Rancid Recipes #3: Asian Barbecue Pork Sandwiches; Asian Barbecue Sauce; Baked Beans with Bacon

Song Title:  Memphis
Album:  Indestructible (2003)
Lyrics:  "By the time we made it to New Orleans, it must have been half past three.  By the time we made it to Memphis, we were crazy."

The song "Memphis" might be my favourite song off of the "Indestructible" album... though I suppose it depends on my mood.  This song gets me going!  This is the song that I play in the car as loud as my pathetic speakers will allow when I'm in a happy mood... but I will do the same thing with this song if I'm in a really pissed mood!  Right from the start you're assaulted with a great, driving beat backed by what I can only describe as electric bagpipes?!  When I get it loud enough... it kind of takes my breath away (awww).  And then it inspires me to make some southern barbecue!  Which I did... but for some reason, I was feeling like Asian food too, so it turned into Southern-Asian fusion!  This came out so tasty!  I'd never cooked meat in vinegar before and the flavour was so tangy, the meat was perfect and juicy, falling apart!  I was almost sad to put the sauce on the meat because it was so good plain!  We'll be making this again... and again! -jen

ASIAN BARBECUE PORK SANDWICHES

• 4-5 pound pork shoulder
• 4 tablespoons minced garlic
• 3 tablespoons minced ginger
• 2 tablespoons sesame oil
• 1 tablespoon fish sauce
• 1 teaspoon chili paste
• 2 cups cider vinegar
• 1/2 cup soy sauce
• Asian barbecue sauce
• fresh sandwich rolls
• shredded carrots
• fresh cilantro

Cut pork shoulder into 2" steaks.  In a bowl, combine garlic, ginger, sesame oil, fish sauce, and chili paste.  Place pork steaks into slowcooker.  Pour vinegar and soy sauce over steaks.  Spread the garlic and ginger mix over the steaks.  Cover and cook on high for 7 hours.  Remove pork from slowcooker and shred.  Drain liquid from slowcooker and put shredded pork back in.   Begin mixing Asian barbecue sauce into the pulled pork.  I suggest starting with about 1/2 a cup and adding more to your taste.  I ended up adding about 3/4 cup sauce all together, as I don't like my barbecue real saucy; I like to be able to taste the meat's flavours.  (And now I have a lot of leftover sauce to use for other barbecuing.)  Rewarm pork and serve on a roll with spicy mayonnaise, shredded carrots and fresh cilantro.

Spicy Mayo = mayonnaise with sriracha hot sauce to taste.

ASIAN BARBECUE SAUCE

• 34 oz tomato sauce
• 6 oz can tomato paste
• 1 jar (8oz) Hoisen sauce
• 3/4 cup dark brown sugar
• 2 tablespoons honey
• 2 teaspoons dark molasses
• 2 heaping tablespoons minced garlic
• 1 tablespoon soy sauce
• 1 tablespoon fish sauce
• 1 teaspoon sesame oil
• zest and juice of 1 lime
• 1/2 cup white wine vinegar
• 1/2 cup cider vinegar
• 1 tablespoon onion powder
• 1 tablespoon dried cilantro or oregano
• 1 tablespoon dried basil
• 1 teaspoon Chinese 5 Spice
• 1 teaspoon Pasilla chili powder
• 1 teaspoon New Mexico chili powder
• 2 chipotle peppers (from a can of Chipotle peppers in Adobo Sauce)

Whisk all ingredients in a large sauce pan.  Bring to a boil.  Simmer on a low heat for 30 minutes to 1 hour.

BAKED BEANS WITH BACON
(Gotta give credit to my mom, Loretta, for these! I might have zipped them up a little, but she's been making kick ass baked beans my whole life and I got my base recipe from her!)

• 1/2 pound bacon, diced
• 1 can (1 pound 12oz) pork and beans in tomato sauce
• 1 can (15oz) kidney beans, drained
• 1/2 medium onion, diced
• 2 tablespoons brown sugar
• 1-1/2 tablespoons Worcestershire sauce
• 1 tablespoon dark molasses
• 1 tablespoon soy sauce
• 1 tablespoon yellow mustard
• 1 tablespoon whiskey
• 1/2 tablespoon minced garlic
• black pepper to taste

Cook diced bacon over a medium-high heat until crispy.  Remove from pan and set aside on a paper towel to drain.  In an oven safe dish, combine all ingredients (including crumbled bacon).  Cook at 325 F for 1 hour if you like your beans saucy, or for 1.5 hours if you like thick beans (which is how I like 'em!)

Pork Tenderloin with Blackberry Barbecue Sauce; Roasted Garlic Creamed Cauliflower

These were recipes Justin came up with for dinner the other night.  They're really simple and easy dishes that seem a little more decadent than just "meat and potatoes".  His play list consisted of the Descendents' compilation album, "Somery".   -jen

PREPARE THE ROASTED GARLIC FOR THE CAULIFLOWER DISH

Preheat oven to 375 degrees.  Prepare roasted garlic by cutting off stem end, about 1/4" into the garlic cloves.  Place garlic, cut side up, in the center of a square of aluminum foil that's about 8"x8". Drizzle the exposed garlic with 1 tablespoon of olive oil.  Salt and pepper it with a pinch of each.  Fold ends of foil to make a pouch that won't leak and roast garlic in 375 oven for 60 minutes.  Remove and let cool.

ROASTED PORK LOIN

• 3 pound pork loin roast
• 1.5 teaspoons Sate seasoning (Indonesian spice found at Penzeys.com)
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 teaspoon fresh ground black pepper
• 1 teaspoon ground thyme

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.  Mix all spices in a small dish.  Rub outside of entire roast with seasoning mixture.  

Place pork in roasting pan, fat-side facing up.  Cook in 350 degree oven uncovered for approximately 45 minutes, until internal temperature reaches 148 degrees using a meat thermometer.  Remove roast from oven, cover tightly with aluminum foil, and let rest for 10 minutes before slicing.  Serve with warmed or chilled Blackberry Barbecue Sauce.

ROASTED GARLIC CREAMED CAULIFLOWER

• 1 head of roasted garlic 
• 1 head of cauliflower, cut into large chunks
• 1 cup shredded Gouda cheese
• 2 tablespoons butter, room temp
• 1/4 cup milk
• 3 green onions, chopped
• 1 teaspoon dried marjoram, parsley, or any herb of choice
• salt and pepper, to taste

Steam cauliflower in a large pot by placing 1" of water in the bottom of the pan.  Put cauliflower in pan, cover and bring to a boil.  When water begins boiling, turn heat down to a simmer and keep covered until tender, about 25 minutes.  Test cauliflower by poking with a fork.  If fork slides in easily, cauliflower is done.  Remove from heat and drain thoroughly.

Using a food processor or immersion stick blender, combine drained cauliflower with all other ingredients and blend until smooth.  Garnish with chopped green onions.