57 Southern BBQ Recipes for Your Grill, Oven, Slow Cooker, Smoker & Instant Pot

Fifty-seven amazing Southern-style barbecue recipes for your grill, oven, slow cooker, smoker, and Instant Pot.

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Barbecue may not be the road to world peace, but it’s a start.

~ Anthony Bourdain

A few weeks ago, Mr B and I flew down to Tennessee to attend the retirement of one of his old Navy buddies after 37 years of service. (Just when he and I became old enough to have “old >< buddies” is beyond me!) While we were there, we got to attend a fancy Naval “Change of Command & Retirement Ceremony,” experience a little more of the South, and spend some quality time with Mr B’s best friends from his Navy days.

Have you ever met an entire group of people who immediately felt like old friends? I have.

Beverly’s {Super Easy} Slow Cooker Spicy BBQ Recipe

As part of the retirement festivities, Mr B and I were treated to healthy portions of both Southern hospitality and delicious barbecue. The barbecue was so good, in fact, that once we got home to Oregon, I took a big step out of my comfort zone. You see, many of my own family roots are in the South, and I am painfully aware and deeply respectful of how tightly some of those old family recipes are kept. But that barbecue…

So I sent a message to our hostess (who, as you may remember, I had only just met):

Hi Beverly – …I’m starting to get my travel posts together from our Tennessee trip, and decided to include a round-up of BBQ recipes. I’d love to headline it with your delicious slow-cooker Spicy BBQ, and I’m wondering if you would be willing to share the recipe with me. If it’s a secret family recipe, or you just aren’t up to sharing it for any reason at all, I totally understand…

After I hit send, I set back and crossed my fingers that my new friend wouldn’t think I was being too presumptuous. Here is her graciously candid reply:

Hi Renée – …confession is good for the soul lol. My sister cooked a Boston Butt roast overnight in the crockpot. Took it out in the morning, covered it and let it cool, cut it up and eliminated any excess fat and froze it. We took it out of the freezer bags, put it in the crockpot and added Corkys BBQ sauce.

That was it in a nutshell. Sis likes to add a bunch of other stuff like brown Sugar, green peppers, onion, pancake syrup and bbq sauce. I’m not a fan of sweet BBQ so chose not to add the sugar or syrup, just Corkys Spicy BBQ and Regular BBQ in two separate crock pots.

No secret recipe, but since it’s Corkys you can certainly feel free to give a Shout out to a Memphis tradition.

Well then, all I can say to that is: first, thanks to Beverly for her kindness, her sense of humor, her candor, and her recipe. And second – I am totally on board with the Corky’s Spicy BBQ!! Let’s hear it for Memphis tradition!!

[Click here to shop for Corky’s BBQ Sauce & other Corky’s products.]

Here are 56 more recipes to scratch your Southern BBQ itch.

Barbecue Round-up

^{Disclosure: This post may contain affiliate links, which means we may receive a commission if you click a link and purchase something that we have recommended. While clicking these links won’t cost you any extra money, they do help keep this site up and running. As always, all opinions and images are my own. Please check out our disclosure policy for more details. Thank you for your support!}

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Spicy Thai Shrimp Salad {Applebee’s Copycat}

July 23 By Renée ♥ 10 Comments

Inspired by an Applebee’s menu favorite, this Thai Shrimp Salad combines grilled shrimp, fresh edamame, crunchy almonds, and crispy wonton strips under a dressing of spicy-sweet Thai peanut sauce and a bright chili-lime vinaigrette for a light summer feast.

When Mr B and I were on the road last month, we stopped in at Applebee’s for lunch, and I ordered their Thai Shrimp Salad – which immediately became my newest favorite thing to eat. It’s absolutely delicious – and a great pick if you happen to be trying to eat light and healthy, too. So of course I had to run home and figure out how to make it!

My Thai Shrimp Salad Applebee’s copycat recipe makes a wonderfully satisfying meal that can be ready to serve in less than 30 minutes!

There are four basic components to this salad: The Salad Base, the Shrimp, the Chili-Lime Dressing, and the Peanut Sauce – and each one is super-easy to throw together.

5 from 1 vote

Thai Shrimp Salad {Applebee's Copycat}

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Course: Main Dish, Salad

Servings:

Author: Renée ♥ The Good Hearted Woman

Ingredients

Pan-fried Shrimp

1 teaspoon minced garlic
8 ounces raw shrimp peeled & deveined
1/2 teaspoon butter
2 tablespoons olive oil
1/2 teaspoon chili powder [**See Note]
1/4 teaspoon cayenne [**See Note]

Salad

1/2 head Napa or Savory cabbage chopped
2 cups fresh spinach coarsely chopped
1 cup shredded red cabbage
2 medium carrots peeled and shredded
1/2 cup shelled edamame
3 green onions thinly sliced
1/4 cup sliced almonds toasted
Wonton Strips
1/4 cup chopped cilantro (reserve some uncut for garnish)
1 batch Chili Lime Vinaigrette (Recipe Below)
1 batch Sweet & Spicy Peanut Sauce (Recipe Below)

Instructions

Prepare Pan-fried Shrimp

In a large self-sealing plastic bag, combine shrimp, minced garlic, chili powder, and cayenne. Toss until shrimp are evenly coated with the spice mix.
Heat a large, heavy skillet over medium high heat. Melt olive oil and butter and swirl to coat the bottom the the skillet. Add shrimp in a single layer. (Do not crowd in pan.) Pan-fry about 2 minutes, then turn and fry until shrimp become pink all the way through and slightly firm, about 2-3 minutes. Do not over cook! Carefully remove from skillet and set aside.

Assemble Salad

Layer or toss cabbages, spinach, carrots, edamame, green onions, and sliced almonds, wonton strips, and cilantro in bowl. Serve with Chili-Lime Vinaigrette and Sweet & Spicy Peanut Sauce. Garnish with additional cilantro and wonton strips.

Notes

** I substitute in 1 teaspoon of my Spicy Skillet Dry Rub for the chili powder and cayenne.

1 serving {with 2 T Chili-Lime Vinaigrette & 2 T Sweet & Spicy Peanut Sauce} = 8 WW SmartPoints [2018]

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5 from 1 vote

Chili-Lime Vinaigrette

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Ingredients

Juice of 2 limes
Zest of 1 lime
2 tablespoon olive oil
2 tablespoon honey
1 tablespoons soy sauce
1 teaspoon minced garlic
1 teaspoon grated fresh ginger
1/4 - 1/2 teaspoon Gochujang paste Depending on how spicy you like things)

Instructions

Combine all ingredients in a jar and shake to combine. (Remember to put the lid on first 😉)

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5 from 1 vote

Sweet & Spicy Thai Peanut Sauce

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Ingredients

1/4 cup creamy peanut butter
1/4 cup canned coconut milk
1 tablespoon fish sauce (I prefer "Red Boat" fish sauce)
1 - 2 tablespoons fresh lime juice
1 tablespoon honey or coconut or agave nectar
1 clove minced garlic
1/2 - 1 teaspoon grated fresh ginger
1/2 - 1 teaspoon gochujang paste Totally optional. You can also use your favorite heat: Sriracha, red pepper flakes, etc.

Instructions

Combine all ingredients and whisk or blend until smooth.

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Roasted Ratatouille {with Pan-fried Onions}

May 31 By Renée ♥ 12 Comments

Fragrant layers of bright zucchini, tender Japanese eggplant, and juicy romas – all roasted to perfection in a nest of herby, garlicky tomatoes and pan-fried onions.

No one makes ratatouille like I do. In fact, it seems like E-V-E-R-Y-O-N-E puts their own flare on this simple summer vegetable medley. My personal spin? Pan-fried onions for extra sweetness and depth of flavor. SO GOOD!

Originally from the South of France, ratatouille is an amazingly versatile dish, both for the cook and as a meal. Traditionally made with a base of tomatoes, zucchini, onions, eggplant, garlic, and herbs, home chefs around the world add everything from potatoes to porcinis to the mix. Some cook it in a pot on the stove, others roast it in the oven. You can even make it in a slow cooker, or an Instant Pot! The whole idea is, once you have the basic recipe down, feel free to make it your own.

