You’re undoubtedly excited and worried if you plan a barbecue party this summer. Here are some side dishes and drinks to serve with BBQ chicken to help you prepare for your guests. Thanks to the BBQ Chicken and some delectable side dishes, it will be a success. You can’t go wrong with the tried-and-true classics for summer barbeques. BBQ chicken is delicious, but the best dinners are always complemented with various side dishes.
Make a drink that matches the flavors and textures of your grilled chicken if you’re serving BBQ chicken with it because it boasts lemony aromas and undertones of aromatic florals. A crisp white wine pairs well with grilled chicken, and it’s also a terrific summertime supper!
Serve with fried okra if you’re serving barbecue chicken as an appetizer. Thanks to the cornmeal batter, the okra will be golden brown and crispy. Serve with your favorite barbeque sauce, and you’ll be ready to wow your visitors.
What is BBQ Chicken?
Barbecue chicken is made from chicken pieces or whole chicken that have been grilled, smoked, or barbecued. Numerous preparation techniques and culinary styles are used worldwide and in different regions. Barbecue chicken is frequently seasoned with a spice rub, barbecue sauce, or a combination.
Tenderizing and flavoring the meat with marinades is another option. In recent years, rotisserie chicken has grown in popularity in grocery stores across the United States. Barbecued chicken is one of the most popular barbecue recipes in the world.
What’s the History of the Barbecue?
For many, barbecues have a long and unexpectedly patriotic history as a favorite American activity and summer tradition. According to Planet Barbecue, they began when a human ancestor known as Homo erectus began cooking meat with fire around 1.8 million years ago. As we know them, Barbecues originated in the Caribbean, with meat cooked over a grill or pit, covered with spices and basting sauce.
Barbeque derives from the Taino language, spoken by a Caribbean Indian group. Barbacoa is the Spanish word for grilling on a high wooden grate. According to Planet Barbecue, the word first appeared in print in a Spanish explorer’s description of the West Indies in 1526.
Barbecues’ popularity has grown exponentially since then. Barbecuing has a long history in America, dating back to colonial times, and it has remained a part of society ever since. In fact, during the 1650s, one of the first ordinances passed in the province of Virginia prohibited the discharge of firearms during a barbecue.
The milestones were remembered with barbecues when America won the Revolutionary War, laid the cornerstone of the Capitol, and built the first bridge across the Missouri River, according to Steven Raichlen, author of Planet Barbecue and host of PBS’ Primal Grill.
What Goes with BBQ Chicken?
The options for side dishes for BBQ chicken are endless, ranging from classics like coleslaw and cornbread to unique combinations like watermelon feta salad. These delectable platters are ideal for both barbecues and weekday meals. Here are some of the best barbeque chicken side dishes:
1. Baked Beans
BBQ establishments, picnic potlucks, and summer celebrations have this sweet and delicious side dish. Baked beans are a sweet and savory side dish made by boiling beans slowly in a sweet and salty sauce.
The sauce is made with animal fat—usually bacon or salt pork—and a sweetener like maple syrup, brown sugar, or molasses, depending on the region and personal choice.
BBQ sauce, ketchup, green bell pepper, dry mustard powder, acidic yellow mustard, funky, umami-packed Worcestershire sauce, or liquid smoke may be used in modern recipes.
2. Baked Potatoes
Baked potatoes are ideal for mopping up the excess sauce from your BBQ chicken. To create a baked potato, pierce the potato with a fork and lay it on the middle rack of an oven preheated to 350 degrees Fahrenheit.
Bake for almost an hour or until fork-tender. Cut the potato half, season it with salt, and smear it with butter on both sides. To serve, top the buttered potato with sour cream, chives, and bacon bits if desired.
3. Coleslaw
A BBQ chicken platter boosts crunch and creaminess from this classic dish of shredded cabbage in a mayonnaise-based sauce. Shredded carrots, onions, broccoli, and cauliflower are common ingredients in coleslaw.
You can, however, play around with this easy dish by changing the vinaigrette or other ingredients. Make an Asian slaw with a rice vinegar dressing that’s sweet, spicy, and even tangy. A slaw made with apple cider vinegar can add a lot of tang to your BBQ platter.
4. Cornbread
Cornmeal is used in this quick bread, famous in Southern cooking and loved by many for its delicate, crumbly texture and sweet aroma.
Southern cornbread has a high cornmeal-to-flour ratio and has little to no sugar, whereas Northern cornbread is sweeter and more cake-like. Either option is a delicious, toothsome side dish for barbecue chicken.
5. Grilled Vegetables
If you’re cooking your barbecue chicken on the grill, toss some vegetables in for a smokey flavor boost. Brussels sprouts, zucchini, sweet potatoes, and red peppers can all be grilled or roasted.
