copycat, Author at Top Copycat Recipes

Dinosaur Bar-B-Que Honey Hush Corn Bread

Southern cooking and cornbread go hand in hand. Kind of like Italian cooking and focaccia bread. I love BBQ with cornbread, they complement each other. Dinosaur Bar-B-Que’s sweet and mellow cornbread is very tasty, even on its own but served with BBQ, it really takes it to the next level.

If you like your cornbread cheesy and with a nice kick, you can turn the already amazing cornbread recipe below into cheddar-jalapeno honey hush cornbread. Follow the recipe below but stir in one cup of cubed extra-sharp Cheddar cheese and two medium jalapeno peppers, seeded and minced, into the batter right before pouring it into the pan. Increase the baking time to 30 to 35 minutes and glaze with honey in the same way as the original recipe.

Enjoy!

Dinosaur Bar-B-Que Honey Hush Corn Bread

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Prep Time 20

Cook Time 30

Total Time 50

Course Side Dish

Cuisine American

Servings 10

Ingredients

1 1/4 cups yellow cornmeal
1/4 cup sugar
3/4 cup flour
1 1/2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp baking soda
1 tsp kosher salt
1 cup buttermilk
2 eggs slightly beaten
1/2 tsp vanilla extract
1/4 cup melted butter
2 Tbsp honey

Instructions

Preheat oven to 350F. Grease an 8" x 8" baking pan with shortening. Place the pan in the oven to heat while you're mixing the cornbread.
Mix the cornmeal, sugar, flour, baking powder and baking soda, and salt in a bowl. Whisk together the buttermilk, eggs, vanilla, and melted butter in another bowl. Pour the wet ingredients into the dry and give them a good stir, just til everything is moistened.
Pull the hot greased pan from the oven and pour in the batter. Bake for 25 to 30 minutes, or til a toothpick inserted in the middle comes out clean. Take the corn bread out of the oven and brush the top with honey.
Cool for 10 minutes in the pan before cutting into squares.

Keyword cornbread

P.F. Chang’s Mongolian Beef (Authentic Recipe)

If you are a fan of P.F. Chang’s Mongolian Beef, this recipe is for you. This dish has a cult following and many are trying to replicate it at home. This authentic recipe will take away any guesswork from that.

The vast majority of P.F. Chang’s Mongolian Beef copycat recipes are heavy on the sauce, sugar and include corn starch. While that’s not necessarily a bad thing and many people like it that way, that’s not how authentic Mongolian Beef at the restaurant will look and taste like. It’s a lot less sweet and with a minimal amount of sauce that’s wonderfully caramelized onto the meat.

The original recipe that was revealed by P.F. Chang’s on their website was their gluten-free version that uses gluten-free soy sauce. One would assume that the regular version of their Mongolian Beef would use regular soy while everything else remains the same. Having tried this recipe and the original dish from the restaurant a number of times I can confirm that this recipe is quite close to the original.

There are a few things that you can try to make this dish even better. I once asked the waitress at the P.F. Chang’s how they make the beef so tender and she told me that they marinate the meat before cooking. Not having any more details on that I came up with this very simple marinade: 3 tablespoons of low sodium soy sauce, 1 tablespoon rice wine and 1 teaspoon of sesame oil. This worked wonderfully. Even 15 minutes of marination time makes a difference, but I like t shoot for 30 minutes to 2 hours as that yields better results. After marinating, pat the beef dry with paper towels before cooking to ensure good browning.

Finally, you may notice that I suggest using a low sodium soy sauce. The original recipes does not specify which soy sauce they use at P.F. Chang’s but I like the results far better when using the low sodium one. It just tastes better and come out close to the original in terms of saltiness.

Recipe adapted with changes from P.F. Chang’s Hawaii.

Other Mongolian Beef Recipes – Homemade Mongolian Beef.

P.F. Chang's Authentic Mongolian Beef Recipe

5 from 1 vote

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Prep Time 10

Cook Time 10

Total Time 20

Servings 4

Ingredients

12 oz sliced beef tenderloin
1 Tbsp soybean oil (or peanut, canola, safflower oil)
1/2 tsp fresh garlic finely chopped
2 fl oz low sodium soy sauce (see note 1)
2 Tbsp white sugar
1 tsp rice wine
2 oz green onions green part only, cut 3" long
1/2 tsp sesame oil

Instructions

Heat the oil in a saute pan over high heat. Add the sliced beef and cook for 30-60 seconds, or until the beef if lightly browned around the edges and no longer pink throughout the rest of the surface.
Add the garlic and toss with the beef.
Add the rice wine, soy sauce, and sugar, and bring to a boil. Cook the beef until the sauce has thickened enough stick to the meat and no longer pools at the bottom of the pan.
Add the green onion sticks and toss to mix with the beef. A few tosses are all that's needed - the onions do not need to be wilted.
Add the sesame oil and toss the beef.
Transfer the beef to a serving platter and enjoy with your favorite side dish (e.g. steamed rice or noodles)

Notes

Note 1 - the original recipes does not specify which soy sauce they use but I find that the low sodium one produces the best results.