And here’s a little secret… (shhhhh….)

When it comes to making ratatouille, it really doesn’t matter how you put it together.

It’s true! Whether you choose to “fussy up” and camera-ready your ratatouille, or just throw everything in the dish and let the chips fall where they may, the fragrant flavors of all those fresh summer veggies and herbs will magically combine to create something your tastebuds will love.

Ratatouille can be enjoyed hot, cold, or somewhere in between. Serving suggestions are just as flexible, too: as is, over rice, on toast, in pasta, on a sandwich, and with eggs are just a few ideas. (One of our favorite breakfasts is leftover ratatouille with poached eggs.) Enjoy!

5 from 1 vote

Ratatouille with Pan-Fried Onions

Prep Time30 mins

Cook Time1 hr

Total Time1 hr 30 mins

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Course: Main Course

Cuisine: Vegan, Vegetarian

Servings:

Author: Renée B. ♥ The Good Hearted Woman

Ingredients

1 large sweet or red onion sliced 3/8" thick
4 teaspoons extra virgin olive oil divided
14 ounces crushed or diced tomatoes (1 can, drained)
1/2 teaspoon apple cider vinegar
2 cloves minced garlic about 1 1/2 teaspoons
1 Tablespoon fresh basil chiffonade
1/2 teaspoon dried oregano
1/2 teaspoon dried thyme
1/4 teaspoon dried rosemary or a small spring fresh, chopped
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon black pepper
1/4 teaspoon chili powder
1 lb medium zucchini sliced 1/4" thick
1-2 Japanese eggplant sliced 1/4" thick
3 fresh Roma tomatoes sliced 1/4" thick

Garnish:

Fresh basil
Finely grated Parmesan or Romano cheese optional

Instructions

Preheat oven to 350°F. Spray a deep-dish pie plate with cooking spray. Set aside.
Heat a cast iron or heavy skillet over medium-high heat. Add 2 teaspoons of olive oil and swirl to coat skillet. When a water droplet sizzles on the surface, carefully place whole onion slices on the skillet. Allow onion slices to brown and crisp on one side for a few minutes, and then carefully turn them over using a spatula and brown the other side. Allow onion slices to cool, and then separate onion rings from one another and set aside.
In a small bowl, combine dried oregano, thyme, rosemary, salt, pepper, and chili powder.
In a medium bowl, combine crushed or diced tomatoes, remaining olive oil (2 teaspoons), vinegar, garlic, fresh basil, and all but 1 teaspoon of the herb mixture.
Pour tomato mixture evenly into the bottom of a deep dish pie plate. (I use my cast iron pie dish.)
Arrange sliced veggies around the edge of the plate in a pattern that makes you happy. (I did tomato-zucchini-eggplant-zucchini-eggplant-repeat.)
Put the pan-fried onion mixture in the middle of the veggie-ring. Arrange more veggies in the middle, until you are either out of veggies or space, whichever comes first.
OPTIONAL: At this point, you can spray the whole thing with a little cooking spray or brush it with just a bit of olive oil to encourage browning if you would like. Doing so also seems to make the whole thing look better after it is done roasting.
Sprinkle remaining dried herb mixture over the top of the prepared ratatouille.
Bake in preheated oven for an hour, or until the sauce is bubbly and the veggies are tender (but not mushy!!)
Garnish with fresh basil and freshly grated Parmesan or Romano.

Notes

Weight Watchers: 1 serving (1/4 recipe) = 1 SmartPoint [2018]

Alternate (aka "non-fussy") Prep: Put the crushed tomato mixture in your baking dish. Top with pan-fried onions. Throw the veggies on top. Bake as directed.

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Recipe Notes:

This dish is best when made with the freshest veggies possible.
Be sure to slice your vegetables uniformly to all be approximately the same size and thickness so that everything cooks evenly.
Japanese Eggplant is more tender than Italian eggplant, and works better for this dish. However, if you cannot find it, you can definitely use Italian eggplant as a substitute. The important thing is to cut it in approximately the same size as the other veggies you will be using so everything cooks evenly.
Ratatouille and similar foods (i.e., spaghetti sauce, lasagna, and eggplant parm) usually taste better “the next day,” after flavors have had a chance to marry and mellow. I’m sure that there is a scientific explanation for this phenomena, but whatever the reason, keep this in mind if you plan to serve this dish to company. I often make meals like this a day ahead of time, refrigerate overnight and reheat to serve.

Pan-Seared Sturgeon with Chanterelles & Baby Yukons

May 7 By Renée ♥ 13 Comments

In which Mr B and I attend a cooking demonstration class with Chef Andrew Garrison, get to be “beta-diners,” and learn how to make dinner-party-worthy Pan-seared Sturgeon.

Many thanks to the Headlands Coastal Lodge & Spa for hosting our stay and for providing our cooking class with Chef Andrew. This post may contain affiliate links, but don’t worry – they won’t bite.

One of the unique features of the new Headlands Coastal Lodge in Pacific City, Oregon is the culture of adventure they seek to offer guests. Erstwhile concierges, known as “Adventure Coaches,” organize and guide Lodge guests in a large number of activities, including dory boat tours, crabbing, kayaking, and cooking. The day Mr B and I spent with the Headlands Adventures Coaches was wet and blustery, so we chose a cooking class over kayaking. Our instructor for the day was none other than Meridian’s Executive Chef Andrew Garrison.

[Meridian is the Headlands Coastal Lodge in-house restaurant. Read our profile of Meridian here.]

Chef Andrew, until recently the executive chef of Salishan Lodge & Golf Resort, is a Minnesota native and a graduate of Le Cordon Bleu College of Culinary Arts of Minneapolis/St. Paul. He specializes in wine and food pairings, foraging, whole-beast butchery, charcuterie and gluten-free cooking, and developing seasonal menus; the latter a skill already clearly reflected in Meridian’s constantly changing seasonally-focused menu.

When we arrived for our class, held in one of the condos-cottages adjacent to Headland’s, Chef Andrew informed our group that he would be preparing a dish he was planning to add to the menu – “Pan-Seared Sturgeon with Sautéed Chanterelles and Baby Yukons” – and we were to be his guinea pigs. (Or, as one of our group quipped, “beta-diners.”)

Before he started the cooking demonstration, Chef Andrew shared with us a little about his cooking philosophy and approach.

“We don’t really work off any recipes [in our kitchen]. We try to do what we call “intuitive cooking,” where you understand the process and the method behind the recipes, and then expand them to other dishes. It teaches you how to actually cook instead of just following a recipe.”

It is in this spirit that this post is written.

🐟 Cook a man a fish: feed him for a day. Teach a man to cook a fish: he can cook himself fish any time he wants. 🐟 #cookingdemo #sturgeon #recipeby @plays_w_knives Click To Tweet

NOTE: What follows is not a traditional recipe, with weights and measures and exact cooking times. However, if you are a relatively experienced cook, the completed dish should be fairly easy to execute. The following instructions are transcribed almost verbatim from Chef Andrews remarks, and are presented as such.

Pan-Seared Sturgeon with Chanterelles and Baby Yukons

Sautéed Chanterelles

Add oil to pan and heat pan on stove to the smoke point. Add mushrooms and sear them. Once they are seared, finish by sautéing in a little butter with fresh garlic, thyme sprigs, and rosemary sprigs [GTR] thrown in. Set aside.

Always use a neutral oil like canola oil. It has a higher smoke point than olive oil and imparts less flavor.
You want the mushrooms to be dry, and you don’t want to move them much once they’re in the pan. You want them to sear.
Don’t add salt to the mushrooms until you are done cooking, or you will end up with a pan of soggy mushrooms.

Baby Yukon Gold Potatoes

Put the precooked baby potatoes in a pan and make a little hole in the middle. Throw in a couple knobs* of butter and few cloves of garlic. Bring the butter to a foaming point and then add some GTR. Glaze the potatoes with the garlic-herb-infused butter, then season with a little kosher salt. Set aside.

