I used to be addicted to tater tots. I loved crispy crunchy potatoes. But then along came crispy crowns. Same wonderful potato flavor. But crunchier. They’re thinner. Crispier. They’re so addictive. But how to make them even better? Serve them with this dipping sauce. Creamy. And spicy. A hint of ketchup (kind of a nod to the old days when I just used ketchup). Crispy crowns love this dipping sauce and so do I!
Get On The Potato Mayo Wagon
My hope in life is that everyone try dipping potatoes in a mayonnaise-based sauce at least once in life. Ok, it’s not really my hope. But I really wish people would try it more because it’s a great combo. Much better than ketchup I believe. This dipping sauce for crispy crowns will make a believer out of you if you are on the fence.
PS: I used to serve my tater tots with butter. I’d say try it, you’ll like it, but this dipping sauce is much better!
Oh boy. You’re right, I didn’t need something else to come along that is so good that I can’t stop eating it. I have a long list of things I make that fit that description. But, add another. This smoked Everything Bagel cream cheese is really hard to stop eating. It’s the perfect appetizer. Easy. Creamy. Flavorful.
Cook’s Treats
One of the greatest things about being a cook is ‘cook’s treats’. Those are the things I make that I get to try first. Usually when no one is looking. Like when I’m out at the smoker by myself. I can take a bite, let the flavors sink in, and smile and be happy with the results. This smoked Everything Bagel cream cheese is the perfect Cook’s Treat. That’s why I put more than one on the smoker. Some for me, some for everyone else. Seems fair enough!
A Blank Canvas
I used Everything Bagel seasoning, but you can smoke cream cheese using just about anything to season it. You can even go with the sweet route, with a combination of sugar and cinnamon. It’s also a great way to use up some of your favorite seasonings in your pantry. Grab that BBQ rub. That rotisserie chicken flavoring. Whatever you like on other foods will be great on smoked cheese. Be adventurous!
Fire up your smoker for 225 F. Use whatever wood you prefer, but I recommend a lighter wood (such as apple) since the cheese will easily absorb the smoke.
Unwrap the cream cheese but leave it on the foil.
Place into the freezer for 10 minutes to harden slightly.
Use a knife to cut diagonal slits across the top of the cheese. Cut about 1/4" deep.
Sprinkle the cheese liberally with the seasoning. Press it down gently to get into the slits you just cut.
Place the cheese (on the foil) onto your smoker and smoke 1 1/2-2 hours depending on how smoky you want your cheese. The cheese should soften slightly but not melt.
Remove and serve with crackers.
Notes
I place my cream cheese on a foil-wrapped cedar plank. I found that it makes it easier to get the cheese on/off the smoker. As the cheese softens it slides off the foil easily onto my serving platter.Leftover cheese can be served cold or warmed in an air fryer, oven or microwave.
The messier it is, the better the burger. I’ve always lived by that motto. I was happy when I made these smash burgers with sweet chili special sauce. They were messy. The kind of messy where the sauce runs down the back of your arm when you pick them up for that big bite. The sauce is the star here and it shines big. It’s what that other ‘special’ burger sauce wishes it were: fantastic!
Heat, Too!
The sweet chili special sauce on these smash burgers has a nice little ‘kick’ to it. Not enough that you’ll be screaming ‘it burns! it burns!’ but it’s there and it adds a lot of flavor to the sauce. If you’re afraid of the heat, leave it out and you’ll still get to enjoy a great burger sauce. Or add more and wake up your burgers even more!
The sauce does get better the longer it ‘rests’ in the fridge. So, if you have the time, make it the day before you’re going to use it. Just give it a good stir before using it on your burgers.
Combine all of the sauce ingredients except for the lettuce in a small bowl.
Add in 1/4 cup of the shredded lettuce and stir to coat.
Reserve until ready to use.
For the burgers
Preheat a griddle on your grill on high for 10 minutes.
