For anyone who loves good food, it can be a sad, sad day when the doctor looks you in the eye and tells you to strip the fat out of your diet. It's one of those "if you fail, you die" messages. Never pleasant. Best to keep on hand a copy of Don Mauer's A Guy's Guide to Great Eating, if only for moral support in times of dread. Mauer received just such a message. But rather than sulk, he tore into his favorite dishes and figured out how to yank out a lot of the fat without sacrificing big flavor
There's a good reason that North Carolina barbecue is so famous; it tastes great! And central North Carolina barbecue sauce is different from all other barbecue sauces; it's based on vinegar instead of tomatoes or molasses, so it is tangy, sweet and hot at the same time.
Most barbecues start with a fatty pig. Instead, I created a turkey barbecue. I slowly cook a bone-in turkey breast in the barbecue sauce, then shred the meat and simmer it until it falls apart. Every North Carolinian who tastes this dish is astounded to discover that it isn't made with pork.
Since it takes a long time to make, save this dish for a large group. A word of warning, though: it will disappear fast, and you'll never have any leftovers.
Makes 16 servings
2 large onions, finely chopped
2 cups cider vinegar
1/2 cup tomato ketchup
3 tablespoon Worcestershire sauce
2 tablespoon butter
2 tablespoon Tobasco sauce (or more, if you can stand the heat)
2 tablespoon light brown sugar
1 tablespoon fresh-ground black pepper
1 1/2-ounce packet Butter Buds
1 large garlic clove, minced
2 teaspoons salt
1 4 1/2-to-5-pound skinless, bone-in turkey breast, rinsed under cold water
1 teaspoon Liquid Smoke
16 hearty sandwich rolls
About 1 cup low-fat cabbage slaw
In a heavy 8-quart pot, combine the onions, vinegar, ketchup, Worcestershire sauce, butter, Tobasco sauce, brown sugar, pepper, Butter Buds, garlic and salt. Bring to a simmer over medium-high heat. Reduce the heat to low and simmer for 15 minutes.
Add the turkey breast to the pot, skinned side up, and simmer, covered for 2 1/2 hours, or until a meat thermometer inserted into the center registers 155 degrees. (Do not let the thermometer touch the bone.)
Transfer the breast to a cutting board and set aside until it is cool enough to handle. Following the grain, pull off long, thin shreds of meat from the breast. Discard the bone.
Stir the shredded turkey and Liquid Smoke in the sauce. Simmer over low heat, stirring occasionally, for 1 1/2 hours, or until the meat almost falls apart. Taste and adjust the seasonings with additional salt, pepper or Tobasco sauce.
Place 3/4 cup of the turkey mixture on each of the sandwich rolls.
Top with a tablespoon of slaw and serve.
Nutritional information per serving (with 1 tablespoon slaw): 311 calories (12.3% from fat), 4.6 g fat (1.1. g saturated fat), 32.8 g protein, 31.8 g carbohydrate, 75 mg cholesterol, 780 mg sodium
