Good Gookamookee Sauce

Green Sauce ~ Three Saucy Babes ~ Part 3

Sabrina Pflug | Peach and the WillowLeave a comment

Green Sauce

Awwww…Green Sauce, you beautiful babe you!  You’re pretty, smart and voted most likely to succeed!  Dinner parties are more interesting when you’re invited as you simply light up the table!   Vegetables are more vibrant when you’re around.  Even the humble grilled cheese breathes a breath of fresh air when you come to call.

Green Sauce is relatively new to my kitchen but has quickly sprung to the top of my “must have” list.  Although this saucy babe shares similar ingredients with Salsa Verde, Chimichurri or Pesto (all of which I greatly enjoy), I find Green Sauce to be something quite different and delicious in its own right.  The parsley and basil swim around beautifully in the most perfectly salty/citrusy bath, lending a freshness to almost anything with which its is paired.   My “go-to” for a quick dinner party is Seared Steak with Green Sauce.  It’s fancy without being snobby,  never takes itself too seriously but always completely consumed to the great delight of my guests.

Grilled Steak, Roasted Carrots, Purple Sweet Potatoes, Corn and Green Sauce
Pan Seared Steak with Roasted Carrots and Purple Sweet Potatoes finished with Green Sauce.  Green Sauce pairs as beautifully with the vegetables as it does the steak!

I’m a big believer that sauce should enhance the food…not smother the food. It should be a compliment to the dish…not overwhelming to it. I find this sauce always delivers!

I recently dined at a fantastic New Orleans restaurant, Peche Seafood Grille, on Magazine Street.  One of the dishes we ordered that evening was whole Red Fish, the quintessential fish of choice for locals. Upon arrival to the table I was delighted to find that the entire top of the fish was covered with their version of Green Sauce!  What a compliment to this beautifully prepared dish!  I have also recently noted that one of Nashville’s acclaimed restaurants, Husk, also serves their version of Green Sauce with beef dishes.

Husk
Photo courtesy of HuskNashville.com
Grilled Provolone Cheese with Green Sauce
A break from blogging for a quick lunch.  Green Sauce and Provolone Grilled Cheese!  Hello versatile sauce!!!  Taste-y sammy!

GREEN SAUCE

  1.  Two cups packed flat leafed parsley leaves
  2. One cup packed Basil leaves
  3. One garlic clove
  4. 2 tsp. capers
  5. 2 anchovy fillets
  6. pinch red pepper flakes
  7. 1/2 to 3/4 cup olive oil
  8. Juice of one lemon
  9. Pinch of salt

Place all ingredients except olive oil in food processor or blender (blender will produce a Green Sauce Eclipsesmoother sauce and this is what I prefer) and pulse until leaves are broken down.  Stream in the olive oil, more for a loose sauce, less for one that is more dense.  Do not over puree’ but, instead, keep it a bit course in nature.

Serve atop meat or vegetables on a large platter or in a bowl for passing.

Recipe compliments:  Food 52  (my favorite food blog!)

Try your own variations with all three of these versatile sauces and share your results in the comments!   I just love hearing from you guys!!!  Cheers!!!

Three Saucy Babes
Three Saucy Babes; Salad Sauce, Good Gookamookee Sauce and Green Sauce

 

Good Gookamookee Sauce ~ Three Saucy Babes ~ Part Two

Sabrina Pflug | Peach and the WillowLeave a comment

Good Gookamookee Sauce (pronounced; goo-ka-moo-kee) is HANDS DOWN my most often used and requested barbecue sauce.  But let me be clear…this is my dad’s prized sauce and he deserves all the credit!   When he first made it for our family, he declared “good gookamookee!” the name stuck, and a craze began!  For a lotta folks…it’s barbecue crack (beware people!…highly addictive!).  Just don’t let my dad see you put it on his smoked brisket!  By his rules, he decrees Good Gookamookee can accompany anything but brisket!  (Hmmm…I humbly disagree!…this sauce would taste good on a rock!  Love you dad!)

Good Gookamookee Sauce
I’ve heard the southernism “Good Gookamookee!” all my life.  My dad uses it anytime something is really tasty!  

Please allow me to “break it down” for a moment and elaborate on Good Gookamookee Good Gookamookee Pork Slider Anyone?Sauce and all its many culinary attributes.  It’s a mustard based sauce, highly reminiscent of those made famous in the Carolinas.  It’s wet.  You get me?  Wet!  Not thick and sappy sweet…but liquidy and slightly sweet with a nice little peppery kick and a pleasant vinegary burn. Because of the spiciness and acidity of the sauce, it also plays the role of marinade,finishing sauce, dipping sauce and dressing! Yep. This sauce is kick ass (sorry mom). I have used it in so many dishes I couldn’t possibly be able to account for them. However, it is most obviously and frequently used when barbecuing (my friend Trey swears by his Barbecue Grilled Chicken Thighs with Good Gookamookee Sauce) while my husband puts a little in pasta dishes! It’s delicious mixed in with hamburger meat before grilling with a continuous basting or as that “special something” in your favorite homemade soup. The Peach and the Willow Slaw that accompanies the pulled pork sandwiches in this blog uses Good Gookamookee Sauce as its slaw dressing! So you see…no other barbecue sauce pulls this much weight in the kitchen or at the grill. Without further adieu…I present to you the recipe for Saucy Babe #2…

