For Dr. Regina Bradley, author of an essay for Food & Wine, it’s the sides that make or break a cookout. As she puts it, "If your beans taste burnt or your potato salad has raisins or olives, we're going to be gossiping about it until your grandchildren hear about it."

This is relevant whether you're the one planning the barbecue or simply attending. As Bradley says, "A cookout's DNA lies in the sides and who prepared them. This task is neither for the weak nor the easily offended."

So, what can you enhance your BBQ spread with? Think comfort food classics such as creamy mac and cheese, flavorful baked beans, refreshing pickles, homemade white bread, and classic coleslaw. Don't disregard the collards, consider macaroni salad, and celebrate the summer corn season in style. Bradley has a secret touch to elevate store-bought barbecue sauce: she adds extra brown sugar and apple cider vinegar which carefully balances the smoky sweetness.

Coleslaw, a staple at barbecues, particularly complements rich, fatty smoked meats. There's variety too, as different regions favor different versions. For instance, Memphis-style coleslaw typically includes chopped green bell peppers, whereas Lexington, North Carolina opts for ketchup-based dressing. Matt Horn prefers a simplistic approach, using shredded red and green cabbage, with the mayonnaise dressing given tang by apple cider vinegar and mustard. Sweetness is added with a hint of honey while dill is the magic ingredient with its herbal notes.

If you're looking for a potato dish, baby potatoes, with their naturally sweet flavor and a creamy texture, create a simple yet delicious side dish. A mayo-based dressing of herbs, onion, and celery completes it. Cheddar and Colby cheese pieces lend a gooey texture to traditional dishes, achieving a balance with a crunchy breadcrumb topping.

A summer staple like pickles can offset rich barbecue dishes, with Bobby Flay's recipe offering a simple yet crunchy and refreshing addition to your spread. The dish boasts of a delightful blend of garlic, dill, and a savory, crunchy crust.

For the vegans out there, try this mildly spicy collard greens recipe from Boricua Soul, a Durham, North Carolina-based Puerto Rican-Southern restaurant. It achieves its depth of flavor with quality vegetable broth, adobo seasoning, and a hint of liquid smoke.

Carla Hall’s succotash, which highlights sweet summer corn and tomatoes, is a side dish masterpiece. Whether you’re using fresh herbs or making mashups of classic BBQ sides, your dishes will shine in the dressing.

To really impress your guests, try making your own white bread. It is wonderfully soft yet sturdy enough to hold the fixings. Thanks to Julia Hartbeck's recipe, a simple cucumber salad that’s tangy and refreshing can become a barbeque crowd-pleaser. Merely slicing cucumbers using a mandoline, tossing them with a sprinkle of sugar and salt, stirring in some vinegar and onions, and leaving this for marination turns ordinary cucumbers into a memorable dish.

Be it a textural salad featuring the best of summer's produce, a creamy, veggie-laden macaroni salad, or a comforting cornbread made with frozen or canned corn, cornbread mix, butter, sour cream, and egg; these BBQ sides are anything but a mere accompaniment to the main star of the BBQ show. They can indeed be the main attractions!