Memorial Day weekend lands on May 23–25 this year, which gives you exactly two more Saturday market visits before the long weekend arrives. That is a gift. The grilling holiday that opens the American summer is also the moment when most farmers markets shift into full season — flower farmers in force, strawberries at peak, asparagus making its final stand, and the first heads of lettuce so tender they will ruin you for the bagged stuff forever. If you start planning the cookout this weekend instead of next, you will eat better, spend less, and skip the holiday-eve grocery store entirely.

Here is the plan.

Why the Market Beats the Supermarket This Weekend

A Memorial Day cookout at the supermarket is a study in compromise. The strawberries are from three weeks ago and three thousand miles away. The "fresh herbs" are sad clamshell parsley. The corn is shipped in green from Florida. The flowers, if there are flowers at all, came from a refrigerated container ship in plastic.

A Memorial Day cookout from the farmers market is the opposite proposition. May produce is right at the moment when spring transitions into early summer — the asparagus is still snappy, the strawberries have just hit peak in most of the country, and the lettuces are tender enough to dress with nothing but good olive oil and salt. Grass-fed beef and pasture-raised chicken from a local farmer cost about the same per pound as supermarket meat, but they grill better and they taste like food. And you'll get a bouquet that survives the weekend instead of wilting by Sunday brunch.

Bundles of fresh spring onions, radishes, and asparagus on display at a farmers market stall

The Saturday-Before Shopping List

Hit the market the Saturday before Memorial Day weekend — that's May 16 this year. Buy heavy on the things that will keep, and plan to make one quick run the morning of the cookout for anything truly perishable. Here is your list, organized the way a market walk actually unfolds:

The protein. Talk to your meat vendor early. A whole grass-fed brisket runs $9–14 a pound; a tray of pasture-raised chicken thighs is the most forgiving thing you can put on a grill. Ask about whatever's been hanging the longest — it'll have the most flavor and the vendor will often discount it. If you're feeding six or fewer, two pounds of good sausage from a local charcuterie stall is the easiest crowd-feeder in existence.
The vegetable that goes on the grill. Asparagus is the May classic — toss it with olive oil, salt, and a squeeze of lemon, then grill it directly on the grates for four minutes a side. Spring onions also char beautifully whole, and if your market has the first zucchini of the season, sliced lengthwise and grilled for three minutes makes a side that disappears.
The salad. Buy two heads of butter lettuce or a bag of mixed spring greens. Add radishes, the first sugar snap peas of the season, and a handful of pea shoots if you can find them. Dress with a simple vinaigrette and you're done.
Strawberries for dessert. May strawberries are unbeatable. Buy two pints. One gets hulled, halved, and macerated with a tablespoon of sugar for an hour before serving over pound cake or vanilla ice cream. The other one disappears off the table before you can put it on a plate.
Bread and a cheese. A loaf of sourdough from your bakery stall and a wedge of fresh chèvre or a small wheel of brie. Set it out as soon as guests arrive — it solves the "people are hungry but the grill isn't ready" problem.
The bouquet. Peonies are starting in most regions. Tulips are in their final week. A market bouquet is the difference between a backyard cookout and a backyard cookout that looks like you tried.

A Cookout Menu That Comes Together in Two Hours

Here is the menu, in the order you should cook it:

Start the grill. While it heats, toss the asparagus with olive oil and let it sit. Slice the strawberries, sprinkle with sugar, and refrigerate. Pull the chicken thighs out of the fridge so they come to room temperature. Wash the lettuce and spin it dry.

When the grill is hot, lay down the chicken thighs skin-side down for eight minutes, flip, and finish for another six. Push them to a cooler zone while you grill the asparagus and spring onions. Slice the bread. Plate the cheese. Toss the salad with vinaigrette right before serving.

Total active time: under an hour. Total grill time: about twenty minutes. The rest is sitting outside with a drink and watching the smoke do its thing.

What's Worth Splurging On

If you only spend extra money on two things, make them the eggs and the strawberries. The eggs go into a potato salad that will make people ask for the recipe. The strawberries become the dessert that ends the meal on the strongest possible note. Everything else can be solid-good without being extraordinary, and the cookout will still feel like the best meal anyone there has had in a month.

Memorial Day is the unofficial start of summer, and the farmers market is what makes it feel like one. Two Saturdays. Use them.

Roadrunner Farmers Market