GOOD GOOKAMOOKEE SAUCE 

  1.  2 cups Cider Vinegar
  2. 1 cup Brown Sugar; packed
  3. 1 cup yellow prepared mustard
  4. 3 tbsp Hot Sauce (I use Louisiana)
  5. 2 tbsp Black Pepper (I use course ground)
  6. 1 tbsp Worcestershire Sauce
  7. 1/2 tbsp Season Salt

Mix together and store in a jar or squirt bottle.  Gets better as it ages!!!!  I usually double this recipe because of how often I use it!

Pulled Pork Sliders with Good Gookamookee Sauce and Peach and the Willow Slaw.PNG
Pulled Pork Slider with Good Gookamookee Sauce and P & W Slaw

A Pulled Pork Slider is the ultimate summer crowd pleaser!  Poolside, lakeside, beach picnics or just a great lunch or supper at home, this is the ticket!  And EASY!  The only thing the pork requires from you is patience.  Here’s your step by step guide for Pulled Pork and Peach and the Willow Slaw.

PULLED PORK

Buy a pork butt or shoulder just big enough to fit in your Dutch Oven.  You will want a big Seared Pork Shoulder‘un cause you’ll want as much pulled pork as possible!  Turn stove burner on high and pour 2 – 3 TBSP of Vegetable Oil in the bottom of your pot, bringing up to high temperature but not smoking.  Generously salt and pepper your roast on all sides and sear the meat on high a couple minutes per side.  End with the fatty side on top (you want the fat to seep down into the meat).

Next, douse in 3 – 4 Tbsp Worcestershire over the top of the roast…Seared Pork Shoulder with Worcestershire

Cover pot, turn burner to low heat and walk away!  The secret to good stovetop pulled pork is cooking it low and slow.  I cooked mine a little over four hours but it could have withstood longer.  Check your pot every hour or so to make sure you have liquid at the bottom of pot…adding water as needed.  I didn’t add any water during my cook time.

Once done, remove roast to a cutting board until cool enough to handle.  Using your fingers, pull the pork into strips.  You will have a mound of beautiful pulled pork like this…

Pulled Pork

Some folks sauce their pulled pork at this juncture.  I find that my family likes to sauce as they go…some want more, some less.  This is totally up to your preference.  When the pork has been pulled, it’s ready to be stacked onto a slider bun, splashed with a little Good Gookamookee Sauce and topped with Peach and the Willow slaw…

Good Gookamookee Pork Sliders.PNG
Pulled Pork Sliders with Good Gookamookee Sauce and Peach and the Willow Slaw

Pulled Pork and Good Gookamookee Sauce go together like peaches and cream but if you want a truly elevated Pork Slider, add my Peach and the Willow Slaw.  I would say my slaw is like a classic vinegar slaw, but it’s not.  I would say it’s like Asian slaw, but it’s not!  So it’s simply “Peach and the Willow Slaw” and it’s my original.  Because this slaw is crunchy, spicy and sweet, it is a perfect pairing with the meat and soft bun.  And, since there is no mayo involved, it packs beautifully for any outdoor dining situation.  And let’s talk about the colors!  Don’t they say we eat with our eyes????  Check out these gorgeous slaw ingredients!

P & W Slaw
Gorgeous ingredients for Peach and the Willow Slaw

PEACH AND THE WILLOW SLAW

  1.  1/2 head of red cabbage, julienned
  2. 1/2 jicama, shaved into strips or julienned (if not available…no worries)

    Julienned Slaw Veggies
    Julienned Slaw Veggies
  3. 1/4 large sweet onion, julienned (I almost exclusively use sweet yellow onions in everything I cook…just my preference)
  4. 1 white carrot, shaved into strips (orange works…I like these better)
  5. 1/2 of granny smith apple, julienned
  6. 1/2 jalapeño, minced (Good Gookamookee is pretty spicy on its own so if you can’t tolerate a little heat, forego the jalapeño.  That said, most of my folks want it in there!)
  7. 1/4 to 1/2 cup Good Gookamookee Sauce
  8. Salt to taste (you will not need pepper…there’s plenty in the sauce)

Mix all together.  Done!  Yields 8 servings or enough toppings for  16 sliders.

Peach and the Willow Slaw
Peach and the Willow Slaw

All that’s left to do is pack your cooler with Pulled Pork, a jar of Good Gookamookee Sauce and your Peach and the Willow Slaw and head outside to play, eat and enjoy!  Pack your pulled pork in aluminum foil and throw the foil package on a hot grill to warm before serving.  It’s also fine room temp.  Assemble your sliders at your outing!  Super fun and easy!

Good Gookamookee Pork Sliders Lakeside
Pulled Pork Slider with Peach and the Willow Slaw – Lakeside!

Happy Summer Everyone!  Cheers!!!