The perfect BBQ side dish?

We often focus on the ‘centre-of-the-plate’ when we plan a meal, but we can’t forget about the side dishes. This easy-to-make, perfect BBQ side dish pairs well with a variety of main dishes, and you can even prepare it ahead of the big meal. This Double Stuffed BBQ Potato recipe from Steve Waldron uses House of Q Slow Smoke Gold BBQ Sauce. Perfect!

What Kind of Flavour Does My Potato Need?

So when does having a potato on the side help, or make your fully plated meal complete to your centre of plate item? A potato dish can be saucy – as an example scalloped potatoes – or creamy with cheese or butter or made more ‘dry’ with the body of the potato dominant as the flavour.

Consider using a saucy potato when your other elements on the plate are drier in nature – say a pot roast or a simple grilled or steamed vegetable. The sauce in the potatoes can add moisture and flavour or you could even argue be a gravy for the roast beef.

A creamy potato – that is, one with cheese, butter or cream heavily mixed into the mashed potato – will add a mouthfeel that will contrast the rest of the fork of food. Let’s say as an example there is a chicken dish nested beside a creamy potato. The chicken is forward with spiciness, full of flavour or even dominant with an acidic flavour. A creamy, rich potato side dish can taper these elements from the chicken dish and provide some balance in flavour. In this instance the creamy potato contrasts or takes away from the acidic or spicy main food.

Lastly, a drier potato can be a perfect ‘intermediate’ side dish. Now don’t mix up drier with bland or unseasoned… that’s not true. Any item on a plate needs to stand on its own by itself for flavour but ultimately taken into context for the rest of the partners on the plate. A lightly flavoured potato filling like this double stuffed baked potato, can allow an eater to simmer-down the high acid or spicy food item or allow the eater to pause with their bite, since your mouth is coated with potato, and really enjoy all the other flavours being added. This works perfectly for dishes that are complex in flavour and have many different ‘notes’ of flavour.

Ya, we know! So many decisions to make choosing a potato! But at the end of the day, a double stuffed baked potato is simply delicious. Let’s shoot for that!

Double Stuffed BBQ Potato

Print Recipe

Course Side Dish

Cuisine Grill, Kitchen, Oven, Smoker

HoQ Product Slow Smoke Gold BBQ Sauce

Author House of Q

Ingredients

• 1 Potato – russets work great for a baked potato
• 2 strips Bacon
• 3 TB House of Q Slow Smoke Gold BBQ Sauce
• 2 TB Cream Cheese
• Salt and Pepper Peppered Bovine might be perfect for this!
• 2-3 TB Cheddar cheese – grated

Instructions

• On a baking sheet, brush each strip of bacon on both sides with Slow Smoke Gold BBQ Sauce and place on foiled sheet in a cold oven. Turn the temperature to 325 F and cook the bacon about 25 minutes or until you reach your perfect bacon texture. There is no need to flip or turn over the strips. Once cooked, remove from the oven and set aside.
  
• Turn the oven up to 350 F and bake the potato wrapped in foil for about an hour or until the potato reaches 205 F internal temperature. Let cool so you can handle the potato. Using a knife slice the potato in half and scoop out most of potato into a bowl using a spoon. Be careful not to break the “shell” as you scoop out the inside. Leave about 1/8 of an inch inside for support.
• Mix potato filling with 2 tablespoons of cream cheese and 1-2 tablespoons of Slow Smoked Gold BBQ Sauce. Chop up half of the bacon and add it to the potato filling. Add a pinch or more of salt and pepper. Mix thoroughly and break up and big lumps.
• Fill the potato skins (shells) with the filling. You can cover and keep these potatoes cool in fridge for a day before a planned meal. That’s the nice bit about planning ahead for your side dishes for large groups.
  
• When ready to cook, turn your oven oven or BBQ to a low to medium heat (about 300-350 F). It is best to have indirect heat if using your grill (one side on and one side OFF with no heat). Cook for about 15 mins and add grated cheddar cheese on the top of each potato along with the remaining bacon all crumbled up. Cook for another 10 minutes until the cheese has melted.
  
• These potatoes look fantastic with some chopped chives or green onions on top. This gives them a good pop of colour.

Shopping List for Double Stuffed BBQ Potatoes