Recipe Corner Redux: Faygo Roast

I don’t want to have the conversation about it right now, but: Insane Clown Posse really got me and Meg through a rough patch working on the last book. I know we mentioned this earlier, but everyone probably thought it was a joke, but it wasn’t. I’m not going to try to talk anyone else into it, but I want to present two videos just so you can see:

Admit it. You smiled.

Anyway, one of the principal things of ICP is a regional soda called Faygo. It makes a cameo in the “Homies” video – see that blue stuff poured over the guy’s head early on? According to legend (Wikipedia), they also spray the audience with it during live shows. Meg and I are in talks to borrow the technology so we can spray Kendall-Jackson chardonnay on the audience at our next event.

I had so much “luck” with the Four Loko roast that I decided to give it another shot. Ladies and gentlemen, may I present:

Recipe Corner: Faygo Roast

Roasts are fun to make because the only real work required is tossing spices into liquid, pouring it on meat, and doing something else for a few hours. I ordered the Faygo from someone called “detroitwhut” on Amazon, and it arrived quickly and as described. After much thought – seriously, I was willing to do anything to postpone working on that book – I chose the flavor “Rock & Rye,” which is named after a cocktail. A Rock & Rye is a glass of rye whiskey with a piece of rock candy in it, which sounds… effective. The Faygo version of it tastes more or less like birch beer and is actually pretty good.

Don’t you like how the iPod camera really picks up the red in the meat?

Faygo, up close, with thumb.

Not until I saw this picture did I realize that I set this bowl dangerously close to the counter. The marinade contained: base of Faygo Rock & Rye with a splash of Old Crow for luck, coarse ground black pepper, hot paprika, a solid belt of Tony Chacere’s Cajun Seasoning, a solid belt of Lea and Perrins, and about 1/3 teaspoon of ground cloves as the official “what the hell” ingredient. I put a bed of chopped onions down in the bottom of the slow cooker, put the meat on top, then poured the marinade over it. I proceeded to watch several hours of TV.

First turn. The dye has soaked into the beef and turned it an unusual, almost Chinese red.

It’s not a roast without a handful of carrots to keep the roast company!

Results: This turned out fucking great. None of the “well, let’s make the most of this” bravado of the Four Loko roast. Faygo and I just did a genuinely good job here. I started it a little late so it wasn’t as tender as I wanted it, but flavor-wise it was totally solid. The cloves worked and matched the spice notes in the soda, and the peeper kept it from being too sweet. I was super proud of this.

Industrial food dye is cool. Note how the fat is still fat-colored, but suspended in reddish marinade.

The onions, however, were more than happy to accept the dye.

So, that was my meaty tribute to ICP and the soda that helps them keep going. May they both thrive.