Authentic BBQ Sides

Homemade BBQ-Seasoned Potato Chips with Creamy Roquefort & Bacon Dip

Ingredients

4 pounds potatoes, washed and thinly sliced
Barbecue seasoning or salt to taste

Place the slices in a pan of ice water and soak for 1 hour. Drain well and pat dry. Deep fry the slices until golden brown. Remove the chips from the oil and allow to drain. Season with barbecue-seasoned flavoring or sea salt. Serve with a ramekin of Roquefort dip.

Creamy Roqufort Dip

1 cup sour cream
1 cup mayonnaise
½ teaspoon French's ® Worcestershire sauce
1 teaspoon chopped garlic
3 tablespoons red-wine vinegar
½ cup crumbled Roquefort cheese
½ cup chopped parsley
Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper

Whisk together the sour cream, mayonnaise, Worcestershire sauce, garlic, and vinegar in a bowl. Using a rubber spatula, fold in the Roquefort cheese and parsley until well incorporated. Season to taste with salt and pepper.

Fried Dill Pickles with Spicy Barbecue Dipping Sauce

Ingredients

4 cups all-purpose flour
1 cup yellow or white cornmeal
½ cup dry rub seasoning (your favorite)
2 teaspoons cayenne
2 teaspoons granulated garlic
Wafer-cut dill pickles, drained
Spicy Barbecue Dipping Sauce

Stir the flour, cornmeal, dry rub, cayenne, and garlic together. Put the pickles in a large bowl, pour the dry mix over them, and toss to coat the pickles well.

Deep-fry the pickles, in batches, until the coating is crispy, about 2 to 4 minutes until crispy. Drain.Serve with a ramekin of Spicy Barbecue Dipping Sauce

Spicy Barbecue Dipping Sauce

1 cup Cattlemen's Barbecue Sauce (your favorite)
1 cup ranch-style dressing

Mix the sauce and dressing well in a medium bowl and store in the refrigerator in a covered bottle or container.

Spicy Cornbread

Ingredients

1 cup Cattlemen's Barbecue Sauce (your favorite)
1 cup ranch-style dressing

In a mixing bowl, combine the cornmeal, cheese, baking powder, and salt. In another bowl, combine the eggs, corn, buttermilk, vegetable oil, and jalapeños. Stir the wet mixture into the dry ingredients just until moistened. Transfer mixture into a greased hotel pan. Bake at 350° for 55 to 65 minutes, or until a tester inserted in the center comes out clean.

Iceberg Wedge Salad with Creamy Roquefort Dip

Ingredients

3-4 medium tomatoes, sliced
2 heads iceberg lettuce, chilled and cut into 8 wedges
Crisp crumbled bacon

Creamy Roquefort Dip

1 cup sour cream
1 cup mayonnaise
½ teaspoon French's ® Worcestershire sauce
1 teaspoon chopped garlic
3 tablespoons red-wine vinegar
½ cup crumbled Roquefort cheese
½ cup chopped parsley

Arrange three slices of tomato around the edge of a plate and layer three iceberg wedges on the opposite edge.

Whisk together the sour cream, mayonnaise, Worcestershire sauce, garlic, and vinegar in a bowl. Using a rubber spatula, fold in the Roquefort cheese and parsley until well incorporated. Season to taste with salt and pepper.

Pour the dressing over wedges of the lettuce and garnish with the bacon if desired.

Fresh Collard Greens

Ingredients

8 quarts of water
10-12 bunches collards
6 lbs. salt pork or fatback - get some with
some streaks of meat in it
1 cup kosher salt
2 tablespoon crushed red pepper
½ cup black pepper coarsely ground
6 cups sugar
4 tablespoons cider vinegar

Wash greens thoroughly. Fill a large dishpan or five-gallon bucket with water and plunge the greens up and down, leaves first. Change the water and do it again. And again, until well rinsed.

In a large stockpot combine water, salt pork, salt, peppers, sugar, and vinegar. Bring to a gentle boil, then cover and simmer for 1 hour.

Chop the collards in ½" pieces. Split the leaf and remove the largest part of the stem to remove some of the bitterness.

Add the collards to the water. Return to a boil and simmer the collards for several hours until they are done. Stir them every once in a while.

Add water as necessary during the cooking process. After the collards start cooking down, they should be barely covered with water.

When the collards are dark in color and pierce easily with a fork, add cider vinegar, stir, cover, and remove from heat.

After about 15 minutes, remove the fatback. Drain the liquid from the greens when serving.