Dinosaur BBQ Roasted Garlic and Tomato Soup

This soup was created by Dinosaur BBQ spontaneously but became super popular and made its way into Dinosaur BBQ’s book of popular recipes. This soup is delicious and has a good Sunday vibe. A must try!

Roasting garlic takes a bit of time, while the soup can be made very quickly. You can prepare the garlic in advance and store in a fridge.

Enjoy!

Recipe adapted from Dinosaur Bar-B-Que: An American Roadhouse by John Stage and Nancy Radke.

Dinosaur BBQ Roasted Garlic and Tomato Soup

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Prep Time 15

Cook Time 20

Total Time 35

Servings 6 -8 servings

Ingredients

1/4 cup butter
2 Tbsp olive oil
1 medium onion chopped
1 small green bell pepper chopped
A couple of pinches each kosher salt and black pepper
3 garlic cloves minced
2 Tbsp all-purpose flour
4 cups chicken broth
2 heads or garlic roasted
4 medium ripe tomatoes peeled and diced (or pureed)
1 bay leaf
1 cup heavy cream
1/2 freshly grated Parmigiano-Reggiano cheese
Tabasco sauce to taste
2 Tbsp freshly squeezed lemon juice
20 fresh basil leaves

Instructions

To to prepare the roasted garlic, cut the garlic tops off, sprinkle with 2 tablespoons of butter and 1/2 tsp each kosher salt and black pepper. Wrap in foil and bake at 375F for one our. Let cool, then squeeze the roasted garlic out of the skins into a small bowl. Mash with a fork and set aside.
In a large pot, melt the butter over medium-high heat. Add the olive oil as the butter is melting. Add the onions and the bell pepper, and season with salt and pepper. Cook until soft, constantly stirring. Add the minced garlic and cook for another minute. Add the flour, stir really well, then add the broth and mix. Stir in the tomatoes and the roasted garlic. Bring to a boil. Add the bay leaf. Drop the temperature to low, cover and let the soup simmer for 15 minutes.
Remove the bay leaf, stir in the cream, Parmigiano-Reggiano cheese and Tobasco sauce. Add the lemon juice, the remaining 2 Tbsp of butter and half of the chopped basil leaves.
Ladle the soup into bowls, sprinkle with the remaining chopped basil and serve.

Chipotle Guacamole Recipe

Chipotle guacamole is well-known, even famous if you will. Their secret is not some fancy or hard-to-get ingredients. Quite the opposite – their guacamole is very simple and easy to make. The secret is to use the right avocados and mash them to a very smooth consistency.

To replicate chipotle guacamole you must use Hass avocados. That’s what they use. Hass avocados have a creamier texture compared to Florida avocados which don’t have the same smooth mouth feel. You will get less fat using Florida avocados but you won’t get the same texture.

When buying avocados, pick the ones that have a nice dark green color and are firm but squishy if you press a little harder. Still not sure? Do the finger test. Bring the tip of your thumb to the tip of your middle finger. Now, touch the fleshy area beneath the thumb. That’s about how a perfectly ripe avocado should feel. If you fail to pick perfectly ripe avocados – no problem. It takes a little bit of practice but once you know what a ripe avocado feels like you will know for the rest of your life. Remember though, it’s better to pick an under-ripened avocado than to get an over-ripened one. A slightly too firm avocado will soften in a day or two. Over-ripened avocado’s texture is a mush that doesn’t taste good.

Recipe source: Chipotle.com.

A scaled down version of the authentic Chipotle restaurant's guacamole recipe that comes straight from its creators.

Chipotle Guacamole Recipe

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Prep Time 10

Total Time 10

Ingredients

2 ripe avocados Hass is recommended
2 tsp lime juice
1/4 cup finely chopped red onion
2 Tbsp cilantro chopped
1/2 finely chopped jalapeño peppers including seeds
1/4 tsp kosher salt

Instructions

Cut the avocados in half, running a knife around the pit. Twist and pull the two halves apart. Gently remove the pit and discard. Scoop the avocados out form the shells and place in a medium bowl. Pour the lime juice over avocados and toss to coat.
Add the salt and, using a fork or a potato masher, mash until a creamy consistency is attained.
Add the the remaining ingredients and mix well.
Taste the guacamole and adjust seasonings if necessary.