The GrateTV
weekly podcasts fires up an eye popping side dish. The fun is in the unusual preparation fully cooked inside your favorite Charcoal Chimney. One cabbage and one onion plus some chicken, butter, and beef flavor. Super simple, affordable and fun.
sides
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 crumbledPreheat 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.
Atomic Sweet Pickles and Peppers
Atomic Sweet Pickles and Peppers
There’s something about pickles that can add that extra touch to sandwiches and BBQ. I crave the pickle in a Chick-fil-a sandwich… Even a Krystal burger (like a white Castle for you Northerners) isn’t the same without a sliver of dill chip… and once I tried the sweet sliced pickles at Sconyer’s Barbecue in Augusta Georgia I couldn’t have pulled pork without at least a few sweet dill chips (and white bread).
Here’s a way you can create your own signature pickle or pepper without all the traditional pickling hassles. Plus no boiling jars here. You use inexpensive store bought pickles (I experimented with different brands and prefer the crunchy snap of Vlasic’s Baby Kosher Dills) and add in any variation of peppers you like. I mixed jalapenos and fresh Tabasco peppers (might be tough to find… we had a few in the garden) but any chile will work. You can even remove the peppers for zero scoville heat. But what fun would that be.
I found I like the sweet jalapeno chips best of all… but the heat in the pickles will make your guests remember the meal.
ATOMIC SWEET PICKLES AND PEPPERS
- 46 OZ. Jar of Baby Kosher Dills
- 1/2 Cup white wine vinegar
- 1 and 3/4 cups sugar
- 6 Large Jalapeno Peppers
- 2 Fresh Tabasco, small red chile peppers or “experimental” Peppers for red color and sharp heat.
Cut to your desired size.
In a large bowl reserve pickles and the jar’s liquid. Slice the pickles in 1/4 to 1/2 inch slices (for sandwiches) or chunks (for snacking). Clean peppers thoroughly and slice Jalapenos into 1/4 inch disks.
Slice Tabasco peppers or extremely hot peppers lengthwise (or just score them). Leave the stems on for looks.
Return the pickle chips back to the jar in layers along with even portions of peppers and sugar until full. Use all the sugar and peppers and reserve any leftover pickles for another use.
Slowly add the vinegar and then fill the jar with the remaining original juice.
Add sugar a bit at a time.
Let the sugar dissolve and cover with the lid and allow the sugar to dissolve with the jar at room temperature for about an hour.
Shake and rotate the jar occasionally to expedite. Refrigerate overnight.
Award Winning Potato Salad
Emeril just wrapped up a big contest/feature on “Good Morning America” where he named the “Best Potato Salad Ever.”
The recipe they chose broke from tradition for us at Barbecue Tricks. We’re not used to much bacon in the mix. But when it’s there most BBQ lovers DO like the flavor.
Here’s the recipe followed by the runner up with a bit more tradtional and creamy salad. The third runner up was different too… she oven roasted the potatoes… neat idea.
Ingredients:
8 large red potatoes
8 large red potatoes
6 hard boiled eggs, chopped
1 lb. bacon
1 large white onion, chopped
2 c. mayonnaise
1 c. sour cream
3 tbsp. milk
2 ½ c. shredded lettuce
2 large tomatoes, chopped
2 c. Shredded cheddar cheese
1. Wash and boil potatoes until tender. Let cool.
2. Chop and cook bacon and onion together, until bacon is crispy. Drain grease into a bowl and reserve.
3. In a small bowl mix mayonnaise, sour cream, bacon drippings and milk. In a large bowl, combine potato, eggs, and the onion-bacon mixture. Add mayo mixture to potato mixture and toss. Cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate for 2-3 hours.
4. Served topped with lettuce, tomatoes, and cheese.
2. Chop and cook bacon and onion together, until bacon is crispy. Drain grease into a bowl and reserve.
3. In a small bowl mix mayonnaise, sour cream, bacon drippings and milk. In a large bowl, combine potato, eggs, and the onion-bacon mixture. Add mayo mixture to potato mixture and toss. Cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate for 2-3 hours.
4. Served topped with lettuce, tomatoes, and cheese.
Kickin’ Cheese Biscuits
Need a quick side to cap off a BBQ feast? This is a quick cheese biscuit recipe that has an emphais on quick. You could roll the dough and cut into neat rounds (trick: use an old clean soup can with both ends out for perfect round cuts) but these “drop” buscuits are a bit rustic and taste just as good.
- 2 cups bisquick baking mix
- 2/3 cup milk
- 1/4 Sour Cream
- 3/4 cup Kraft Mexican Cheddar Jack with Jalapeno
- 1/4 teaspoon baking soda
- pich of salt
- 1/4 cup butter, melted
- 1/4 teaspoon garlic powder
Heat oven to 450. Mix baking mix, milk, & cheese until a soft dough forms; beat vigorously for 30 seconds. Drop dough by spoonfuls onto an ungreased cooking sheet. Bake 8 – 10 minutes or until golden brown.
Mix butter & garlic powder. Brush garlic mixture over warm biscuits before removing from cookie sheet. Serve warm. Makes 12.
Serving Size: 4
Mix butter & garlic powder. Brush garlic mixture over warm biscuits before removing from cookie sheet. Serve warm. Makes 12.
Serving Size: 4
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.