Form the beef into 4 4-ounce balls.
Place the balls onto the griddle and let cook for 30 seconds then flatten them out until then using a spatula or grill press. Season well with the salt and pepper.
After 3 minutes flip the patties and season. Continue cooking until almost done to your preference.
Add the cheese and cook another minute until melted and the burgers are done.
While the burgers are cooking toast the buns.
Remove burgers from the griddle and place onto the bun bottoms. Top with the lettuce, plenty of the sauce mixture, and onion slices.
I can sprinkle cheddar cheese seasoning on my popcorn all day long. And I’d be happy. Or I can take a extra few seconds and make smoky nacho cheese popcorn seasoning and take my cheesy popcorn addiction to a new level. I’ve been ditching potato chips as my go-to lunch snack because I cannot be trusted with them. Well, I can’t be trusted with seasoned popcorn either but it is at least a little better for me!
You Won’t Need Much!
You can ‘dust’ your popcorn with smoky nacho cheese ranch popcorn seasoning. Kinda sprinkle it a bit then gently shake or stir it. Or you can just go for it. Pour it on there. Use your hands to get it all over the popcorn. And your fingers. It’s gonna happen anyway. You’re gonna want to get maximum smoky cheesy heat yumminess. Don’t worry, it’s really not that spicy.
I’m not going to say that all slow cooker pulled pork dishes are boring. They aren’t. But some, well, they lacked depth shall we say. The sauce was all one note. Not bad, just not exciting. And not something I’d dream about at night. Then along came this slow cooker Appalachian Pulled Pork with Sweet and Sour Coleslaw. Nothing boring here. The sauce is complex, flavorful. Different. Piled high, it makes for a great (and messy) sandwich. It’s even better with a horseradish-packed slaw that’ll make your face pucker up. The combination is great.
Get Saucy
This recipe for some good ole slow cooker Appalachian Pulled Pork with Sweet and Sour coleslaw makes a good bit of sauce. I even scaled it back from the original recipe which I got from Sweet Baby Ray’s website. So no worrying about having boring, dry, un-sauced pulled pork here. When you dish it up, grab plenty of sauce. Between that and the yummy tangy creamy slaw, you’re in for a (messy) treat!
I made a big batch of my homemade pastrami the other day. Sure that meant plenty of Reuben sandwiches. And pastrami and mustard sandwiches. And a pastrami smash burger. This is a meat-lovers extravaganza. There’s no shortage of flavor that’s for sure. Sharp and tangy kraut. Smoky pastrami. And delicious, juicy meat patties. All topped with Swiss cheese and plenty of dressing. Grab the napkins, you’re in for a messy tasty treat!
A Lot Of Flavor.
Once you’ve made a smash burger or two you’ll find them to be as easy to make as the non-smash ones. Before long you’ll be a master at it, making great burgers like a pastrami burger. I like to pile the pastrami and kraut high. And I’ll take plenty of dressing, too. These aren’t supposed to be dainty burgers. The messier, the better.
You don’t have to make your own pastrami to enjoy this burger. Just picked some up at your local deli and enjoy!
Here’s the equipment I use. You can get by using two cast iron skillets. Use a larger skillet for cooking the burgers, and a smaller one to smash the burgers and keep them flat. Since I’m a cooking gadget collector, I prefer to use a few more tools.
The griddle
First, a griddle. You can buy griddles that sit on top of your grill grates or ones that replace them. Just about every grill I have has a griddle on it. I use them for a lot of things, not just smash burgers. You want one that can be placed over the hottest part of your grill so it gets screaming hot.
Next, you need a burger press. You can use a heavy cast iron skillet, like I mentioned. Or get a burger press. For easy cleanup I wrap mine in foil first. When I’m done, just peel off the foil and toss. Super easy. Get a press that’s at least big enough to cover two burgers. You only smash one at a time, but if you want to keep them flat, you want to rest the press on top so bigger (and heavier) is better. Plus I’ve found that a bigger, heavier press tends to stay on the burgers whereas a smaller, lighter one is hard to keep centered on the burgers, specially if you have a bunch of them cooking at once.
