"Big Ol' Mess" Recipe

Here's something that easy to make, great for serving a large group, and always a crowd pleaser.  Plus, it's an entire meal in itself.

It's called the "Big Ol' Mess" because that's what it looks like when you're done.  But looks can be deceiving.  I got the recipe from the Marlboro Cookbook but have made some changes over the years.

It's a smoked sausage in spicy sweet sauce that can be cooked in the kitchen on the stovetop, outside on the grill, and even over a campfire.  The best place is a tailgate party.  The reason is you can cook it the day before and refrigerate it, then reheat in the parking lot.

I start with 3 lbs of sausage.  I usually will do 3 different types.  You can do all the same type if you want.  I like to mix it up so you get different flavors and textures when you're eating.

Here are some to consider.

Kielbasa: A smoked Polish sausage made with pork and/or beef and flavored with garlic, pimento, and cloves.

Louisiana Andouille:  A spicy smoked Cajun sausage that's used in jambalaya and gumbo.

French Andouille:  Similar to the Louisiana but much less spicy.  If you're worried about the heat this recipe might not be your cup of tea, but let's move on.

Bratwurst:  A chunky German farmer's sausage.

Bockwurst:  A mild German sausage made with veal, pork, milk, and eggs, and seasoned with chives and parsley.  Another one for the faint at heart.

Mexican Chorizo:  Fresh pork mixed with lots of spices. 

Italian Sausage:  A pork sausage that's flavored with garlic, fennel seed, and crushed chile peppers.

Let's get to the cooking.

I start with a large aluminum foil pan. The size depends on how many people you're cooking for and how hungry they are.

I have 1 lb of Kielbasa, 1 lb of Mexican Chorizo, and 1 lb of Italian Sausage.  I cut them all into bite-sized chunks and put all of them in the pan.

Now come the 6 medium sized Jalapenos.  I do a medium dice on these and leave the seeds in.  Again, if you're making this for the first time you might take the seeds out.  Into the pan they go.

3 Bell Peppers.  I like one green, one yellow, and one red.  With these you do take the seeds and the white ribs out.  A medium dice and into the pan.

3 sweet onions, medium dice, into the pan.  By now you might have noticed how easy this recipe is.  Everything's going to cook down so you don't really need any fancy knife work.

6 ears of corn on the cob.  Remove the husk and silk, quarter each one and add to the pan.

2 lbs of small fingerling potatoes, quartered and into the pan.

In a mixing bowl pour in 30 oz of Kikkoman Sweet and Sour sauce and

1 ½ cups of Tabasco sauce.  Give this a stir and pour it over everything in the pan. 

Open two 12 oz cans of Budweiser beer (not the light stuff).  Set one aside and pour the other one into the pan.

Now take a large mixing spoon and give the mess a stir.  Seal the pan with heavy duty foil and crimp around the edges.  Put the pan on a medium heat.  You want to get it up to a good simmer (but not a boil). 

Sit down and start drinking the other beer.  I told you it was easy.  And when this gets going the smell will have the neighbors coming out of their houses to see what's cooking.

Total cooking time is 45 minutes.  Every 10 minutes open the foil and give everything a stir.  We don't want anything to stick to the bottom.  Seal it back up and continue cooking.

Once it's done take it off the heat and remove the foil.  It should look something like this.

Give it one more stir and put it on the table.  I serve it with a couple of loaves of French baguettes and soft butter.  You could put it over steamed white rice if you want to.

Have everybody open a beer and dig in.  You can drink a red wine with this but it's really, really, really good with beer.