The Fourth of July is all about freedom. The freedom given to us by our forefathers, the freedom to set off colorful explosions in our front yard, the freedom to lounge around with our favorite beer (or beers) and the freedom to grill ANYTHING AND EVERYTHING WE CAN GET OUR HANDS ON.

This year's Fourth of July we walked past the hotdogs, hamburgers and sausages and went for a more unconventional cut of meat; the bone-in pork roast. Basically it's a pork tenderloin, the way man and nature intended it to be. The bones intact, giving the meat a richer flavor when cooked and also giving the individual chops a handle in the event that you want to eat with the lollipop approach. The meat also has a large cap on fat on one side, which is essential when it comes to grilling, as it keeps the meat moist and imparts a great deal of flavor to the meat.

We started off by brining the 6-bone roast overnight in a solution of 1 gallon of water and 1 1/2 cups of kosher salt. The next day, after the meat had brined for about 24 hours. we removed the meat and dryed it off, allowing the meat to sit out for 30 minutes to come to room temperature. Next, we rubbed the meat down with olive oil and dusted it heavily with a mixture of sweet and spicy smoked paprika and seasoned with salt and black pepper.

We started cooking the meat, fat side down, in a 700º grill to give it a nice sear. Then we allowed the grill to drop in temperature to about 400º and let it cook, turning once after about 30 minutes until the meat reached an internal temp of 150º. Then we allowed the meat to cool on a tray for 10 minutes before cutting into it.

To accompany our meal, we made a succotash of grilled corn (then shucked), grilled okra, grilled small onions (we used noonday onion) and cocktail tomatoes, all tossed in a bowl with butter, salt, pepper and fresh chopped oregano. We also grilled slabs of sweet potato slices to have something sweet to pair with the smoky spice of the paprika.

The juiciness and flavor of the meat was far superior to that of a standard pork loin and made for a much more dramatic centerpiece for the table. Try giving this humble cut of meat a chance at your next gathering.