I was looking for something a bit different, a change from my usual burger sauce. When I found this BBQ Thousand Island burger sauce I thought that it was a really interesting twist on a classic ‘special sauce’. The addition of chili sauce, BBQ sauce, and Worcestershire really sets this sauce apart from the others. It’s different in a very good, tasty way. If you’re tired of using the ‘same ole’ stuff on your burgers, make this sauce. It’ll make your burgers decidedly better.
This is one Great Burger Sauce
I prefer a smoky sauce in my BBQ Thousand Island burger sauce. Usually. Sometimes I go the spicy route and add a BBQ sauce with a little kick. I do tend away from using a sweeter sauce, though. It’s your call of course as to which you use, but for me a sweet sauce just didn’t work out. Maybe it’s just me.
If I had served these Old Bay southern fried shrimp on a platter I would’ve given them a ’10’ out of 10 possible points. But, served in a basket I give them an ’11’. That’s because baskets make everything taste better. True story. Smash burgers? Better in a basket. Onion rings or fries? Way better in a basket. Ditto fried fish and a host of other foods.
As easy as they were to make, these southern fried shrimp pack serious flavor thanks to one of my favorite seasonings, Old Bay. There’s no such thing as too much Old Bay for me. Make these shrimp and serve them with fries… and then sprinkle the fries with Old Bay and you’ll be happy too.
Tail On. Tail Off. Perfect Either Way.
I prefer to keep the tails on when I make Old Bay southern fried shrimp. I like having the handles. And I also like to think that the tails slow me down a bit. Otherwise, I’d just pop them in my mouth like popcorn and the entire basket would be gone before I knew it. The tails increase the time I have to enjoy them because they are GREAT!
Smash burgers are a popular meal in our house. They’re easy to make, cook up in no time, and most important, they remind me of the classic diner burgers of my youth. I will go out of my way for a good griddled burger no matter where I am. Fortunately, I can make them quite easily on my backyard grill with just a few tools. Thin patties, seasoned simply with just salt and pepper, cooked over onion until the perfect lightly crunchy edges are obtained. Served on toasted buns with traditional toppings, such as pickles, tomato, lettuce. A little ketchup, sure. Maybe a little mustard. And even a little mayonnaise. Whatever you prefer, no matter what you add, you’ll enjoy a great burger.
The Right Tools For The Job
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.
A 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.
Smash burgers are a popular meal in our house. They're easy to make, cook up in no time, and most important, they remind me of the classic diner burgers of my youth.
Place a griddle or a large cast iron pan over the highest heat.
Season the ground beef and form into four 4 ounce balls (not patties!).
Place on the onion slices on the griddle and divide into four equal piles. You want the piles to be about the size of your buns.
Place the balls of beef on top of the onion piles 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.
Add the cheese slices. If desired, cover in a dome to help the cheese melt.
Toast the buns.
Remove, add the patties and serve with desired toppings.
Devour immediately.
Notes
After you make a few smash burgers the process becomes very easy and always delivers great results.
My wife said that her mom would approve of these delicious slow cooker Sloppy Joes and that’s all I needed to know. That means they’re not only good, they’re great. I never got the opportunity to have her mom’s Sloppy Joes, but I know that her mom could cook like nobody’s business. The perfect thickness and the perfect beefiness, you’ll definitely want seconds.
Makes A Big Batch. And That’s A Good Thing.
This recipe for delicious slow cooker Sloppy Joes makes a good-sized batch, but it’ll disappear quickly. You can also freeze any extra. I like having it on hand because it makes for a great, fast lunch.
For a little kick add a few good pinches of red pepper flake or some big splashes of hot sauce.
I serve my delicious Sloppy Joes as simply as possible: on toasted hamburger buns, and always open-faced. When I was a little tyke, I would request that my mom get my hamburger buns extra toasty. I liked the contrast between the Sloppy Joe meat mixture and the super crunchy bread. I wasn’t a fan of Soggy Joes. That’s when the sauce has too much time to soak into the bread, getting it … ewww. I also prefer to serve my Sloppy Joes open-faced. You can get twice as much filling in that way. It’s not like I’m going to pick them up anyways!
My wife said that her mom would approve of these slow cooker Sloppy Joes and that’s all I needed to know. That means they’re not only good, they’re great.
Crumble the beef and sausage into a large skillet or Dutch oven over medium-high heat. Saute until almost browned, breaking up the meat as it cooks.
Add the onion, stir and continue cooking until it just starts to soften.
Drain and transfer to a lightly greased slow cooker.
Stir in the remaining ingredients except for the buns.
Cover and cook on low for 8 hours. If the mixture gets too dry add a small amount of water and stir. Remember, though, that you do want it to be nice and thick.
Serve on buns.
Notes
I also like to serve these open-faced on toasted buns.
I find myself making more and more dishes from Chef Vivian Howard’s book, Deep Run Roots. Her southern-inspired recipes are packed with flavor and tradition. I made a big batch of Chef Howard’s pimento cheese, which by itself is insanely good. Half went for sandwiches while the other half ended up in these delicious pimento cheese grits. Creamy and yummy. I love grits. Adding pimento cheese to them makes me love them even more. I didn’t think that was possible.
Quality Grits Make For… Great Grits!
I use corn grits polenta from Bob’s Mill. They cook up in about 30 minutes and always have the perfect texture and flavor, great for pimento cheese grits. You can substitute quick-cooking grits in a pinch. They only take about 5 minutes.
I was weak. Oh so weak. I made a small batch of garlic Parmesan pizza rolls thinking that I could control myself. That 18 of the little bites are actually 3 servings. Maybe even 4 servings. Well, I’m here to argue that it’s impossible to eat just a few of them.
