If I ask you to close your eyes and imagine the 4^th of July…

What do you see?

Backyard barbecue, fireworks, happy times with friends and family?

That is what you should see. If not, it is time to reprogram your mind because those things are what the 4^th of July should be about. But sadly, a new trend is emerging where the backyard bbq's are replaced by kitchens and burgers with gourmet dishes. So let’s make this clear once again.

Don’t confuse the 4^th of July with Thanksgiving or Christmas!

You have 364 other days of the year to show off your culinary skills in the kitchen. On this day in July, you better get your butt outside and light up a fire.

This article aims to get America back on track and celebrate the 4^th of July the red, white and blue way. We will discuss some kickass recipes and methods for preparing food to maximize your time outside with your friends and family and get the most out of the 4^th of July.

This is also the best time to put your Sikkina knives out on display. With the summer sun glistening on those super-sharp blades, you’ll surely attract attention. But remember, this day is not about you, your excellent knives and bbq skills. It is all about America.

And that brings us to our first recipe.

Nothing says 4^th of July like our Patriot burger. But we don’t only want to show you how to make it, we also want to explain a method that will create a bonding experience between you and your guests. Again, exactly what the 4^th of July is about. Spending time outside with your friends and family and not dancing around in the kitchen all day.

Preparing the burger patty

You can save yourself some time and go out and buy burger patties or ground meat and make your own. But what is the fun in that? This is the day to be hands-on, like our forefathers.

Cutting up the meat to smithereens is an ideal opportunity to show off your skills and of course, your awesome knives. But apart from boasting, it provides entertainment for the guests. How often do you get to see someone make their own burgers from chunks of meat?

Choosing the meat is up to you. You can mix it up with a bit of pork meat to give your burgers that bacon tone without actually adding bacon. But for those that will be attempting to do this the first time, we have a suggestion.

The fat content of burgers is crucial to consider. Ideally, you want the fat content to be 15%- 20%. That cancels out cuts like round and sirloin immediately. We recommend that you use beef chuck. You will see that is it marketed as 80% lean or 85% lean. That simply means that if it is 80% lean, then 20% is fat, which is precisely what you are looking for.

When it comes to slicing and dicing the meat to smithereens, we highly recommend using Sikkina’s Nakiri Serbian Cleaver Knife. Apart from its utility, the rugged appearance perfectly complements this hands-on task of mincing meat.

There are a million and one ways to season your burger meat. We here at Sikkina are purists when it comes to burger meat; we like to keep it simple. We suggest mixing in a tiny bit of garlic, salt, pepper, and onion. That is it.

No fancy spices and sauces are needed. No French or Asian fusion styles. Nope, this is America’s birthday. Burgers are as American as it goes. Keep it American, at least on the 4^th of July.

After the burgers are grilled to perfection, it is time to decorate them 4^th of July style. As can be seen in the photo above, the idea is to create the American flag on the burgers. And here is the only time you’ll need to do some pre-prep in the kitchen.

The blue corner of the flag consists of cucumber, colored blue with food colorant. The night before your big outdoor cookout, cut pieces of cucumber from the length of the cucumber, and make sure to exclude the seeds and rind. Mix food colorant with a little bit of water and let the cucumber soak overnight.

The white stripes and stars are created using mayo, and the red is ketchup. It is that simple.

The toppings

Again, we recommend that you use fresh ingredients and prepare them while in the company of loved ones outside. You can ask your guests what they want on their burgers but again, seeing that is the fourth of July, we recommend keeping it American and sticking to traditions.

Slice up onions, tomato, pickles, lettuce and cheese and place each ingredient in a separate container. You can go back to using old faithful Nikiri after rinsing the blade, or show-off one of your other Sikkina masterpieces. Lehja Hand Forged 8” Chef’s knife is perfect for slicing up the toppings and is a great conversation piece in its own right.

Lehja Hand Forged 8” Chef’s knife

Serving the burger

America is all about freedom, and your guests should have freedom of choice on the 4^th of July. That is why we recommend a build-your-own burger on the fourth of July. After preparing the patties and the toppings, set them out on the table and allow your guests to build their own burgers.

So, you spent time outdoors, like it should be on the 4^th of July, you kept your guests entertained, and you could maximize your time with them.

And that is what the 4^th of July celebrations should be all about.

Celebrate Independence Day by becoming independent from struggling

Sikkina’s wide range of American hand-forged knives is the perfect addition to food prep sessions both outdoors and inside. Stop struggling with inferior, blunt knives and free yourself from the struggle.

As a proudly American country, we have put all our products on sale leading up to the 4^th of July.

Nikiri and Lehja Hand Forged 8” Chef’s knife, mentioned in the article, as well all the other knives and accessories are now on sale, easily owned through our interest-free payment plans.

Click here to go to our collections page or go view some of our knives in action on Instagram.