Many people see Labor Day as one of the last days of the year to fire up the grill. Well, of course you can and should grill through the winter but that is a discussion for another day. If you are planning on firing up the grill here are 5 cuts to grill this Labor Day.
Now as much as a brisket or pork butt is a great option most people would rather spend some time with the family, do some yard work, or take a nap than spend 12-16 hours babysitting the smoker. So these 5 cuts are all ones that can be cooked somewhat quickly, are tasty, and are great to eat sitting in the back yard.
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Burgers and Dogs
Of course I couldn’t make this list without good old hamburgers and hot dogs on the menu. Pretty much everyone loves a good hamburger or hot dog. But don’t just go with the standard grocery store ground beef. Take your burger game up a notch with some grass fed ground beef or dry aged wagyu ground beef from Crowd Cow.
If you have never bought from Crowd Cow before they offer some top notch beef, pork, chicken, seafood, and more from small farms around the country. And now’s the perfect time to become a Crowd Cow member. New members get $100 of free meat and free shipping. Offer ends soon.
Tri Tip
There are few cuts of beef I love more than tri tip. If you have never had tri tip it has a great beefy flavor and wonderful texture. Most tri tips are between 1 1/2 and 2 1/2 pounds so they are a great size for a family. One tri tip can usually feed me, my wife, and my 4 young children. If you have a house full of teens you might need to cook two of them.
I love reverse searing tri tips. I cook them over indirect heat until they hit about 125 degrees internal temperature and then sear them over direct heat for a couple minutes. All together a tri tip should take 45 minutes to an hour to cook depending on how hot your grill is running. Some people even smoke them like a brisket and go to 200 degrees but I have never done that.
Crowd Cow has both 100% grass fed and pasture raised tri tips and the member’s price is under $30. When you sign up for a membership you will save anywhere between 5% to 25% on all cuts and orders over $99 ship for free. You don’t need to be a member but it is definitely worth it. And membership is free.
St Louis Cut Ribs
St. Louis spare ribs are perfect for Labor Day. They will give you that classic barbecue flavor but only take 5 or 6 hours to cook unlike briskets and pork butts.
You could go with baby backs but I prefer St. Louis cut ribs. I think they have a better flavor and texture compared to baby backs. When I cook ribs I generally cook more than one rack and use different seasonings and sauces on them.
Grocery store ribs are just fine but heritage breeds will provide a much better flavor. The flavor tends to be richer and more delicate at the same time and the texture is much smoother. A 2.5 pound rack of Duroc pork ribs will run you right around $23 at Crowd Cow.
Pasture Raised Chickens
Similar to heritage pork pasture raised chicken tastes so much better than grocery store chicken. The meat is much richer and more flavorful. Above is some wonderful jerk chicken I made a few months back.
Most of the time I grill chicken I usually use a spatchcocked chicken or half chickens. I really like half chickens on the grill as they are easy to flip and you can easily make 2 or 3 different flavors at the same time with some different rubs or sauces. Since half chickens are mostly flat they cook much better than whole chickens as well.
Crowd Cow sources their pasture raised chickens from Pasturebird and Cooks Venture. I have had chickens from both places and they are both excellent. I prefer Pasturebird a bit more but you can’t go wrong with either.
Bison Flank Steak
Wait, bison flank steak? Hear me out… If you have never eaten bison before you are missing out. I tried some bison steaks a few months back and they were insanely good. So much flavor is packed into this meat and the flank steak was one of the better cuts I tasted.
Flank steak can take on a variety of flavors, rubs, and marinades or it is great with just salt and pepper. Bison is generally leaner than beef so you want to cook your bison flank steak a bit less than you would a beef flank.
Crowd Cow is a great source for bison flank and other cuts of bison. Yeah, you could just cook some beef for labor day but bison is a great change of pace and a great option to make the holiday a bit more special.
Again, when you order through Crowd Cow and sign up for a membership you will save some money, get free shipping, and right now get $100 of free meat on your first three orders. I have eaten a number of different cuts from Crowd Cow over the years and would definitely recommend them. You can get grass fed, Japanese Wagyu, pasture raised beef, heritage pork, sustainable seafood, and more. They have a great variety of meat and their prices are very comparable with most other online retailers. If you haven’t ordered meat from Crowd cow before give them a shot. And be sure to pick up some of these 5 cuts to grill this labor day when you place your order.
