Flower Bbq Sandwich
Do you want to make a pulled beef sandwich except it’s not beef at all? This meat is made from a flower. That is right, you can make a juicy, thick, meaty, bbq sandwich from hibiscus flowers! Specifically dried hibiscus. Let’s make this sandwich! But first, I’m going to make the sauce. If you like this recipe be sure to check out this one too! and this one!
Sauce
First you need a saucepan, over on a medium heat with a bit of olive oil. As well as a quarter of a chopped red onion, half of a red bell pepper chopped, and a teaspoon of minced garlic. Mix that around a little and let the water cook out. Next I add a big pinch of kosher salt, and a whole fifteen ounce can of tomato sauce. Then into the tomato sauce can, I add a quarter cup of rice vinegar (I wanted to use apple cider vinegar but did not have any) to kind of rinse out the can, and add that in as well.
At this point the sauce is getting hot so I’m going to add a quarter cup of brown sugar, a tablespoon of spicy mustard, and a quarter cup of your favorite sauce, Not Steak Sauce (you can use whatever sauce you’d like here). Now we give it a mix, turn the heat down and get our flowers ready. I bought my dried hibiscus flowers online. Today I’m going to be using three cups which will make about eight sandwiches. I wanted to have leftovers. I am going to wash my flowers until the pink water starts to run a little clearer. Then I toss them into a large saucepan, fill it with enough water to cover the flowers and bring it to a boil. I’m going to let that simmer for around ten minutes.
Cooking The Flowers
Once it is done simmering I strain it. I give the flowers another wash and rinse. Then they go back into the saucepan, add two cups of cold water, a tablespoon of liquid smoke, a teaspoon of smoked paprika, a teaspoon of onion powder, a teaspoon of garlic powder and a large pinch of salt. Bring that back to a simmer for around an hour.
While that is simmering I’m going to make a cheese topping for the sandwich. This will give it the protein it needs. I toss a block of extra firm tofu into a container with a pinch of olive oil, a pinch of salt, and two tablespoons of vinegar. Then I blend this with an immersion blender, until it is like a ricotta consistency. Now cover it and toss it in the fridge. The hibiscus meat is done, I’m going to strain off any excess liquid that might still be in the pot.
Taste Test
Now I add a little olive oil to the pot, add the hibiscus meat back in, let that cook off some of the excess liquid. Add the sauce in and mix it. On a bun I spread a generous amount of the tofu cheese spread, top it with the hibiscus meat, pickles and give it a taste! The texture and flavor is like pulled pork! It is super saucy! It reminds you of a sloppy joe! Also the pickles are great on this sandwich. You should try making this for your family and friends, it is delicious! Watch the full video here!
Making BBQ Beef Using A Flower
Ingredients
- 3 tbsp olive oil
- 1/4 red onion
- .5 red bell pepper
- 1 tsp minced garlic
- big pinch kosher salt
- 15 ounce can tomato sauce
- 1/4 cup rice vinegar
- 1/4 cup brown sugar
- 1 tbsp spicy mustard
- 1/4 cup Not Steak Sauce
- 3 cups dried hibiscus flowers
- 2 cups cold water
- 1 tbsp liquid smoke
- 1 tsp smoked paprika
- 1 tsp onion powder
- 1 tsp garlic powder
- big pinch salt
- 1 block extra firm tofu
- 2 tbsp vinegar
Instructions
- Put saucepan on medium heat with olive oil, chopped red onion, chopped red bell pepper, and minced garlic. Mix that and let water cook out.
- Add kosher salt, tomato sauce, rice vinegar, brown sugar, spicy mustard, and Not Steak Sauce.
- Mix it, then turn the heat down.
- Wash flowers until pink water runs clearer. Add flowers and water to saucepan, then bring it to a boil. Let it simmer for 10 minutes.
- Strain the flowers then wash and rinse them again. Then back into the saucepan with water, liquid smoke, smoked paprika, onion powder, garlic powder, and salt.
- Bring it back to a simmer for an hour.
- Add tofu, salt, vinegar, and olive oil to a container and blend until it is a ricotta consistency. Cover it and toss it in the fridge.
- Strain off liquid from flowers, then add olive oil to pot and flowers back in. Let excess liquid cook off.
- Add the sauce and mix it in.
- Top the bun with the ricotta tofu mixture, then the hibiscus meat, then pickles and enjoy!