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It all started over two hundred years ago with oppression and taxation by the British crown and ended up with a war. I am not sure why the American nation chooses to celebrate its separation from the British on July 4th but as a barbecue enthusiast I can really see the benefits.

Being a native of the country that lost the war of independence I look at our national holidays and wonder what I have done to deserve the dates we have. I guess the closest we come is St Georges day and that is in April. Have you ever been to England in April? Well if not, let me tell you that it is wet, overcast and usually blowing a gale so in general an all round misery and not conducive to a barbecue. Maybe that's the reason why we do not celebrate our national saints day the same way that other countries do. Then let's look at the other big celebrations:-

Easter * in March or April so generally the same weather as St Georges Day

Christmas * December can actually be a very peaceful month but still pretty cold for a BBQ

I hear so much about the Independence Day BBQ and what a great event it is that I am really jealous, it seems completely logical to me to have a national holiday at the height of summer and make an excellent opportunity for a party. So just needing any excuse to light the barbecue why not celebrate the fact that we lost the war in 1776? After that of course the only dilemma left to settle is what to cook?

In England we have the added confusion of the terminology because an American will call an English barbecue, a grill, and what an Englishman calls a meat smoker in America is called a barbecue pit. This makes some traditional barbecue smoker recipes difficult for an Englishman to do albeit I have got around this by investing in a Kamado ceramic barbecue but if an Englishman really wants a low cost method to indirectly cook then it's got to be a large gas bbq grill that has at least two burners. I this way the food can be cooked over a drip tray on one side of the Barbie whilst on the other side the heat is applied to the coals.

So what do I cook? It is only right that an Independence day BBQ should be packed with the all American taste so for me it has to be a pulled pork recipe and / or a barbecue ribs recipe. Long slow cooking basted by a sugary viscous mop and a few soaked wood chips to complete the flavour * fantastic! It is always important to let the meat rest after the cooking process as this seals in the juices and during this time it makes perfect sense to be grilling that bbq appetizers. I go for some barbecue fish recipes because generally they are really quick to cook and offer a completely different flavour to the main course.

For dessert it has to be a blueberry pie but at the moment I have not been able to work out how I can do this on the barbie. I'll keep trying and in the meantime I continue to send my thanks across the pond for a great summer party feast.