Fourth of July, locavore style: creating a MN-grown menu

A Minnesota-made menu will cause foodie fireworks this 4th!

​Planning your Fourth of July cookout? Us too!

We recommend celebrating with a simple, Minnesota-grown menu of flame-kissed meats, fresh-picked produce, pie, and beer.

Here's what to buy and where to shop.

Grillables
Get to Clancey's Meat & Fish for steaks, ground beef, sausages, and all other grillables sourced from local farms. For ju(i)cy lucy-making, shop the co-ops for Prairie Breeze cheddar, Donnay goat cheese, or St. Pete's Select blue, all highly recommendable fillings. For a veggie alternative, we like the Walnut Burgers made just over the border in Trempealeau, Wisconsin.

Salads and Sides
Stock up on just-picked vegetables for salads and sides at your local farmers' market this weekend. The Minnesota Grown directory lists 143 of 'em if you want information on their hours and locations.

​Dessert
What's more American than pie? (Go with a berry filling vs. apple, though, due to seasonality.) Our favorites are those from Stockholm Pie Co., but if you don't want to drive to Wisconsin, Turtle Bread and Lucia's are good local options.

Beverages
You're going to be drinking all day, so go easy on the alcohol content. A few of our favorite light, easy-drinking summer beers available in bottles include Summit's current seasonal, the Hefe Weizen, and Lift Bridge's Farm Girl Saison. Mix up a batch of ginger lemonade (combine ginger-infused simple syrup with fresh squeezed lemon juice and water) for non-imbibers and use the rest for thirst-quenching shandies.