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My nonvegan friend from Texas thinks she knows everything food. She wins our companies Chili cook-off every year. So we got to talking about grilling. She said what do vegans know about bbq. What could you possibly bbq that wont be gross. So I told her I would grill for her next week if we dont get blown away by hurricane Wilma. So what I am asking is do you guys have any recipe suggestions? Also does anyone make their own bbq sauce?
Sorry, don't have any recipes, but everyone I have ever known has actually preferred the things that come with BBQ's, rather than the meat. I think the meat is just about gathering round a fire type thing and getting together with people. Even when eating meat I always preferred the rest of the food, like potatoes, salad, bread, dips, etc, which can all be veganised.
I would maybe suggest that you make all those kinds of things and have veggie burgers, sausages etc on hand to grill. I am sure other people will have great recipes like CC and Foxy. Maybe doing fake meat isn't such a good idea as it will just be compared to the dead animals and you'll hear 'this doesn't taste the same' :D
I can highly recomend not buying this book - Vegan Barbeques and Buffets. It contains not one recipe that can be cooked directly on a bbq grill without a baking sheet between it and the food (ie using a bbq as an oven)! Plus the cover sucks, I'm starting to think that there may be a direct corrolation between quality of book and front cover! :rolleyes:
Personally I don't think you can win against someone who likes eating big bits of meat and nothing else. I cook meat substitutes on the bbq and whilst they taste great, they probably wouldn't impress someone expecting a steak. To be honest, i think the nicest thing bbq'd is vegetables like mushrooms, basted in oil, tamari, soy sauce and herbs. Much nicer than some cheapo beef burgers. It did however take me until I'd turned vegan to discover how nice it is - before I was vegan I never really gave vegetables much of a chance and would have gone for as much meat as I could get.
Good on ya girl. I always like a challenge to :)
What about mushrooms, peppers, onions maybe a bit of tofu on a skewer. I dont know any marinades/bbq sauces im affraid but you could have good fun trying to make some. I would throw some soy sauce, garlic, chilli in a bowl, close my eyes and hope it tasted edible.
i have a bbq 'rib' recipe but ill have to dig for it. my bf ate it and said that the recipe was a KEEPER and he loved them.
here it is!
http://veganforum.com/forums/showthr...ght=short+ribs
i used tofu, but the gluten would probably be reallllly good.
and theres this :)
http://www.vegcooking.com/summerBBQ.asp
I think avoiding fake meat would prevent any 'this isn't as good as the real thing' comments.
I would absolutely recommend stuffed mushrooms. In a blender whiz up cashews, courgette, parsley, breadcrumbs and anything else you can think of (peppers would be nice), spread on the top of some Portobello mushrooms (the big flat ones), add a teeny bit of oil and cook. They go soooo juicy and moist...I'm getting hungry just thinking about it!
Corn on the cob is good, maybe with some garlic and sage olive oil to 'spread' over it?
Chargrilled red peppers with a spicy rice mix crammed inside would go all soft and sweet on the BBQ. Try toasting ciabatta and serving with fresh tomatoes,red onion, garlic and basil all whirred up in a blender. Then there's good old vegetable kebabs with slices of red onion, pepper, mushroom and so on.
And for dessert...oh my this is gooooood.
Take some bananas in their skins. Slice down one side (the banana is laying flat) and open a little. Cut little slits in the banana and put slices of dark chocolate in the slits. Add some vegan rum/liquer of your choice, wrap in tinfoil and BBQ until the banana is mushy. Best. BBQ. Dessert. Ever.
Sorry, I'm going off at a tangent again ;)
Have you ever tried doing this on an actual bbq? I've thought about making bread on a bbq, but have always been too whimpy. I must try next summer. For winter use I have an indoor bbq grill thingy that i use mainly for char grilling vegetables but also filled breads like cibatta, paninni etc that have been part cooked in an oven first. It isn't half as fun as using a proper one with flames thou :(Quote:
absentmindedfan
I haven't *made* bread on a BBQ, but I've toasted/chargrilled ciabatta that are already baked to give them crunch.
Of course it wont be as fun as one with flames, the caveman inside you needs to play with fire ;)
I personally like smoked tofu but it may be an aquired taste. I agree with the others some vegetable kebabs would be good. Good Luck. My brother wanted a meat barbecue for my wedding needless to say I told him over my dead body. Corn on the Cob is supposed to be something you can barbecue isn't it. I'm not sure.
One thing you've got to bear in mind is that a lot of the flavour in a barbecue comes from fat dripping down onto the embers and then making smoke. I've never managed to find substitute for that, to really get the smokey taste in, though we had some success burning rosemary wood and pouring a bit of olive oil onto it. And really, the smokey taste is part of the point of a barbecue, otherwise you may as well use a grill ;)
could you use some of that liquid smoke stuff to make it taste more BBQ-like? i've never used it myself but maybe you could put it in a marinade or something.
I think the liquid smoke you can buy in the UK (I've only seen one brand) is genetically modified, so I personally wouldn't use that. If anyone can point me in the direction of a non-GM one I'd be quite glad.
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absentmindedfan
You can come and cook a BBQ at my place anytime! :D
Thanks Foxtina! Sorry I could not get back to you sooner. Hurricane Wilma wiped me out of electricity. Wow! I have to make that salad!
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foxytina_69
Yum, sounds really good! Thanks!Quote:
absentmindedfan