Meat is lonely when it is served on its own. Now don’t get me wrong, there is nothing wrong with a lonely piece of meat waiting to be consumed, however there is a reason why sides are served with BBQ.
Sides bring balance.
Our bodies have evolved to enjoy different food sensations. Hot and cold, sweet and salty, crunchy and mushy. Meat tends to be a similar consistency. They use usually salty, maybe a bit sweet. They almost always have a savory component.
Many years ago, I attended a wine making class in California. In addition to understating the process, I also learned a lot about how out sense of taste works.
The order in which we eat things can cause the taste of food to be experienced differently.
For example, if you each a piece of chocolate before drinking a Cabernet, it will change the taste and highlight different flavors.
BBQ sides should compliment the meat. Sides are designed to make pork more porky, beef more beefy and turkey less fowl (just kidding).
Sides also bring texture to the party in your mouth. The next time you are eating BBQ, mix some coleslaw with your pulled pork. The crunchiness and acid of the coleslaw will blend beautifully with the pork. That is why you will find most pork sandwiches have some kind of crunchy component and some kind of acid.
At Lazy G many of the sides we serve are designed to compliment our meats. We may tweak them a little and give then our own spin, but we are treading in the footsteps of a well work path of pioneers that have figured this out.
We will continue to tweak things and try new things, but in the BBQ world, its all about building on tradition. We would love to convince you to make Lazy G part of your tradition.