Next up, a dome. While not 100% required, it does speed the time it takes to melt the cheese and it does it in a nice even fashion. In my opinion you don’t really need one if you’re using a super melty cheese, such as American, but for thicker slices like say a deli pepper jack, you want the cheese to melt before you over-cook the burger and that’s where a dome comes in handy.
Lastly, you need something to clean your griddle. I like to clean mine when I’m done cooking, but you can do it at the start instead. I use one of these pad holders with a griddle cleaning pad. Then I add a bit of water to my griddle then use the pad (connected to the holder) to scrub off any big chunks and get up some of the grease. I don’t go crazy with it, I always heat the heck out of my griddle before cooking, but I get the worst. The long arm on the pad holder makes it perfect for scrubbing a hot griddle, too.
Fire up your grill for medium-high heat. Place a griddle or a large cast iron pan over the highest heat.
Season the ground beef with salt and pepper, mix and form into four 4 ounce balls (not patties!).
Place the balls of beef on the griddle and let cook for one minute. Just let them cook, don’t mess with them.
Take your press and flatten out the patties. I like to use the point of the press and work my way around the ball first, doing a little section at a time and then finally I press down on the entire patty to flatten it out. You can also just flatten out the ball all at once. At this point I also like to season the patties some more.
Let the patties cook until you start to notice a little char along the edges. Flip, season again if desired, and continue cooking another minute or so until the other side is charred. The burgers are thin so they will cook very quickly so watch out.
Top patties with cheese and let cook another 30 seconds to melt the cheese.
While the patties continue cooking add the pastrami and kraut to the griddle to heat.
Toast the buns. Remove and slather with dressing.
Add patties to bottom buns. Top with pastrami and kraut and serve.
Notes
If you can find them, rye burger buns make these some of the best hamburgers you can have. They’re hard to find and regular buns work just fine!
You bet I’ve made Chex Mix in the oven. Quite a few times. But, this was my first time making it on my outdoor griddle. And it was a fantastic treat. Chex Mix using an Outdoor griddle is a bit different. And that difference is the wonderful crunchy caramelization you get on each and every little tasty morsel. I found it to be noticeably better than the baked version! And hey, it’s fun cooking outside on a griddle too!
Big Fun on the Griddle
This recipe for Spicy Chex Mix using an Outdoor griddle makes a big batch. You’ll need a big griddle (30″ or more) to make the entire recipe at one time. If you have to, do it in batches. And as a note, if you go crazy stirring it (like I did) you might lose a few pieces over the side of the griddle don’t fret it. It happens.
You gotta move fast once you get this started on the hot griddle. You can’t be wandering off around the patio. Don’t be playing on your phone. Keep it moving. If you don’t, it’ll burn and quick, too.
You are the master of your Chex Mix. Add other things to it if you want. Take things out. Whatever you want to do. Just keep it moving.
It’s Not Picky
Don’t get hung up on the quantities in the recipe. Just get about 12 total cups of ‘whatever’. Want more Chex? Do it, just use less of something else. Ditto the Cheez-Its. Or whatever. Just get to that 12 cups magic number.
Pre-heat your griddle over low heat. Make sure that it's clean. Depending on the size of your griddle, you might have to make the mix in batches. The easiest way to do that is to halve the mix and butter mixture first.
In a large bowl, combine all of the Chex Mix ingredients.
Melt the butter in a small bowl or pot. This can be done directly on the griddle.
Stir in the Worcestershire sauce and hot sauce.
Add seasoning salt to the butter mixture and stir to dissolve and combine.
Drizzle the butter mixture over the Chex mix and stir well to combine. Take your time, get it all well-coated.
Add the Chex Mix ingredients to the griddle. Immediately spread it out.
