LABOR DAY PLAYBOOK

Labor Day weekend is here, which means the last big cookout of the summer (but certainly not the year).

Let’s make it count, Dead Meat Society…

First, a quick history lesson, because we deserve to know why we get to do nothing but grill for 3 straight days.

Labor Day became a federal holiday in 1894 to honor the American worker and the labor movement that built the 2-day weekend as we know it. Since it also lands on the last long weekend of summer, it became the closing ceremony of grilling season.

This holiday is quite literally about hard work and why we deserve time away from it. So, the right way to observe it is to do the hard, glorious work of feeding a crowd off a hot grill.

This is what you need to know going into one of the top-shelf BBQ weekends of the year…

THE LABOR DAY MENU

You need to build the plan today. Before the big grocery run.

This roundup of 23 Labor Day cookout recipes has great options for everyone, from grilled mains to dips to make-ahead handhelds.

Steal one thing at minimum: the Hawaiian pulled pork sliders. Sweet rolls, pulled pork, slaw, and a breaded pickle chip.

Smoked pork shoulder is on our minds this Labor Day… perfect for a crowd.

And to feed a crowd, you’re going to need the right gear, which brings us to…

THE LABOR DAY DEALS

Labor Day is also prime time for grill sales, so if your setup is limping into Fall, this is your time to upgrade.

We found a few key deals from Bob Vila and Popular Mechanics for this season:

  • Pit Boss 150 pellet smoker, $199. Bob Vila’s roundup has this price down from $330. It’s a set-and-forget pellet smoker for under two hundred bucks, you guys…

  • Brandman 6-burner gas grill, $530. Popular Mechanics tagged it as their best deal at 39 percent off, six burners of feed-the-whole-block firepower.

Dead Meat Society, this is our calling. This is our weekend.

Plan your Labor Day menu, grab a deal on a grill upgrade, and treat Monday like the all-time holiday it is.

You put in the work all summer. Now show off.