The BBQ Sundae We'd Swap In For Ice Cream Any Day Of The Week

Barbecue comes in many forms and styles depending on where you are in the U.S. It's sometimes served straight-up as just some fall-off-the-bone meat cooked under a solid rub of salt and spices. Sometimes it's smothered in a regional barbecue sauce, from sweet to spicy. It could even come on a sandwich or a bun, topped with coleslaw, and served with copious sides. But, for a cleverly constructed bowl of barbecue, you need to try a barbecue sundae.

While a sundae may elicit thoughts of sweet ice cream topped with chocolate sauce, a barbecue sundae contains barbecued meat, mashed potatoes, barbecue sauce, and all manner of fixings layered on top of each other and eaten with a fork or spoon. Although its origins are unclear, the barbecue sundae was likely popularized by BB's Lawnside Blues & BBQ in Kansas City, Missouri, before spreading thanks to a visit from the mayor of Flavortown and our frosted prince, Guy Fieri, during an episode of his Food Network show "Diners, Drive-Ins and Dives." While there are some necessary ingredients to the barbecue sundae, there is plenty of customization you can do to tweak it exactly to your tastes.

Serve it in a clear glass jar or an actual ice cream sundae glass (with a cherry tomato on top if you want to get cute with it). You can go with just the basics or get as creative as you want, although mashed potatoes are a must since they serve as your "ice cream" base (follow some mashed potato tips to get them just right). Yukon Gold potatoes are generally considered to be the, well, gold standard potato for mashing since their relatively high starch content lets them absorb more flavor and mix more easily with other ingredients.

Next, you need your barbecue. The most common choice is pulled pork, and you can make an easy slow cooker pulled pork that works beautifully on your sundae. However, smoked beef brisket, burnt ends, or pretty much any well-cooked, tender barbecue works — as long as the flavors blend seamlessly. From here, you need your barbecue sauce, which works as a sort of chocolate or caramel sauce on your sundae. You can go with a well-ranked store-bought barbecue sauce or make your own barbecue sauce at home.

To form, simply layer the ingredients to your liking, starting with barbecue sauce or mashed potatoes. Layer from the bottom up with barbecue sauce poured over the top, of course. Other ingredients to think about are baked beans, coleslaw, pickled jalapeños, and a bit of shredded cheddar cheese. These sundaes make a nice, decadent dinner at home or can be great for a backyard barbecue or a large event. Just fill a small paper cup about halfway with mashed potatoes, top with barbecue meat, then pour on the barbecue sauce.