You want to toast the mixture for 2 minutes. Keep it moving constantly or it will brown. You want it to get a little color to it. A little char here and there is fine too.
Keep the mixture moving as you continue to toast it. You'll need 5-10 minutes to get it to the desired color and crispiness.
Immediately remove the mix to a large baking sheet (or two) and spread out to cool slightly.
My outdoor griddle isn’t just for smash burgers, quesadillas and pizzas. I even use it for side dishes such as this easy cheesy cauliflower. Now, this might not be the healthiest side dish I’ve ever made outside. But it sure was one of the tastiest! And it’s definitely one of the easiest! This is the perfect thing to serve alongside my griddled smash burger!
Is Cheese Ever Optional?
You could leave out the cheese sauce. And just make easy cauliflower using an outdoor griddle. A little salt and pepper. Serve it up. And it’d be good. But for me, to get to ‘great’ you gotta add the cheese sauce. Kraft makes this crazy easy crazy good Velveeta sauce that comes in a little foil packet. You just pour the sauce into a bowl and microwave it for 30 seconds and boom! Instant cheese sauce perfect for something like cauliflower!
Open the bag of cauliflower and place on the griddle. Use your spatula to mound the cauliflower in a small circle.
Give the cauliflower a few good squirts of water and season well with salt and pepper.
Cover and let the cauliflower cook for 5 minutes.
Take a quick peek inside. I like to give the lid a good shake first or you can stir the broccoli with the lid off. If the cauliflower is drying out add more water. Feel free to add more salt and pepper too.
Keep cooking for up to 12 minutes total. Check it one more time after 10 minutes to make sure more water and/or seasoning isn't needed.
Remove the cauliflower to a medium bowl.
Empty the contents of the cheese sauce packet into a microwavable bowl and heat per package instructions, 30 seconds. Stir.
Spook the cheese sauce over the cauliflower .
Stir to combine.
Serve immediately.
Notes
This recipe can be made using fresh cauliflower instead. Bring a pot of lightly-salted water to a boil. Add the cauliflower and boil for 3-4 minutes until bright green and just starting to soften. Remove to an ice bath to cool completely. Drain well before placing onto the hot griddle.
If I’m going to take the time to fire up a grill for burgers, I’m not going to make boring ones. That doesn’t mean they have to be complicated, though. These Backyard Brew smash burgers pack a lot of flavor in each and every bite. The sauce on the burgers, as crazy easy as it is to make, is delicious. Steak sauce. Beer. That’s it. No fancy steak sauce. The cheap stuff. No fancy beer, either. Good ole Budweiser does just fine. Or whatever you want to use. Heck, you’re grilling. Probably got a beer already in your hand. Use that one. A little cheese and fresh toppings, all on good buns, and you’ve got one great dinner.
A Lot Of Flavor.
Once you’ve made a smash burger or two you’ll find them to be as easy to make as the non-smash ones. Before long you’ll be a master at it, making great burgers like these Backyard Brew smash burgers. My only suggestion when you make these is: use lots of the sauce. It’s good and it works great with grilled beef. Kinda figures, right? Steak sauce. Beer. The perfect pairing. Now on a burger.
Here’s the equipment I use. You can get by using two cast iron skillets. Use a larger skillet for cooking the burgers, and a smaller one to smash the burgers and keep them flat. Since I’m a cooking gadget collector, I prefer to use a few more tools.
The griddle
First, a griddle. You can buy griddles that sit on top of your grill grates or ones that replace them. Just about every grill I have has a griddle on it. I use them for a lot of things, not just smash burgers. You want one that can be placed over the hottest part of your grill so it gets screaming hot.
Next, you need a burger press. You can use a heavy cast iron skillet, like I mentioned. Or get a burger press. For easy cleanup I wrap mine in foil first. When I’m done, just peel off the foil and toss. Super easy. Get a press that’s at least big enough to cover two burgers. You only smash one at a time, but if you want to keep them flat, you want to rest the press on top so bigger (and heavier) is better. Plus I’ve found that a bigger, heavier press tends to stay on the burgers whereas a smaller, lighter one is hard to keep centered on the burgers, especially if you have a bunch of them cooking at once.
