Young Ed came over for the Super Bowl yesterday, and sandwiches abounded. I cooked up a batch of the Chicago Diner's Veggie Sloppy Joes, substituting a very nice seitan (albeit store-bought) for the tempeh that was called for. And though there was nothing seriously wrong with it, I was slightly disappointed by this recipe yet again. The Diner Cookbook is one of my all-time faves...most everything that is in it is a winner, but the sloppy joe misses the mark. The recipe essentially creates a BBQ seitan with a homemade sauce more than a traditional SJ, but said sauce is not as flavorful as it could be. The ingredients of the sauce are as follows...
ketchup, a lil mustard, chili powder, liquid smoke, s -n- p
What is it missing? What would you add? I'd say it definitely needs to be kicked up, Guy Fieri style, but also needs a little more depth of flavor. I thought slow cooking for several hours would help the flavors meld a little more, but it still needs a little something extra.
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Hi Tim-
ReplyDeleteThanks again for your gracious hospitality yesterday. So, do you think that the "failure" might more aptly be referred to as "wholesale taste bud demolition by tortilla chip"?
In any event, I will humbly suggest you try "YE's smokin' ass-kickin' 'Q'" for all your vegan BBQ needs. I think that that it will give you what you're after.
Ingredients:
1 cup ketchup
1-1/2 cup apple cider vinegar
1/3 cup brown sugar
1 T chili powder
1 tsp cayenne pepper
1/2 tsp celery salt
salt and pepper to taste
1 onion, finely chopped
4 cloves garlic, finely minced (I like a lot)
2 T Canola oil
1 package seitan and/or 1 lb pan-seared tofu
*Take oil, onions and garlic and cook low and slow until they're translucent in a sauce pot.
*Add the remaining ingredients in this order:
vinegar, sugar, spices, ketchup.
*Bring to a boil and leave it there for about ten minutes, and then continue to cook for fifty more minutes at low-medium heat to desired thickness.
Call me before you decide to open booth at the farmer's market to sell it.
Oh, right, add the sauce to the protein after the sauce is done. Do not, I repeat, do not cook the tofu or seitan with the sauce, or it will be too much.
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