While I realize the name of this Podcast is Man Meat BBQ and this blog may be cause for termination, this past weekend I smoked an amazing meal which contained no meat. Through it, I learned that even though I love meat, you can cook an amazing meal even without it.
So here is the deal, all this time I have been learning to BBQ, my daughter has also come out as a vegetarian. I am an open-minded guy so as much as that isn't my choice, I do support her. I mean yes, I still cook meat, meat which looks absolutely incredible. So far none of this has made her falter in her decision.
So now comes her birthday. The second truth is that while I love my wife dearly, she cannot cook worth a damn. So, if a good meal if being eaten in my house, it either came from a guest or me. But back to my daughters birthday. Normally the vegetarian thing from a cooking perspective is an afterthought in the house. Either it is a side or something else thrown next to a meat-based meal. So for her birthday, I decided to cook a vegetarian meal from the ground up.
She had selected vegetarian enchiladas. So I got my chef knife out and started chopping until my arm was tired. Then I realized something. Just about every noteworthy date on the calendar is marked with a special meal cooked on my grill. This date could be no different. So I started thinking...enchiladas, go in the over. Today, they are going in my cast iron and getting smoked instead.
That is exactly how it went down, really. I chopped a ton of pepper and onion, sauteed it adding in some broccoli and spinach. Finally mixing in some black beans and cheese and enchilada sauce. From that point, I roll them guys up and usually put them in a pan coated in enchilada sauce. Today that was my cast iron. Once they were done, I poured more sauce over them, covered them with cheese and they were ready for the smoker.
For this, I wanted a nice smoke flavor, but I didn't want to over smoke them at all. Once the fire was going, I found a couple small cherry chunks and added them on. Finally adding my cast iron to the mix.
I am a meat guy, let's get that straight. But this was damn good! I am not talking good as in hey this vegetarian thing that has been made up to look like a burger and while it may be good, it is in no way a replacement for a burger. No, these enchiladas were just damn good by themselves. So much so I would gladly cook them again. The smoke from the BBQ added so much to this meal.
I would say something cheesy like:
"BBQ, it not just for meat anymore!"
But, C'mon we all know that my real love of BBQ is in the meat itself. Yet I do realize that you can BBQ an amazing meal which doesn't have meat in it when you need to. Seriously, this meal was great, but tomorrow I cook meat!
Until next post, remember kids.....CHUNKS not chips!