These bites are insanely good. Lightly crunchy. Definitely garlicky. With just enough Parmesan so you get that taste, that nuttiness, that saltiness. Served with warmed marinara sauce for dipping, these are some of the best appetizers you’ll find.
Oh My. There Goes My Self-Control.
To make my garlic Parmesan pizza rolls, I first deep-fried them and then tossed them in the delicious sauce. That’s mostly because I had my deep-fryer out still from a delicious shrimp dinner. I think you could bake them instead, and even air fry them if you wanted. I don’t think they’d be quite as good (nothing’s as good as deep fried!), but they’ll still be covered in the delicious sauce.
I get out my big deep fryer when it’s time to fry a large batch of food. It comes to temperature quickly and it maintains that temperature perfectly. It has a built-in oil filter and storage unit so I can re-use the oil several times.
I’m usually a crunchy-fried-shrimp kind of guy. You know, a bit of flour, a bit of cornmeal. These batter-fried shrimp are a bit different, yet still crunchy. The batter is much like you would find on, say, fried cod for a fish sandwich or a basket of fish and chips. Because I have an unnatural addiction to fish and chips, it’s not surprising that I’m now addicted to these shrimp. The batter stuck perfectly, the shrimp cooked up beautifully golden brown delicious, and all was right in the world again. And I ate more than I should!
Deliciously Soft Batter
The batter makes the shrimp look a lot bigger than they are. Even though it’s thick, it’s not ‘ewwwy’ thick at all. It’s light and crispy, just like I like. I’d definitely use this same batter on cod. Or chicken legs (who remembers peg legs from Long John Silver’s? They were my favorite!).
Since there’s just the two of us, I use a Fry Daddy fryer for these shrimp. It’s the perfect size for something like this.
I get out my big deep fryer when it’s time to fry a large batch of food. It comes to temperature quickly and it maintains that temperature perfectly. It has a built-in oil filter and storage unit so I can re-use the oil several times.
Heat a few inches of oil to 350 F in a Dutch oven or a deep fryer.
Combine 1/2 cup of oil and the egg and beat well. Add remaining ingredients except oil for frying and stir until smooth.
Working in batches, dip shrimp in the batter and coat well.
Add shrimp to the fryer and fry for 1 minute. Turn and fry another 1 minute or until golden brown. Remove to a paper towel-lined plate or wire rack to drain.
Who wants boring frozen fries? Not me! Not you! In just minutes you can transform that bag of sadness into something great with this copycat Taco Bell Nacho fries. Spicy (as spicy as you want) seasoning that’ll wake you up and make you forget those tasteless fries of yesterday. And the cheese sauce! Oh my! Double the recipe and you’ll thank me, because you seriously cannot get too much of the sauce on your fries!
Crinkles Hold More Of The Good Stuff
For my copycat Taco Bell nacho fries I used crinkle fries. That’s not what you’ll get at the fast food joint. Why did I commit such a heinous crime? Well, those crinkles hold more cheese sauce and the cheese sauce is yummy! Old-school skinny fries aren’t going to give the glorious sauce as much to cling to. Go crinkle and get happy, I say!
I admit that at first, I was pretty sure I didn’t want or need an air fryer. Heck, I can bake my fries in my oven. I can cook my wings on my grill. Yes, I made a lot of excuses for not getting one. Well, the neighbor gave me one of her old ones and I’ve never looked back! I used to cook these copycat Taco Bell nacho fries!
I use a pretty straight-forward air fryer, that doesn’t have a lot of bells (ok, it has a bell for when the timer goes off!) and whistles. It gets the job done.
2poundsOre-Ida Golden Fries frozen French friesor your favorite kind
Instructions
For the fries
Prepare the fries according to the bag. I recommend making them in an air fryer or deep fryer to get them good and crunchy. While the fries are cooking, making the seasoning and sauce.
Transfer the cooked fries to a large bowl and sprinkle with the seasoning blend (using however much or little as you want, you might have leftover seasoning). Toss lightly to coat. Serve with the warm cheese sauce on the side.
For the seasoning
Combine the ingredients in a small bowl. I like to put them in a resealable container, close the lid, and shake gently to combine.
For the cheese sauce
Heat a small saucepan over medium-low heat. Add the cheese and heat through. Whisk in the remaining ingredients. Keep warm until needed, stirring occasionally.
Notes
The cheese sauce is great for dipping tortilla chips, too!
I keep a few packages of instant chicken Ramen on hand at all times. Not to make Ramen, but to use the noodles and seasoning in various recipes. I’ve made Ramen-seasoned chicken wings (one of my favorites). A Ramen broccoli slaw. And now, quick fix Ramen-seasoned chips. In just minutes I’m enjoying an almost-criminal indulgence: that salty chicken Ramen seasoning over warm potato chips.
The Most Addicting Chips Ever
If you’re like me, you can’t help yourself but to enjoy that little packet of seasoning. So, yeah, put some extra on the chips. Just go for it. You can make up for the extra sodium by using low salt chips…. These quick fix Ramen-seasoned chips did not last long in my house.
I wouldn’t hesitate to use a bit more red pepper flake the next time I make this pesto shrimp with mushrooms dish. And I’d probably add more garlic too. But keep in mind, I’m a little shy when it comes to pesto. You might actually want to just add more pesto and ignore my ideas. It’s not always a bad idea to ignore my suggestions! Just ask my wife!
I like to use my good ole trusty Dutch oven to make these shrimp and pretty much darned near anything like it on my stovetop. It’s nice and big and sturdy. That extra weight helps it maintain and distribute heat perfectly. As an added bonus, it’s actually pretty easy to clean up too!
