I have a confession to make. I'm not vegan, or plant-based, or even vegetarian. But I do like reading vegan recipes, watching vegan YouTubers, then taking their recipes and de-veganizing them. All that trouble with cashew cream and nutritional yeast and all the rest... I just pull out the parm and butter and delicious cow's milk cream and go. to. town. Am I a monster? Probably. But I really appreciate the thought and care that go into most vegan recipes-- they do the work to make delicious food. I mean, they don't even have adding bacon as a fallback. We must respect that fact.
One of the vegan foodies whose recipes I like to bastardize is Hot for Food, and about 2 years ago she did a vegan BBQ sandwich thing with "pulled bbq mushrooms," which I've never forgotten. So for once, I've taken inspiration from a vegan recipe and actually kept it vegetarian, to put together the bbq-loaded baked potato of my dreams. I thought about going for a sweet potato, and I do think that would be delicious, but instead I went with an old school Idaho baking potato, slow cooked my shrooms and treated them as I would any stove-top barbecued meat, and cut that sweet, tomato-y sauce with a vinegary broccoli slaw on top. And y'all, it was GOOD. If you don't want them as a meat substitute, they'd be insane in place of bbq baked beans as a cookout side dish.
First things first was the potato. I poked it a few times, wrapped it in foil with a pad of butter, salt, and pepper, then into the oven at 400 degrees for about an hour. Meanwhile, I poured a glass of vino and munched on wheat thins and hummus. Meanwhile, meanwhile I tossed 2 boxes of Baby Bella mushrooms in a cast iron skillet with a good glug of olive oil and lots of salt, pepper, and BBQ seasoning.
I started out on medium-high heat and got good color and smoky flavor on the shrooms on both sides. Then I turned the heat down to medium and slathered them in bbq sauce, stirring frequently. As the sauce thickened I turned the heat down to low, added a bit more sauce because, again, I'm a monster, and I let them cook low and slow until mushrooms and molten bbq sauce had turned into one beautiful, deep brown mess.
While the mushrooms were doing their thing, I put together my slaw. I knew those sweet, smoky mushrooms would need a crisp, sour tang to take the edge off. I decided to forgo the cabbage for shredded broccoli and carrots, which I tossed with enough mayonnaise to get things going, a spoonful of Dijon mustard, a splash of lemony Prosecco vinegar, lots of salt, pepper, onion and garlic powder, and lastly I wanted something a bit sweet and herbaceous to round things out, so I stirred in a spoonful of sweet basil pesto and was not disappointed.
Once the slaw was made, I was in business. I pulled the potato out of the oven, cut through its perfectly-crisped skin, and stirred in a little more butter, salt, and pep. Then I spooned over those sweet, smoky, tender mushrooms, and topped it all with a helping of broccoli slaw. The depth and contrast of flavors was beyond what I had hoped for, and the combination of textures felt rich and indulgent without being overwhelmingly heavy. It's a happy tater, simple enough to pull together, and all the leftovers can be used in a myriad of other iterations as sides, sandwiches, and more. I hope you'll all put your own spin on it and let me know how it goes! Just don't try to steal my gimmick as the de-veganizer...
