Fire up the barbecue and break out some ice cold beers, because the Fourth of July is right around the corner! Invite over some family and friends then follow the tips below for a stress-free, gluten-free barbecue.

  1. Purchase gluten-free hot dog or hamburger buns. Some popular options include Rudi’s Multigrain Hot Dog Rolls and Hamburger Buns, Udi’s Classic Hot Dog and Hamburger Buns, Whole Foods Bakehouse Hamburger Buns, and Ener-G Tapioca Hot Dog and Hamburger Buns.
  2. Clean the grill. Gluten-free products shouldn’t be cooked on surfaces that have been contaminated by marinades or sauces that contain gluten, so be sure to clean off your grill before you start cooking.
  3. Grill gluten-free products separately. To avoid cross-contamination, cook gluten-free products first, keep them on one side of the grill, or grill them on aluminum foil.
  4. Top it off with gluten-free barbecue sauce. Make sure that all of the condiments and sauces you use to cook are gluten-free. When you’re shopping for gluten-free products, it’s important to check labels because ingredients are always changing. Some barbecue sauces that are gluten-free as of June 2012 include Randy Jones Gluten-Free BBQ Sauce, Organic Annie’s Original BBQ Sauce, Sweet Baby Ray’s BBQ Sauce, Bone Suckin’ Sauce, Heinz Original BBQ Sauce, and Organicville’s Original BBQ Sauce.
  5. Chill out with an ice-cold New Planet Beer. Pick up a few packs of Tread Lightly Ale, 3R Raspberry Ale, or Off Grid Pale Ale, and throw them in a cooler filled with ice.

Happy Independence Day!