 27, 2012