Inflation is set to make the traditional American backyard barbecue up to 11 percent more expensive for a party of 10. 

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Your Fourth of July BBQ to Cost More Due to Inflation

the fourth of july is just a few days away, the holiday weekend, which means many of us will be firing up those girls. However, this year, that barbecue might cost you a little bit more than usual cheddar news Michelle Castillo leo is at blue smoke in Manhattan to break down why we're paying more for our ribs or chicken and our hot dogs and to make sure you make that perfect summer meal and get the most bang for your buck Michelle baker and I are saying you get the best assignments First off, how much will be paying for our 4th of July backyard meals this year? Well, according to one farmers association, we are going to be expected to pay 69 68 for a meal for 10 people. That's up 17% from 2021 levels. Um just think about it, the cost of a lot of things have increased over the years. When you think about the cost of uh let's say Chicken breast for example, that's up to $11.12 for £2. On average, I think about 36% from last year. Even your things like ground beef, £2 of that now is at 8 99. And so that actually is also up about 33%. So the idea really is that we're seeing is an increase in prices across the board and that's gonna cost people a lot more money. However, when you think about barbecue or even grilling it is a family friendly meal that's $69.70 dollar amount divided by 10 people. That's actually gonna be about $7 per person. So it's still pretty economical when you think about how many people you can feed, whether you go to a restaurant like blue smoke or if you're doing something your backyard this weekend, you were talking about inflation. Are there any other reason that we're seeing costs increase, Michelle? Well, you know, overall a lot of these costs are really having to do with inflation, but it's also the other factors that we talk so much about on cheddar news. So think about the conflict in Ukraine. A lot of fertilizer actually comes from the Ukrainian and Russian region. So farmers are having a lot of problems getting those supplies and that can impact things like your potatoes for your potato salad or even your corn crops. You're also looking just at people scaling back at what they're delivering around the world. So you're starting to see that that's just costing everything else a little bit more. And then you're seeing the inflationary costs now on top of all this, there's also labor shortages across the industry. We talk a lot about labor shortages in the restaurant industry. We talk a lot about labor shortages just when you're in your grocery store. So those costs all add up, Which is why we're seeing that 17% boost in 20 from 20, levels. And like you mentioned your blue smoke now baker just told me it's a great place. Are they also seeing prices go up as products are getting more and more expensive, I do, I have to come by. Yes. Like many restaurants, they are seeing prices go up but you can still get your favorite dishes here like these ribs. Um It's excellent. As you can see, I was enjoying myself during that earlier and the idea really is that while we are seeing that there are things going up in price, it hasn't really deterred a lot of people in 29. They're seeing the same amount of reservations or even more from pre pandemic levels. They're seeing that business has come back and it's booming. You can see the restaurant behind me. Um it's a lunch hour but people are still making time out of their busy day to come down here and eat because of course barbecue is good anytime the year, not just on fourth of july and also on top of all this, they are starting to see that reservations are filling up. So yes, prices are increasing costs overall are increasing but it hasn't really deterred business, especially at places like this. There's so many people that are going to attempt to be grilling this year. What tips do the Masters of Blue smoke have for our viewers so they don't burn that barbecue this weekend. Right, well, first of all, I actually spoke to the Masters here earlier and what they mentioned was there is a big difference between your backyard grilling and barbecue. So if you're thinking about barbecue and you're thinking about that low and slow and that smoky taste like what they do here, then you need to take, take a couple of things into consideration. Number one, you probably the easiest thing not to mess up if you're a beginner is your chicken thighs and pork shoulder, That's really forgiving. So you want to look at stuff like that if you're gonna do that in general because it's a little bit easier for beginners. Now, you're gonna attempt that brisket for the first time in 4th of July realize that that's a really difficult piece of meat to cook. So you're probably gonna need some trial and error before you attempt a brisket. Second of all, low and slow is best. So you really want to look at putting things in for a long period of time, don't throw things into that smoker or on that pit right before you're trying to serve your family, build a few hours before that or everyone's gonna be hungry for quite some time on july 4th. And finally, because costs are going up, remember that you can have some of those items, you probably want to build up on those sides, blow smoke. Their favorites here for their customers definitely are the mac and cheese potato salad and the pit beans. So remember that you can always add those because they're a little bit lower in cost And still feed quite a few people. But you know what, you can't go away from some good ribs. So I'm just gonna have to leave it there for today because I'm gonna enjoy my meal right now very quickly. Michelle, we know July four weekend is all about barbecuing. It makes us think hamburgers and hot dogs. So there's a huge debate as you know, and I have to ask you, is a hot dog a sandwich. What do you think? Yeah. Oh my God, that is a question that keeps me up at night because I am not, I haven't decided. I do think it's a sandwich. It's an open faced sandwich because you do have your bread and your meat or your filling inside. So I think a hot dog is a sandwich and you know what? You can prove me wrong, but I will never say no to a good hot dog meat either. I'll always say yes to some ribs. Absolutely. I'm with you. I think it's a sandwich. I saw baker nodding his head so we're all in agreement. Yes, it's a sandwich. Thanks to gender Senior reporter Michelle castello, enjoyed that barbecue, my friend. It is time Yeah.