Monday, March 24, 2008

Some of my favorite BBQ side dishes

Hash Brown Casserole

This is one of my favorite side dishes. It goes great with BBQ and is suitable for any meal of the day. In a pinch you can add some chopped up ham or other meat and call it a meal.

It is a very close variation to the hashbrown casserole that you get at the cracker barrel restaurant. YUMMS!

1 cup onion, diced. I keep dehydrated onion chips around the house and use these for most of my onion cooking needs. They rehydrate very easy by just setting in a bowl with water. A definate no tears solution
1/4 lb. of butter thinly sliced. The BUTTER CUTTER is nice for this. Available at our store.
1 can of condensed cream of chicken soup
1 8 ounce container of sour cream
8 oz. of shreddad cheddar cheese Colby probably fits this the best
2 pounds of frozen hash browns thawed
1 cup of crushed corn flakes. Other toppings go nice as well such as potato chips, cheetos, pork rinds, etc.

Mix the whole mess up well and pour into a 9 x 13 casserole dish reserving the crushed corn flakes to spread on the top. Bake in a preheated 350 degree oven for about an hour or until done.

Deep fried corn on the cob

This is more of a procedure than a recipe. When I was traveling to St. Loius for work on a regular basis, there was a BBQ joint there called bandana's. They put out some good que and I ate there frequently. They were the first place that I ever saw deep fried corn on the cob. It is excellent stuff and I have made it now for several occasions where we are feeding lots of people and it is always a huge hit.

Get yourself some good sweet corn. Preferably at the peak of sweet corn season when it is the best. Clean all husk and hairs from the corn. We use a turkey fryer and deep fry it in peanut oil. Preheat the oil to about 360-375. It is safest to use a basket that you can lower into the oil and a hook to retrieve the contents. It takes about 3 minutes or so to fry the corn. The kernels will get a nice golden brown coloring to them when it is ready. Basically, when it looks done, it is done.

Allow to cool just a little bit as they are piping hot when they come out. Salt and pepper to taste and enjoy. No butter needed.

We have tried in oil other than peanut oil and the result is not as good. I have also since seen recipes using batter or breading, but don't see the need.

Pineapple Rice

This is just a regular white rice. I always use broth to make my rice. Chicken broth with a chicken dish, beef with a beef dish. Take your choice. Either way, it will be a much more flavorful dish than just boiling it in water. Add a small can of crushed pineapple to this when you throw the rice into the boiling broth.

When finished, you can add a small amount of soy sauce and terriyaki if you care to as well as a small amount of whatever rub that you used on your main BBQ dish.

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