I find myself being un-impressed with most store-bought ‘spicy’ potato chips. Yeah, some are spicy, but they don’t taste good. And some taste great, but they sure aren’t spicy. The solution? Make some quick fix Desert Heat potato chips. Done in minutes, spiced just like I want, these are the chips I was searching for! I owned these chips. I could put as much darned seasoning on there as I want! All I need are some chips and Buffalo Wild Wings Desert Heat Wing Seasoning!
Ruffled Chips For The Win
I prefer to use wavy ruffled chips any time I make my quick fix Desert Heat potato chips. The thick chips hold up to being tossed in the seasoning. And the ridges give the seasoning more and more places to cling to, making sure I get nothing but flavor in each and every bite!
Not that I mean to over-stress it, but I will mention you don’t need any fancy fru-fru chips for this recipe. In fact, I’d stay away from them. You want wavy chips, preferably. And frankly, you want chips that are a bit oily. Yep. Once heated, the chips will release that oil and that’s what you need to get the seasonings stuck on there good!
This is my go-to dish when I am looking for a quick side for whatever I’m grilling (I love my Weber grills!) for dinner. These easy spicy grilled potatoes are packed with flavor. Yeah, they have a kick, but I control how much of a kick I’m in the mood for that day. The potatoes come out cooked perfectly. Creamy inside, with a light crunchy grilled exterior. Pre-cooking the potato ensures they all get cooked evenly. There’s nothing worse than biting into a pile of potatoes and finding one that is under-cooked. That’s potato sadness there. No one wants potato sadness!
Pre-Cooked Potatoes Are Easier
Since I’m already grilling I prefer to pre-bake the potatoes for these easy grilled spicy potatoes on the grill. They can also be done ahead of time in the oven at 400 F. For bigger potatoes I like to use potato nails to make sure the insides get done perfectly.
You can’t make these potatoes without a grill basket. The stainless steel ones from Weber have lasted me forever and the large-sized ones hold a ton of potatoes (or whatever I’m grilling).
Fire up your grill for indirect cooking. You want the temperature at the grates to be 350-400 F.
Rinse off the potatoes and pat dry.
Use a knife to poke 3-4 holes in the tops of the potatoes, going about 1/2 of the way into the potato.
If you’re using potato nails insert them now.
Drizzle the potatoes with just a bit of oil.
Use your hand to rub the oil all over the potato. If you don't want to get your hands oily just use a brush.
Sprinkle the potatoes with salt. Don’t be shy with it and make sure you get all sides.
Transfer the potatoes to the grill and cook for about 30-45 minutes. If you're not sure how consistent or high your grill temperature is, I recommend checking them after 30 minutes.
The potatoes are done when you can insert a knife or skewer and it enters the flesh but still meets with some resistance. You aren't fully cooking them, just getting them just soft. You don't want them to fall apart later when you cut them.
Remove and let cool slightly.
Meanwhile, crank up your grill for direct cooking over medium-high heat.
Cut the potatoes in 1/4" – 1/2" cubes and transfer to a large bowl.
Add a little splash of oil to the potatoes and stir gently to coat.
Sprinkle with salt, pepper, cayenne and garlic powder. My suggestion is don't be shy with any of them, but add them all to taste.
Stir gently to coat.
Transfer the potatoes to a grill basket and place on a hot grill over direct heat.
Grill the potatoes until they start to get golden brown with a light char on the bottoms.
Flip gently and cook until golden brown on the other side.
Remove from grill and transfer the potatoes to a platter.
Sprinkle with chopped parsley and serve.
Notes
If you want a less-spicy version, substitute paprika for the cayenne.This is a great recipe for using up those odd-shaped potatoes at the bottom of a bag of potatoes.
I wanted to make these Big Mac hot dogs the minute I saw the idea floating around in the online recipe world. First, I love Big Macs. I make a few crazy variations on them at home. I’ve made Big Mac smash burgers, subs, hoagies and sliders! I don’t need an excuse to make Big Macs. These hot dogs taste a lot like the fast food favorite and man, were they fun to make! I was smiling the entire time because it felt like I was making the real deal! They are cool and yummy at the same time!
And More Stuff. Have It Your Way.
Of course one of the advantages of making Big Mac hot dogs yourself is that you can kinda play around a bit. Me, I like a lot of onions and lettuce. Oh sure, give me a few extra pickles too. And you have to use ‘that’ cheese. That melty stuff. Nothing fancy here, no fru-fru imported smoked cheddar or something like that. And extra of that special sauce. I want mine messy. The messier the better. Like sauce-running-down-the-front-of-my-arms messy. That’s the right kind of messy. My homemade grilled version of the classic McDonald’s burgers are messy too.
