Garden Chef

Hmmmmmm…. Ribs done low and slow

Ribs need to be trimmed, see here, before you can lovingly apply your favourite/secret rub to them.

I've used some Iced Tea rub on these, but a rub is fairly simple to make, just blend a few of dried spices and herbs together, rub the mixture onto the ribs.

Use a "foodsaver" bag (one that seals) to place the ribs in, and refrigerate overnight.

Get the charcoal going and place the water pan in position as in the pictures above .

Remove the ribs from the fridge about an hour before you want to cook them, this will ensure that they are at room temperature, which will allow the smoke to penetrate the meat more easily. Baste the ribs, a simple sauce can be made by using Coke (not the snorting kind!), tomato sauce/ ketchup, honey and whatever herbs and spices you like.

If you have one, use a rib rack, this will enable you to fit more ribs on your Q and allows the smoke to get to all parts of the meat.

The cook should take at least 5 hours, so make sure you are using a full load of good quality charcoal briquettes and keep the smoker temperature between 200-250°F.

Add wood chips or chunks to the fire to create smoke, this should be done for the first 2 hours. I used Hickory wood chunks for this rack.

You will need to baste the ribs every hour.

After 3 hours, remove the ribs from the smoker and place them on some heavy duty tin foil, baste heavily with the sauce, wrap the tinfoil around them, making sure there are no holes in the foil. Put the parcel back on the smoker for another 2 hours, keeping the temperature at 200 °F (there's no point putting any wood on the fire at this stage).

After 5 hours total cooking time, remove the foil, baste for a final time, drop one of the grills onto the fire (as per the picture above)bowl brackets and quickly sear the ribs on either side for 30 seconds, caramelising the sauce.

The Ribs should by now look something like they do in the pictures below, but be warned…. They won't look like that for long!

Enjoy!

Smoked shoulder of pork & one small chicken

Sometimes you just dont get to taking a photo or even registering the recipe until its all done. So a photo of a chicken carcass, and a third of a mid size shoulder joint of pork really only tells the end of the story. Hopefully, it looks like a happy ending..

This is what went into the mix (approximately):

Smoked shoulder of pork

• One shoulder joint of pork
• Steven Raichlen's 'Java' barbecue rub
• Head of garlic

Smoked Chicken

• One mid size free range chicken
• Rub, as above

Process

• Make sure the fat of the pork is scored all the way around
• Make a number (how much garlic do you like?) of deep slits in the pork and stuff them with slivers of garlic
• Pat the chicken and pork dry and apply the rub liberally to both
• Get the smoker going. I used Weber 'heat beads' this time as they seem to burn hotter and longer than the ordinary variety.
• Once the coals are ready to go, put the pork on the bottom grid, the chicken above (assuming you're using a ProQ smoker in a two stacker configuration, although this will work with any variety of vertical water smoker you may have).
• Sprinkle a good handful of Jack Daniels smoking chips over the coals
• Put the stackers together, pop the lid on, and sit back for the afternoon
• Add another handful of chips through the bottom door after about 45 mins/1hour of smoking time

I took the chicken off after 3 hours at a consistent 125C which was just about enough. The temperature gauge Ian gave me as part of my smoker starter pack is really useful here as it takes out all of the uncertainty around when its done or not. The thickest part of the chicken breast should be 75C.

Pork came off after 5 1/4 hours. This was by far my most successful smoked pork dish, beating my first attempt at the ribs (which were also good, but not stellar). Succulent, not overly smoked, but perfectly cooked through. Even the girls who normally eschew anything as 'fatty' as this particular pork cut (where is the flavour supposed to come from without it??) were able to get through a few slices.

Success!

Kids stuff: Lamb chops & Marshmallows

Hadn't done this for years myself, but the kids grabbed some marshmallows and made good use of the fading coals of a quick post-work lamb chop bbq:

 

Used this for rub:

But the fun stuff was really the kids fighting over the few hot spots left to toast the marshmallows once we were done with the lamb:

Left me drinking yet another glass of Glen Carlou's 2004 Syrah, and reflecting that the bbq doesn't just have to be about the meat...

Guest contributor

Well this being my 1st post, I better start off by introducing myself..... I get called many things, but I guess the one I like the most is Ian, aka Luke's Bro.

As you've probably noticed by now, a passion for food, especially BBQ'd food, runs in the family, Luke and I often reminisce about the times we sat around the braai/ BBQ waiting for Dad to cook a few chicken pieces (believe me, it was a long wait). With Dad's way of BBQ, it wasn't the just how the food was cooked,it was a show of ingenuity (Dad's favorite bbq consisted of a wheelbarrow, rake, a few bricks and grill) the important part for Dad was how long he could make the occasion last.

Growing up in Africa, one is exposed to outdoor cooking at an early age, and I imagine, it's one of the reasons that encourages a love of  BBQ in the McKend clan.

I had better stop waffling (sorry Luke). I will in time try to help inspire a similar passion for Barbecued food, by describing some of my favorite dishes in a simple and easy to replicate way.