Baked Sweet Potatoes

Ingredients

6 large sweet potatoes
Vegetable oil
2 sticks butter, softened
2 cups packed brown sugar
½ teaspoon ground cinnamon

Preheat the oven to 250°. Rub the skins of the potatoes with vegetable oil. Bake for about 45 minutes or until done. Combine the butter, brown sugar and cinnamon in a bowl and work with a form to combine well. Cut the potatoes in half lengthwise and spoon the brown sugar mixture liberally on each half.

Beer-Braised Pit Beans

Ingredients

4 cups dried pinto beans
1 can beer
4 cups minced yellow onions
½ cup chile powder
6 tablespoons salt
2 cups chopped uncooked bacon

Wash the beans and sort through them to remove any foreign particles and broken beans. In a large pan, cover beans with cold water. Add at least six extra inches of water and make sure they remain covered during the soaking process. Soak overnight. Drain. Add 4 cups of water and the beer.

Add onions, chile powder, salt, and bacon and stir to blend. Bring the beans to a simmer and cook for 4 to 6 hours or until tender. Periodically stir the beans and add water as necessary.

Tangy Warm German Potato Salad

Ingredients

4 pounds potatoes (about 12 )
10 slices bacon
2 medium onions, chopped
2/3 cups vinegar
2/3 cups sugar
2/3 cups water
2 teaspoons celery seed
Salt and freshly ground pepper to taste

Preheat oven to 300°.

Boil potatoes in their skins.

Fry bacon until crisp and remove from pan. Cook onion in bacon drippings until translucent. Peel potatoes and cut into bite-sized pieces. Crumble bacon over potatoes.

Heat bacon drippings, onion, vinegar, sugar, water and celery seed until boiling. Pour over hot potatoes. Make sure liquid and potatoes are very hot when mixed together. Mix well. Add salt & pepper to taste.

Place potato mixture in a pan and bake, uncovered for 30 minutes.

Creamy Five-Cheese Mac and Cheese

Ingredients

1 lb pasta (penne or rigatoni)
6 tablespoons butter
6 tablespoons all-purpose flour
3 cups milk
2 cups heavy cream
2 cups white cheddar cheese, shredded
2 cups gruyere, shredded
1 cup mozzerella cheese, shredded
4 ounces cream cheese
2 tablespoons French's® Dijon Mustard
1 tablespoon French's® Worcestershire Sauce
½ teaspoon nutmeg, freshly ground
3 tablespoons olive oil
4 cups assorted mushrooms, roughly chopped
3 cloves chopped garlic
1 tablespoon fresh thyme, chopped
½ cup dry white wine
½ cup fresh bread crumbs
½ cup grated Parmigiano Reggiano Cheese

Preheat oven to 375°.

Cook pasta in boiling, salted water. Cook pasta to 60% of done (according to package instructions) as it will finish cooking when baked. Drain and set aside.

Melt the butter in a deep, heavy-bottomed pot and add flour. Cook for a minute or two over medium heat, stirring constantly. Gradually add the milk and cream a little at a time, whisking continually to avoid lumps. After all of the liquid is incorporated, continue to whisk until liquid thickens. Do not let hot milk mixture come to a full boil.

After liquid thickens, reduce heat to low and begin gradually adding the cheeses, continuing to whisk to avoid lumps. After cheese mixture is completely melted, whisk in Dijon Mustard, Worcestershire Sauce, and nutmeg. Set aside.

Heat olive oil in a medium skillet. Add mushrooms and salt and pepper to taste. Sauté approximately 5-7 minutes until most of the water released from mushrooms has evaporated. Add garlic and fresh thyme and sauté for another 1-2 minutes. Add white wine and deglaze pan until most of the wine has evaporated. Set aside.

Combine semi-cooked pasta and mushroom ragout with cheese sauce and stir to incorporate all ingredients. Pour into buttered casserole or baking dish. Combine bread crumbs with parmesan cheese and sprinkle over the top. Bake for 35-40 minutes or until crumb topping has browned. Let stand at room temp for 5-10 minutes prior to serving.

From-Scratch Green Bean Casserole

Ingredients

2 tablespoons butter
1 pound mushrooms, roughly chopped
2 cloves garlic, minced
Salt and pepper to taste
3 tablespoons flour
1 & ½ cups chicken stock
2 tablespoons sherry
1 & ½ cup cream or half and half
4 cans (16 ounce) green beans, drained
2 cans FRENCH'S® French fried onions (2.8 ounces each)

Preheat oven to 350°.

In a large saucepan, melt the butter. Add the mushrooms, garlic, salt and pepper. Cook until the mushrooms begin to soften, stirring continually. Whisk in the flour and cook for 1 minute. Whisk in the chicken stock and sherry and bring to a simmer. Add the cream or half and half and continue simmering until the sauce thickens, about 15 minutes. Salt and pepper to taste.

