Coleslaw
A little background: This dish became popular in the early 1900s when jarred mayonnaise first became available. It was most likely brought to the United States in the 1800s by Dutch emigrants, and as a traditional topper on Carolina-style barbecue sandwiches, it's the most popular salad at barbecues and cookouts. |
Tip #1: Ditch The Drip
Keep your coleslaw light and refreshing -- not soggy, drippy or runny -- by coarsely chopping the cabbage. Although cabbage is pretty low in water, chopping it too finely with a dull knife or running it though a food processor will cause moisture to be released, making your coleslaw wet and soupy. |
Tip #2: Dress Accordingly
Coleslaw is essentially a cabbage salad; whether you use mayonnaise, vinegar or oils to make your coleslaw dressing, use it in moderation! This will keep the cabbage crisp and tasty.
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Tip #3: Spice Things Up
Salt and black pepper are traditional seasonings, yet herbs, spices and ingredients such as fennel, garlic, caraway seeds, sesame seeds and dill can also be incorporated, along with chopped veggies including celery, onions or carrots. If you have a few hours, keep the coleslaw covered in the refrigerator to allow the flavors to blend. |
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Barbecue Beans
A little background: Barbecue beans, also referred to as baked beans, are a cookout side dish favorite. While it is likely that sailors brought the bean stew recipe of cassoulet from northern France and the Channel Islands to the United States, various methods for cooking beans spread rapidly across the country, ultimately becoming the diversely flavored barbecue favorite that they are today. |
Tip #4: Slow & Steady
For the best barbecue beans, it's best to add a lot of flavorful ingredients, and let the flavors sink into the beans as they simmer away. Cooking them slow and low, for a long period of time, will infuse your beans with robust flavors. If you don't have the time to make homemade baked beans, adding ingredients such as crisply cooked bacon, sauteed onions, molasses, ketchup, brown sugar or barbecue sauce to canned baked beans during cooking can give you a home-cooked taste in much less time. |
Tip #5: Paying Complements
Enhance the flavors of the meat you're preparing by incorporating similar or complementary flavors into your beans. Sweet, smoky or spicy, your beans should reflect the flavors of your main grilled or barbecued dish.
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Tip #6: Bean There, Done That
There are so many ways to prepare barbecue beans; many of the ingredients used vary from region to region. For example, traditional Texas-style beans served alongside a smoked brisket will typically be made with pinto beans, and maybe a little diced jalapeno or two for some added heat; moving towards Kansas City, you'll find pinto or red kidney beans enhanced with the sweet and smoky flavors of their signature barbecue sauces. |
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Potato Salad
A little background: Easily made for large groups of people, from relatively inexpensive ingredients, potato salad is a cookout classic. While the slightly sour and tangy southern German Potato Salad is typically served warm, American-style potato salad made with a salad dressing or creamy mayonnaise base (or other ingredients that can spoil quickly) should be kept cold from the beginning of preparation, to the time it is enjoyed. |
Tip #7: Cool Down
If you're making a cold potato salad, or using ingredients that can go bad quickly, it's important to let the potatoes cool down significantly after they've boiled. Once the potatoes have cooled completely, you're ready to add your favorite potato salad ingredients. |
Tip #8: Hot Potato
Give your potatoes extra flavor by boiling them in salted water. Whether you boil them whole or cut into pieces (the smaller the pieces, the shorter the boiling time) it's important to take them out of the hot water at the right time--when they are tender, but not yet mushy. After removing them from the water, allow the potatoes to dry by putting them back into the empty pot. As potatoes absorb flavors best when they are hot, seasonings, herbs, spices or a light mixture of oil can be added when they are still warm--don't add anything that can be spoiled by heat to your potatoes until they've cooled. |
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Tip #9: Select A Spud
While russet or Idaho potatoes are typically the variety of choice, choosing waxy potatoes that are high in moisture, such as Yukon Gold or red potatoes, can lead to a potato salad with better flavor and texture. |
Tip #10: Creative Combinations
Mayonnaise or salad dressings (or a combination of both) are often used to make cold potato salad, but with a main ingredient as versatile as the potato, it's easy to come up with an array of delicious add-ins. Diced onions, carrots and celery, chopped hard boil eggs, mustard, sweet pickle relish and fresh herbs are all popular potato salad ingredients. |
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