Semiserious Chefs

The Ingredients

Anything
Everything
Whatever we want

Andrew

I’m going to jump in and say right off the bat that for this episode of Dueling Duleys, we’re not going to follow the usual rules for our game, which you can find by clicking here: The Rules

Instead we will both be creating our own take on barbecue soup. I’m sure there will be plenty of times in the future where we will change the rules just like now, or do a different version of Dueling Duleys. And that’s the great part, we can totally do that because we’re cool like that.

So how did we ever decide to create something like barbecue soup? I mean it sounds kind of weird right? Let me give you a little back story. A few days ago, Vanessa’s mother stopped by to visit, and as usual we were checking out the different herbs and seasonings she brings with her when she stops by. She knows we like to cook (and so does she), so it’s inevitable that the topic of most of our discussions center around food and cooking.

Vanessa was sitting on the couch when out of nowhere she blurted out, “barbecue soup.” Now it had never crossed my mind to make something like that. If you’ve checked out our recipe for Creamy Jalapeno and Bacon Soup, you’ll know that I’m not a big soup eater. If you haven’t read that post, you can find it by clicking the following link: Creamy Jalapeno and Bacon Soup

The idea instantly intrigued me, so like always, my mind began formulating a plan to make this idea a reality. What ingredients could I use to really bring out a genuine barbecue flavor, while at the same time not overpowering the dish?

Vanessa

So yes, the idea, more so the name ‘Barbecue Soup,’ just popped into my head out of nowhere. Maybe I was hungry? But, just like Andrew I couldn’t get the idea of that sort of challenge out of my head. It was very quickly and quite agreeably turning into a duel.

Immediately my mind ran to smokey as a flavor springboard. If you know anything about the great debates over barbecue the issue of sauce or dry-rub and which is the true barbecue is ALWAYS in the for-front, however, there is no debate that barbecue ALWAYS means ‘cooked over a flame’ = smokey! I also immediately thought of corn since it is so often grilled along side various meats, and than also that beans are a common side dish and so easy to use in soup. The problem came when all the other ideas about barbecue rushed in as well; Saucy? Dry? Salty? Sweet? Beef? Pork? Chilies? With the idea just of barbecue itself being SO vague and varied how could I ever narrow it down to one recipe?

As we discussed the idea in general, but not sharing any details of our own plans, I kept hearing Andrew talk about how many different ways there are to flavor a barbecue sauce. “Sauce, sauce, sauce…” With that in mind, building on my original thoughts of smokey and wanting to ensure some variety in our final post here, I steered clear of the sweet and saucy barbecue idea; completely.

Now, as a side note, although I completed that idea for barbecue soup I also could not help playing with a second flavor combination completely different from the two we were making. Just think ‘pulled pork and pineapple,’ OH YEAH! Not gunna lie, this soup was my favorite of the three (not that I’m biased toward my own work) but we both agreed that is was more like a sweet and sour, almost Chinese flavored soup that, although very tasty, really didn’t come across as ‘Barbecue’ to either of us. But rest assured, it is posted on this site as well! —->RIGHT HERE!

The Recipe

Andrew

I knew the barbecue flavor of the soup had to be subtle. Something that would achieve the perfect balance between sweet and tangy. The last thing I wanted was for the dish to be overly sweet, which would ultimately make it hard to eat more than a few bites. That’s the tricky part for me though, because I do like barbecue sauces that have a bit of sweetness to them. That’s not to say I don’t like other varieties as well, but it does mean I have to be careful of what I’m doing.

Another thing I had to consider was how thick I wanted the soup to be. After a bit of consideration, I decided I wanted a thinner soup. And by thinner, I mean the broth. I’m still on the fence about what I want to add to the soup to give it the right amount of texture however. Beans are a maybe. After all, barbecued baked beans taste great and are a very popular choice at barbecues. But I have a feeling they aren’t going to make the final cut.

