When you are on a real food diet, sometimes one of the worst places to go is a barbecue because it can be difficult to find foods you can eat. However, that’s only because we have changed the way we make and prepare foods. Actually, all foods that you find at a barbecue were at one point real foods! With just a few tweaks and some preparation time, you can create a barbecue full of real food to satisfy you and your friends.
If you’ve never made any of these foods from scratch before, I recommend starting with just one and perfecting the recipe before moving on to the next one.
This timeline will give you the directions to create a full real food BBQ with the following recipes:
48 Hours Before:
Combine all the ingredients for the Fermented Ketchup and mix well. Add to a mason jar with a lid tightly closed. Allow to ferment at room temperature for two days. Be sure to give some head space, at least an inch at the top of the jar.
24 Hours Before:
24 hours before, soak the beans for the Baked Beans in filtered water. Rinse every 12 hours until they grow sprouts.
The Day Of:
8 hours ahead of time, bring a large pot of water to boil on the stove for the Baked Beans. You want to add enough water to cover the beans. Rinse the beans again, moving them in the water with your hand. You want to remove as many of the skins of the beans as you can.
Add butter or lard to a large cast iron pan. When melted, add in chopped onion.
Measure out 4 cups of sprouted beans into a large pot. Skim the skins off the top of the beans as they float to the top. Preheat the oven to 350.
When the beans are boiling, add in the remaining ingredients. If your large pot is not oven safe, place your beans in a large oven safe dish. Or if you’re like me and can’t find your large oven safe dish, two smaller ones are fine.
Place the beans in the oven for about 6 hours. In Colorado, I had to stir and add about a half to a full pint of water to the beans every hour. Make sure you watch them so they don’t burn to the bottom of the pan.
An hour ahead of time, fill a large pot with filtered water. Bring to a boil on the stove. Cut the butternut squash at the base of the neck. Remove the skin of the butternut squash using the sharpest knife you can find, leaving as much of the meat on as you can.
Determine the size you want your french fries to be and cut the squash in half. Scrap out the squash innards. Slice your squash into long, thin slices resembling a french fry.
Preheat oven to 400. Add 1-2 tbsp of tallow or lard to the fries, enough to coat them. Shake salt over the top. Lay them out onto a baking sheet covered with parchment paper. Bake for approximately 30 minutes at 400. Stir every ten minutes. Then broil them for 5 minutes until crisp.
Salt them again immediately after they come out of the oven.
Add all ingredients for BBQ sauce to a jar and shake to combine.
Light the grill. Cook the chicken for a few minutes on each side then coat with BBQ sauce.
Wash and roll your lemons to get the juices released. Slice them in half and squeeze into a small mesh strainer over a jar, glass, or small pitcher to catch any seeds.
Add 3 cups of water to the mixture and stir. Add in 2 tablespoons of honey and mix well.
Plate everything and enjoy!
Check out some additional dishes for a barbecue!