I ended up with leftover Vidalia onion after I made bacon wrapped Sriracha onion rings the other day. Vidalia onions are a great thing. A marvelous thing. While they are in season I grab as many as I can, and use them in everything. Like this fantastic Vidalia onion dip. This dip may look like any other dip but it isn’t. Sure, it’s got cheese. And some creamy mayo. But it’s the onion that makes it something special and something different.
Different. And Great.
Since it was just my wife and I, I scaled this recipe for Vidalia onion dip way back. But, that’s easy to do since the ratio of ingredients is as easy as it gets: 1-to-1-to-1-to-1.
For a little twist, caramelize the onions in a bit of oil first.
Vidalia onions are a great thing. A marvelous thing. While they are in season I grab as many as I can, and use them in everything. Like this fantastic Vidalia onion dip.Â
I was visiting a favorite local food truck of mine the other day. I love food trucks. This particular truck specializes in various hashes, something I hadn’t made or really not something I have often. Everything looked and tasted fantastic. I decided to make a copycat version of the spring hash, a sausage mushroom kale hash. My version is a little heavier on the sausage, but you can adjust it as you like. I also added a fried egg, but next time I’ll add a poached egg instead.
Easy. And Delicious.
This sausage mushroom kale hash is an easy dish to make, and it has great flavor to boot. I used hot Italian sausage for a little extra kick. You can make a breakfast version of this hash by substituting ground pork sausage. Sage sausage would be fantastic in it I think.
After visiting the Citizen Hash food truck the other day, and seeing (and tasting) how great the hash was, I decided to make a copycat version of the spring hash, a sausage mushroom kale hash
Salt a large pot of water and bring to a boil. Add the potatoes and cook until nearly done, 5-8 minutes. Drain.
Heat a teaspoon of oil in a large skillet over medium heat.
Crumble sausage into the pan and cook until done. Remove to a paper towel-lined plate.
Add 2 tablespoons of oil to the skillet.
Add the onions and cook for a few minutes.
Add the garlic and cook until the onions are softened.
Add the potatoes. Turn up the heat to high and cook until the potatoes are golden brown and crisped on one side. Flip and crisp the other side.
Add the cooked sausage, mushrooms, kale, and the spices and gently stir fry until the mushrooms start to soften and the kale has wilted. Add more oil if it is too dry.
Season with salt and pepper.
Serve topped with a cooked egg and garnished with parsley if desired.
These bacon-wrapped Sriracha onion rings are absolutely crazy good. The Sriracha caramelizes a bit as the bacon crisps over a sweet Vidalia onion, leaving you with a fantastic sweet heat. I’m a huge fan of Vidalias, always snatching up as many as I can while they are in season. And who doesn’t like Sriracha and bacon? It’s like having everything you ever dreamed of in one bite.
Easy. And Delicious.
There are a few variations of these bacon-wrapped sriracha onion rings out on the web. I settled on this one because it’s pretty straightforward. I’ve seen some recipes that like to sprinkle the rings in brown sugar before cooking. I’m pretty sure you’ll end up with a sticky mess on the grill if you do.
You can also make these in an oven. Just place the rings onto baking racks over baking sheets that are lined with aluminum foil and bake at 350 F (keeping an eye on them as they cook).
The key to these is to cut your onion rings thick (at least 1/2″), and use good, well-shaped thin sliced bacon. I use Indiana Kitchen brand bacon because the slices are generally all nice and rectangular. You don’t want a skinny piece of bacon that’ll shrink up and fall off your onion ring!Keep the leftover inner onion rings and make a fantastic Vidalia onion dip.
These bacon-wrapped Sriracha onion rings are absolutely crazy good. The Sriracha caramelizes a bit as the bacon crisps over a sweet onion, leaving you with a fantastic sweet heat.
Fire up your grill for indirect cooking, around 300-350 degrees F. These will take about 30 minutes, but maybe as long as an hour to cook depending on your grill temperature.
Cut the onions into 1/2″ rings.
Push out the inner rings, leaving the last two outer rings still together as one. Do not separate them.
Squeeze some Sriracha into a bowl that’s just big enough to fit an onion ring.