I’ve also settled on yellow and green peppers to add some color to the soup. Plus, they’ll also help add a nice flavor to the end product. My main goal is to come up with something that has a tad of sweetness, and just a hint of heat, but at the same time letting the flavor of the beef mingle with the barbecue flavor. That’s my idea in a nutshell I guess you could say. Pulling it all together, and making something I can be proud of is another story however.

Taking the time to research some of the many different types of barbecue sauces found throughout different regions of the country was something I quickly realized I would need to do. There’s definitely a huge variety. Far too many to get in to for this post, but I would suggest doing a little studying if you have some down time. It’s quite interesting actually.

See those ancho chilis in the background…? Yeah, don’t use ’em.

So anyway, what foods do people think of when they hear the words “barbecue sauce?” Most likely, the majority of people will instantly think of a huge slab of ribs sitting on the grill and liberally smeared with thick dark brown barbecue sauce. That was the first thought that occurred to me as well. And one that I have decided to go with. Apparently, the color of the soup is of great importance to me. Typically I prefer pork ribs, but at this point, I’m going to choose a cheaper cut of beef.

If you want to drop the cash on a better cut of meat, that’s up to you, but keep in mind that simmering the beef in gently boiling liquid does a great job of helping to tenderize it. In this case, the meat isn’t going to be the center of the dish, but a part of the whole. And the plan is to let this soup simmer as long as it needs, to really bring out all of the flavors.

One last ingredient I am seriously considering are ancho chili peppers. If you like poblano peppers like I do, you will be familiar with anchos because they are simply the dried version of a poblano. They lend a nice sweet and subtle smokey flavor, which is exactly what I’m looking for. They are a very mildly spicy pepper reaching only about 2,000 heat units on the Scoville scale. But, every once in awhile, significantly spicier peppers have been reported.

*Update – DO NOT USE ANCHO CHILIS IN YOUR BBQ SOUP! I tried this thinking it would be a good idea, but little did I know it was enough to completely ruin my first batch of soup. Everything was going along just fine; the soup was seasoned perfectly with just the right amount of sweetness, but then I had to come along and add the ancho peppers. Not that I don’t like them, but in this instance they were totally the wrong choice. Not only did they thicken the soup, but it turns out the flavor of the pepper completely turned that attempt into something very disappointing. You’ve been warned!

Alright, enough chitchat on my part. I’m sure you’re all tired of my ramblings and just want to move on to the recipe. I promise you in real life I don’t talk nearly as much as I write. Below is the recipe, so I hope you enjoy my take on “barbecue soup.”

A tangy barbecue soup to be proud of!

Vanessa

For smokey I had to decide if I was going to use real smoke or bottled. For some reason the idea of ‘hickory smoke’ from the label just made me think of hickory bacon and breakfast, not barbecue. I decided to bring out our little stove top smoker. I LOVE that thing! Cheep, super easy to use, and it truly does smoke your food; whatever food you choose to smoke. I also like that it doesn’t require burning charcoal, a flavor that would certainly change the taste of this soup.

I wanted tender meet chunks. Coming across a recipe for a brisket dry rub my plan was sealed. I bought the cheapest hunk of meat in the discount bin, a chuck roast, coated it aggressively with the dry rub and baked it… And baked it… And baked it. For 4 hours. I said tender and I meant it. All I could think about was that big hunk of meat roasting over coals while sipping a cold beverage on a sunny summer day. Along with that, surely one would throw on some baked potatoes, green beans, and corn on the cob. Yes! The total meal package, in a bowl!

So, there are two ways to approach this recipe. You can follow the plan I used which involved no actual barbecuing, or you can simply use the rub blend on meat you actually grill/barbecue and plan to use as left-overs to make this soup. One of the reasons I like the smoker, however, is that it doesn’t require burning charcoal, a flavor that would certainly change the taste of this soup. I also imagine you could substitute liquid smoke for actually grilling/smoking your vegetables, but alas, that is not how I made this soup.

So here it is! My rendition of Barbecue Soup; Smokey ‘Grilled’ Soup