Memorial Day: Start Your Picnics!

About author / Pamela Chester

Mom of two; graduate French Culinary Institute; kids cooking program instructor; Master's degree in food studies. Creates kid friendly foods and loves her slow cooker.

Memorial Day is coming right up, and it seems like everyone is excited for summer to “officially” start. The time for barbecues, kicking back in a hammock, making homemade ice cream, watching fireflies at night, and staging impromptu outdoor gatherings has finally arrived.

Why not celebrate the onset of summer this Memorial Day in style with a picnic? You can go traditional with sandwiches and all the fixings or embellish on the idea a little and come up with new twists on old favorites. It might even be a great time to whisk that special someone away on a romantic sunset picnic complete with candles, real silverware and wine glasses. Hey, you can even bring a blanket out back and have a picnic in your own backyard. It still counts!

While you can’t bring your crockpot to the picnic (unless you happen to be heading to a site with electrical outlets or have very long extension cords) you can cook some of your favorite picnic fare in the crockpot in advance and take it with you. Especially if you have plans to travel far and are leaving early in the day, the crockpot will enable you to prepare some of your fixings the night before, so you can cool them and take them with you the next morning. It also makes a weeknight picnic easier by allowing you to prepare some of your repast while you are working or going about your daily activities.

Besides a comfortable blanket and insect repellant, must-haves at a traditional picnic are deviled eggs, potato salad and coleslaw. In addition you can add on various salads, side dishes, sandwiches and of course, desserts such as cookies and brownies. You can bring a mix of pre-purchased items such as deli salads and food that you have made yourself. The slow cooker will make a wonderful homemade German potato salad (it’s good cold too) or barbecued pork or beef for sandwiches. In addition, you can modify many other favorite recipes to be served outdoors. Just make sure to cool completely before packing up and bringing it in a cooler.

There is a cut of pork specifically designated for picnics, the picnic shoulder, consisting of the front and top of the pig’s foreleg, with the bone and most of the fat removed. After roasting all day in the slow cooker, this cut of pork becomes very rich and tender. You can make outstanding picnic sandwiches with slices of the braised pork, some zesty barbecue sauce, iceberg lettuce leaves, and thick slices of toasty bread.

Another excellent way to use your crockpot for picnic pork shoulder is the Southern favorite— barbecued pulled pork. The meat is slow cooked and simmered in spices until it becomes so tender that you can literally pull it apart. You can serve pulled pork at your picnic on large sandwich rolls with the traditional accompaniment of coleslaw.

So pack your picnic basket with homemade and store bought treats, grab a few good friends and a blanket and you’ll be ready to go, and get ready to toast the beginning of summer!

Serves/Makes: 6

• 6 cups sliced potatoes
• 1/2 cup onions, chopped
• 1/2 cup celery, sliced
• 1/4 cup green bell peppers, diced
• 1/4 cup vinegar
• 2 tablespoons sugar (more if desired)
• 1/4 cup oil
• chopped parsley
• sliced bacon, cooked and crumbled

Serves/Makes: 16

• 1/2 cup cider vinegar
• 1/4 cup water
• 1 medium onion, coarsely chopped
• 1 tablespoon dark brown sugar
• 2 tablespoons sweet paprika
• 2 tablespoons Worcestershire sauce
• 1 teaspoon ground red cayenne pepper
• 1 teaspoon finely ground black pepper
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 6 pounds boneless pork shoulder, blade roast or boston butt roast cut into 2 pieces, fat removed
• 16 soft buns (or more)
• creamy coleslaw

Serves/Makes: 8

• 1 (4-8 pound size) fresh picnic ham
• 1 large onion, chopped
• 1 teaspoon dried marjoram, crumbled
• 3/4 cup barbecue sauce
• 3/4 cup water