There are a few food shows on TV that I cannot miss. Even though it’s not a cooking show, I just love Carnival Eats. The host, Noah Cappe, is quite funny and entertaining. I think he may have the perfect job: travelling around and enjoying the crazy foods he finds at fairs and carnivals. Like this Walking BBQ. This is a take on the classic Walking Tacos, which are bags of Fritos topped with taco meat. Walking BBQ consists of Fritos topped with… yep… you guessed it… BBQ.
There aren’t any laws for what you can and cannot put in your Walking BBQ. I kept mine traditional, with just some leftover smoked pulled pork, homemade BBQ sauce, canned baked beans, and homemade slaw. It’s fun to eat and tasty at the same time. Win!
If I’m reaching for a bottled BBQ sauce, I often go for Sweet Baby Ray’s.
This is a take on the classic Walking Tacos, which are bags of Fritos topped with taco meat. Walking BBQ consists of Fritos topped with… yep… you guessed it… BBQ.
Salami chips with a white bean dip are a dangerously tempting thing. Crunchy meaty yummy. It’d be difficult to make them even taste even better, but you can by serving them with a roasted garlic white bean dip. The creamy dip (almost like a hummus) compliments the salami perfectly. This makes for a great easy appetizer or snack for the big game. Whomever said that you can’t have a super-meaty appetizer was wrong. Actually, I don’t know if anyone ever said that. Someone probably did at some point. And they were wrong!
Most grocery stores sell a variety of different styles of salami. Grab a few different flavors and mix them up on the plate of salami chips with white bean dip. Many salamis have a very thick casing, which not all people enjoy. You can remove it quite easily after slicing the salami thin.
I like my dip to be fairly smooth but not creamy. If you like yours to be smoother, just process it a bit longer in your food processor. Don’t go crazy. Process just a bit at a time. Remember you can process it longer, but you can’t un-process it!
Salami chips with a white bean dip are a dangerously tempting thing. Crunchy meaty yummy. It’d be difficult to make them even better, but you can by serving them with a roasted garlic white bean dip.
My rule for sandwiches also applies to burgers: The messier, the better. One glance at these unbelievably messy Dallas burgers and you know they are going to be crazy good. You know that all sorts of wonderful things are going to run down your forearm when you pick them up. You know you’ll be scraping yummy goodness off your plate with your fingers (ok, use potato chips for scraping if you wish).
Wondering why I put the cheese on the bun bottom instead of on top of the meat (and believe me, there’s some in there)? To keep the bun from getting so soggy you end up an open-faced burger, eating with a knife and fork. No, the cheese won’t get all melty gooey down there, but the trade-off is worth it to me. I used your pretty-much-standard deli slaw on these Dallas burgers, but a broccoli slaw or even a jalapeno slaw would be just as great. Or try my roasted poblano slaw.
I like to use a burger press when I make burgers. It, in combination with some patty papers, enables me to crank out a whole bunch of equally-sized burger patties in no time at all with little cleanup.
My rule for sandwiches also applies to burgers: The messier, the better. One glance at these unbelievably messy Dallas burgers and you know they are going to be crazy good.
Season beef patties with garlic salt and black pepper.
Cook burgers as desired and toast the buns if you wish.
Assemble burgers by placing cheese on bun bottom (I prefer the cheese underneath the patties to help keep the bun from getting soggy, but you’re certainly welcome to put the cheese on top!).
Add the pattie, BBQ sauce, a good spoonful of slaw, a few pickle slices and some chips.
Serve with lots of paper towels.
Shape your ground beef into 6 patties. Make in indention in the middle of each patty. This helps the patty to end up cooking nice and flat, rather than getting all puffy in the center.
Liberally season both sides of the patty with garlic salt and pepper. If the garlic salt scared you, just go with regular salt.
Grill the patties until fully cooked.
Add the slices of cheese to the patties and allow to melt. Remove patties from the grill.
Assemble burgers on the buns and top with the remaining ingredients.
As a kid, my hands-down favorite fast food place was Long John Silver’s. And although I loved the fish and fries, I have to admit my favorite things were the little crunchies. You know, the little pieces of fried batter that would end up in your food basket. I loved them. I would even ask for ‘extra crunchies’ when I ordered. Fortunately, I can get all the crunchies I want when I make this copycat Long John Silver’s Fish-and-Chips.
If I want extra crunchies I just add a few drops of batter to the oil and in seconds… extra crunchies! And don’t forget the hush puppies! No Long John Silver’s copycat meal is complete without them. This copycat Long John Silver’s Fish-and-Chips dish will bring back memories of the last time you stopped by the restaurant!
Now I can make my own copycat Long John’s Silver’s fish and chips. And if I want extra crunchies I just add a few drops of batter to the oil and in seconds… extra crunchies!