The potatoes were precooked: poached in duck fat. (If you are short on duck fat at home, you can simply parboil them.)
When you add the herbs to the foaming butter, you’ll hear the herbs frying and popping, and that’s the sound you want. Then you’re shallow frying, and the aromatic compounds in the herbs infuse into the butter a little better.

* A “knob” of butter is about 1 1/2 – 2 tablespoons – about the size of a knob on a kitchen drawer.

Pan-Seared Sturgeon

Optional step: Brine the sturgeon for ½ hour before cooking.

Just as you did with the mushrooms, add oil to an oven-safe frying pan and heat on stove to the smoke point. Lay the fish in the hot pan, presentation side down. Sear the fish on one side, and then put it in a preheated oven (425° F) until it is done medium well. [An internal temperature of 140°F in fish is medium well.] It will continue to cook after you remove it from the heat, and will be well done by the time you plate it up.

“Proteins, with the exception of steak, I always just cook it on one side. The idea is to keep as much of the flesh as tender as possible.”

Once the fish is done, take it out of the oven, flip it over, add some butter and GTR to the pan and baste it. You want the butter to be frothing when you do this to really get all those aromatics going well. If it’s just [non-frothing] melted butter, you’re just going to make the fish soggy. You want the basting to be a fairly quick process. You don’t want to cook the fish more; you just want to glaze it.

For this demonstration, Chef Andrew used cold-smoked white sturgeon, farmed out of Idaho.
Brining seasons the fish all the way through and actually firms the flesh a little bit. It also gets rid of that white albumen that often comes out when you cook it.
If you are using fish that has been brined and/or smoked for this dish, don’t salt it before you pan-fry it.
Each piece of fish has two sides: the presentation side and the other, non presentation, side. The bloodline side is always the side you want facing down on the plate. In a fillet, the “inside” is always the presentation side. The skin side always goes down. (Unless you are doing skin-on fish.)
Chef Andrew likes to cook sturgeon to about medium well and then let it carry over to well. It’s not really a fish you want to eat rare.

“Kosher salt is my primary seasoning. I don’t put pepper on proteins before I cook them. Especially fish, because at high heat, you end up burning the pepper. I’d rather just have a crack of pepper at the end.”

“My approach to cooking is based on magnifying natural flavors. I use vinegar or citrus in just about everything. Salt… seasoning is really important, but acidity is another thing that really opens up and magnifies the natural flavors.”

Green Garlic Soup [Sauce]

Pureed soups make good sauces, and the soup used for this dish is basically a variation on vichyssoise, or potato leek soup: Yukon Golds, yellow onion, garlic, leeks, and a bunch of green garlic. (Green garlic looks like a small leek, and appears in the spring, about the same time as garlic scapes.) Then finish the soup with some cream, a whole bunch of kosher salt, and a little bit of cider vinegar to adjust the acidity.

Always try to use Yukon Gold when you make a smooth pureed soup. Avoid using russet potatoes for smooth, pureed soups: the starch in them is far too grainy.

Pan Sauce

Warm up the potatoes up in the pan with a little chicken stock. Once the stock is warm and potatoes are warm, reduce the stock a bit and throw a couple of nobs of butter in the pan, along with some aromatics [GTR]. As the stock reduces, keep the pan moving; swirl it around for a bit to keep things emulsified and make a pan sauce. Baste the potatoes in the pan sauce just before plating.

Rewarm the sautéed chanterelles at this time, too.

Foraged greens

For this dish, Chef Andrew used miner’s lettuce, which is plentiful all over the Pacific Northwest throughout the spring. (If foraging isn’t your thing, you can usually find it at farmers’ markets this time of year as well.) Alternatively, a handful of any fresh, tender greens will work.

Before I wrap this up, let me just say, Chef Andrew is personable, dedicated to his craft, and he made our cooking class “adventure” a pleasure to attend. Oh, and he is also adorable – I mean, how cute is this:

Which all goes to show that even the pros get excited when they get it right – and that’s a lesson for us all: Take pride when you put something wonderful on the table!

Disclosure: Our thanks to the Headlands Coastal Lodge & Spa for hosting our stay and for providing our complimentary cooking class with Chef Andrew. This post may contain affiliate links, which means we may receive a commission if you click a link and purchase something that we have recommended. While clicking these links won’t cost you any extra money, they do help keep this site up and running. As always, all opinions and images are my own. Please check out our disclosure policy for more details. Thank you for your support!

The Naked Colonel’s Original Recipe Fried Chicken {KFC-Style Skinless Copycat Recipe}

March 12 By Renée ♥ 20 Comments

Buttermilk-soaked, cast-iron fried, and finally, oven-finished; this skinless homage to The Colonel’s KFC Original Recipe Fried Chicken is moist, tender, and – I’m just going to say it – Amazing!

I’ve always loved KFC’s Original Recipe Fried Chicken. Back when I was a kid, I remember driving out to “The Speck” in southeast Portland with my Pop and picking up a big red and white bucket of chicken to take home, along with the obligatory mashed potatoes, brown gravy, and container of coleslaw. (Mostly in summer when the temperatures were soaring and the inside of Pop’s Plymouth was like an oven, but that’s another story for another time.)

What I didn’t like about The Colonel’s chicken (or anyone’s chicken for that matter) was the chicken skin. Never have, never will. When I was little, I would carefully remove all the delicious peppery golden coating from my piece of chicken and set it on the side of my plate. Then I would pull off the skin and roll it up in a napkin so I didn’t have to look at it. Then I’d take a bite of chicken and a little bit of coating and eat them together for the full effect. Perfection. These days, I don’t eat a lot of take-out chicken, but when I do, yeah – I still do that, too.

Needless to say, when I was working through this fried chicken recipe and technique, I decided that I would make it skinless by default. However, if you love the skin on your fried chicken, fear not – this recipe will work for you, too! Just… wait for it… use chicken with the skin still on it instead of skinless. (!)

Enjoy!

5 from 9 votes

Naked KFC Original Recipe Fried Chicken {Skinless Copycat}

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Ingredients

2 cups buttermilk divided
1 tsp Sriracha optional
2 cups flour
3 tablespoons paprika I usually use Smoked Paprika, but regular works fine, too.
2 tablespoons garlic salt
2 1/2 tablespoons ground white pepper
1 1/2 tablespoons brown sugar
1 tablespoon celery salt
1 tablespoon ground ginger
1 tablespoon dried mustard
2 teaspoons freshly ground black pepper
1 1/2 teaspoons dried basil
1 1/2 teaspoons dried oregano
1 1/2 teaspoons dried thyme
1 teaspoon salt
1 large egg lightly beaten
10 chicken pieces (One cut chicken, or the equivalent, skinned (I prefer to use legs & thighs)
Vegetable oil for frying

Instructions

Buttermilk Pre-Soak

Combine 1 cup buttermilk and 1 teaspoon Sriracha. The Sriracha it totally optional, but I think it adds another subtle layer of heat to the chicken.
Soak skinless chicken pieces in buttermilk mixture for at least 4 hours, or preferably overnight.

"Chicken Mix"

Combine the dry herbs, spices, and brown sugar in the jar of a small food processor (or clean coffee grinder) and pulverize until uniform in texture.
In a large self-sealing plastic bag or medium bowl, combine flour and pulverized spice mix. Set aside.

Chicken Prep

In a large bowl, combine egg and the second cup of buttermilk. Set aside.
Remove chicken from buttermilk pre-soak. Discard any remaining buttermilk mixture from the Soak.
Dip each piece of chicken in the egg and buttermilk mixture and shake once to remove excess. Drop into bag or bowl of Chicken Mix and dredge to coat. Remove with tongs and rest on wire rack while you complete dredging the rest of the chicken pieces.
Allow chicken to rest at least 10 minutes on rack. [See Notes]

Chicken Fry-n-Bake

Preheat oven to 350°F. Line a heavy sheet pan with foil and set aside. (I like to spray the foil with a little cooking spray to alleviate sticking)
Pour 1/3-1/2 inch of oil into a deep cast iron or other heavy skillet. Heat skillet over medium heat until the oil reaches a temperature of 350°- 360° F.
Fry chicken in batches for 2-3 minutes on each side, or until light golden brown. Remove from oil and set on wire rack while you finish the rest of the chicken. (Allow oil to come back up to temperature between batches.)
Place the fried chicken on the prepared sheet pan and place in preheated oven. Bake for 20-30 minutes, or until chicken is done and juices run clear. (Breasts will take 30-40 minutes, legs and thighs 20-25, and wings 10-15 minutes.)
Remove chicken to a clean wire rack and allow it to rest for at 10 minutes before serving.