You may think mayonnaise on a hot dog seems weird but I assure you, it’s fantastic. Here it’s mixed with a few other ingredients to make a wonderful sauce. But honestly, mayo on a burger is fine by itself. You really don’t always need mustard. Or… ketchup. Try mayonnaise next time and you’ll see. And don’t be shy with it, either.
I almost always use Blue Plate mayonnaise in the dishes I make. I think it is the best around. If you can’t find it locally you can pick it up online for a fair price.
This is my go-to method for making a small batch of the best-tasting, crispiest French fries. Making delicious crispy fries using a Fry Daddy Fryer takes just a little bit of time and just a handful of ingredients. The end result is mouth-wateringly good and hard to resist. Most double-fried recipes require two different cooking temperatures. But, you can’t adjust the temperature on a Fry Daddy. Don’t let that worry you. These will be the best fries you’ve made. Or had.
The Fry Daddy isn’t a big fryer. It’s perfect for a few people, not a crowd. It uses just a bit of oil, making it a great money-saver when it comes to deep-frying. It gets hot fast and does a good job of recovering from food being added. You don’t want a wimpy fryer that takes forever to get back to the right temperature. The Fry Daddy is inexpensive, lasts forever, and is perfect for fries. Oh and wings? It makes for amazing wings, too!
The Keys To Perfect Fries Every Time
There are two key steps to making sure these crispy fries using the Fry Daddy Fryer come out perfectly. First, make sure you rinse the raw potatoes in cold water and keep rinsing until the water is clear. You want all that starch gone, as if you’re making rice. Second, let the fries come to room temperature (or near it) before the second frying.
The fries will crisp up just a bit more after they come out of the fryer so it’s ok to remove them just before you think they’re like you want them. It’s not critical, but after doing these a time or two you’ll get the timing for what’s best for you. Don’t worry, they’ll be great no matter what!
The Presto Fry Daddy is perfect for making smaller batches of food. It only uses a few cups of oil and comes to temperature quickly. Clean-up is easy too!
kosher saltor your favorite fry seasoning, to taste
Instructions
Fill a large bowl with cold water.
Slice the potatoes into thin, 1/8"-1/4" sticks. Try to keep them the same thickness.
Place fries into the water. Add more water if needed to keep them fully submerged.
Add the oil to the fryer and plug it in according to the manufacturer's instructions.
Drain the fries. Refill with more cold water. Stir the potatoes. Repeat this step (draining, refilling) until the water is no longer cloudy. This usually just takes me two times.
Drain the potatoes well and transfer to a large kitchen towel. Pat dry. Make sure you get them dry or they will splatter when you add them to the hot oil.
Working in batches if needed, fry the potatoes until just starting to turn a light brown. You are not cooking them fully, you do not want them to be golden brown yet. Do not over-crowd the fryer.
Remove the fries from the fryer using the slotted spoon that comes with the unit. Place on a wire rack over a baking pan to drain. Spread them out evenly.
Let the fries cool to room temperature, about 10 minutes.
Working in batches if necessary, return the fries to the fryer and finish cooking them. You want them nice and lightly golden brown. I've found that you can actually crowd the fryer a little more than usual for this step. The fries are mostly cooked, you're just crisping them up and giving them some color so a little extra potatoes in there isn't going to hurt. Just don't over-fill the fryer.
Remove the fries to the wire rack again to drain. Season well with salt. I prefer to transfer the fries from the rack to a large bowl, sprinkle them with the salt, and toss to season evenly.
Serve immediately.
Notes
If you haven’t tried your fries dipped in mayonnaise, now’s a great time to give it a whirl!
If you put a paper plate loaded with fried chicken and this sweet and sassy red potato salad in front of me I’d honestly go for the potato salad first. And that’s saying a lot, because I love fried chicken almost more than anything. This salad is different, mostly thanks to the addition of pickle juice in the dressing. That pickle edge takes this dish from great to amazing.
The Perfect Side Dish
This sweet and sassy red potato salad would be the perfect side dish for a family get-together. Or a potluck. Or just a good old fashioned picnic. It travels well and tastes amazing. It’s perfect cold, and just as good (if not a tad better) served warm. You can’t go wrong with it.
I almost always use Blue Plate mayonnaise in the dishes I make. I think it is the best around. If you can’t find it locally you can pick it up online for a fair price.
I don’t like to boil my potatoes when making potato salad. I don’t like them little taters rolling around in the hot water, bumping each other, scraping each other’s skin off (yikes, that sounds even worse than I thought). Instead, I prefer to steam them. So I load up a steam basket, put it above a pot of slowly boiling water, and let it steam until the potatoes are just tender. The skins are left perfectly intact.
