Dorito Pork Pie-

I am a bit jealous of the fine food porn I see on other sites. (Food Porn is a descriptive term I got from Anthony Bourdain, describing photos of food that are, uh, inspiring). This is a phone photo, and the best I could do for the moment.

Anyway, it started with a seven pound pork shoulder roast I barbecued for four hours with Kingsford Mesquite Charcoal. I had to go away for a few hours, so I dropped the roast in a roasting pan and transferred it to the oven. My daughter, Beth, oversaw the finish and serving for the first meal.

Several other meals were cut from this good sized piece of pork. Seasoning had been a simple olive oil rub followed by a generous dry rub of equal portions of black pepper, seasoned salt, and Kosher salt. I think the meat turned out well.

After a few days in the refrigerator I decided the meat could use a bit of sauce to bolster the flavor and provide some moisture. I chopped the meat into bits around a quarter of an inch in dimension. In a pan I heated a quarter cup of soy sauce, a quarter cup of red wine vinegar, and a quarter cup of coffee. I added about a half cup of barbecue sauce from the tail end of two bottles I found in the refrigerator. I added the meat and heated the whole thing to a boil using a medium setting on the burner. Stirring steadily I reduced the heat and let it simmer for about twenty minutes.

My first use was on spaghetti noodles. I plated the noodles, poured a generous portion of the chopped pork sauce onto the noodles, added Parmesan cheese and dined quite satisfactorily. The second application was as above.

It was inspired by the Frito Pie. I had some bags of chips in the cupboard, Dorito Cooler Ranch and Cheesy chips. I tossed a bag (lunch box size) of each on the plate, and poured a generous portion of the chopped pork sauce on top. Onto the lot I placed three cheese slices, just those plastic wrapped sandwich cheese slices. I nuked the plate for a minute and a half.

I thought it was pretty good. This was the very last of the meat, and the dog got the bone. He seemed to like that as well. Beth thought the vinegar a bit intense, but it is a flavor I like and I thought the sauce pretty well balanced.

One of these days, Cheese Doodles.

A Base Line for Sauces-

I haven't done any barbecue in a number of weeks. Several factors have conspired to bring about this sad state, which I suspect will turn around over time.

That has not kept me from watching the travel and food shows I love, or reading the several cooking blogs I have come across in my short blogging career. I continue to think about food, about food preparation and especially about eating.

Even in my on-line computer game, World of Warcraft, I do cooking. Yes, the cartoon characters we players drive around collect recipes and food items and cook things useful in the game. I compulsively do one quest as often as possible to try to obtain a rare cake recipe.

In real life I must eat, and eating sometimes is more pragmatic than artful. Take, for example, the humble frozen burrito. I have consumed a great many of these over the years. They are cheap and relatively tasty.

Not always tasty enough, however. That is how I came up with Base Line Sauce. I was preparing to eat two burritos from the freezer and wanted to make them more interesting.

I combined:

1/3 cup soy sauce
1/3 cup rice wine vinegar
1/3 cup brown sugar (lightly pressed.)
1/3 cup water
1/8 tsp. cayenne pepper

in a sauce pan. I brought it to a boil, carefully combining the ingredients. I set the heat on low to simmer, and reduced the sauce to a light syrup.

I then prepared the burritos using a microwave following the instructions on the label. Once hot I cut the burritos into bite sized pieces and drizzled the sauce over them.

I then returned to my game of World of Warcraft and enjoyed the simple meal as I directed my animated alter-ego around an imaginary world.

I found this sauce serviceable, but a bit strong on the side of the soy sauce. I might reduce the amount of soy sauce next time, but I am also considering adding some fruit juice. Perhaps something citrus.

As I said, it is a base line. Something to start from that is simple and consistent.

Adobo!

I found, in the comments on a prior blog relating to soy sauce and vinegar, a comment by Xeixeiniii. She described the soy sauce and vinegar as adobo, a Filipino sauce.

So, I checked with the most modern repository of knowledge and wisdom, Wikipedia. I found an entry for adobo that is deliciously descriptive. Like most sauces adobo has many forms. It really looks like a fun sauce with which to experiment.

My barbecue for this last weekend was a boneless beef rib roast. At four and a half pounds it took about four hours to cook. I had two cloves of garlic left from the lamb I did the week before, and cut slivers to insert into the roast. I then rubbed it with olive oil and sprinkled a moderate coating of my standard spice rub. That is a spicy seasoned salt, course salt and black pepper, in equal portions.

It turned out rather nicely. The family enjoyed it, and there was fair amount left for adding to spaghetti sauces and other applications.

If there is any left when I get home later this week it will probably be a bit dry. However, I suspect I can cobble up an adobo to cook it in that will revive this delicious meat and provide at least one more meal.

I certainly want to experiment with adobo in several of its incarnations.

I will take notes.

Gringo Burritos-

I have lived long on throw-together meals. Barbecue has become a part of my disordered culinary lifestyle.

Take, for example, the recent chuck steaks. Those turned out great. However, the household is most often three people. My youngest son still lives at home, but he has his own life and is not always present to consume the bounty his father provides. So, most often it is three people eating. My wife, her mother, and myself.

I have left-over barbecue in the refrigerator most of the time. A good thing, not bad.

So, I wanted a quick meal the other day. I grabbed a chunk of barbecued chuck and chopped it fine. I threw it in a sauce pan. A dash of soy sauce, a splash of rice wine vinegar. Hmm. Needs something else. Ah! An opened can of Hunts Spaghetti Sauce is in the 'fridge. I chucked some in with the chuck, and started warming it up.

We had some tortillas in the bread box. I threw a half dozen on a plate and microwaved them a bit to get them soft. Wheat tortillas, they were.

I stirred the meat and when it was steamy hot I began loading and rolling. I had enough to share with my son, who had followed his nose out to the kitchen.

Pretty quick. Very tasty. Gringo Burritos.

Soy sauce and vinegar-

I discovered soy sauce and vinegar some years ago when I had an illness that severely restricted my diet. I was, for several weeks, eating mostly rice. Not that I was unfamiliar with soy sauce and rice. I had used soy sauce on rice before. However, blending it with vinegar had not occurred to me until I found myself in need of something to make the rice more interesting.

The combination was very good. I tried malt vinegar, rice wine vinegar, balsamic vinegar, and red wine vinegar. I suspect that I would have become quite an expert on vinegars, but my digestion got better and I was able to expand my diet.

What I learned about soy sauce and vinegar stuck with me. Now, when I chop up some barbecued meat to use in a sandwich or wrap, I chop it fine and put it in a sauce pan. To this I add a bit of soy sauce and vinegar. It is a light sauce to add moisture to the chopped meat.

I have yet to get going with marinades, but I see real potential in soy sauce and vinegar as a base. That, and beer. These just seem right. I have visions of marinades including a cornucopia of vegetables and fruits. Herbs and spices. Marinades and sauces.

Yes, I have only just begun. I see great adventures ahead.