Barbecue Cook Out After Thanksgiving - Nice Change of Pace

Thanksgiving leftovers are terrific, but we were ready for a change of pace. So, we packed up the Portable Kitchen grill and headed out to the Bull Hole River Park in Cooleemee, NC for a "day after" cook out.

With the temperatures in the lower 50s, it was a good day to get outside and burn off some holiday calories. Plus, I love to grill, so it was an easy meal after turkey day which is pretty labor intensive as everyone knows.

The PK grill is cast aluminum, so it holds the heat and smoke as you can see in the photo. Actually, the PK doubles as a great smoker. It really cranks the smoke like here when I lifted the lid to check the food.


The Bull Hole is a beautiful spot for a cook out. It's on the Yadkin River with lots of trees and trails. Our new relatives (Mom got married this year) really enjoyed the scenery and the chance to get out in the fresh air after a couple of days in the house.


My sister brought some kind of game where you toss these balls on a string at stands with different levels. It's a bit like horseshoes or cornhole but with string balls. It worked out great for the adults and kids (with the kids standing closer to even things out). I need to check and find out the name of the game. It works out well for a cook out.


With a lot of burgers and hot dogs to grill and with it cold outside, I offset the coals. In other words, the coals are just on one end of the PK grill.

This grilling offset gave me space to barbecue grill but the cooler end of the grill to keep the food warm and for those who like cheese to add a slice and have it actually melt. Yes. We are spoiled (-:

Also note that I take a thick frying pan with a lid to help in keeping the food hot as it comes off the grill.

With the offset grilling and a skillet to hold the heat, I go slightly under the doneness on the meat as it continues to cook a bit more on the cooler end of the grill and in the holding skillet.


I grilled the burgers up first, since they take longer. Then, I put them on the cooler side of the grill and grilled up the hot dogs which don't take much time at all.

That hot end of the grill also worked out well for family members who like hot dogs grilled crisp. Most of the kids like the hot dogs lightly grilled, but some of the adults like hot dogs pretty well charred. No problem. With the offset on the barbecue coals, I could grill to order with very little effort.


Mom said "Yahoo!" for an easy meal out of the kitchen and some space to move around and burn off some energy. Anyone with kids in the family will relate. Gotta love those little ones, but they sure have energy to spare. So, a cook out was just the ticket after a traditional holiday dinner the day before.