BCS Bowl Eats
Bowl Season is here and that means time spent with friends and family, tailgating, homegating, and intense college football match-ups!
Today we’re talking the national title, the BCS Bowl. This year’s match-up is quite possibly a match-up for the ages, featuring the number one seed, Notre Dame, versus the number two seed, Alabama. Notre Dame, a team undefeated in the regular season, is college football’s third all-time winningest major college program and ‘Bama ranks eights. This year’s Bowl marks Notre Dame’s first appearance since the BCS’ inception in 1998; and the Crimson Tide’s first appearance in a bowl game since they took on Texas three years ago. /?
In celebrating this potentially legendary match-up, I propose we also celebrate the rich food cultures they represent! I mean, come on…Alabama barbecue? Umm, yes please.
Alabama, along with Arkansas, Georgia, the Carolinas, Kentucky, and Tennessee, can be found in a part of the country known as the “Southern Barbecue Belt.” If you know anything about barbecue though, you know that each state has its own distinct barbecue flavors. Geographically, Alabama finds itself between the bbq poles of Memphis and the Carolinas. Accordingly, ‘Bama’s bbq flavors vary by area. Generally, Alabama bbq is comprised of hickory wood, oak, and pecan flavors. North of Birmingham, and close to eastern North Carolina, you’ll typically find vinegar-based sauces (similar to those you’d find in North Carolina). In eastern Alabama, you’ll find mustard in the bbq, a South Carolinian influence. And throughout the state, you’ll find variations on the tomato based sauces most people associate with barbecue.
Perhaps most emblematic of Alabama barbecue is the Alabama white sauce. Composed of mayonnaise, lemon juice, black pepper, salt, and apple cider vinegar, the sauce was first created by Robert Gibson at his restaurant Big Bob Gibson’s Bar-B-Q restaurant in Decatur 87 years ago. It started as a sauce only for chicken, but due to its popularity, it’s now used on the quintessential bbq protein in Alabama, pork shoulder.
Here is Big Bob’s actual recipe for the famous white sauce:
Ingredients
1 quart mayonaise
3/4 quart apple cider vinegar
1/2 corn syrup
1/4 tablespoon cayenne pepper
Prepared horseradish
Lemon juice
Salt and freshly ground black pepper
Combine all ingredients in a very large blender or food processor. If necessary, do this in two batches, adding 1/2 of each ingredient and then repeating.
Blend for one minute or until all the ingredients are throughly mixed and smooth.
Big Bob recommends you use this sauce with chicken, brushing it over the chicken during the last few minutes of grilling. You can also use it as a dipping sauce for drumsticks or drizzled on other proteins.
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Let’s not forget those Fighting Irish! I thought long and hard about which Irish dish I’d highlight in celebration of this team. I thought about some of the great food I ate this past summer at the Irish House at the Olympics. But I think something great to make is Irish Shepard’s Pie with Guinness. I like to make it with lamb, instead of ground beef, because it’s more authentic (shepards raise sheep, not cows). And to add to the authenticity, I add the Guinness in! One of the best things about this recipe for tailgating or homegating is that you can make a big casserole dish full of pie to feed a lot of people.
Ingredients
The Lamb Mixture:
1 yellow onion, diced
1 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil
1 tablespoon butter
1/3 cup flour (you can use quinoa flour to keep this gluten free)
Salt and freshly ground black pepper (to taste)
2 lbs. grass-fed lean ground lamb
3–4 cloves garlic, minced
2 tablespoons organic tomato paste (or you can use ketchup)
1 teaspoon paprika
1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
1 cup Guinness Stout
3 teaspoons fresh rosemary, minced
Water (as needed to adjust thickness)
1 tablespoon Dijon mustard
12 oz. bag of peas and carrots, frozen and thoroughly drained
The Potato Topping*
* The types of potatoes grown in Ireland are Rooster, Kerr’s Pink, British Queen, Record, Maris Piper, Golden Wonder, Home Guard, and Cara. For this recipe, if you can’t find any of these, use either Yukon Gold or Russet potatoes
3 lbs. of potatoes, skinned
1/4 cup Greek yogurt
1 tablespoon butter
Salt and freshly ground black pepper, and a pinch of cayenne (to taste, depending on spice tolerance)
1/4 lb. Irish cheddar cheese, shredded (sharp, white cheddar)
1 egg yolk beaten with 2 tablespoons of milk (I like goat’s milk)
Preheat oven to 375 degrees.
In a dutch oven, combine the olive oil and butter over medium heat. Add in the onions and lamb. (As the lamb cooks, make sure to break it up into smaller bits to avoid chunks).
Continue to cook the lamb until it browns (and ideally until the bottom of the dutch oven is covered in brown goodness too).
Add in the flour, the paprika, salt, pepper, garlic, cinnamon, rosemary, tomato paste, mustard, and cook for 4 minutes. Then add in the beer and water as necessary, making sure to stir and get the goodness off the bottom of the dutch oven. Cook for about 5 minutes or until the lamb is good and thickened up. Then cut the heat and add in your frozen veggies. Stir.
Transfer your lamb mixture into your casserole dish, spreading it out and smoothing the top.
To make the potato top, first boil your potatoes until soft and mashable. Take off heat, drain, and sprinkle with some salt, black pepper, and the cayenne. Add the butter, Greek yogurt, egg and milk mixture, and cheese and mash and mix like you were serving mashed potatoes.
Once fully mashed and mixed, smooth the potatoes over the lamb mixture, making sure not to mix the lamb into the potatoes. (You want a distinct potato crust atop the lamb). Pop that casserole dish into the oven and cook for about 25–30 minutes, or until the crush is slightly browned. You will see the lamb gravy yumminess bubbling around the edges. (Mmm!)
Let the pie sit for a bit before cutting and serving.
Happy tailgating and homegating everyone!!!
