Meat of the Moment
A Labor Day Meatwave wasn't originally part of my schedule, but as the holiday grew near and the early fall weather we were experiencing here in North Carolina kept going, the draw of hosting a cookout was too strong and I made a somewhat last minute decision to gather my friends for Meat of the Moment.
The date shift wasn't too hard of decision though because I had already started prepping for this Meatwave way early in anticipation for not having a lot of time leading up to original scheduled day later in September. That included making these brisket rangoon in early August and then freezing them. This was an idea I got from Buk Tui BBQ in Kansas City, where I didn't actually order the app, but imagined how a barbecue version of this Chinese restaurant staple would taste. I crafted mine with the required cream cheese, but also added cheddar and scallions to compliment the smoky beef brisket.
The rangoon were my starting point recipe for the day, and the rest fell into place from there, skewing to a Tiki-style influence. This led me to make sweet and sour wings because they not only thematically fit in nicely, but I was already making the sauce for dipping the rangoon, so it wasn't hard to just up the quantity and then toss it on chicken to make some mighty tasty wings.
Huli huli sauce almost always makes an appearance whenever I'm doing something tiki-like, and this time it adorned grilled shrimp skewers that had shisito peppers interspersed to add some heat to contrast with the sweet. These were much in line with sweet and sour wings, but the huli huli sauce had a greater complexity with garlic and ginger thrown into the mix.
Teriyaki chicken sandwiches have long been on my to-do list, and they finally got constructed thanks to not only apt for the theme, but because I had already made teriyaki sauce that could get another use here. I paired up sweet soy glazed chicken thighs with ham, grilled pineapple, and red onion for a pretty stellar sandwich, which is pictured here with the Hawaiian macaroni salad I made as a side.
I wanted a vegetarian counterpart to the chicken sandwiches, and since I've done some teriyaki veggie burgers in the past, I decided to do sweet and sour tofu sandwiches instead. I worried the grilled tofu would be missing the superior crunch that a fried version would offer, but I was able to get a respectable crust and then that sweet and sour sauce had some good company with grilled pineapple and bell peppers to form a hearty sandwich.
I had worried that a last minute schedule change would mean not a lot of folks would be able to make it out to this Meatwave, but I was pleasantly surprised that most of my friends were able to join. We have Chris, Kris, Farrell, and Kelly here enjoying each others company.
I believe this was Sue and Chris's first Meatwave of the season, so happy they made it out for one and that we had Steve and Lindsay back again.
Here we have Patrick, Bryan, Annie, and Evan taking it easy after an afternoon of chowing down.
Lindsay and Chris are making a repeat appearance in this post, but with Anna and Cody this time around.
And last, but not least, we end with with Lindsey, Ian, and Kellyn. Kellyn once again impressed with her dessert contribution and just maybe we'll get another as we have only one Meatwave left of the 2025 season.