Place the ring into the sauce. Using your fingers, spread the sauce all over the ring. Flip the onion and repeat. Get it coated, but not drenched.
Wrap bacon around the rings. Don’t wrap too tightly since the bacon will shrink. Don’t wrap it too loose or it’ll fall off.
Brush (or just use your fingers) more Sriracha on the outside of the bacon.
Place the rings on your grill over indirect heat.
Grill the rings until the bacon just starts to crisp. Gently flip them (I used a grill spatula) and cook another 10-15 minutes. Remove to a baking sheet and let firm up a bit.
Serve with dipping sauce.
For the dipping sauce
Whisk together all ingredients except the milk.
If the mixture is too thick, add a splash of milk, whisk, and add more as needed if it is still too thick.
Notes
It takes a while to get the bacon just perfect on these, but it’s a fun and tasty treat and worth the trouble!
Ah, yummy egg salad! Perfect on crackers. Or as a sandwich. Or, on a hot dog! Yes, trust me. It’s fantastic! The coolness really contrasts the hot all-beef dogs. Believe it or not, I made this just for topping my deli hot dogs. You won’t believe how well a hot-of-the-grill dog and this cold egg salad go together.
I’m Boiled Egg Challenged
Update since my original post: I absolutely stink (best word I could think of) when it comes to making boiled eggs. Hard or soft, doesn’t matter. I am egg challenged. So I picked up a little cheap egg cooker like the one below. This lil baby cranks out 6 eggs in about 15 minutes and they’re perfect each and every time! I don’t even feel bad any more that I just cannot make boiled eggs!
Everyone ranted and raved about this Cherry Doctor Pepper pulled pork. It was so incredibly tender and juicy, it melted in our mouths. I have smoked a lot of pulled pork, but I can honestly say this was at least as good as the best I’ve ever made. It does not have a strong cherry flavor, just a hint. The Dr. Pepper adds a nice flavor and a lot of moisture. The overnight rub is also important.
To Foil Or Not To Foil
I opted to foil the pork at the end of the cook. This is not something I normally do, as the pork tends to not get much of a thick ‘bark’. But the Cherry Doctor Pepper pulled pork really came out fantastic anyways. You can skip the foiling if you wish, but expect a longer cook time.
Don’t forget to make a big batch of Cherry Doctor Pepper BBQ sauce to go with the pork. I served ours up on toasted onion buns, with the sauce and fresh-made slaw on the side. It was the perfect dinner basket!
I prefer to use fruit or nut woods when I smoke unless I want a heavier smoke flavor. Pecan, apple or cherry are my favorites. I used apple for this pork.
Everyone ranted and raved about this Cherry Doctor Pepper pulled pork. It was so incredibly tender and juicy, it melted in our mouths. I have smoked a lot of pulled pork, but I can honestly say this was at least as good as the best I’ve ever made.
Cherry Dr. PepperI used almost a 2 liter bottle between the pork and the Cherry Dr. Pepper BBQ sauce, which I doubled
Instructions
Place each butt on a large piece of aluminum foil. Squirt all sides of each with yellow mustard. Do not be shy with it.
Sprinkle all sides with the rub. Again, don’t be shy with it.
Sprinkle a bit of brown sugar on all sides and rub in. This step is optional if you are using a sweet rub.
Pour a bit of Dr. Pepper into a spray bottle and lightly spritz all sides of the pork.
Tightly wrap the meat in the foil and place on large sheet pans in the fridge overnight.
Fire up your smoker or grill for cooking 225 F to 250 F. Add a bit of fruit wood once it is fully lit.
While waiting for the smoker to come up to temperature, inject each butt with more Dr. Pepper. Again, don’t be shy with it.
Place pork onto the smoker fat-side up.
Mist the pork with additional Dr. Pepper every two hours. Cook 1 to 1 1/2 hours per pound or until the pork reaches 175 F when tested in multiple places with an instant-read thermometer.
Remove pork from the smoker and place into aluminum half pans. Add 1 cup of Cherry Dr. Pepper to each pan. Cover with foil and return to smoker until meat temperature reaches 205 F.
