Sidekicks: Pickles, Relishes, Salsas, and Slaws

Appears in

Published 1998

About

Every great performance has its divas and chorus lines. So it is with barbecue. The meats or seafood may fetch the lion’s share of the bravos, but it’s the condiments—the pickles, relishes, salsas, and slaws—that expand what would be a simple solo into a performance of operatic virtuosity.

“Hunger is the best pickle.”

—Benjamin Franklin

Pickles and relishes play an important role in the world of barbecue, where their texture and bite offer an exquisite contrast to grilled meats. In this chapter you’ll find recipes for the encurtidos (pickled onion mixtures) of Central America, the torshis (pickled vegetables) of Central Asia, the fiery sambals of Indonesia and Malaysia, and the chutneys of the Indian subcontinent.