Black Cookout Must Haves

The weather's nice, days are longer, the reasons for being outside are endless, and Memorial Day is this weekend. Which means it's the unofficial start of summer, which translates to its time for cookouts, like every weekend someone should be having a cookout.

Since we love cookouts, the food, the atmosphere, the weather. Here's some must have items every Black cookout should have.

Good Playlist

If you have a live DJ at your cookout, then you know how to throw a party.  Get ready to jam until the wee hours of the morning. If you dont have a DJ, make sure your playlist is equipped with all the songs that give summer feels. No summer playlist is complete unless  Fresh Prince and Jazzy Jeff "Summertime" and Frankie Beverly and Maze "Before I let you go" is on there. Throw Beyoncé's updated version on there to get a line dance going. If you're in Baltimore, you have to play some B-More Club Music somewhere in the mix.

Card Games

Once the sun starts setting and everyone is suffering from the itis, somebody is bound to pull out a deck of cards and ask "Ya'll tryna play spades?". Thus the door opens for some hilarious banter throughout the rest of the night until someone gets mad enough and quits playing.

If no one has some spades cards around, UNO is the next best option and that also will get some chatter and banter going. Especially if the participants have a little liquor in them. On the West Coast Domino is a popular alternative to Spades, and get's the job done of entertaining the spectators.  

Liquor

One thing for sure about Black People if the mood is festive, or hell maybe not so festive liquor is gon be around.

 Beer...coolers...bourbon...whiskey....tequila you need something to wash down the plate packed to the heap. Someone probably gon bring a bottle of white henny they bought overseas for everyone to drink in two minutes. Shots, mixed drinks, trash bags (or hopefully recycle bins) filled with bottles. Let's not forget the plastic red cups splattered around. 

Sometime's you have to kick back in the summer heat and enjoy the moment, some good liquor helps make that happen.

Good Side Dishes 

Everyone knows when you come to the cookout you can't wait to dig into the ribs, the hot dogs, and the hamburgers. Throw some chicken in there fried, bbq'd or grilled and the main course of a plate is complete, but good side dishes make the cookout. You have to have the side dishes everyone mouth been watering over or the cookout may just be considered an epic fail.

I'm talking when the pans are lined up and you open the cover you see, potato salad, seafood salad, some mac and cheese, baked beans, a regular salad, and some devil eggs. If any of these are missing but the rest are there, the cookout about to be right. If none of them are there go ahead and sneak out before people even noticed you stopped by. 

Good Company

The food is the usually the main attraction to any cookout, but no cookout is complete without good company. Family and Friends you've known for years or only for a short time to get together decompress, talk mad shit, laugh and just enjoy one another's company. It's the best part of any cookout and honestly makes a cookout more than any of the food.

Bonus Must Have

Extra Paper Plates & Alumnium Foil

This must need's no real explaination, just know when the cookout winding down and folks getting ready to go. Some plates to go gon be made, so make sure there's extra paper plates and foil to go around. Don't worry we're resourceful, if there's not enough alumnium foil we'll just use another plate to cover our plate to go.