Laura Goodin, barbecue and a recipe
Friday, July 17th, 2009![]()
More from Laura. She’s going to be happy to hear that the Conflux banquet is actually a Louisianan barbecue (1883 style).
She blogs, by the way. “This very evening” (mentioned below) was two days ago. That was my fault. My punishment isn’t punishment at all - I must read more of Laura’s writing!
I was not a barbecue insider until years after I left my homeland to come live in Australia. I was working on my first novel, and suddenly the characters all became deeply concerned with barbecue. I realized it was because I had become deeply concerned with barbecue. I couldn’t have it. Nobody in Australia could have it.* I would have to learn barbecue on my own, a lonely acolyte with no master but the Internet. But I needed — I mean, my characters needed — barbecue. And it had to be authentic. So I researched diligently, and I set up my first alchemical experiment. And, just to make it easy on myself, I invited 40 people in advance to come by when it was done and eat it.
Luckily for me (and for my guests), it was a triumph. It was an entirely legitimate and acceptable example of the genre.
While that book still languishes, undiscovered, I have continued to find barbecue to be a rich feast indeed for my inner writer. In fact, this very evening, The Lifted Brow will be launching its Issue #5, in which appears my story “Piggy In a Pit.” In this story, barbecue and its inscrutable alchemy figure prominently. (You can order the issue, or even subscribe, from their web site.)
I will offer, for your enjoyment, one manifestation of my favorite style of barbecue sauce. Kansas City-style is thick and sweet and complex, and it goes particularly well with a hunk of roast pork (shoulder is acceptable, but frankly, although purists would disagree, barbecue wants to be good and will forgive inconsistencies and improvisations). Your slow-cooker or a covered dish in a VERY slow oven (no more than about 220 F/104 C) is adequate for cooking the meat — it will take a long, long, long, long time. Use a meat thermometer and when the meat gets to about 190 in the center, you’re good. Shred it, pour the sauce into the slow cooker/dish, and let it cook at that same low temperature, or even lower, for as long as you can. (This is a dish to start very early the morning before, if possible; you can refrigerate the cooked meat overnight before shredding and saucing a few hours before your guests arrive.) Anyway, here’s the sauce.
Kansas City Barbecue Sauce
400 grams or so tomato paste
1/2 cup water (more if the sauce ends up too thick)
1/2 cup molasses
1/2 cup dark corn syrup (or, for the Australians, whatever other sweet, gooey stuff you have in the cupboard)
1/2 cup honey
1/2 cup firmly packed brown sugar
1/4 cup cider vinegar
1/4 cup Worcestershire sauce
1 tablespoon soy sauce
1 teaspoon dried, ground chilli/cayenne (if you’re not actually smoking the meat, try smoked chilli powder for a better flavor)
3 or 4 cloves crushed garlic
1 tablespoon ground black pepper
1/2 medium-sized minced onion
1 tablespoon sage
1 tablespoon salt
1 bay leaf
Combine all ingredients in a large, nonreactive saucepan. Bring to a boil, stirring to blend well. Reduce heat and simmer for about 30 minutes, stirring occasionally to make sure sauce does not scorch.
Note: I cut the chilli in this sauce way, way, way down, so feel free to ramp it up with dried chilli flakes, fresh chillis, whatever sears your mouth in the way you like it seared.
*I have since discovered that there is a genuine barbecue restaurant in Brisbane. It’s called Blue Smoke and it’s run by a guy who is also from the DC area. Huh, whaddaya know.


