BBQ My Way: Smoked onion dip

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August 22, 2011

BBQ My Way: Smoked onion dip

Dave Lobeck CNHI The Washington Times-Herald Mon Aug 22, 2011, 09:11 AM EDT

Montgomery — Last weekend we came across a recipe online for a smoked onion dip. We love onions, and we

obviously love the flavor of smoke. So, we looked into it, only to be drastically disappointed. The flavor of smoke was added to the dish by the use of liquid smoke, a dastardly product that true barbecue aficionados avoid like the plague.

First of all, it can be very bitter. Secondly, you might as well admit you have no idea how to impart the lovely flavor of smoke into the food you are preparing, which by definition means you do not know how to barbecue. As a disclaimer I apologize to any reader who may be employed in a liquid smoke factory, but when it comes to barbecue, I have to tell the truth.

So by now, you are probably wondering why I would write a column about something this was utterly disappointing. It is because there is a very happy ending to this story.

I smoked the onions with real hickory and the end result was utterly and unbelievably delicious. We served it as a dipping sauce for a beer can chicken quesadilla and it was a real hit. Since then we have tried it on pulled pork, as a dip for pork rinds and potato chips and as a topping for vanilla ice cream. OK, you busted me. Not on ice cream. That was a bit of an exaggeration.

Here is how you do it. We set up the grill for indirect heat and put on our beer can chickens. When the chickens were 50 percent done, we placed two large vidalia onions that we skinned and halved on the grill opposite the coals. The coals need to have some hickory chips in them from the beginning to impart that smoky flavor.

Prior to putting the onions on the grill, we brushed the cut side with some olive oil and sprinkled them with a little salt and pepper. We left the onions on for an hour or so, until they were cooked all the way through.

Remember, the onions are on the side of the grill opposite the coals. When you bring the

onions in you will need to discard the outer layer as it will have dried quite a bit.

By the time this article is published I will have edited and posted a video we shot describing this recipe. Go to YouTube.com/BBQMyWay. In the search area, type in “smoked onion dip.”

Recipe

1 ½ to 2 large smoked onions, pureed.

½ cup of sour cream

½ cup of real mayonnaise

1 Tbs. Worcestershire sauce

½ tsp. ground cumin

¼ tsp. cayenne pepper

½ tsp. salt

Refrigerate until cook. I cannot stress to you how good this is. Give it a try but please, NO LIQUID SMOKE!

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