Notes

CHICKEN PREP: Allowing the chicken to rest after dredging, even a short time, dramatically improves how well the coating adheres to the chicken when you go on to the frying steps. If time allows, you can stop there and put the chicken, rack and all, into the fridge for an hour or two. You can even dredge the chicken the day before and leave it overnight.

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It Takes a Village to Fry a Chicken

The foundation for my Naked Colonel’s Original Recipe Fried Chicken recipe is, of course, based on the recently released, culturally iconic “11 Secret Herbs & Spices” recipe from the original “Kentucky Fried Chicken” restaurants, allegedly discovered in the personal affects of Colonel Harland Sanders’ nephew, as reported in the Chicago Tribune in 2016. (Thanks, Trib!)

However, giving credit where it is due, my recipe was also heavily influenced by this wonderful KFC Original Recipe Chicken (Copycat) version from Dinner then Dessert – both she and I unabashedly tinkered with the amounts and types spices, and her tip about pulverizing the herbs and spices is brilliant!

Speaking of tips, the little gem about letting the chicken sit after dredging to allow the coating to better adhere – even more critical when the chicken is skinless – comes straight from Chef Michael Symon of The Chew. Finally, it leans hard on my own chicken frying experience, as passed down from Grandma B and my own mother, and my personal tastes. So, apparently it takes a village to fry a chicken.

Pulverizing the spices into uniform size before mixing them into the “Chicken Mix” makes all the difference! {Thanks to Dinner then Dessert for this great tip!}

Reminder: Hot oil can be very DANGEROUS! Please take all precautions necessary to ensure the safety of yourself and those around you.

Hey Renée, can’t I just fry the chicken in the skillet until it’s done?

Well, of course you can – you can do anything you want! Just so you know, KFC finishes their Original Recipe fried chicken in a pressure cooker (or at least they did when I was a kid). I like to take the extra step and finish it in the oven for a couple of reasons.

First, chicken needs a lot of room to fry – you should never crowd pieces in your skillet. Finishing it in the oven allows you to give the chicken the room it needs and still get a lot of chicken done all at the same time. Second, I know that all the chicken will be done to the bone, and I won’t get any pink chicken surprises when I take a bite. Finally, I personally like the texture of the coating better after baking versus doing a full fry. It’s totally up to you, though.

THANK YOU so much for being a faithful reader and supporter of The Good Hearted Woman. ❤ Be sure to PIN and Print this recipe!

This Naked Original Recipe Fried Chicken copycat recipe is the result of many influences. What will you do to make it your own? I’d love to read your tips and tricks in the comments below!

Cast Iron “Shrimp & Grits” Pizza {with GF Polenta Crust}

February 26 By Renée ♥ 11 Comments

This Shrimp & Grits Pizza honors the flavors and essence of its classic Southern roots, while presenting the components of this time-honored favorite in a deliciously unique way.

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If you’ve ever wondered how bloggers and recipe developers come up with new ideas, here’s a little window into how I came up with this one. For the past few weeks, I have been a little obsessed with the idea of making a polenta pizza. First, I thought about making a Tex-Mex style pizza, but that seemed too obvious. Then an Italian-themed pizza, or maybe a roasted veggie pizza. (Actually, I’m still considering the latter.)

But none of those ideas were making me all that excited. So I changed tacks and started to focus more on the polenta as an ingredient and what it goes best with, which led me to thinking about grits, because polenta is basically just grits that have set up. Which of course led me to Shrimp & Grits, which has rapidly become one of my favorite things in life, food-wise. At that point, I circled back to pizza, and here we are.

Shrimp & Grits is a Southern classic. A dish once served almost exclusively below the Mason-Dixon line, Shrimp & Grits (cheesy or otherwise) has become wildly popular across the US in recent years, and now appears on menus from New York to Oregon. This deconstructed Shrimp & Grits Pizza honors the flavors and essence of this archetype of Southern cooking, while presenting something deliciously unique.

The biggest hurdle to this recipe was creating a crust that could stand up to toppings. I didn’t want to make a pizza you have to eat with a fork, which is essentially what you get if you use traditional polenta. In order to make a crust that can be sliced, held in your hand, and eaten like a proper pizza, I had to include a few extra ingredients. So technically, this isn’t a “polenta” crust so much as it is a Polenta-Meets-a-Giant-Johnny-Cake, but that is simply too long to put in a recipe title, so I’m calling it Polenta and calling it good. You are welcome to call it whatever you want. 😉 (There is a whole post devoted to my Spicy Polenta Pizza Crust recipe, if you’d like more tips on making the crust.)

TIP: Shrimp & Grits Pizza is one of those recipes that looks long and involved, but in reality, is very easy to execute. You can make it in any large, oven-safe skillet, but cast iron will give your crust a nice crispy texture.

5 from 1 vote

Cast Iron "Shrimp & Grits" Pizza {with GF Polenta Crust!}

This Shrimp & Grits Pizza honors the flavors and essence of its classic Southern roots, while presenting the components of this time-honored favorite in a deliciously unique way.

Prep Time30 mins

Cook Time30 mins

Total Time1 hr

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Course: Main Dish

Servings:

Author: Renée B. ♥ The Good Hearted Woman

Ingredients

Prepare Pizza Toppings

1 lb medium shrimp deveined and shelled
1 tablespoon Spicy Skillet Dry Rub (RECIPE below)
2 cloves garlic minced
2 tablespoons olive oil divided
1/2 pint cherry or grape tomatoes
2-3 slices thick bacon cut into 1/2" pieces
1/2 large sweet onion sliced into thin strips, root to tip
1/2 red bell pepper cut into thin strips

Polenta Pizza Crust

1 cup medium-grind cornmeal I use Bob's Red Mill Medium Grind Organic Cornmeal
½ cup flour I use Bob's Red Mill GF Flour
1 tablespoon Spicy Skillet Dry Rub (RECIPE Below)
½ teaspoon baking powder
1 cup milk
2 tablespoons butter
1 egg lightly beaten
1 tablespoon olive oil

Final Steps

1 1/2 cups shredded cheddar cheese divided
2-3 green onions sliced

Instructions

Prepare Pizza Toppings

Preheat oven to 400°F.
Marinate Shrimp: In medium bowl, combine 1 tablespoon olive oil, Spicy Skillet Dry Rub, and minced garlic to make a thick paste. Add shrimp and toss to coat thoroughly. Allow to marinate while you roast the tomatoes.
Roast Tomatoes: While shrimp is marinating, roast the cherry tomatoes. To do this, toss the tomatoes lightly in a little olive oil and spread on a heavy sheet pan. Sprinkle generously with kosher salt. Roast for 15 to 20 minutes, until the tomatoes are soft. Remove from oven and set aside.
Prepare Shrimp & Veggies: In a cast iron skillet or heavy pan over medium heat, fry bacon pieces until crispy. Using a slotted spoon, carefully remove bacon from skillet and set aside.
Add chopped onion and red bell pepper to hot skillet and sauté in bacon drippings until soft and translucent.
Push all the vegetables to one side of the pan. Stir in shrimp and and cook 3-4 minutes, or until just barely pink. (DO NOT overcook!)
Set shrimp mixture aside while you make pizza crust. If you are using the same skillet for the pizza, just put the shrimp mixture in a bowl and wipe your cast iron skillet clean before beginning the next step.

