Barbecue Tricks

BBQ Tips and Tricks

side

Recipes

Cheesy Ranch Potatoes

For a great side at your next barbecue, try Cheesy Ranch Potatoes. The secret is time, otherwise they are simple and everyone loves them. In the age of the microwave, these are best cooked in the oven for an hour, but you can really use any type of potatoes and onions.

Cheesy Ranch Potatoes
4 lbs russet potatoes, but into cubes
1 large onion, coarsely chopped
2 tsp chili powder
2 tsp garlic powder
1 tsp salt
1/2 tsp black pepper
1 stick of butter, sliced
8 oz shredded Monterey Jack-Colby cheese blend
1 small bottle prepared buttermilk ranch dressing
6 slices bacon, cooked and crumbled

Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Lightly grease a 9×13 baking dish. Put potatoes and onions in dish. Season with chili powder, garlic powder, salt and black pepper. Evenly distribute pats of butter amongst the potatoes and onions. Cover dish tightly with aluminum foil and bake for 1 hour.

Remove foil and add cheese, bacon and ranch dressing. Stir to coat. Cook uncovered about 10-15 minutes until cheese is melted and bubbly. Serve hot.

Recipes

Vidalia Lollipops – Crazy Barbecue Side

Here’s a great side that’s guaranteed to entertain at your next cook out and it’s a BBQ Tricks original.
This is a great way to grill onions without worrying about losing the veggies between the grates. Simply skewer the onions and create what looks like an onion lollipop. It’s fun to serve, helps the cook, and taste great. The trick is to skewer the whole onion (kinda like a mohawk porcupine) BEFORE slicing. Soak the skewers first to keep them from burning on the grill. Space the skewers so that you’ll have a little less than one half an inch between the sticks. You’ll want thick slices to hold up to the heat.
Carefully slice the onion into pops by using the sticks as guides. Next marinate the raw pops with a combination of lite soy sauce and liquid smoke (or choose you favorite liquid marinade or bbq trick rub. When the grill is hot (medium to high heat) brush each pop on both sides liberally with oil and set them on the grate for about four minutes each side (rotate 90 degrees after three minutes for show-off grill marks). One final brush of oil and CAREFULLY remove with spatula and plate immediately (pops are fairly soft when cooked). For best results find the fattest sweet onions (Vidalias) available.