Smoky BBQ Portobello Sandwiches with Kale Cabbage Slaw

Yield: 4 - 6 sandwiches (depending on size of bun)

I had a lot of fun making this sandwich! Roasted Portobello Mushrooms shredded and mixed with sautéed onions and a smoky homemade BBQ sauce. All piled on a toasty bun with a simple kale cabbage slaw. The BBQ sauce recipe is one I've been tweaking and using for years in restaurant kitchens, it's a crowd pleaser. 

If you have a grill or smoker at home, I would definitely use that instead of an oven to give your mushrooms some extra smoke flavour. I live in an apartment and have neither of those things, but I do have something called a smoke gun. Kind of a fancy kitchen gadget that most home cooks probably wouldn't have. Don't worry though, this was still delicious without any added wood smoke. The BBQ sauce has smoked paprika and liquid smoke to fill that void. 

The only other thing I would say about this sandwich, is make sure you make it saucy! I'll warn you though, it was very messy to eat. I personally don't mind that, especially when I'm eating alone. I'll lick my plate clean. A fork and knife wouldn't go astray though. Lastly, treat yourself to some kettle chips! Something about crunchy salty potato chips beside a sandwich like this - it's perfection. Oh and pour a pint of your favourite brew to have with too! It's the middle of March, so still cold and wintery out there in PEI, but this kind of food has me thinking about warmer days, and the type of fun food to cook up and enjoy on a sunny summer evening. 

Recipe: BBQ Pulled Portobello Sandwiches with Kale Cabbage Slaw

BBQ Sauce

Ingredients:

• 2 cups ketchup
• 1 cup brown sugar
• 3/4 cup maple syrup
• 1/2 cup yellow mustard
• 1/2 cup cider vinegar
• 1/4 cup steak sauce
• 1/4 cup lemon juice
• 1/4 cup molasses
• 1/4 cup soy sauce
• 2 tbsp chile powder
• 2 tbsp smoked paprika
• 2 tsp onion powder
• 1 tsp garlic powder
• 1 tsp cracked pepper
• 1 tsp kosher salt
• 1 tsp liquid smoke

Method:

1. ​Combine all ingredients in a large pot. 
2. Whisk together and bring to a simmer for a few minutes
3. Remove from heat, cool and store in the fridge. 

 

​​Portobello Mushrooms + Onions

Ingredients:

• 8 whole Portobello mushrooms (black gills scraped out & stems removed if large and set aside)
• 1 large onion, thinly sliced + 4 cloves minced garlic. 

Method:

1. ​Preheat oven to 425 F (if you have a bbq or grill to give these some smoke flavour do that instead!)
2. Place mushrooms stem side up and roast for about 35 minutes, flipping them over after 25. The idea is to dry them out, no oil necessary. 
3. While mushrooms are in the oven, sauté onions in veg oil until softened completely. Adding in 4 cloves of minced garlic part way through. Place in a bowl big enough to mix in mushrooms later.
4. Remove from the oven, let cool a bit, then use two forks to pull them apart into rough strands. It wasn't the easiest task, slightly tedious but it get's the job done. I wanted a more shredded texture so stuck with the process even though slicing would be easier. 
5. Mix pulled mushrooms with the onions. If you have any mushroom stems set aside just pull them apart and add them into the bowl. 
6. When you are ready to make your sandwiches, simply combine mushroom onion mixture with BBQ sauce and a splash of water in a pan. You want these to be SAUCY. I let it heat up and reduce but the final consistency is a bit looser than if I just tossed the BBQ sauce with mushrooms and didn't add water. 
7. To assemble just toast buns in the oven, top with saucy mushrooms and slaw. 

Slaw
For this I just bought a bag of pre made kale crunch slaw, then mixed in some shredded cabbage. I also think some julienned apple would be nice tossed in here too. I used about 1/2 cup of slaw on my sandwich, but the buns were big so you might use more or less depending on size of your sandwich. 

I whipped up a very simple dressing, just whisk together the following ingredients. Taste and you can add another splash or so of vinegar/sugar to balance it out perfectly if needed. It should taste zippy but the BBQ sauce is sweet enough that it doesn't need lots of sugar. 

Ingredients: 

• 1 cup vegan mayo
• 4 tbsp apple cider vinegar
• 2 tbsp sugar
• salt and pepper

** The 2nd time I made these I used my smoke gun to add smoke to the cooked mushrooms and onions. A super fun kitchen gadget if you are so inclined. It just burns mini wood chips, I used hickory.