Happy Birthday 2009!

To celebrate America's B-Day yesterday, I invited a few friends over for a little grill-out. My neighbor Mary Bigham of WC Dish fame even stopped by for a bit. There is something about getting together with friends, having a few laughs, good music, and of course plenty of good food and drink that can't be beat. Even the weather was perfect. As I mentioned in my last post, I had been itching to smoke up another pork shoulder and what better day than July 4th. Luckily I had purchsed my shoulder from Shop Rite the day before because when I went back to Shop Rite the next day they were already sold out.

Though the star of the show was going to be my pulled pork sliders I decided to start the meal off with the BBQB's version of grilled clams casino. They are actually fairly easy to put together and when served definitely raise the wow factor.

Here's how I did it. You'll want to plan on about 1-2 clams per person. Take the clams and place them directly on the grill over high heat and close the lid. While the clams are heating up, microwave a few strips of bacon and then cut them up into little pieces. In about 5 minutes or so take a peek in your grill to see if the clams have opened up. If so, then stuff each clam with the bacon being careful not to burn yourself. Let them cook for a few minutes before removing from the grill. At this point I took a knife and cut the muscle in each clam to make it easier for my guests to eat them. I then sprinkled on a few bread crumbs and chopped parsely before serving. Judging by the reactions I think they went over really well.