Picnics and BBQ

 

Another one of our favorites is stuff you can cook outside with a bunch of friends. Here are a few things that we either eat at BBQs or use to fix BBQ.

 

Click on the recipe name and you'll be taken to that recipe below:

 

My Pig Sauce - My version of Eastern Carolina Pig Pickin' Sauce

Laurie's Settler's Beans - I think my sister got this from a lady at a pot luck dinner.

Kathy's Vidalia Onion Pie - Grandma's recipe with some slight variations.

My Favorite Potato Salad - From an old German lady at a church pot luck dinner.

David's Cornbread Salad - From my brother.

Cheatin' Ribs - Based on Alton Brown's (Good Eats) 'Who loves ya' babyback' recipe.

 

 

My Pig Sauce

 

1 cup Texas Pete Hot Sauce

1 cup ketchup

1 cup vinegar

1 tbsp chopped garlic

1 tbsp red pepper flakes

 

Combine and heat until the red pepper sinks. Cool. Put in a bottle. Pour on pig.

 

 

Laurie's Settler's Beans

I think Laurie actually got this recipe from someone else, but she gave us the recipe, so she gets the credit here.

Ingredients:

1 lb Ground Beef
1 package bacon, chopped and browned
1 med onion

1 can Dark red kidney beans - drained
1 can Butter beans - drained
1 can Pork & beans
1/3 cup White sugar
1/3 cup Brown sugar
1/4 cup Catsup
1/4 cup Hickory flavor BBQ sauce
2 tbsp Mustard
2 tbsp Molasses
1/2 tsp Chili powder
1 tsp Salt
1/2 tsp Pepper
1 tsp Garlic powder
3 shakes Worstershire sauce

Combine beans in a pot. Add remaining ingredients as you brown the meat and sauté the onions. Add meat & onions last and cook for at least one hour in a crock pot or bake at 350 for 1 hour. We usually double the recipe when we're making it for a large group. Dad also will make this with sausage, instead of the ground beef.

 

 

Kathy's Vidalia Onion Pie

 

Original recipe came from Grandma Kelder, some additions were made from a show we saw on the Food Channel.

Ingredients:

1 cup saltine cracker crumbs
3 tbsp melted butter

2 Vidalia onions, thinly sliced
3 tbsp butter
2 eggs
1/2 cup milk
Salt & pepper
1/2 cup grated cheddar cheese

1 fresh tomato, sliced
1/2 cup balsamic vinegar
salt & pepper
1/2 cup parmesan cheese

Instructions:

Marinate the tomato slices in balsamic vinegar and a little salt and pepper at least 1 hour at room temperature.


Combine crumbs and 3 tablespoons butter and press into an 8'' pie pan. Bake 8 minutes at 350 degrees.

 

Sauté onions in butter until tender and put into shell. Mix eggs, milk and a little salt and pepper and pour over the onions. Top with cheddar cheese.


Layer the tomatoes over the top of the pie and top with parmesan cheese.

 

Note: To make Grandma's original recipe, leave off the tomatoes, vinegar and parmesan cheese.


Bake at 350 degrees for 45 minutes.

 

 

My Favorite Potato Salad

Potatoes - boiled, peeled and sliced
4 spring onions
1 package Smokey links
mayonnaise
sour cream
vinegar
salt
pepper

Boil, peel and slice the potatoes. Slice spring onions into little rounds, so you have about a half cup, don't add to salad yet. Cut Smokey links into smaller pieces, don't add to salad yet. Add equal amounts of mayonnaise and sour cream. Start with a big spoonful of each. By the time you're done the salad should be creamy. Add salt, pepper and vinegar to taste. Add remaining ingredients and mix well.

 

 

David's Cornbread Salad

2 boxes of Jiffy Cornbread Mix
Large Green Pepper – seeded and chopped
Large Red Pepper – seeded and chopped
1 quart of grape tomatoes (cut in half)
1 can of sweet corn (no salt added)
1 bunch of green onions (diced to about 1 inch into where they turn green)
1 bottle Ranch Dressing
Pepper
Salt

Bake cornbread per instructions on the box. Let cool. (*note – I like to brown the cornbread a little more, it adds some flavorful crunch to the salad)
Cut and combine all vegetables into large mixing bowl.
Mix in entire bottle of ranch dressing.
Crumble cornbread into vegetable mixture and mix by hand until everything is well blended.
Add a dash of salt
Add pepper to taste
Chill (overnight is best) and serve

I’ve considered trying a variation of this that adds a Mexican flavor by adding a chopped jalapeno and using chipotle ranch dressing.
 

 

Cheatin' Ribs

 

Based on the ribs Alton Brown does on his 'Who loves ya' babyback' recipe from his Good Eats show, these ribs are darn good and fairly easy to make. I'm working on adjusting the recipe, so I can do them on the smoker, but for now, they are good as they are.

 

2 whole slabs, pork, baby back ribs

 

Rub:

8 tbsp brown sugar, tightly packed

1 tbsp chili powder

1 tbsp Old Bay seasoning

1/2 tsp ground black pepper

1/2 tsp ground cayenne pepper

1/2 tsp ground thyme

1/2 tsp onion powder

 

2 cloves garlic, chopped fine

2 tbsp red pepper flakes

 

Braising Liquid:

1 cup white wine

2 tbsp rice wine vinegar

2 tbsp Worcestershire sauce

1 tbsp honey

 

Instructions:

In a bowl, combine all dry rub ingredients and mix well. Place each slab of ribs on its own piece of heavy-duty aluminum foil. Apply rub liberally to each side of each rack of ribs. Evenly sprinkle the red peppers and garlic over the tops (meat side) of the ribs. Roll up the foil and refrigerate the ribs for an hour or so.

 

Preheat oven to 250 degrees.

 

In a microwavable bowl, combine all ingredients for the braising liquid. Microwave on high for 1 minute. Place the ribs, in their foil on a baking sheet. Open one end of the foil on each slab to make sort of a funnel. Pour half of the braising liquid into each foil packet. Tilt the packets to allow the liquid to distribute. Seal up the end of the foil that you opened and put the pan with the ribs in the oven. Cook for 2 1/2 hours.

 

At the end of the cook time, remove the foil and transfer the remaining liquid to a sauce pan. Bring the liquid to a hard boil, stirring to be sure it doesn't burn. I start my gas grill, on low, while the sauce reduces. Watch for the liquid to turn to a caramel/syrup consistency, then it's done. Take the ribs and sauce out to the grill. Baste the ribs while they brown on the grill. They don't have to cook long.

 

Cut ribs in pairs and serve.

 

 

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