Steam or boil the potatoes until done. I prefer steaming them because it keeps the skins intact. Do not peel. Let the potatoes cool and cut into quarters.
Meanwhile, hard-boil and peel the eggs. Chop fine.
In a large bowl, gently combine the potato quarters, pickles, eggs, onion, celery and most of the chives (reserving some for garnish later).
Prepare the dressing (see below) and pour over the potato mixture. Gently stir with a spatula.
Serve warm or refrigerate for at least an hour if serving cold. Serve garnished with remaining chives.
For the dressing
In a medium bowl, whisk together the mayo, Dijon, pickle juice, and vinegar.
Add salt and pepper to taste and stir.
If the dressing is too thick add a bit more pickle juice and stir.
Oh man did these Pub Sauce smash burgers ever hit the spot. Juicy patties. Crisp fresh toppings. All with a wonderful sauce that is a combination of just about every good burger sauce you can think of. It’s reminiscent of a creamy steak sauce but it’s not too thick. It’s got a hint of sweetness. A bit salty. A little Asian-inspired flavor. And my favorite, garlic. Every bite is an umami-festival. These burgers are proof that even the simplest sauce can make a ‘plain’ burger something special. Sure, there are a few ingredients, but nothing fancy and nothing complicated.
Amazing Burgers
Making Pub Sauce smash burgers isn’t difficult. You don’t need a bunch of fancy equipment or a lot of time. Just a hot griddle and a burger press. Any griddle will do, whether it’s on a grill, cooktop, stove or even a standalone outdoor flattop. Just get those patties nice and thin and use quality fresh toppings. And a great sauce.
This isn’t some highfalutin’ food blog. I can barely afford to keep the lights on half of the time. I gotta cut corners wherever I can to keep this site up and running. So that’s why you’re not going to judge me when I say I really, really enjoyed this quick fix copycat of the McRib sandwich. I mean, you know what? It’s actually yummy! It kinda looks like the real thing and it’s fun to eat!
I should probably email the fine folks at On-Cor to apologize for doubting their products. Their BBQ rib patties look like the real McRib deal, sauce and all!
They’re Yummy!
You can make 6 quick fix copycat McRib sandwiches from a package of On-Cor BBQ Rib Patties. I actually prefer 2 patties per sandwich. I wrote the recipe to use only one per sandwich, but ….. well, use your own judgment. I thought one was kinda wimpy and I’m not into wimpy sandwiches!
Make sure to get some of the sauce on there, too. The ribs actually come with more sauce then you’d think, plenty enough to heap on deep and that’s a good thing. That helps make these quick fix copycat McRib sandwiches double good!
And whatever you do, do not forget the pickles! That vinegary pickle goodness cuts thru the sweetness of the barbecue sauce.
Toasting the buns is kinda optional. I think they came steamed. It’s been so long that I can’t say I really remember. My oven has a ‘keep warm’ option that gets to 170 F. It’s perfect for toasting my buns while I’m off getting the rest of the meal together. The temperature is low enough that I don’t have to worry about burning the buns. And they stay nice and warm right up until the moment I need them!
Chances are, if I have a grill fired up, there’s going to be a smash burger in my near future. They are my go-to quick-and-easy dinner. Simple. Fast. And oh so good. I want my patties to be packed with flavor. This copycat recipe for Freddy’s burger seasoning is an absolutely fantastic way to add great flavor to any burger. This stuff is like magic. A little smoky earthiness. A little garlicky and onion-y. Salty sweet. Add a little or a lot to your next burgers and you’ll be happy.
My Bad. But Still Good.
Oops on me, I didn’t have any turmeric for my copycat recipe Freddy’s burger seasoning. No problem. I used dry mustard instead. You’re just looking for something with a little earthiness to it. Cumin would be great too, but my wife is not quite the big cumin fan, so mustard it was.
Rotisserie St Louis-style ribs are something I’ve been wanting to make for some time. I usually smoke my ribs, low-and-slow or high-and-fast on my smoker. This time I decided to give ribs on my gas grill a shot to see if I would like them as much as my ‘traditional’ method of cooking ribs. Well, by golly, I did and then some! I really enjoyed these ribs. They had great flavor. They were still moist and were as tender as could be. And they had this slight charred crunchiness to the skin that was just fantastic. Oh, and they were easy to make to boot! These were winner-winner ribs for sure!
You can make these ribs no matter what kind of grill you have, as long as you’ve got a rotisserie. Make sure it’s long enough to hold your ribs. If not, you may have to trim a rib or two off the end.