Polenta Pizza Crust

Preheat oven to 400°F.
In a large bowl, whisk together cornmeal, flour, salt, baking powder, and Spicy Skillet Dry Rub.
In a medium saucepan, heat milk and butter over medium heat until tiny bubbles begin to appear around the edge of the pan. Remove from stove and stir until butter is completely melted.
Add the hot milk mixture to the dry ingredients and stir to blend. Whisk in the beaten egg and thoroughly combine. Let set briefly while you prepare skillet.
Heat a 10-inch cast iron skillet or round griddle over medium heat until a drop of water sizzles on the surface. Add a tablespoon of olive oil to the skillet and swirl oil to thoroughly cover pan. Give the cornmeal mixture one more good whisking, then carefully pour prepared cornmeal batter into hot griddle and spread evenly with spatula.
Bake in preheated oven for 8-9 minutes, or until the top is set and the bottom is beginning to brown.

Final Steps

Remove prepared crust from oven, and switch oven to broil.
Optional: If you wish, you can flip the crust over at this time. I do this because I like the browned part facing up, plus it gives the other side a chance to brown a bit too.
Sprinkle prepared pizza crust with a generous cup of shredded cheddar cheese, then place under broiler for 1-2 minutes to melt the cheese.
Remove from oven and distribute shrimp mixture and roasted tomatoes evenly across pizza crust.
Sprinkle 1/2 cup shredded cheddar over top. Place under broiler for 1-2 minutes - just long enough to melt the cheese on top. Remove from oven.
Garnish with sliced green onions. Cut into slices and serve warm.

Tried this recipe?Mention @TheGoodHeartedWoman or tag #thegoodheartedwoman!

TIP: This recipe makes one 10-inch pizza. If your skillet is larger or smaller, adjust amounts accordingly.

Click here for more details about how to make Polenta Pizza Crust

The Spicy Skillet Dry Rub recipe below was originally created for Spicy Pan-fried Rockfish; however, I’ve used it on everything from roasted vegetables to barbecued steak, and it is amazing every single time. It’s especially great on shrimp, and really makes this Shrimp & Grits Pizza pop!

It’s no secret that I’m a huge fan of cast iron cooking, and my 10.5-inch griddle is one of the pieces I use nearly every day. If cast iron is something you’re thinking about investing in, I suggest starting with a 10-inch chef’s skillet and following it up with a 10.5-inch round griddle. These are the two cast iron items I use most often, followed closely by my beautiful cast iron pie plate!

5 from 12 votes

Spicy Skillet Dry Rub

Prep Time5 mins

Total Time5 mins

Print Recipe Pin Recipe

Course: Condiment

Author: Skillet, Seattle, WA [IFBC 2015]

Ingredients

5 tablespoons smoked paprika
1 tablespoons garlic salt
2 1/4 teaspoons ground ginger
1 tablespoons ground pasilla pepper
2 teaspoons ground chipotle pepper
1 tablespoons ground New Mexico chili pepper
1/2 tablespoon ground mustard powder
5 teaspoons white granulated sugar
2 tablespoons kosher salt

Instructions

Mix all ingredients. Store in an air-tight container.

Notes

Ingredient Substitution: If you don't have all the dried peppers on hand, just substitute 3 tablespoons of regular chili powder for the ground pasilla, chipotle, and New Mexico chili peppers.

Tried this recipe?Mention @TheGoodHeartedWoman or tag #thegoodheartedwoman!

Tip: You can find the ground pasilla pepper and ground New Mexico chili pepper used in this dry rub in the Mexican/Hispanic foods aisle of most grocery stores (in my area, Winco, Freddy’s, and Safeway all stock them) or in your local Hispanic Mercado (i.e., Su Casa Imports, El Mercado, etc). I found the ground chipotle pepper in the bulk section at Winco. All of the dried ground peppers are very inexpensive and the recipe makes a lot of dry rub, so it will go a long way.

Thank you so much for being a faithful reader and supporter of The Good Hearted Woman. ❤ Be sure to Pin and Print this recipe!

P.S. I’m sharing this recipe on the Weekend Potluck Recipe Linkup. Check it out for more great recipes!

♥︎ Did you love this Cast Iron “Shrimp & Grits” Pizza recipe? If so, I would appreciate it so much if you would give it a star review in the comment section below! Also, be sure to snap a picture of your finished pizza and share it with me on Instagram using the hashtag #thegoodheartedwoman.

Spicy Polenta Pizza Crust {Gluten-Free}

February 20 By Renée ♥ 14 Comments

Not just another “gluten-free option,” this Spicy Polenta Pizza Crust is full of flavor, easy-to-make, and holds up under a load of pizza toppings!

This post may contain affiliate links, but don’t worry – they won’t bite.

For the past few weeks, I have been kicking around the idea of making a polenta-based pizza. I have all kinds of ideas about what to put on top of the corn-base crust (I’ll be sharing one of my favorites next week!) but first I had to come up with a tasty, dependable, easy-to-make crust. A pizza crust that isn’t just a “gluten-free alternative” (and to be clear, I’m not GF). I wanted a crust that could stand up flavor-wise to traditional crust, and hold up to a pile of toppings without crumbling. I’m super happy with how it turned out on all counts.

(Technical Point: Before any “Polenta Purists” start calling me out, let me clarify: I know this crust isn’t technically “polenta.” It’s actually more of a Polenta-Meets-a-Giant-Johnny-Cake, but that is simply too long to put in a recipe title, so let’s just go with “polenta” and call it good, ok?)

As you can see by the pictures, I made this pizza crust in a cast iron griddle, which I believe is the best tool for the job. Cast iron is basically nonstick – as long as you keep it well-seasoned, which is a non-issue if you cook with it regularly. Plus, you can avoid all those all those mysterious lab-created non-stick chemicals that can become toxic and break down at high temperatures. Cast iron is generally relatively inexpensive, by cookware standards. Moreover, cast iron will last you a lifetime: I’ve even heard of people handing their down to children or grandchildren at the end of life.

If cast iron is something you’re thinking about investing in, I suggest starting with a 10-inch chef’s skillet and following it up with a 10-inch round griddle. These are the two cast iron items I use most often, followed closely by my beautiful cast iron pie plate!

One final word about cast iron. If you find a cheap second-hand pan that looks rusted and lost, grab it, hold it close, and run home fast! With a little elbow grease and some patience, you will have beautiful, shiny new pan in no time. (Here’s a great tutorial on “Reviving Old Cast Iron.“)

Sneak peek! Look what’s up next week!

TIP: This recipe makes exactly enough pizza crust “batter” to make one 10-inch pizza. If your skillet is larger or smaller, adjust amounts accordingly.

5 from 1 vote

Spicy Polenta Pizza Crust

Not just another "gluten-free option," this Spicy Polenta Pizza Crust is full of flavor, easy-to-make, and holds up to a load of pizza toppings!

Prep Time30 mins

Cook Time10 mins

Total Time40 mins

Print Recipe Pin Recipe

Course: Main Dish

Cuisine: Gluten-free

Author: Renée B. ♥ The Good Hearted Woman

Ingredients

1 cup medium-grind cornmeal I use Bob's Red Mill Medium Grind Organic Cornmeal
½ cup flour I use Bob's Red Mill GF Flour
2-3 teaspoons Spicy Skillet Dry Rub RECIPE Below (or use your own spice blend)
½ teaspoon baking powder
1 cup milk
2 tablespoons butter
1 egg lightly beaten
1 tablespoon olive oil or a little more
1 cups shredded cheese Your choice!

Instructions

Preheat oven to 400°F.
In a large bowl, whisk together cornmeal, flour, salt, baking powder, and Spicy Skillet Dry Rub.
In a medium saucepan, heat milk and butter over medium heat until tiny bubbles begin to appear around the edge of the pan. Remove from stove and stir until butter is completely melted.
Add the hot milk mixture to the dry ingredients and stir to blend. Whisk in the beaten egg and thoroughly combine. Let set briefly while you prepare skillet.
Heat a 10-inch cast iron skillet or round griddle over medium heat until a drop of water sizzles on the surface. Add a tablespoon of olive oil to the skillet and swirl oil to thoroughly cover pan. Give the cornmeal mixture one more good whisking, then carefully pour prepared cornmeal batter into hot griddle and spread evenly with spatula.
Remove prepared crust from oven, and switch oven to broil.
Optional: If you wish, you can flip the crust over at this time. I do this because I like the browned part facing up, plus it gives the other side a chance to brown a bit too.
Sprinkle prepared pizza crust evenly with a generous cup of shredded cheddar cheese, then place under broiler for 1-2 minutes to melt the cheese.
Remove from oven and distribute toppings of your choice over pizza. Return to broiler just long enough to warm toppings and melt any topping cheese; about 2-3 minutes.