Combine all ingredients. Whisk until smooth and there are no lumps.
For the fish
Heat a few inches of oil to 375 F in a Dutch oven or deep fryer.
Pat fish dry and coat well in the batter.
Working in batches, slowly lower the fish into the oil and fry on both sides until golden brown.
Remove to a paper towel-lined plate
Service with tartar sauce and malt vinegar.
For the fries
Reduce oil temperature to 325 F.
Fry potatoes until starting to turn golden brown. Remove to a paper towel-lined plate and pat dry.
Increase oil temperature to 375 F and add the fries back in. Fry until golden brown and crispy. Remove to paper towel-lined plate to drain, sprinkle with salt, then serve immediately.
Like just about everyone these day, I’m a really big fan of Sriracha sauce. And I’m a really big fan of tortilla chips. I used to be borderline addicted to habanero-flavored Doritos, but sadly and wrongly, they were removed from the market. They were darned hot. Seriously hot. Now, Sriracha isn’t as hot as habaneros, but it still has some kick. It’s a nice kick, not the kind that leaves you curled up on the floor in agony. Not even close. I was jonesin’ for some kickin’ hot tortilla chips and a dip. So I developed Sriracharitos with dip.
Sriracharitos have that great Sriracha flavor, all on a crunchy tortilla chip. The dip has a generous amount of dill, so it actually seems cool. It’s a great contrast to the heat. You can serve it with any kind of chip. But then you’d have to re-name it! Just kidding…. I think corn chips would also be excellent prepared this way.
I found J&Ds Sriracha rub in the spice section of my grocery store. You can also substitute Weber’s Sriracha rub. Either way, you’ll love a big plate of Sriracharitos with a big bowl of dip!
Sriracharitos have that great Sriracha flavor, all on a crunchy tortilla chip. The dip has a generous amount of dill, so it actually seems cool. It’s a great contrast to the heat.
Everyone loves Peeps. Heck you can even buy Peeps stuffed toys (I’ve noticed one or two around our house even…). So how about doing something different with Peeps? How about crazy good Peeps chips? They’re crunchy. Very crunchy. And they taste like toasted marshmallows. The kind you get over a campfire. They’re really addicting. And kind of messy.
These little Peeps chips treats take a bit of work to make, but they’re worth it. You want to dehydrate them over low heat. Our oven’s lowest temperature setting is 170 F, which worked perfectly. Just slide a wooden spoon in between the door and oven frame so that any moisture can escape. Our oven also has a warming drawer which, when set to High, gets to 190 F, which is also fine. Just leave the drawer slightly ajar so steam can escape.
How about doing something different with Peeps? How about crazy good Peeps chips? They’re crunchy. Very crunchy. And they taste like toasted marshmallows.
Heat an oven to it’s lowest temperature, 170-190 F.
Flatten out the Peeps with your hands, cast iron skillet, spatula… anything you have.
Place the flat Peeps onto baking sheets lined with parchment paper.
Insert into oven and let dehydrate for 10 or so hours, turning the pans every few hours. Keep the oven door ajar by placing a wooden spoon between the door and oven frame. You want just enough of a gap so any moisture coming off the Peeps escapes.
After 10 hours our Peeps were crunchy on top, but still soft inside. I flipped them and let them go another 2 hours. At that point they were pretty crunchy. I removed them from the oven and let them cool. They then hardened completely.
A glance around the internet would make one think I am the last person on earth to make kale chips. Well, I’ve never been accused of rushing to follow a fad! Eating these chips reminds me a lot of eating the leaves off of roasted Brussels sprouts (I like to eat the ones that fall off in the oven). Crunchy, salty and light. In fact, if I close my eyes I can’t really tell a difference.
I found kale chips to be rather addicting. They definitely have to be eaten almost immediately after coming out of the oven. That’s when they are at their crunchy best.
Eating these chips reminds me a lot of eating the leaves off of roasted Brussels sprouts (I like to eat the ones that fall off in the oven). Crunchy, salty and light.
My goodness, these chips are addicting. I came up with the idea while pondering what we were going to snack on during today’s Daytona 500 race. I remembered back to the awesome Cheddar Ranch Pork Rind Puffs I made recently, and suddenly it hit me to try the same basic approach on Fritos chips. And thus cheddar ranch Fritos were created!
My wife said that these chips (and the Southwestern Ranch dip i served with them) were some of the best things I’ve made. Like I said, the chips are mighty addicting. You’ve been warned! They have the perfect mix of cheddar and Ranch with that great corn crunch and flavor.
Oh, and if you’d rather make these with Fritos Scoops, you’ll definitely want to increase the amount of seasoning.