Next up, a dome. While not 100% required, it does speed the time it takes to melt the cheese and it does it in a nice even fashion. In my opinion you don’t really need one if you’re using a super melty cheese, such as American, but for thicker slices like say a deli pepper jack, you want the cheese to melt before you over-cook the burger and that’s where a dome comes in handy.
Lastly, you need something to clean your griddle. I like to clean mine when I’m done cooking, but you can do it at the start instead. I use one of these pad holders with a griddle cleaning pad. Then I add a bit of water to my griddle then use the pad (connected to the holder) to scrub off any big chunks and get up some of the grease. I don’t go crazy with it, I always heat the heck out of my griddle before cooking, but I get the worst. The long arm on the pad holder makes it perfect for scrubbing a hot griddle, too.
Combine all ingredients in a small sauce pan over medium-high heat.
Bring to a simmer then reduce heat to low.
Keep warm until ready to use.
For the burgers
Fire up your grill for medium-high heat. Place a griddle or a large cast iron pan over the highest heat.
Season the ground beef with the seasoning, mix and form into four 4 ounce balls (not patties!).
Place the balls of beef on the griddle and let cook for one minute. Just let them cook, don’t mess with them.
Take your press and flatten out the patties. I like to use the point of the press and work my way around the ball first, doing a little section at a time and then finally I press down on the entire patty to flatten it out. You can also just flatten out the ball all at once. At this point I also like to season the patties some more.
Baste the patties liberally with the Brew Sauce.
Let the patties cook until you start to notice a little char along the edges. Flip, season again if desired, and continue cooking another minute or so until the other side is charred. The burgers are thin so they will cook very quickly so watch out.
Baste the patties liberally with more of the Brew Sauce.
Top patties with cheese and let cook another 30 seconds to melt the cheese.
Toast the buns. Remove.
Add the patties to the bottom buns. Top with onion, tomato, lettuce and pickles.
Notes
If you have extra Brew Sauce you can slather it onto the buns before serving the burgers.
My Cuisinart Griddler is easily one of my favorite kitchen tools. Breakfast, lunch and dinner, it can always be counted on to make a great meal. Today I wanted a quick sandwich for lunch. But quick doesn’t mean boring. Not when I’m making some easy spicy relish paninis! Made in only minutes, these lunchtime treats pack a little bit of heat (but not too much). Crunchy bread and melted cheese bring it all together in no time at all! Easy spicy relish paninis using the Cuisinart Griddler are reason enough to have the griddle on your countertop!
Good Meats. Good Cheese. Good Bread.
The ingredients for a great panini are simple: use good ingredients. Don’t skimp. I prefer Italian meats, like salami or mortadella, but any decent deli meat will do. And grab a cheese that likes to melt easily. For the bread, my recommendation is to not use something with too many big ‘holes’ in it. If you do, spread the relish on in-between the meat and cheese layers so it doesn’t escape through the bread holes. You’ll end up enjoying these easy spicy relish paninis using the Cuisinart Griddler as much as I did!
Pre-heat your Griddler with the dials set for high-heat panini griddles.
Set out the bread slices on a cutting board or counter top.
Top with the meats and cheese.
Top the sandwiches with the relish. Be heavy handed or go light with it, it's up to you.
Add the top slices of bread to form the sandwiches.
Brush the outsides of the bread slices with the oil.
Transfer to the Griddler and close the lid. Cook until the bread is golden brown and crunchy.
Remove and let cool slightly before slicing (if desired) and serving.
Notes
Do not put a lot of pressure on the griddle lid while cooking as it will cause the meats and cheese to escape. Try to keep the lid level so that the tops of the sandwiches cook evenly.
