Hillbilly Cole Slaw - melissassouthernstylekitchen.com (2024)

Hillbilly Cole Slaw is dressed with a sweet and tangy vinegar based dressing, It’s a spectacular twist on classic mayonnaise dressed cole slaw. You can serve it as a condiment for grilled hot dogs, pinto beans or alongside barbecue and Southern fried chicken. The vinegar dressing makes it ideal for warm weather entertaining and it’s simple to pack up and take to potluck parties year-round.

Easy Hillbilly Cole Slaw Recipe

I bet you’re wondering, what in the world is hillbilly cole slaw? Well, the short answer is, it’s a fresh vinegar based cole slaw that we fell in love with it at a little gem near our home in North Carolina. The Hillbilly Hideaway is a log cabin restaurant featuring country cooking specialties all served family-style. It’s only open on Fridays, Saturday and Sunday which only heightens its appeal. Depending on the day, you may enjoy fried chicken, country ham, ribs or meatloaf as the entrée. The featured side dishes they serve are things like Southern green beans, home cooked pintos, mashed potatoes, cream style corn and stewed cinnamon apples. To round out the meal, a basket of hoe cakes and cornbread. If that’s not good enough, they keep bringing it to the table until you’re done, or full, whichever comes first. It’s a great place to take teenage boys for supper. Ask me how I know this.

Vinegar Dressing for Cole Slaw

This recipe is my homage to their vinegar based slaw that rotates on their menu with a mayonnaise dressed slaw, depending on the night. I must admit, while I love mayo, this slaw is like a summer version of chow chow. It complements a bowl of beans and cornbread in a most magnificent way. How to make Hillbilly Cole Slaw:

• Vegetables -Layer cabbage, carrots, green pepper, red onion and green onion in a shallow container.
• Seasonings – Sprinkle with garlic salt, celery seed and lemon pepper.
• Vinegar Dressing – In a small saucepan on the stovetop bring vinegar, oil and sugar to a boil. Remove from heat and stir until sugar is dissolved. Immediately pour the hot vinegar dressing evenly over vegetables. Seal tightly and chill for 24 hours.
• Toss ingredients well before serving.
• I highly recommend you go the extra mile and make the vegetable mixture from scratch as the fresh flavor from doing so is unparalleled.

How to Make the Best Hillbilly Cole Slaw Recipe

• Ingredients you’ll need to make Hillbilly Cole Slaw recipe: Chopped green cabbage, chopped carrots, chopped onion, green bell pepper, red onion, green onions, garlic salt, celery seeds, lemon pepper, white distilled vinegar, vegetable oil and sugar.
• Laying the ingredients is key to this Southern style cole slaw recipe. I have found when making this slaw that the cabbage takes the longest to absorb the flavors of the vinegar dressing hence the reason it’s on the bottom.
• Please note, once you toss the remaining ingredients with the vinegar, the red onion begins to lose its color. Will this hurt the taste? It won’t, but we do eat with our eyes first so I wanted to mention. It doesn’t mean anything is wrong just a natural part of the process.
• It’s perfectly acceptable to toss the layers together just before serving for the flavor of the dressing to permeate.
• How long will cole slaw keep in the refrigerator? It’s imperative that you allow it to chill for 24 hours in a shallow dish for the best results.
• Store leftover cole slaw in the refrigerator for up to 1 week.

Best Southern Style Main Dishes to Serve with Cole Slaw

Cole slaw goes with so many Southern style entrees we love in the South. A few you may like to try:

• Serve cole slaw alongside a bowl of Pinto Beans and cornbread.
• Pile it on top of Carolina style Pulled Pork Barbecue.
• Oven Chili Cheese Dogs are a family favorite.
• Crispy Air Fryer Pork Chops with mashed potatoes and green beans.
• Chili Rubbed Pork Loin Roast and vegetables.
• Delicious Southern Meatloaf for added texture and color.
• Chili Cheese Corn Dog Muffins smothered with chili.

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