“From the SCCC Kitchen” offers Daily Gazette readers tastes from Schenectady County Community College’s nationally accredited American Culinary Federation culinary arts program. Today, technical specialist (and certified executive chef) Christopher Tanner continues his series of summer recipes with South Carolina Barbecued Spaghetti.
Summer barbecues mean hamburgers, hot dogs, filet mignon and chicken. And shish kabobs, ribs, maybe a ham steak or two.
Chef Christopher Tanner has another notion — spaghetti with meats in a deep sauté pan on top of the grill.
“This is diner food down South,” he said of his South Carolina Barbecued Spaghetti. “It’s a comfort food, it’s basic, there’s not a lot to it. And it’s a good way to use leftover barbecue. I get tired of just eating spaghetti with marinara sauce. This is a good reprieve from that, and it’s a little bit lighter, I think.”
Spaghetti is mixed with barbecued pork, sausage and chopped peppers and onions. In addition to giving people a hearty new dish for the outdoors, it also gives them a chance to cook with a Southern-style barbecue sauce. Tanner’s sauce is mixed with a vinegar and mustard base; it’s not the traditional red, tomato-based sauce most people use for marinade.
Tanner said spaghetti must be cooked briefly indoors before it makes its outdoor splash into the pan. The pasta gets the al dente treatment — cooked so it is still firm, but not completely cooked through. “When you cook it the second time, it’s going to absorb some of that sauce, so you don’t want it completely cooked,” Tanner said.
There are vegetables, protein and starch in the dish, but Tanner admits it may not be the healthiest dinner. But summer does allow for the occasional, seasonal splurge. So people don’t have to feel too guilty.
South Carolina Barbecued Spaghetti
1 tablespoon vegetable oil
1 small green bell pepper, chopped
1⁄2 yellow onion, finely chopped
Mustard barbecue sauce (recipe included)
1 cup tomato puree
1 pound leftover barbecue pork, chopped or pulled
1⁄2 pound smoked sausage
1 pound spaghetti, cooked al dente
Kosher salt and fresh ground black pepper, as needed
South Carolina Mustard Barbecue Sauce
1 tablespoon vegetable oil
1⁄2 onion, grated
1⁄2 cup yellow mustard
1⁄2 cup brown sugar
1⁄2 cup cider vinegar
2 tablespoons dry mustard
1 teaspoon cayenne
Salt to taste
To prepare the sauce: Heat the vegetable oil in a medium pot, add the onion and sauté for 3-4 minutes. Do not let the onions brown. Add remaining ingredients, stir well and simmer slowly for 30 minutes or more.
To prepare spaghetti: In a large sauté pan, heat oil over medium heat. Sauté the pepper and onion 1 to 2 minutes or until soft. Add the barbecue sauce and tomato puree and bring to a simmer. Add the barbecue pork and sausage and heat through. Add the cooked spaghetti to the sauté pan and toss to coat. Season with salt and pepper.
Serves 4.
Categories: Life and Arts
