Barbecue Chicken Salad

BBQ sauce adds depth to this main-course dish

Barbecue! We can’t get enough of it. So why not BBQ Salad?

For this dish, we whipped up a batch of French-style salad dressing. You know, that orangey stuff from the 50s. But we replaced the ketchup with BBQ sauce, and made a few other adjustments.

The result: Deep barbecue flavor. Enough said.

Slow Cooker BBQ Pulled Chicken

Outdoor flavor, indoor easy

Here in the US, we’ll be celebrating Memorial Day this weekend. And that means the start of cookout season.

Problem is, the weather forecast says rain in our area. Bummer.

Fortunately, we have the perfect dish for days when the weather gods refuse to cooperate. This slow-cooker BBQ pulled chicken tastes like you cooked it long and slow over an outdoor smoker. But you never need to leave the house.

Most of the cooking is unattended, too, giving you time to do other things. Like chat with your guests over a cocktail. Or two.

Slow Cooker BBQ Pulled Pork

Easy recipe, succulent flavor

Mmmm, barbecue. Especially pulled pork. We can’t resist.

But this time of the year, we’re not really into hanging around outside in the cold and snow tending a smoker. We’d rather stay inside and let a slow cooker do its magic.

And “magic” is the word for this easy slow-cooker pulled pork. Just prep the meat, put it in the slow cooker, and forget about it. Then revel in deliciousness.

This recipe feeds a crowd, so it’s perfect for a Super Bowl party. And the dish is so good, you won’t even care who wins the game. No matter how it turns out, you’ll score big with your guests.

BBQ Beef Brisket Chili

Beer and barbecue sauce add zip to this cold weather pleaser

Using up leftover BBQ Beef Brisket generally isn’t a problem. Still, a brisket yields a lot more meat than most of us can eat at one meal.

You could make a sandwich (or two) the next day, of course. But how about trying something different? When the weather is cold (as it currently is throughout most of the US), nothing warms you up better than a bowl of chili. So why not use your leftover barbecue brisket to make chili—complete with sauce. It’s like barbecue in a bowl.

And speaking of bowls, if you haven’t already planned the menu for your Super Bowl festivities, this would be a great dish to serve. You can easily prepare it ahead of time and then reheat it on game day.

Plus, it’s a dish that will be new to many of your guests. And since both teams in this year’s Super Bowl have been there before, it’s nice to see at least something new, right?

Oven Slow-Cooked BBQ Beef Brisket

Outdoor flavor cooked indoors

BBQ beef brisket cooked over a slow, smoky fire? Nothing better. But when the weather is cold—as it currently is throughout much of the US—most of us don’t venture outside to tend a smoker or grill.

We’re happy to turn on the oven, though. Which is handy, because brisket “barbecued” in the oven can have flavor that’s almost as good as the outdoor kind. It even takes a bit less time to make. And it requires very little attention from the cook.

That gives you more time to enjoy other things—like chatting with your guests at the annual Super Bowl party. This year, maybe you’ll even get to see the whole game.

Oven Slow-Cooked BBQ Pulled Pork

Perfect for Super Bowl Sunday

Pulled pork takes a while to make if you do it the traditional way—12 hours or more of slow cooking with wood smoke. Plus you need to hang around outside to tend the fire. For most of us, that’s just not going to happen very often (especially when the weather turns cold, as it has right now in much of the US).

Well, good news! You can “barbecue” a pork shoulder in your oven—and get succulent pulled pork that rivals your favorite BBQ joint’s.

With the Super Bowl coming up in a couple of weeks, you may be having some friends over to watch the game. Hungry friends. Serve them this great pulled pork and you’ll be a winner—no matter how your team plays.

Tangy KC-Style Barbecue Sauce

A spicier, less sweet blend than most bottled sauces

Walk into any supermarket in the US, and you can find Kansas City-style barbecue sauce.  It’s usually tomato-based and tasty, but definitely on the sweet side.  It obviously has appeal — it’s one of the most popular styles of barbecue sauce sold commercially.  What shoppers may not know, however, is that KC-style sauce has a long tradition — and a flavor range that goes way beyond sweet.

Back in our early married years, Mrs. Kitchen Riffs and I lived in Kansas City and ate barbecue quite often.  But the sauce served at our favorite spots was quite different from the bottled stuff you buy in supermarkets today.  It had a hint of sweetness, but was never cloying.  Instead, it tended to have a peppery, spicy flavor with a hint of vinegar — and a texture that could be almost gritty. 

The sauce I’m making today is a compromise — sweeter than the sauce of my youth, but less sweet than most commercial versions.  The sugar nicely tames the spicy flavor in my sauce (which isn’t fiery — though it will get your attention).

Speaking of attention, that’s what you’ll attract when you serve this sauce with your favorite barbecue meat.  Your guests will love it!  And you, for making it.

Oven Slow-Cooked BBQ Spare Ribs

Low heat is the secret to tender, succulent barbecued ribs

The best barbecue gets its melt-in-your-mouth tenderness from long, slow cooking over very low heat — and its smoky flavor from burning wood, such as hickory or apple.  It’s a challenge for backyard grillers like me (and probably you).

“Traditional” Q requires specialized equipment (ideally a smoker) and some fragrant hardwood.  Not to mention a live fire, and lots of time.  Oh, and with that “live fire” thing, don’t even think about leaving the premises.  Accidents happen, and it would be a bummer if one happened to you.

Luckily, however, we can produce excellent barbecue without all that muss and fuss.  Cooking meat (we’re doing ribs today) in a slow oven for several hours achieves a luscious tenderness that rivals the best live-fire barbecue.  And using a smoky-flavored barbecue rub (a mix of spices and sugar that you literally rub on the meat to help flavor it) produces ribs with that hint of hardwood.  Of course, nothing replaces the flavor of real smoke, but you’ll be pretty happy with what you can achieve by using an aromatic rub.

With Memorial Day coming up soon in the US, many of us are thinking of summer grilling and barbecue.  These oven-cooked spareribs will fit right into the festivities.  They’re easy to make, and they pack flavor that will have your guests begging for seconds.  Who knew your kitchen was the next great barbecue joint?

Easy Baked Beans with Bacon

Barbecue Sauce Spices Up This Cookout Star   

OK, there are baked beans you make from scratch.  You know, soak the beans overnight, then combine them with some pork and molasses and slow braise them in the oven for hours until the aroma drives you crazy enough that you grab the pot (before they’re done!) and start dipping your spoon in.

Pretty good.  But not as good as these shortcut beans.  My recipe starts with canned baked beans (don’t tell!)  Then you add some bacon and barbecue sauce, plus other goodies.  Time in the oven?  No more than an hour.  Time before the aroma drives you wild and you grab the pot of beans (without an oven mitt!) and start spooning them down?  Half an hour — 45 minutes tops.

Seriously, these baked beans are good.  I don’t care what else you serve at your next cookout, this is the dish people will keep coming back to (and the one they’ll beg you to bring to every pot luck for the rest of your life.)

Fortunately, this is a pretty easy recipe to make.  But you don’t have to tell them that.

Barbecued Pork Steaks

Finish Summer Right with an Authentic Recipe for this St. Louis Specialty

Where has summer gone? Labor Day is almost here — and for many of us this weekend is the last great cookout opportunity of the year.

The holiday’s best festivities involve firing up the Weber and cooking great slabs of meat. I live in St. Louis, and although St. Louis Cut spare ribs are nationally known, the cut of meat most St. Louisians favor for cookouts is the pork steak.

If you haven’t had these for a while – or worse yet, never had them – Labor Day would be a great time to savor their porky succulence.