Tuesday, June 3, 2008

Somebody Pass Me a Wet Nap

In true Southern barbecue fashion, my Memphis-Style BBQ Tofu Mushroom Sandwich left as much sauce on my hands as it did in my mouth:


I've been working on perfecting the BBQ sandwich recipe for my cookbook for awhile now, and after tweaking the sauce and experimenting with different faux meats, I've finally settled on this version. Crumbled tofu and minced mushrooms come together in my tangy Memphis-style sauce. Memphis style means heavy on the vinegar, by the way.

The texture of crumbled tofu and toothsome bite of the mushrooms make this sandwich similar to the pulled pork sandwiches folks eat around these parts. Memphis, home to the World Championship Barbecue Cooking Contest and the Neely's barbecue family of Food Network fame, claims the title of "barbecue capital." Honestly, I've never eaten a Memphis barbecue sandwich (unless you count the barbecue tofu sandwich at R.P. Tracks), but I know a good Southern sauce when I taste one. And I'm pretty darn proud of mine.

I also developed a recipe for Creamy Poppyseed Coleslaw to dress the sandwich. No barbecue sandwich is complete without slaw.

And on the side, I created No-Tell Ro-tel Cheese Dip (also going in the cookbook):


In the South, it's almost guaranteed that someone will bring Ro-tel Cheese Dip to any non-vegan potluck. It's basically a combination of Velveeta cheese (gross, I know, but I used to love it) and canned diced tomatoes with green chilis. Some people also add meat, and as a young vegetarian, that always pissed me off. Why add meat to the cheese dip?!

My vegan version has neither meat nor cheese, but it definitely hit the spot with my Guiltless Gourmet Blue Corn Tortilla Chips.

18 comments:

Anonymous said...

Oh my goodness, can you say YUM?! Everything looks beyond delicious.

Anonymous said...

the bbq sammich sounds amazing!

jessy said...

oh my gooooooooooodness! memphis style is my favorite! i love when bbq is tangy with vinegar! the tofu bbq looks stellar - and the dip - that's heaven. hot damn - it all looks so freak'n good! so when's the cookbook coming out? and do you need some testers?! ;) delicious! yay!

Marisa L. S. said...

They both sound amazing!!!! When is this cookbook of yours coming out anyway???!!! :) And like Jessy said, do you need testers?

Jess said...

Please come cook for me. That sandwich is beyond words.

LizNoVeggieGirl said...

Haha, love the title of your post :0D Looks like a WONDERFUL bbq meal!!

ChocolateCoveredVegan said...

When is this amazing-sounding cookbook coming out???

Lindsay (Happy Herbivore) said...

great minds. great minds.

Anonymous said...

Um, YEAH I'll still be a tester for your book... are you kidding me? I want the No-Tell Ro-tel recipe NOW! And that sandwich.... *drool*.

6-ish would be great! But really only if you think you'll have time. I'll be driving my friend, so I have total control over what time we get there - haha!

Are Huey's veggie burgers not the best? I am seriously going to convert all of my friends with cupcakes, cookies and Huey's burgers!

Adding 'ness' to everything is a perfectly valid form of communication...ness.

Marisa L. S. said...

I would love to be a tester! Let me know!

Anonymous said...

alright, im curious. I'm not a vegan, but not a velveeta fan, either, as i love my arteries to be be free and clear- so i gotta know how you make that dip without cheese.

guess i have to buy the book?

Hungry Hungry Dancer said...

wow that sammich looks ridiculous!!!
i always get annoyed when people add meat to things that otherwise dont need them!!!! RAR!!!

Jess said...

Hey! In answer to your question, Melisser doesn't just provide the recipes for The Usual Suspects; she actually bakes the desserts! They are SO good. It's through her new-ish business, Sugar Beat Sweets.

The Vegan Snorkeler said...

I love vinegar-y sauces! Can't wait to see the recipe!

J said...

That meal looks really good, and I'm a fan of vinegar, so I think I might like some Southern food.

Vegan_Noodle said...

Ah yes I remember the days of melted, oily cheese at parties. Your looks much tastier.
Oh and your bbq sandwich looks awesome. Don't think I"ve ever had mine Memphis style!

Erin said...

The sandwich and the dip both look so good. Tofu and mushrooms is a clever idea to replicate that bbq sandwich texture. I'd also be interested in testing if you need it, pretty much everything you make sounds great.

Sheridan said...

I lurve vinegar and vinegary things.

That sandwich looks dee-licious. I want some!