Southern Appetizers with Barbecue and Cheese Grits

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Planning an event with a southern theme? The guests will all love these pretty little appetizers of cheese grits topped with the smoky taste of barbecue pork.

Southern appetizers are the perfect way to start your party and they will set the stage for the rest of the event. These are served in colorful little glasses and have a small serving of cheese grits topped with a generous dab of barbecue pork. We took ours a step further and topped it with a touch of another favorite – Salted Caramel Peach Spread from our friends at Unicoi Preserves.

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Brilliant idea, right?

Okay, I have a confession. I didn’t come up with this idea. A couple of years ago I was at a catered party and something very similar was served. They were in mini martini glasses, which you could certainly use. In fact, any small, individual dish would be wonderful and you can further customize them to your party’s color scheme and style.

I searched high and low for recipes or articles which suggested the pairing of cheese grits and barbecue for an appetizer and I couldn’t find a thing! So… straight from your friends here at Biscuits and Burlap, we present you Southern Appetizers with Barbecue and Cheese Grits.

If you love barbecue, grits and all things southern you’ll want to read Southern Food Then and Now. 

Totally Customizable

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Besides choosing the dish that you want to use you can customize these apps many other ways:

• Make however many you need – 10, 12, 40, 50 – you name it
• The grits can be our Gouda Grits with Cajun Spice for an update on the classic
• Or, for a more traditional base use the cheese grits recipe from our Shrimp and Grits (one of our top recipes)
• Top with good old southern style smoked barbecue like ours
• Or, barbecued chicken or beef (for you Texans) would be good too
• Top with Unicoi Preserves Salted Caramel Peach Spread, or your favorite southern style preserve or jam
• For a fun garnish we added a few sprigs of chives, but you could leave them off, or use your imagination

We gave ours an elegant twist with the silver tray and lace cloth, but it would also be fun to make them look country style. This wood serving tray is gorgeous and you will have the perfect tray of southern appetizers if you make yours in mini mason jars.

Now, we love our barbecue pork slow cooked on the Big Green Egg, but if you’re planning a party you may not have time for that. These apps would be a breeze to put together with barbecue picked up from your local joint.

If you’re looking for more southern style crowd-pleasing appetizers be sure to check out our version of Fried Green Tomatoes.

For ideas on making a charcuterie style board that’s uniquely southern be sure to check out Southern Appetizer Board. It’s got something for everybody!

A few things you’ll need for these fun southern appetizers:

• Peach Jam or Spread – We love this one from Unicoi Preserves
• Small appetizer glasses or jars (this link goes to a full page of ideas)
• appetizer or demitasse spoons (these are stainless)
• for a casual event these small spoons are disposable
• Our favorite seasoning for the Gouda Grits

More ideas for that southern themed party:

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For lots of other great recipes be sure to visit Meal Plan Monday.

Another great source for Southern recipes is Weekend Potluck!