WE ASK, YOU ANSWER: The ingredients for the perfect summertime cookout

Part of Southern hospitality is the food. When did you last visit your grandmother without her whipping up something in the kitchen for you?

Well now that it’s cookout season, we wanted to hear your must-haves for any food festivity—and the almost 70 answers did not disappoint.

We ask, you answer

The appetizers + drinks

By far, the most popular drink was sweet tea. I counted six different comments mentioning the nectar of the South.

For appetizers and sides, top picks included:

• Pimento cheese
• Baked beans
• Deviled eggs
• Homemade potato salad
• Wickles Pickles
• Coleslaw

The entrees

Now to the star of the show—the meat. Alabama is famous for its Conecuh sausage, seeing that as the top pick wasn’t a shock.

Other entree favorites included:

• BBQ (specifically chicken w/ white sauce)
• Low Country Boil
• Brunswick Stew

Sweet treats

No meal is complete without a sweet treat—and our cookouts are no exception. The two top sugary treats were vanilla ice cream and banana pudding.

A healthier, but still sweet option was also mentioned—watermelon.

Non-food answers

Y’all know your food—and you’re witty, too. So without further ado, here are a few of the funnier, non-food answers:

• Someone saying “Hey, watch this!” followed by a trip to the ER
• Mosquitoes
• A pop-up rainstorm
• Talk of football season (no matter what time of year)

Don’t want to do the cooking for yourself? Here are a few staple AL restaurants to check out, too:

• 7 spots to grab the best sandwiches in Alabama
• 6 of the best Southern Fried Chicken spots in Alabama
• Celebrate National Burger Day with the Mobile patty that (partially) inspired Jimmy Buffett

What’s a staple of your cookouts? Let us know on Instagram, Facebook or LinkedIn!