Vegan

I think it’s safe to assume that the history of barbecue in North Carolina traveled from east to west. If you have any doubt, you only need to look at the ingredient difference between the two styles of sauce. In the East a barbecue sauce can be as simple as vinegar, salt, and pepper. Western North Carolina compounds the East’s flavors with a variety of extra ingredients including ketchup, a generous amount of brown sugar, and sometimes Worcestershire sauce (See page 224). Eastern Carolina barbecue has generally consisted of cooking whole hogs, but it is the vinegar sauce that adds an element of uniqueness to its barbecue. The sauce will add an increased level of moisture to the chopped meat while enhancing its flavor with a distinct cider-vinegar tang.

To barbecue aficionados it is clear that Big Bob Gibson was directly influenced by the conventions of Eastern North Carolina–style barbecue. The connection can’t be made through the family tree, but the ingredients in his vinegar-based sop make it obvious. The only difference is that Big Bob didn’t share North Carolinians’ affinity for apple cider vinegar, preferring distilled colored vinegar instead. This straightforward concoction has been mopped onto the restaurant’s pork shoulders since the very beginning. I am pleased to reveal that this four-ingredient “secret sauce” is Big Bob’s original recipe; maybe now the sauce bottles on the restaurant tables will stop disappearing.

In the Depression years, it was not uncommon to see little Sara Ruth Gibson haul a pillowcase loaded with fresh sliced apples onto the barn roof. Sara Ruth was the smallest and most agile of the Gibson children, so the job of drying apples was assigned to her. She would spread the pillowcase flat on the tin roof and spread the apples in a single layer inside her makeshift white tote bag. For five days she would put the apples out in the morning and fetch them at sundown, a ritual that could only mean one thing: Big Mama would be baking Apple Rolls with Vanilla Sauce that week. Dried apples make a great snack by themselves, or they can be stored and refreshed for use in cakes, pies, cobblers, and applesauce. Any type of apple can be dried as long as it is firm and not overripe. If a tin-roofed barn is not available at your home for drying, the oven can be used successfully.

Coleslaw is probably the side dish most often associated with barbecue, and its simple flavors match so well with smoked meat. The most common varieties include vinegar-based, mayonnaise-based, and mustard-based. Big Bob Gibson realized the harmonious relationship between slaw and barbecue early on. When he opened his first restaurant, vinegar slaw and Golden Flake potato chips were his only side-dish offerings, and a sweet tangy scoop of his coleslaw graced every barbecue sandwich that left the kitchen. As he told his customers, “If ya don’t like slaw, scrape it off!” Very little has changed in more than eighty years at the restaurant, including Big Bob’s original coleslaw recipe.

Chow-chow is a pickled vegetable dish that is served cold as a side dish or condiment. Its name comes from the French word chou, meaning cabbage, and the ingredients almost always include cabbage; but asparagus, beans, carrots, cauliflower, and peas can be added, as well. Big Mama’s recipe has a Pennsylvania Dutch influence. It is sweeter than most Southern varieties, and it matches well with all types of barbecue and foods off the grill. Her favorite way to serve it was as a side dish—an alternative to slaw; but it makes a great topper for barbecue sandwiches, hamburgers, and hot dogs. For breakfast, chow-chow makes a flavorful addition to scrambled eggs and biscuits and gravy.

What better side dish to serve beside Cuban Pig (page 165) than moros y cristianos, or black beans and rice? Black beans are a staple of Cuban cooking, used in soups, stews, and sauces. Black beans can be traced back 7,000 years to southern Mexico and Central America, and their popularity has spread throughout the Caribbean and the southern United States, especially the Southwest and Florida. This spicy and filling recipe breaks the mold on traditional barbecue side dishes but can also be served as a complete meal.

Coleslaw is a staple side dish in every barbecue restaurant in the South, and the flavors vary from region to region. You’ll find hot slaw, mustard slaw, creamy slaw, vinegar slaw, red slaw, white slaw, and even blue cheese slaw. Which is better usually depends on the flavors you grew up with or what entrée you are serving it with, and although the debates aren’t as heated as those focusing on politics or who has the best ’Q, the discussions are quite passionate. This marinated coleslaw recipe is one of the stable of slaws fixed in the test kitchen at Big Bob Gibson Bar-B-Q. Although it has never been on the menu, it is a favorite of Big Bob’s grandson Don McLemore, and it’s a natural pairing with chicken. The sweet vinaigrette dressing makes this dish adaptable to every barbecue region.

This twilight-blue sweet-tart sauce will keep in the refrigerator for up to a week. Made in a food processor, it’s thicker than when made in the blender.

The richness of this dark, not-too-sweet sorbet belies the simplicity of its ingredients and ease of preparation. Serve it as a lovely dessert, or use it as a pick-me-up on a hot afternoon. The refreshing iciness and the chocolate-coffee flavor are especially good after Mexican food.

Creamy, fruity, refreshing, and vegan. The combination of mango and coconut makes this a perfect dessert to follow a Caribbean or Indian meal.

Warm, luscious bananas soaked in rum—a little taste of tropical paradise.

This nutty bean purée is inspired by lobio, a marinated bean salad from the Georgian Republic.

These glossy, burnished, not-too-sweet and not-too-spicy nuts are irresistible. With fresh or dried fruit, they make an elegant dessert. Or add to one of our Fruit & Cheese Plates. A great little something to snack on, too—we like to keep them around to nibble on when supper is a little late. They keep for up to a month.

A rich and versatile sauce that can be used to make many delightful suppers. Triple the recipe so you’ll have leftovers.

At Moosewood Restaurant, we’re always coming up with new bean spreads. Here’s a multipurpose, hummus-like spread, enhanced with rich creamy pine nuts, roasted red peppers, and fresh basil.