Spread the green beans in a pan and cover with the sauce. Spread fried onions evenly over the top. Bake at 350° for 45 minutes.

Sweet Potato Salad

Ingredients

16 medium sweet potatoes (about 3 ½ pounds)
2 cup tarragon or white wine vinegar
1 cup vegetable oil
4 tablespoons honey
3 garlic cloves, minced
1 teaspoon salt
½ teaspoon ground pepper
2 teaspoon grated orange peel
1 teaspoon fresh thyme, chopped
2 medium onions, halved and thinly sliced
2 medium green peppers, julienned
4 medium firm apples, chopped

In a large saucepan, cook sweet potatoes in boiling salted water just until tender, about 20 minutes. Cool completely.

While potatoes are cooking, in a small bowl, combine tarragon, vegetable oil, honey, garlic, salt, pepper, orange peel, and thyme and set aside. Peel potatoes and cut in half lengthwise and then into 1/4-inch slices. In a large bowl, combine the sweet potatoes, onion, green peppers, and apples.

Add dressing and gently toss to coat. Cover and refrigerate for at least 3 hours.

Mike Mills's Tangy Baked Beans

Ingredients

4 tablespoons French's® yellow mustard
6 cups ketchup
2 cup diced onion
2 small to medium green or red pepper, diced
3 cups brown sugar
1 cup honey
3 tablespoons dry rub (your choice)
2 large cans (28 ounces) pork and beans (such as Campbell's® or Showboat®)
2 cans (19 ounces) large red kidney beans, rinsed
2 cans (15 ½ ounces) chili beans (such as Bush's® Chili Starter)
2 cans (15 ½ ounces) large butter beans, rinsed
1 can (15 ½ ounces) of a fifth bean, your choice, rinsed
8 uncooked bacon strips or a few cooked ribs or some pulled or chopped pork.

Preheat the oven to 350°.

In a large bowl, mix the mustard, ketchup, onion, red or green pepper, brown sugar, sorghum or honey, and rub well. Be sure to work out all of the lumps of brown sugar. Add the beans, stirring gently with clean hands or a large spatula; just enough to evenly distribute the mixture. Don't over-mix.

Pour into a 4" hotel pan. Lay bacon strips across the top. Cover with aluminum foil and bake at 350° for 45 minutes. Remove foil and bake for an additional 15 minutes or until bubbly.

© Adapted from Peace, Love, and Barbecue. Reprinted with permission from Rodale.

Golden Brown Hush Puppies

Ingredients

2 cups all-purpose flour
2 cups yellow cornmeal
1 tablespoon baking powder
½ teaspoon baking soda
1 tablespoon salt
½ cup sugar
3 eggs beaten
1 ½ cups buttermilk
½ teaspoon garlic powder

Mix the flour, cornmeal, baking powder, baking soda, salt, sugar, eggs, buttermilk, and garlic powder together to make a thick batter.

Drop the batter into hot oil by tablespoons. Fry to a golden brown for about 3 to 4 minutes. Drain.

Creamy Deviled Eggs

Ingredients

24 large eggs
1 1/3 cups mayonnaise
2 tablespoons rice wine vinegar
2 ½ teaspoons French's® Dijon mustard
2 tablespoons Colman's dry mustard
3 tablespoons sugar
3 dashes FRANK'S REDHOT® sauce
Salt and freshly ground black pepper
Dry Rub Seasoning (your favorite)

Place the eggs in a saucepan, cover with cold water, and bring to a boil over high heat. Reduce the heat, and simmer for exactly 9 minutes. Pour off most of the water and immediately run cold water over the eggs.

Crack the eggshells and peel the eggs under running water. Cut the eggs in half lengthwise. Remove the yolks, and reserve. Mash the yolks with a fork or pass them through a fine sieve into a bowl. Add the mayonnaise, vinegar, mustards, sugar and hot sauce to the bowl, and mix together with a rubber spatula until smooth. Season to taste with salt and pepper.

Spoon the egg-yolk paste into a pastry bag with a star tip, and pipe the mixture into the egg whites to form rosettes or use a teaspoon to mound the yolk into the egg whites.) Sprinkle the top of the eggs with dry rub. Refrigerate immediately.

Refreshing Cucumber & Tomato Salad

Ingredients

3 cucumbers, thinly sliced
2 onions, thinly sliced and separated into rings
4 medium tomatoes, diced

Dressing

6 tablespoons vegetable oil
3 tablespoons sugar
3 tablespoons vinegar
½ teaspoon pepper
1 ½ teaspoons salt
3 teaspoons parsley, chopped

Place vegetables in a large bowl. In a small bowl, whisk together all dressing ingredients. Pour over vegetables and stir to combine. Refrigerate at least three hours before serving.