Notes

This recipe makes one 10-inch pizza. If your skillet is larger or smaller, adjust amounts accordingly. This is meant to be a basic crust recipe. If you want to change things up to go with your pizza toppings, go for it! Simply substitute in your favorite spice blend for the Spicy Skillet Dry Rub, and you're good to go!

Tried this recipe?Mention @TheGoodHeartedWoman or tag #thegoodheartedwoman!

Step 6: Bake in preheated oven for 8-9 minutes, or until the top is set and the bottom is beginning to brown.

Step 8: (Totally optional) If you wish, you can carefully flip the crust over at this time. I do this because I like the browned part facing up, plus it gives the other side a chance to brown a bit too.

Tip: You can find the ground pasilla pepper and ground New Mexico chili pepper used in the following dry rub in the Mexican/Hispanic foods aisle of most grocery stores (in my area, Winco, Freddy’s, and Safeway all stock them) or in your local Hispanic Mercado (i.e., Su Casa Imports, El Mercado, etc). I found the ground chipotle pepper in the bulk section at Winco. All of the dried ground peppers are very inexpensive and the recipe makes a lot of dry rub, so it will go a long way.

5 from 12 votes

Spicy Skillet Dry Rub

Prep Time5 mins

Total Time5 mins

Print Recipe Pin Recipe

Course: Condiment

Author: Skillet, Seattle, WA [IFBC 2015]

Ingredients

5 tablespoons smoked paprika
1 tablespoons garlic salt
2 1/4 teaspoons ground ginger
1 tablespoons ground pasilla pepper
2 teaspoons ground chipotle pepper
1 tablespoons ground New Mexico chili pepper
1/2 tablespoon ground mustard powder
5 teaspoons white granulated sugar
2 tablespoons kosher salt

Instructions

Mix all ingredients. Store in an air-tight container.

Notes

Ingredient Substitution: If you don't have all the dried peppers on hand, just substitute 3 tablespoons of regular chili powder for the ground pasilla, chipotle, and New Mexico chili peppers.

Tried this recipe?Mention @TheGoodHeartedWoman or tag #thegoodheartedwoman!

♥︎ Did you love this Cast Iron Spicy Polenta Pizza Crust recipe? If so, I would appreciate it so much if you would give it a star review in the comment section below! Also, be sure to snap a picture of your finished pizza and share it with me on Instagram using the hashtag #thegoodheartedwoman.

Disclosure: This post may contain affiliate links, which means we may receive a small commission if you click a link and purchase something that we have recommended. While clicking these links won’t cost you any extra money, they do help keep this site up and running, and at the same time allow us to keep traditional advertising to a minimum. As always, all opinions and images are my own. Please check out our disclosure policy for more details. Thank you for your support!

Finger-lickin’ Down-home Southern Cooking {15 Recipes}

June 30 By Renée ♥ 29 Comments

Satisfy your belly and your soul with these delicious Southern classics.

When I think of Southern cooking, I think smoky, sweet, and smokin’ hot Comfort-with-a-capital-C. As Mr B says, “That’s what I’m talkin’ ’bout.”

Speaking of Smokin’ Hot…

If you like your fried chicken with a side of scandalous backstory, all served up on a slice of white bread with a pickle, Nashville Hot Chicken is right up your alley. This Easy Nashville Hot Chicken from Bacon is Magic uses another well-known southern ingredient to kick the heat up: Tabasco.

Easy Nashville Hot Chicken from Bacon is Magic

If you want to check out another Hot Chicken recipe, Mr B and I had some amazing Hot Chicken when we were in Nashville at a little chicken joint called Hattie B’s, a place famous for their hot chicken. The best part is, they freely share their recipe with the public! YES! You read that correctly!! You can find it here.

You can also read more about Nashville Hot Chicken’s rough and tumble past, and get some great recipes in the deal, check out Hot Chicken Cookbook: The Fiery History & Red-Hot Recipes of Nashville’s Beloved Bird [affiliate link].

Shrimp & Grits

I am totally in love with shrimp and cheesy grits; in fact, it may even be my new favorite thing! I can’t wait to make these Buffalo Shrimp and Blue Cheese Grits from Taste & See!

Shrimp and Grits may be the epitome of southern cuisine. So much so that some people refer to the south as the “Grits Belt.” It is a staple throughout much of the southern US and especially many “low country” coastal towns (think Charleston, New Orleans, or Jekyll Island, GA).

~Holly, Taste & See

Buffalo Shrimp and Blue Cheese Grits from Taste & See

* * *

Here’s another spin – Cajun Shrimp and Kale Cheesy Polenta from Body Compass Discovery.

Shrimp & Polenta | The Good Hearted Woman

Cajun Shrimp and Kale Cheesy Polenta from Body Compass Discovery

* * *

Vegetables (sort of) and More Grits

This Old Fashioned Southern Corn Pudding from Basil & Bubbly is even purported to have magical powers!

It’s the best kind of “secret weapon” dish. Delicious and requiring practically zero effort if you use canned corn, but absolutely sublime when you have the time to go through the trouble of using fresh cobs, this corn pudding will make you friends, clean your house, and increase your worldwide influence.

~ Marianne, Basil & Bubbly

Old Fashioned Southern Corn Pudding | The Good Hearted Woman

Old Fashioned Southern Corn Pudding from Basil & Bubbly

* * *

Cheesy Grits Breakfast Bowls with Sausage, Scrambled Eggs & Spinach from Family Food on the Table are loaded with crumbled sausage, soft scrambled eggs and sautéed spinach for a hearty, delicious start to the day!

Cheesy Grits Breakfast Bowls with Sausage, Scrambled Eggs & Spinach from Family Food | The Good Hearted Woman

Cheesy Grits Breakfast Bowls from Family Food on the Table

* * *

Southern Tomato Pie with Fried Onions from The View for Great Island is based on the classic Southern dish where thickly sliced ripe tomatoes are set into a single pie crust, covered in a slurry of mayo and grated cheese, and then baked into a bubbling cauldron of pure comfort.

Southern Tomato Pie with Fried Onions from The View for Great Island

* * *

Teri, from Buy This Cook That is one of my favorite food bloggers. Here’s what she has to say about her Daddy Dale’s Tennessee Tomato Gravy recipe.

It doesn’t matter who you are or where you are from, Tomato Gravy is good Southern food… First and foremost, do NOT mistake this for tomato or pasta sauce. This is not an Italian-style tomato sauce. Although I would totally scarf this tomato gravy down on top of spaghetti. Just sayin’.

HINT: Try this over my Perfect Buttermilk Biscuits for a real stick-to-your-ribs meal.

Daddy Dale’s Tennessee Tomato Gravy from Buy this Cook That

* * *

Pulled Pork & BBQ

I have to admit, I got an education when I was putting this round-up together. I knew that BBQ styles were regional, but I had no idea how tightly drawn those regional lines were. I have a feeling that if I actually lived in the South, I would discover places where the style differed from one town to another.

This North Carolina Pulled Pork recipe and tutorial comes to us from Simon, who walks us through a recipe from American pitmaster Steven Raichlen, well known for his BBQ television show “BBQ University.”

Pulled Pork is one of those recipes that can make you a BBQ legend among your friends. What most people don’t know is that it’s not as hard as it looks! Once your meat is smoking you barely need to do a thing to end up with a delicious piece of meat.