Drain any fat and excess liquid from the pans and uncover and cook a bit longer, until temperature returns to 205 F.
Remove butts and cover in foil and let rest 30-45 minutes.
Shred pork as desired and serve with the BBQ sauce on the side.
This is my go-to easy nacho cheese sauce. It’s great over hot dogs (such as the awesome grilled San Antonio hot dogs shown below). It’s also fantastic as a dip, drizzled over steamed veggies, over baked potatoes, on burgers. Just about everything needs this sauce. Add chili to make a great chili sauce for fries. Or, add salsa for a fantastic dip.
Spice It Up!
Add just a little cayenne or chopped pickled jalapenos to your sauce. Or chipotles in adobo sauce or your favorite hot sauce. Sriracha is also awesome in a cheese sauce! It’s more than ok to add a little kick to this nacho cheese sauce.
Wow, I was blown away by these Buffalo hot dogs. They’re crazy easy to make, but they have a little wing-like kick (thanks to plenty of Frank’s RedHot sauce) and the blue cheese absolutely go great with hot grilled all-beef hot dogs. Wing sauce on a hot dog is a great thing. Skip the ketchup.
Look Different. Taste Fantastic.
The celery and carrot topping added a nice crunch to these dogs. I have to admit, when I order or make chicken wings, I tend to skip the veggies. But, these dogs need them.
If you want to keep the Buffalo wing theme going, just serve these dogs with some Buffalo slaw! Buffalo hot dogs prove that more ‘Buffalo’ is a good thing!
The celery and carrot topping added a nice crunch to these dogs. I have to admit, when I order or make chicken wings, I tend to skip the veggies. But, these dogs need them.
This is the perfect kicked-up aioli. Great for topping roasted turkey sandwiches, regular sandwiches, wraps, hot dogs (yes, hot dogs) and burgers. Everything where you would use mayonnaise. This chipotle aioli takes something that was just ok and will make it taste fantastic.
Perfect For Non-Boring Sandwiches
Why have boring when you can get a little heat and a little smoky flavor to boot? Make a batch of chipotle aioli and keep it in the fridge. I’m not shy with this sauce when I make a big ole sandwich. And I like for it to set for a few minutes before I dive in. I like it to soak into my bread. More flavor is better I say!
For an aioli with a bit more of a spicy kick than this chipotle aioli, try my Sriracha aioli. It’s great on sandwiches too! Make them both and really have a crowd-pleasing sandwich bar.
My goodness, what a great dessert this grilled strawberry shortcake with lemon cream is. Grilled pound cake is a delicious thing. Top it with a homemade lemon cream and grilled strawberries and you have something truly special. I made the fantastic lemon cream sauce by hand, as stated in the recipe, but you could shortcut it and just whip some lemon zest and vanilla extract in with some store bought whipped topping.
Keep An Eye On Them
The pound cake doesn’t take long to get grill marks and a light little crunch along the edges, so don’t leave it unattended on the grill (I use my Weber grill). You want grilled strawberry shortcake with lemon cream, not burnt. A few more seconds and I would’ve let mine go too far. I did want a bit of a bite to the cake when I bit into it. I think it’s a nice contrast to the cream. And that grill adds a nice flavor, too.
My goodness, what a great dessert this grilled strawberry shortcake with lemon cream is. Grilled pound cake is a delicious thing. Top it with a homemade lemon cream and grilled strawberries and you have something truly special.Â
All the great flavor of the famous McDonald’s Big Mac, in a smaller package. These grilled Big Mac sliders are the perfect bites for a party. And actually, they’re great for dinner too. If you’d rather make the bigger version, I have made them too. I love Big Macs off the grill. That flame char really adds a lot of flavor to the burgers.
A Burger Press Makes It Easier
I use my Weber slider presses to make a big batch of grilled Big Mac sliders quickly. They come out uniform and shaped perfectly. I can crank out a massive batch of sliders in no time, that’s for sure! Sadly, that particular press is no longer available, but this one from Cuisinart makes all sizes of patties! It sure is a time-saver!
I use this nifty little ole burger press to make these burgers. It’s the best thing ever for stuffing burgers with just about anything you can think of!