6. Mashed Potatoes
Mashed potatoes are a traditional BBQ side that’s simple to prepare for a large party. To make them creamy and flavorful, boil your choice of potatoes and mash them with milk, butter, and salt. Make pomme purée, an ultra-creamy French twist on the popular side dish, to elevate your ordinary mashed potatoes.
7. Pesto Pasta Salad
Serve Italian pesto pasta with grilled chicken instead of the traditional creamy macaroni salad. Short-noodle pasta is covered in basil pesto sauce and served cold in a pesto pasta salad.
8. Pickled Vegetables
The vinegary undertones in the brine of pickled veggies perfectly balance the sweetness of the barbecue sauce, making them a great side dish to serve with chicken. A spicier alternative is pickled jalapenos.
To add delicious saltiness to your chicken, sprinkle pickled sweet corn on top. Green beans pickled in vinegar are a hearty and refreshing addition to any barbeque platter.
9. Potato Salad
The best side dish for BBQ chicken is a creamy potato salad. Combine cooked potatoes, mayonnaise, mustard, fresh herbs, and crunchy components like pickles or snappy radishes to make potato salad.
Mayonnaise, mustard, sliced red onions, and green onions like scallions or chives are all staples in this classic recipe, which originates in traditional German potato salad. Chefs generally offer tangy, dairy-free potato salads with a basic vinaigrette made with dill pickle juice or white vinegar and served warm.
10. Smacked Cucumber Salad
Knife-smacked cucumbers are dressed in sesame seeds, parsley leaves, garlic, and olive oil in Chef Yotam Ottolenghi’s simple cucumber salad dish. His smacking cucumber salad is a good counterpoint to starchier or meatier foods like cucumber salad.
11. Baked Wedge Fries
These wedge fries have a devilish flavor that makes you think they’re deep-fried, but they’re baked! How do you make such thick and tasty wedge fries without bathing them in a ton of oil? Boiling them for 3 minutes before baking is the key.
This procedure breaks apart the starches on the top of the potatoes, making them very crispy without using oil. You can leave the skin on or remove it; either way, they’ll be delicious, especially when eaten with BBQ chicken.
12. Fried Okra
Fried okra is a less typical option, but these tasty morsels make a great complement to any barbeque. Plus, this delectable Southern dish is incredibly easy to prepare. Coat the okra in cornmeal batter and fry until golden brown and crispy. The speed with which these men vanish from the party table will astound you.
13. Fried Green Tomatoes
Think again if you think tomatoes can’t stand on their own! The addictiveness of fried green tomatoes will surprise you. Firm, unripe green tomatoes are cut and soaked in cornmeal batter for this dish. Then they’re cooked to perfection in bacon fat or oil. Consequently, the tomatoes are gently acidic and coated in a crunchy and delicious batter. Yum!
14. Watermelon
In the summer, nothing beats a slice of freshly cut watermelon. At any backyard BBQ, this is a must-have. It’s also quite easy to put together. Watermelon wedges should be cut into thick wedges, placed on a platter, and watched disappear!
On a hot summer day, especially. You can also grill fruit to add variety. They become especially delicious when the grill caresses peaches, nectarines, and watermelon. Grilling intensifies the tastes and imparts a smokiness that complements the sweet and flavorful barbecue chicken.
What is a Side Dish?
A side dish is any cuisine provided to complement the main course. Aside from this basic description, a side dish can take many forms, from simple steamed vegetables to complicated casseroles. In addition to adding variety to a meal’s flavor profile, side dishes can sponge up sauces and gravies.
When the main course is ordered, restaurants frequently offer a selection of side dishes, which normally adhere to the restaurant’s predominant cuisine. Many households only eat certain side dishes on certain holidays. A side dish’s characteristics might vary greatly.
Basic dishes like steamed vegetables or a basket of bread rolls can be as simple as chicken liver mousse or chilled pea soup with crème Fraiche and edible flowers or as complex as chicken liver mousse or chilled pea soup with crème Fraiche and edible flowers. To “round out” a meal and give attractive flavor contrasts, home cooks and restaurants frequently combine main courses with one or two side dishes.
Conclusion
Although Southern staples like coleslaw or creamy potato salad go well with BBQ chicken, you have a lot of choices when it comes to side dishes for your smokey meats. Salads, roasted and sautéed vegetables, creamy casseroles, and various bakes are just a few of the BBQ chicken combinations.
When selecting your favorite vegetables and pairing them with chicken, the choice is entirely yours. Broccoli, asparagus, spinach, corn, and sweet potatoes are excellent choices. Alternatively, if you want to add some color to your dish, combine them all and add some bell peppers as well!!
