11 hickory recipes

Old-fashioned split pea soup simmered for hours with 3 pounds of pork spareribs, leeks, carrots, and a bouquet garni. The kind of thick, rib-sticking soup your grandmother's kitchen smelled like all winter long.

This recipe is a faily old (circa 1983) but reliable one, somwhere in between competition and eating and chili. It would be a good starter for any novice cook.

Four-ingredient Tex-Mex skillet with smoked beef sausage, rice, red beans, and hickory barbecue sauce. Dinner on the table in 10 minutes flat.

Smoky chicken and beans slow-simmered into a thick, sweet-and-savory stew with three kinds of beans, diced apple, maple syrup, barbecue sauce, and a hit of hickory liquid smoke. Cozy, hearty, and easy.

While this cold salad has some elements of a traditional warm German potato salad, it is totally Americanized to suit my family's tastes. Great with grilled burgers, dogs, meats and poultry.

Easy 30-minute vegetarian sloppy joes with pinto beans, brown rice, and smoky barbecue sauce piled on whole grain buns. Messy, filling, and completely meatless.

Competition-style smoked pork ribs with a paprika-heavy dry rub and a from-scratch vinegar-molasses BBQ sauce aged 2-6 weeks. Low and slow over hickory for 5 hours.

Championship-winning BBQ ribs from the 1991 Memphis in May World BBQ Contest. Hickory-smoked with a homemade dry rub and basted with a vinegar-ketchup-molasses sauce that ages for weeks.

Competition-style smoked BBQ ribs with a bold paprika dry rub and tangy homemade sauce simmered with molasses and chili. Slow-smoked over hickory for 5 hours of fall-off-the-bone glory.

Authentic Carolina pork barbecue with a whole shoulder smoked low and slow over hickory, basted with a vinegar-Worcestershire-chili-red pepper sauce. Real pit barbecue, no shortcuts.

Vegan shepherd's pie style casserole with a mashed potato crust, savory tofu filling, mushrooms, corn and spinach, smothered in homemade brown gravy. Hearty plant-based comfort food.