Juneteenth Holiday Cookout Recipes

Best Ribs Ever, Jalapeño Cheddar Cornbread, and Red Velvet cake

Juneteenth, officially Juneteenth National Independence Day, is a federal holiday in the United States. It is celebrated annually on June 19 to commemorate the ending of slavery in the United States. The holiday's name is a portmanteau of the words "June" and "nineteenth", as it was on June 19, 1865, when Major General Gordon Granger ordered the final enforcement of the Emancipation Proclamation in Texas at the end of the American Civil War. Although this date commemorates enslaved people learning of their freedom under the Emancipation Proclamation, this only applied to former Confederate states. There remained legally enslaved people in states that never seceded from the Union. These people did not gain their freedom until the ratification of the 13th Amendment to the United States Constitution on December 6, 1865.

To celebrate this new federal holiday, lets go to the grill for a traditional summer favorites.

Best Barbacue Ribs Ever

RECIPE COURTESY OF KATIE LEE BIEGEL

Jalapeño Cheddar Cornbread

RECIPE COURTESY OF INA GARTEN

Red Velvet Cake

RECIPE COURTESY OF JOHNNIE GABRIEL