Brown Sugar Jack BBQ Sauce

I wanted to make my own barbecue sauce for my barbecue sandwiches. Jack Daniels sauces are usually popular, so I made this one.

Ingredients:
1 cup ketchup
1 cup cider vinegar
1 cup Jack Daniel's Tennesse Whiskey
1 1/2 cup brown sugar
1/2 cup finely chopped onion
2 tablespoons (vegan) Worcestershire sauce
1 tablespoons Tabasco® sauce

Directions:

1. Combine all ingredients in a large saucepan. 
2. Bring to a boil, then simmer about 30 minutes, or until slightly thickened. 

Other Details:

• Makes about 2 1/2 cups.
• I made sure I had a ketchup with no HFCS and a vegan Worcestershire sauce.
• Adapted from Original Recipe called Stillhouse Barbecue Sauce.

Entree: BBQ Sandwich

This is a vegan BBQ sandwich. I had my first pulled "pork" sandwich at Portage Bay Cafe. The consistency was very true to a pulled pork sandwich. I wasn't a fan of their sauce, but I took note of the description and decided to give it a go on my own.

First, you need young green jackfruit. The ripe jackfruit is a fruit like any fruit and is sweet and often served for dessert. However, I found at Uwajimaya the canned young green jackfruit in brine. You can also find it on amazon.

Second, you pick your favorite BBQ sauce. I made a Brown Sugar and Jack Daniels Stillhouse Sauce. I think having some acidity is key. This sauce ended up being slightly too sweet on the jackfruit, so I still need to find the right one. This aspect is so individual, that it really does matter on your own taste.

Ingredients:
2 cups barbecue sauce of your choice
2 cans of Young Green Jackfruit, drained and rinsed

Directions:

1. Combine sauce and jackfruit in a slowcooker and cook on low for 4-5 hours, stirring every 30 minutes or so. Eventually, the fruit start to fall apart.
2. Use forks to "pull" the jackfruit.

Other Details:

• Serves 4

Side dish: Grilled Sweet Potatoes with BBQ Sauce

This is a great compliment to any meal. I learned about it from Janet Stemwedel. 

Ingredients:

Sweet potatoes (as many as you feel like grilling)

Store-bought Korean BBQ sauce (or make your own)
Olive oil (to grease the grill or grill wok)
Finely sliced green onions (to garnish -- at least 0.25 cup)


Directions:

1. Peel and trim the sweet potatoes. Slice them lengthwise into planks (0.25 to 0.5 inches thick). Boil the planks until they are easily pierced with a fork (about 8 minutes). Drain, cool, and drizzle with some of the olive oil.
2. You'll be cooking the sweet potato planks over a grill that is starting to cool down. (Because of the high sugar content in sweet potatoes, if the fire is too hot, they will burn pretty quickly.) I use a well-greased grill wok so I don't lose the sweet potatoes to the coals. Cook the planks a couple minutes on each side until lightly browned. While cooking the second side, brush the first side with the BBQ sauce. Turn to let the sauced side cook (30 seconds to 1 minute) and brush the side that's now up with BBQ sauce. Turn again and cook (30 seconds to 1 minute). You can sauce and cook each side again if you want. Don't burn them!Remove from grill, put them on a plate, and sprinkle with the green onion slices.

Other Notes:

• Original Recipe