Indirect Cooking
When you put your ribs on your grill it’s important that they do not sit (well, spin) over direct heat. If you look at the very far right of my picture above you’ll see that the very end of my rack got a little dark. That’s because there’s a burner right below that part of the ribs. I didn’t realize that until it was too late. I learned from my experience. The rest of the ribs were fantastic and I’d make them again and again (but I’d make sure that they were 100% in indirect heat!). St Louis-Style ribs using a rotisserie were a big-time winner and are now on the regular menu rotation in my house!
I put the apple juice into a cheap spray bottle and then spritz the ribs every 30 minutes or so. Spraying them is easier than using a brush and it makes sure I’m not brushing off any of the seasoning.
Spread the mustard on all sides of the ribs. Just a light coating will do.
Sprinkle the rub over the ribs and pat gently to adhere. Don't forget to get the back and sides of the ribs.
Fire up your grill for rotisserie cooking over medium-low heat, around 300 F.
Place a large drip pan under the rotisserie.
Skew the ribs onto the rotisserie. Be careful doing this. Never put your hands where the sharp end can skewer you and not the ribs! Run the spit thru the first and second bone on one end. Bend the ribs slightly (like an 'S') and skewer between the next set of bones where you can skewer without breaking the ribs. Finally run the spit thru the last two bones. Secure with the rotisserie forks. It's ok if you have to remove the spit and try again to get the ribs nice and skewered down the middle. An extra hole or two isn't going to hurt anything!
Place the spit onto the grill and start the motor. Close the grill lid and cook for 2 – 3 hours or until the meat on the bones has pulled back from the ends by about 1/2". I like to spray my ribs with apple juice every 30 minutes while they spin. You can also brush them with the apple juice but do so carefully as you don't want to brush off your seasoning.
Brush the ribs with BBQ sauce and let cook another 10 minutes for the sauce to set.
Carefully remove the spit from the grill using thick grill gloves and remove the ribs.
Cover with foil and let rest 15 minutes before slicing and serving.
Notes
I like to use a smoky BBQ sauce to give these even more of a ‘hot off the smoker’ taste.
Note: This recipe was developed using the Char-Broil Big Easy Oil-Less Fryer. If you are cooking using the Char-Broil Smoker-Roaster Grill you should cook with the lid open and the temperature set to High. You might also need to adjust the cooking time.
I admit that I have a big time addiction to scalloped potatoes. I can make them in all sorts of flavors, like these pimento cheese scalloped potatoes using the Char-Broil Big Easy. Heck, it might be just a few ingredients, but oh, is it so tasty yummy! Leftovers heat up easy too. Well, if you have any. I highly recommend that you double the recipe.
Making the pimento cheese scalloped potatoes
Everything for these pimento cheese scalloped potatoes is pretty much cooked before you place them into your Char-Broil Big Easy. At any rate, you’re using the great infrared heat of the Big Easy to melt the cheese and get a nice brown on the potatoes and a little crunch. They come out of the cooker bubbling hot and crazy addictingly good.
These Dutch oven pans fit into the bunk bed baskets perfectly and they make for easy clean up. Another key point is that you can easily fit two baskets into a Big Easy without any problem. Although three can fit but you’re in for a challenge getting the last one in. Doable, but possible.
Above all, as with any disposable pans, you have to support the bottoms of the pans when lifting them. The bunk bed basket helps with that a lot. Getting the one out of the bottom of the Big Easy is trickier. I sometimes slide a large spatula in from the side to support the bottom while I lift it up far enough to get my heat-proof gloved hand underneath.
Bring to cream to a simmer in a large saucepan over medium-high heat.
Season with salt and pepper and stir.
Add the potatoes. Add more cream if the potatoes aren't covered.
Lower heat to medium-low and simmer until the potatoes are just becoming tender. This will take 10-12 minutes. If the potatoes stick to each other you can break them apart with a fork but be careful to not poke or break the potatoes.
Remove potatoes from the heat.
Fire up your Big Easy.
Spoon 1/3 of the potatoes into the pan. Also add some of the cream sauce.
Spread the potatoes out evenly.
Sprinkle the potatoes evenly with 1/3rd of the cheese and 1/3rd of the pimentos.
Add another 1/3 of the potatoes and some of the cream, topped with another 1/3rd of the cheese and 1/3rd of the pimentos.
Finish up with the last of the potatoes, cream, cheese and pimentos.
Transfer the pan to the Big Easy. I recommend using a Bunk Bed basket because it's easier to get in/out of the Big Easy and it provides support to the bottom of the pan.
Cook for 30-45 minutes or until the cheese is starting to bubble and the tops of the potatoes start to turn golden brown.
Carefully remove the pan from the Big Easy. If using a Bunk Bed basket remove just the basket.