Simon, The BBQ Bastard

NC Pulled Pork from The BBQ Bastard | The Good Hearted Woman

North Carolina Pulled Pork from The BBQ Bastard

* * *

Goodie Godmother offers a different take with the Godfather’s Eastern North Carolina Style Pork Shoulder with spicy vinegar sauce.

Eastern North Carolina Pulled Pork from Goodie Godmother

* * *

While this next recipe may horrify BBQ traditionalists all over the South, there is definitely something to be said for the ease of using a slow cooker to do the job. With just 15 minutes of prep, Slow Cooker Carolina Pulled Pork from Cooking with Mamma C can be waiting for you after a long day. The tender meat has a nice vinegar kick and sweet heat.

Slow Cooker Carolina Pulled Pork from Cooking with Mamma C

* * *

Simon the BBQ Bastard 😉 shares another entry from pitmaster Steven Raichlen, with Red Eye Ribs.

Red Eye Ribs from The BBQ Bastard

* * *

In the Carolinas, vinegar based barbecue sauce and pulled pork go hand in hand. You can’t have one without the other. This Carolina Barbecue Sauce comes to us from Katie at A Fork’s Tale, who puts it succinctly: “Us Southerners are crazy over Sauce.”

Carolina BBQ Sauce from A Fork’s Tale

* * *

Dessert

Lemon Chess Pie from Meg is Well is tart, fresh, and sweet – perfect for picnics or summer gatherings.

Lemon Chess Pie from Meg is Well

* * *

This patriotic Miss American Flag Pie from Jenn’s Farm Table is the perfect way for Americans to celebrate Independence Day, or any patriotic holiday. I thought it was important to share the impetus behind it as well.

Miss American Flag Pie represents women’s perseverance to defend their rights. We shouldn’t have to fight for our rights again. It’s a reminder to get involved on any level and be proud to be a powerful woman in the land of the free.

~ Jenn, Jenn’s Farm Table

Miss American Flag Pie from Jenn’s Farm Table

* * *

Adult Beverages

These ice cold Blackberry-Lemon Mint Juleps from Striped Spatula are a fragrant and refreshing twist on a classic. Perfect for sipping on a warm day!

Blackberry-Lemon Mint Juleps from Striped Spatula

* * *

I’ll end this post in the same way that Mr B likes to end a hot summer day: with an ice cold mule. (OK, more often than not, he has a beer, but I do need to wrap this up and he does love a good mule on a hot day, so just go with it…) This Blackberry Sage Kentucky Mule from The Gastronom holds flavors of summer in a cold copper cup.

Blackberry Sage Kentucky Mule from The Gastronom

* * *

“The Great Slider Debate” & Seven Savory Slow-food Southern Sliders

June 23 By Renée ♥ 30 Comments

In the last few years, sliders have been popping up like daisies on menus everywhere, from greasy spoons to gastropubs. In no place are they more ubiquitous than in Tennessee, home of “The Great Slider Debate.”

Depending on who you ask, a slider is either (a) a mini-hamburger, or (b) a mini-sandwich. Unless you ask Adam Kuban, Editor Emeritus for the website Serious Eats, who unequivocally states “A slider is something very specific. It is not just a mini hamburger. It’s a thin, thin slip of beef, cooked on a griddle with onions and pickles piled atop patty. The steam from the onions does as much cooking as the griddle. The buns are placed atop the onions, absorbing the pungent aroma and flavor.”

No disrespect, but I prefer to use the broadest interpretation possible – a slider is a little bun with some yummy, mostly protein-based stuff inside. Nevertheless, while I may not agree with Mr Kuban on the defining points, I do have to give him some serious props: he has constructed what I think is probably the best traditional (i.e., beef-n-onion) slider copycat around. (I’ll drop the recipe link for you at the end of The Great Slider Debate below.) Now, moving on…

In the last few years, sliders of every make and model have been popping up like daisies on menus everywhere, from greasy spoon dive-ins to upscale gastropubs. In no place that I’ve experienced are they more ubiquitous than in Tennessee, home of The Great Slider Debate.

The Great Slider Debate

Before we get on to the Good Stuff (i.e., some amazing slow-food slider recipes), I need to introduce you to Mister White Castle and his southern cousin, Krystal.

White Castle, which first opened it’s doors in Wichita, Kansas 1921, usually gets credit for introducing sliders – little two-inch square burgers with ridiculously thin meat patties – to the world. Krystal was founded eleven years later in Chattanooga, Tennessee. If you live west of the Mississippi, you may not be familiar with either of these two burger chains, but everyone else in the country has at least a passing familiarity with at least one of them.

Currently, White Castle has a soft monopoly on the Midwestern and Northeastern states, while Krystal dominates the Southern States. In some sort of modern-day Mason-Dixon fast food standoff, Tennessee and Kentucky are the only two states in which they cross paths. Since Mr. B and I had to grab a couple of quick meals on our Tennessee trip, we decided to seize the opportunity to weigh in on what is apparently known as The Great Slider Debate. [dundunduuuun….]

The Great Slider Debate: White Castle vs Krystal's | The Good Hearted Woman

Both White Castle and Krystal sliders take up about the same amount of real estate as a Saltine cracker.

Going into this, it had been at least 15 years since either Mr B or I had eaten a White Castle slider, so I thought we could be pretty objective. (Neither on of us had ever had a Krystals slider before.) However, after I took my first bite of that first White Castle slider last month, I knew it wasn’t going to be a fair contest. Nostalgia has a way of masking actual food flavors and textures by blanketing your senses in warm, fuzzy memories of days gone by. (Case in point: my Grandma Lucy’s fried bologna sandwiches.) Nevertheless, here’s our slider critique:

White Castle vs. Krystal

In both cases, we sampled the basic Cheese Slider (or Cheese Krystal, as the case may be).

Appearance: The sliders look basically exactly the same. The White Castle slider seemed a bit loftier; it was almost as tall as it was wide. By comparison, the Krystal slider was a bit flatter and had more the appearance of a miniature burger.
Size: I didn’t get out a caliper gauge or anything, but by all appearances, they seemed to be exactly the same size.
Buns: White Castle buns seemed much lighter and airier than Krystal buns. More importantly, they had a very slight, yet distinct sweetness that I missed in the Krystal bun. The Krystal bun felt a little more dense, and would probably hold up a bit better if you had to take it home before eating it. [Point: White Castle, because Mr B and I liked it more.]
Cheese: Standard fast food yellow processed cheese. Nothing distinctive in either case.
Meat: The meat in both sliders was the same size and thickness (just under 1/4′ high). White Castle’s slider meat seemed to be slightly seasoned, whereas Krystal‘s tasted a little flat to me. (It’s possible I’m just making that up in my own head.)
Onions: In both cases, the onions used were reconstituted from dried onion bits, or at least they tasted like they were. The onions were better on the White Castle sliders; they tasted like maybe they put a little Worcestershire sauce or beef stock or something on them to season them, or perhaps it was just “flavor crystals” from the grill. In any case, the Krystal onions were just not as flavorful. [Point: White Castle]
Other Condiments: White Castle sliders come with a pickle. Period. Krystal sliders come with a pickle and mustard, which Mr B and I both liked, so…[Point: Krystal]

WINNER: White Castle, by a slim margin, with what was probably an unfair advantage.

Summary: If you want a sweeter, lighter slider, White Castle is the place to go. If you like a more tangy slider with a denser bun, go with Krystal. In any event, if you’ve never even once sunk your teeth into one of these little east-of-the-Mississippi coronary cloggers, it’s an experience you might want to try. At least once.

Make’em yourself: Yes! You can make traditional White Castle-esque sliders at home! Try out this recipe from the aforementioned Adam Kuban: WITE KASTLE KLONES.

* * *

Now that’s out of the way, here are some sliders you can make at home that you can really sink your teeth into!

Seven Savory, Slow-food Southern Sliders

(Try to say that ↑ six times fast, why don’t you!)

Kentucky Hot Brown Sliders from Buy This Cook That give a whole new face to the legendary Kentucky Hot Brown.

