Every great barbecue needs killer side dishes. Crispy, cheesy, buttery, smoky perfection- whether firing up the grill or cooking indoors, these side dishes will have everyone coming back for more.
Hasselback Potatoes
Potatoes taken to a whole new level. These beauties are sliced thin and then brushed with butter and roasted until golden and crispy and insanely delicious. When selecting potatoes, try to get them all roughly the same size, ensuring they all cook evenly and are ready around about the same time.
Grab a potato and slice off the bottom so it sits flat and won’t rock, then place a wooden spoon on either side as a cutting guide, making slits from one end to the other without cutting all the way through, keeping the potato intact.
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Once sliced, the potatoes get oiled to help crisp up the skin and add color while cooking, brushed over with melted duck fat starting on the bottom, then flipped and brushed on top, followed by a sprinkle of salt flakes.
Baking at 232°C, the potatoes go in for 20 minutes at a time, brushed between rounds with an herb-infused butter made from salted butter melted with dried rosemary, dried thyme, dried garlic, and black pepper.
Opening up the slits partway through allows the butter to get through all of the potato, helping the skin get nice and crisp while the flesh stays soft. After an hour, the skin is super crispy and the herb-infused butter has flavored the potatoes; the perfect side dish to go with steaks, roasts, or any BBQ catering spread, finished with a sprinkle of fresh cheese before serving.
Smoked Mac and Cheese
This dish is ultra creamy, packed with cheese, and with a smoky bite. Using a Weber kettle and the snake method with charcoal briquettes stacked to burn evenly, plus a chunk of pear wood placed near the lit fuel for smoke, the temperature target is 150°C.
Once the temp is stable, a large pan gets loaded with dried uncooked pasta, Colby cheese, shredded cheddar cheese, cream cheese, salted butter, diced precooked bacon, a favorite barbecue rub, and milk. The tray goes onto the opposite side from the lit fuel with the lid on for 30 minutes, then gets pulled out, mixed thoroughly, scraping the sides and corners, and returned for another 30 minutes.
After an hour, another sprinkle of rub gets mixed in, then crushed pork crackle gets sprinkled over the top before one final 30-minute round, letting the pasta soak up the last of the juices while the pork crackle crisps up for a crunchy bite.
Cheesy Hash Browns
No more sad, soggy hash browns. Any potato works: peel, grate, and add to cold water to remove excess starch, then wring out as much liquid as possible using a tea towel or cheesecloth. Two cups of shredded potato get seasoned with garlic powder, onion powder, salt, black pepper, shredded tasty cheese, plain flour, and corn flour, the secret to real crispiness.
On a flat top grill or hot plate warmed to medium heat with a splash of oil, the shredded potato gets stirred to remove as much moisture as possible, then cooled before forming into small, flat patties no thicker than 10mm, so the outside crisps without the inside staying soggy.
Cooked on a well-oiled grill until golden on both sides, about 2 minutes per side, they get drained on paper towel, crispy outside and still moist inside.
Cornbread
Buttery, soft, with just the right amount of sweetness. Ingredients include buttermilk, polenta, and bicarb soda alongside flour, salt, brown sugar, melted butter, eggs, honey, and shredded cheese folded in gently. Baked in a preheated Weber at 180°C using a charcoal basket for even heat, the cornbread goes in opposite the lit fuel for 30 minutes.
Testing with a skewer or toothpick in the center determines doneness; if it comes out clean, the cornbread is ready. After cooling on a rack for about 10 minutes, it can be sliced and served with butter or maple syrup.
Mexican Street Corn (Elotes)
Smoky, creamy, cheesy, and slightly spicy, next-level good. A sauce comes together in a non-reactive bowl with Mexican crema or sour cream, mayonnaise, crumbled cotija or feta cheese, minced garlic, lime zest, lime juice, coriander, and salt flakes.
Corn on the cob, husk on, gets grilled over direct heat for about 10 minutes to steam and tenderize, then the husk and silk get pulled back, with a few husk leaves tied around to make a handle.
Sprayed with cooking oil and returned to the grill for about 8 minutes of charring, each cob then gets rolled in the sauce with a basting brush, sprinkled with more crumbled cheese, chopped coriander, chili powder, and a squeeze of lime.
These five sides- crispy potatoes, smoky mac and cheese, cheesy hash browns, buttery cornbread, and charred street corn- bring variety and big flavor to any wedding or large event menu.