BBQ Chicken, Grits, Squash & Mexican Caesar Salad
Photo by Jean Adams (uses pork chops here, but now made with BBQ chicken)
This delicious BBQ dinner is served on all of our Grand Canyon rafting adventures, and is a treat! With some southwestern inspired sides, this dinner is sure to bring your Grand Canyon rafting adventure memories flooding to the forefront of your mind.
With grits mixed with grated cheese and chilis, along with the Mexican Caesar salad made with cotija cheese, roasted pepitas and tortilla strips, the sides really make this a meal to remember!
NOTE: updated as of August 2024, this meal on the river is now made with coleslaw, but the Mexican Caesar salad is so easy to make at home, we figured we’d leave it here!
The following recipe is made for the river, to serve up to 32 people, so remember to adjust amounts down to your party’s needs.
BBQ Sandwiches
BBQ ingredients:
-
- 5 pounds of pre-cooked pulled pork
- 5 pounds of pre-cooked pulled chicken
- 2 bottles of BBQ of your choosing (or more if you like a lot of sauce!)
BBQ recipe:
-
- Cook over medium to low heat so the meat has time to get juicy and tender.
- Add BBQ sauce at the end so it doesn’t burn.
- Voila! BBQ sandwiches!
Grits
Grits ingredients:
- 2 bags of grits
- 4, 7 ounce cans of green chilis
- ½ pound of butter
- 2 pounds of cheddar cheese, shredded
Grits recipe:
- Follow instructions on the packaging for how much water and cook time.
- When grits are all cooked, add grated cheese and chilis and let sit.
Mexican Caesar Salad
Mexican Caesar salad ingredients:
- 4 heads of romaine lettuce
- 5 large tomatoes
- 2, 10 ounce packages of cotija cheese
- 1 bag of roasted pepitas
- 1 bag of tortilla strips
- 2 bottles of lemon chive dressing
Mexican Caesar salad recipe:
- Mix all ingredients together and keep dressing on the side (unless you’d like to add it!).
Squash
You’ll need about 7 pounds of yellow squash. You can either cube the squash or cut it into slices-whichever you like best. Then, either grill it or sauté it with garlic and butter.
After you’ve made this delicious southwestern dish for you and your friends, remember to pour some sand on your floor, turn your furnace on and turn a fan on to blow around the heat. It’ll bring you right back to river life!
If there are any other recipes you’d like to have from your river trip, see our other river recipes here!