Vegetarian Barbecue: It's What Great Americans Eat

VEGETARIAN BARBECUE: IT'S WHAT GREAT AMERICANS EAT

By Barney Quick

Maybe the best way to consider the spread of barbecue to the vegetarian community is as a manifestation of American democracy. Diehard carnivores no doubt see it as an encroachment on a season-specific ritual that defines us as a people. There is something about the image of reddish-yellow grease on a sweaty T-shirt that necessarily pairs it with car races, blues festivals and pontoons with dropped anchors - you know, all the things we had to sever ties with the crown for. Still, it's also part of our character to extend the good things first enjoyed by one group to all citizens. So now the aromas and flavors of basted and marinated chunks of legume-derived foodstuffs can be linked with the sounds of wailing Stratocasters and sputtering Evinrudes.

It's this grease factor, though, that has had to be negotiated for the definition of real barbecue to be expanded. Precious little juice runs down your chin when you sink your teeth into a skewer of tempeh and summer squash. Ultimately, diversity fans can take heart; our republic is indeed rethinking what it means to barbecue. There's now a place at the table for unsoiled attire.

How, then, do these folks participate in that quintessentially American summer repast? With ease and fun, according to Grace Sourile, the deli cook at Bloomingfoods on east Third Street. She prepares barbecued items for the deli and knows about some good things to do for outdoor gatherings.

Bloomingfoods offers barbecued seitan, for instance. Seitan is the gluten that's left after you've rinsed wheat dough in a large bowl of water until the starch comes out. Sourile does the deli's seitan on a short-order line grill, but one could cut it in bigger slabs for outdoor cookouts. At the deli, she uses Enrico's barbecue sauce. Tempeh is best done shishkebab style, according to Sourile. "It's made from fermented soybeans that are injected with a bacteria. It has to be thoroughly cooked because it's got a live mold in it."

She adds that it's great marinated. "It takes well to Asian flavors, such as miso, cilantro, pepper, peanut-curry paste and tahini."

Sourile recommends marinating tofu in strong flavors or coating it with blackening spice. It's a rather blank slate on its own. She points out that it can develop a crispy bacon texture if cooked long enough.

Marinades can combine a nearly infinite array of flavors, but Sourile says that, generally speaking, there are a couple of key components. "You want something with high acid content, such as vinegar or lemon juice, and a little bit of some kind of oil. Beyond that, you can go a lot of ways. Personally, I like peppers, fennel, cumin, and grated onion."

What does a professional wash down the bounty with? In Sourile's case, ginger beer is often the lubricant of choice.

Richard Satnick, owner of the Laughing Planet Cafe on east Kirkwood, offers barbecued tofu as a special every few weeks, going for the slow bake, about forty-five minutes at 400F. "We bake it in the marinade," he says. "It's a heavy tomato base, like you find in Memphis and Alabama rather than the heavy vinegar characteristic of the North Carolina style - not that we're taking a position in the whole barbecue controversy. We're just looking to make tofu flavorful.

"We started using it on our southern-style burritos a few months ago. The idea behind them was to be emphatically regional. They also include collard greens, black-eyed peas, sweet potato, and peach salsa."

He has thought about the fact that vegetarian barbecue doesn't offer one much opportunity to partake in that great American ritual of constantly wiping one's hands. "In time, I'd like to do true grilled tofu," he says. "Now, we don't do any greasy cooking at all. Everything is either steamed, broiled or baked. Space limits us somewhat."

There are a lot of canned gluten products on the market. Most of them are imported from Taiwan and have already been subjected to some kind of cooking process. A very popular one is Cha'i Pow Yu, a braised gluten food that holds up quite well under all outdoor, open-flame conditions. Another is fried gluten with peanuts. "While they've been cooked, they've been seasoned, usually with soy," says Ali Akhras, manager of Oriental International Market on east 4th Street. "This will affect the choices you make when you barbecue or grill them."

Akhras's store offers a wide array of sauces, such as teriyaki, black bean, lemon, Hunan, Hoisin, and Peking, all of which work well for basting soy-seasoned precooked gluten.

Local R&B pianist Craig Brenner does a lot of home barbecuing, including tofu. "I fry the tofu and add the sauce later," he says. However, "I don't make my own Louisiana-style sauce for tofu like I do for shrimp. It just doesn't warrant the time."

This reporter would like to suggest a marinade for grilled portobello mushrooms that contains the following: olive oil, lime juice, fresh thyme leaves, minced shallots, and Worcestershire sauce. Leave your funky fungi in a bowl of this for two hours before subjecting to heat and you'll be ready to go laps with Jeff Gordon or trade licks with Johnny Clyde Copeland.

This is a great country. Bon apetit.

Back to Articles List