3 Great Recipes for the Fourth of July

With a long weekend filled with great food and gatherings on the horizon, Patch Picks is here with some favorite summertime recipes courtesy of Stamford Fire and Rescue.

Slow Cooker Pulled Pork

Contributed by Alessio Corrente, Engine 1, Stamford Fire Rescue Department

• 4 lbs. boneless pork shoulder roast (cut into 4 pieces)
• ¼ cup packed brown sugar
• 1/3 cup cider vinegar
• ½ cup ketchup
• ½ cup onion (chopped)
• ¼ cup tomato paste
• 2 tblsp. paprika (sweet)
• 2 tblsp. Worcestershire sauce
• 2 tblsp. yellow mustard
• 1 ½ tsp. salt
• 1 ¼ tsp. black pepper
• 12 sandwich rolls

In a 6 Quart slow cooker combine dry and wet ingredients. Add pork and turn until coated. Place lid on slow cooker. Cook on low 8-10 hours until pork is very tender. Move pork to a large bowl. (leave sauce in slow cooker) Turn cooker to high, cover and heat sauce until boiling. It will thicken and reduce. While sauce is thickening, pull pork using 2 forks to shred. Place shredded pork back into cooker and toss with sauce. Cover and reheat on high if needed. Serve on sandwich rolls.

Macaroni Salad

Contributed by Lt. Sean Daly, Truck 1, Stamford Fire Rescue Department

• 1 box (16oz.) elbow macaroni
• 2 cups (16 oz.) mayonnaise
• ¼ cup cider vinegar
• ¼ 1 tsp. sugar
• ½ tsp. salt
• ½ tsp. black pepper
• 2 cups celery (chopped)
• 2 cups red or green bell pepper (chopped)
• ½ cup onion (chopped)

Cook macaroni according to package recommendations. Drain macaroni and rinse under running water until cool. In a large bowl, mix; mayonnaise, vinegar, sugar, salt, and
black pepper. Stir in celery, bell pepper, and onion. Add macaroni and gently toss until well coated. Refrigerate until ready to serve.

BBQ Ribs

Contributed by Shawn Sasser, Engine 7, Stamford Fire Rescue Department

• Pork Ribs (Spare, Country or Baby Back)
• McCormick Grill Mates Pork Rub
• Your favorite BBQ Sauce 

Preheat oven to 265 degrees. Liberally coat ribs of your choice with Pork Rub being sure to rub in thoroughly (more rub is better than less...). Place ribs in an oven-proof baking pan and cover tightly with aluminum foil. Bake for 3.5 hours. Remove pan from oven, discard foil and allow ribs to cool to room temperature. Brush ribs with BBQ sauce and place on medium temperature grill. Flip ribs and brush with sauce every 5 minutes or so being careful not to scorch sauce. Continue flipping and brushing until desired amount of glaze is built up. Remove from grill and serve.

We featured a great recipe for Memorial Day Weekend…try it with these.