Hot Brown Sliders - Slider Recipes | The Good Hearted Woman

“Kentucky Hot Brown Sliders” from Buy This Cook That

* * *

Who could resist these Carolina Pork Sliders with Sweet Coleslaw from Little Family Adventure? (Besides the obvious vegans & vegetarians, of course.)

Carolina Sliders - SliderRecipes | The Good Hearted Woman

Carolina Pork Sliders with Sweet Coleslaw from Little Family Adventure

* * *

Slow Cooker Pulled Pork Sliders from What a Girl Eats are the perfect comfort food, without all of the work! Pork is dry rubbed with spicy, smoky flavors, then cooked and topped with homemade BBQ sauce and creamy coleslaw. Yum!

Slow Cooker Pulled Pork Sliders - Slider Recipes | The Good Hearted Woman

Slow Cooker Pulled Pork Sliders from What a Girl Eats

* * *

Southern Charmer Sliders from I am a Honey Bee (and I’m quoting her website here) are “the kind of food that when you eat you do a little shimmy. You know what I am talking about.” Sold.

Southern Charmer Sliders - Slider Recipes | The Good Hearted Woman

Southern Charmer Sliders from I am a Honey Bee

* * *

These Pork Tenderloin Sliders with Apples & Onions from Who Needs a Cape? are sure to be a new favorite! With tender pieces of pork and chunks of caramelized apples & onions. Delish!

Pork Tenderloin Sliders with Apples & Onions - Southern Sliders - Recipes | The Good Hearted Woman

Pork Tenderloin Sliders with Apples & Onions from Who Needs a Cape?

* * *

A quick and easy dinner is only moments away. These Chicken Sliders with Peach Chutney from Food Done Light will make a delicious weeknight dinner.

Chicken Sliders w Peach Chutney - Southern Sliders - Recipes | e Good Hearted Woman

Chicken Sliders with Peach Chutney from Food Done Light

* * *

Looking for an easy lunch or dinner idea? Try these great tasting Easy BBQ Chicken Sliders from Ann’s Entitled Life. Fast, fun and simple to make, your entire family will love them!

BBQ Chicken - Southern Sliders - Recipes | The Good Hearted Woman

Easy BBQ Chicken Sliders from Ann’s Entitled Life

* * *

Pacific Northwest Dungeness Crab Cakes {with Roasted Red Pepper Sauce}

May 10 By Renée ♥ 6 Comments

Perfect Dungeness Crab Cakes are not much more than a big pile of crab and a few cracker crumbs, with a kicky little sauce on the side. With crab cakes, less is more.

You can have your lobster and your snow blue king crabs: I’ll take the delicate sweetness of Dungeness crab every time. In fact, it may be a case of regional bias, but if I had to choose one kind of seafood – and only one – for the rest of my life, it would be Dungeness crab.

^{This post may contain affiliate links, but don’t worry – they won’t bite.}

Found all along the West Coast from Alaska to California, Dungeness is known in scientific circles as Metacarcinus magister, or the “master crab,” and it is a title well-earned. (Culinary nobility agree: Dungeness crab was the favorite of both Julia Child and James Beard.)

One of the best meals you will ever experience consists simply of a fresh Dungeness crab, a container of fresh cocktail sauce, and a box of Ritz crackers – preferably eaten while sitting on the sand watching the Pacific tide roll in and out.

The perfect crab cake is not much more than that – a big pile of crab, few cracker crumbs, and a kicky little sauce on the side. With crab cakes, less is more.

Ironically, my crab cake recipe (as well as the accompanying Roasted Red Pepper Sauce) goes back to a time when I visited Maryland many years ago. Up until then, I’d only eaten “West Coast” crab cakes, which at the time were more cake than crab, so heavy with fillers that the flavor of the crab was nearly lost. (A lot has changed in the Left Coast food scene since the 80’s, thankfully.)

When I took my first bite of my first Maryland crab cake, I was blown away by the clean, clear crab flavor. Those East Coasters definitely know how to make an amazing crab cake! The only thing that could have possibly made it more delicious was our buttery West Coast native crab. (Sorry, Blue Crab.) When we returned home from our trip, one of the first things I did was make a batch of Dungeness crab cakes to test my theory. Then I made another batch. And another.

Eureka! That last batch was so, so good that it is the recipe I’ve used ever since. I hope you enjoy these delicious little crabby patties as much as I do!

Pacific Northwest Dungeness Crab Cakes

Prep Time15 mins

Cook Time25 mins

Chilling Time1 hr

Total Time1 hr 40 mins

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Course: Appetizer, Main Course, Side Dish

Cuisine: American, Pacific Northwest

Keyword: crab, seafood

Servings: crab cakes

Calories: 120kcal

Author: Renée B. ♥ The Good Hearted Woman

Ingredients

2 tablespoons mayonnaise
1 large egg beaten
1/2 teaspoon honey mustard
1/2 teaspoons Worcestershire sauce
1/4 teaspoon hot sauce I use Sriracha
3/4 teaspoon seafood seasoning [i.e. Old Bay®]
1 pound fresh cleaned Dungeness crab meat
10 butter crackers [i.e.,Ritz or Keebler Club], finely crushed
1 cup fresh bread crumbs or more
1/4 cup butter for frying
Lemon wedges for serving

Instructions

In a medium bowl, combine mayonnaise, egg, mustard, Worcestershire sauce, hot sauce, seasoning and cracker crumbs.
Very gently the crab meat into the wet ingredient mixture, taking care to not break up the crab meat too much.
Cover and chill for at least 1 hour in the refrigerator.
Using a 1/4 cup measuring cup, shape the crab mixture into 8 lightly packed patties, each about 3/4" thick.
Coat each crab cake lightly with fresh bread crumbs. [See Note]
In a heavy skillet, melt just enough butter to thoroughly coat the bottom of the pan. (Do not overheat the skillet or you run the risk of burning the butter.)
Gently place the crab cakes in the pan and cook over medium heat until golden brown and heated through, 3 - 4 minutes per side. (Do not crowd the pan! It is best to fry the crab cakes in batches, adding more butter to the pan as needed.)
Briefly transfer the crab cakes to a cooling rack to drain while you fry the next batch and/or prepare the plates.
Sauce plates and arrange crab cakes on top, or serve cakes on a bed of greens with the sauce on the side.

Notes

The patties will be very fragile. I find that, instead of putting the crab cakes into a plate or bowl of bread crumbs to coat them, it works better to hold a crab cake in your hand and pat the bread crumbs on top, then flip it over and do the same on the other side.

FRESH BREAD CRUMBS: I make these using the Chopper Attachment on my immersion blender. It takes 2-3 slices of bread to make enough for one batch of crab cakes.

Nutrition

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Dungeness crab… is sheer, unadulterated crab heaven.
The Theory and Practice of Cooking, James Beard

Crab Season

Crab season in Oregon runs December through August, during which time you can find fresh, whole crabs cooked and ready to go at just about any supermarket seafood counter or specialty seafood market throughout the Pacific Northwest. For additional information on Oregon crabbing, including more tasty recipes, visit the Oregon Dungeness Crab Commission.

Roasted Red Pepper Sauce

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Course: Sauce

Cuisine: Pacific Northwest

Author: Renée B. ♥ The Good Hearted Woman

Ingredients

1 large red bell pepper
1/2 cup tomato sauce
2 tablespoons lemon juice
2 tablespoons olive oil
1 clove garlic
1/2 teaspoon Sriracha

Instructions

Cut the red pepper in half and remove seeds and stem. Brush both sides with olive oil. Place on a foil lined baking sheet.
Place oven rack 4-5" away from heating element. Place baking sheet in the oven and broil the pepper for 8-10 minutes, turning over about half way through. The pepper skin will char.
Remove broiled pepper from oven and let set for a few minutes until it is cool enough to handle.
Peel away as much of the pepper skin as possible. (Don't worry if some remains, It's all going to get pulverized anyway.)
Place pepper along with the remaining ingredients into a small blender cup and process until smooth.
Serve hot or cold. Keeps in fridge for about a week.

Tried this recipe?Mention @TheGoodHeartedWoman or tag #thegoodheartedwoman!

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