Laters

Ian

Demo: Rolled & Stuffed Chicken Breasts, Sirloin Skewers

Recently I attended a master smoking class given by bro' Ian. Well, actually it was a demo for suppliers of his ProQ smokers. And look at this, I think we had four on the go at one stage - collective noun for smokers? A 'smog' of smokers? No, thats not right..

You can do a lot of food on this many smokers, and we did! Everything from chicken to big pork joints, and fantastic ribs - but more about those in later posts.

Ian had prepared a couple of items that were a bit out of the ordinary:

Rolled and stuffed chicken breast

The demo catered for many, bit for a family bbq I'd probably recommend two fillets per adult (always more than less, you can always eat leftovers, but you cant just decide to not be hungry if there's too little).

You'll also need:

• two or three red and green peppers
• goats cheese/brie (we chose brie)
• string to tie the rolled and stuffed fillets
• bbq rub (some paprika, mixed herbs, salt and pepper) or buy a rub of your choosing. I've tended to use Steven Raichlen's (of BBQ Bible fame) rubs.

Place the fillet between two sheets of cling film and fatten out a bit with a roller or other blunt instrument. Cut the peppers into small pieces, and slice the cheese into thin pieces. Take the fillets and lay them out, now spread some of the pepper pieces and cheese over about half the exposed fillet, maybe slightly more, but make they're not so full that they cant be rolled and tied up.

When done and on the bbq they should look like this:

They were simply superb.

Whilst most smoking tends to take quite a while, these weren't done for much more than 45 minutes or so.

For those of you who think that chicken is a vegetable, we also smoked some sirloin fillet, flattened, rolled and stuffed in exactly the same way, except we used goats cheese instead of the brie. These were good too, but the chicken won the day.

Last but not least have a look at this skewer:

This was sirloin steak, cut into strips, vacuum marinanded overnight, and threaded onto skewers that were hung within the smoker. We hung four or five skewers in one smoker - each skewer easily enough for two. Interesting bits - the skewer is flat, not round, so the meat doesnt spin around the skewer once its threaded on. As its hanging in the smoker, tie a piece of string at the bottom of the skewer to make sure the sirloin doesn't slide off.

Soon as I have been able to replicate this for myself I'll post the details of the recipe for the marinade, just thought I'd share the great idea of all this meat hanging inside the smoker.

Smokin'

Recently acquired a new toy! Or rather given to me by my brother Ian.. In an attempt to convert me to the joys of smoking he sent me one of the smokers he designed. It looks a bit like a weber, but  with the stackers in place it really comes into its own. Other than producing great tasting food, I thought it was kind of cool that it looks a bit like a small rocket.

The smoker is made up of a few separate sections: Coals in the base, a largish basin, usually filled with water when cooking, is suspended directly above the coals in the first stacking section. A grill rests above the water pan in the first stacker section. Another grill rests in the second stacker section, providing a huge amount of cooking space. Its possible I'm told to do pretty much anything and for my first gambit decided to do two chickens and a pork belly!

The beauty of the smoker is that once the coals are ready, pretty similar to usual grilling with a weber or bbq, filling the water pan, putting the chickens on the bottom grill, the pork belly on the top, closing the lid and adding smoking chips of your choice , just close the lid and leave it alone for three to four hours. No turning , basting or watching.

Actually I'm told that there's a lot more to it, but for first time around just though I'd keep it simple. 3.5 hours later it was all done. 4 hours later half a pork belly  and one chicken had disappeared.  And I'm going to have to do this again, the kids are begging for more chicken.. Beginners luck I think.

Lamb stuffed with halloumi, rosemary and olives

Normally I prefer to put my own stuffings and marinades together but more than occasionally can be tempted by something that looks really good. The guys at Blue Rock butchers in Bisley put this together:

Lamb, stuffed with some Halloumi cheese, rosemary and olives. Coriander crust. Did this on the weber, indirect with lid on for about 25 - 30 mins. It was truly fantastic, what a great idea - wish I'd come up with it.

Put it in foil to rest and grilled some asparagus basted in lemon juice and olive oil. Just done until  starting to blacken but  still  slightly crunchy. I loved the dish and will definitely  do it again, probably with a  bit of garlic thrown in - either stuffed in the  lamb, or  with the asparagus.

All this finished off with a green salad and a bottle of South African pinot noir. Excellent  stuff.

Steak and sausages for the kids

Old favourite this one , and really quick. Using the Weber to grill/roast this time..

The steak

First off pop off to the local butchers and ask whats good today (we're lucky to live in a village where the local butcher will cut steaks to order, and even better than that they're just across the road! A good butcher makes all the difference - questions about quality and provenance should be welcomed). Result: three thick cut sirloin steaks. Marinaded for about an hour or so in teriyaki sauce and coarse ground black pepper, the sauce caramelises and sweetens on the bbq and tastes great.

Once the coals are ready, white and still fairly hot, whip the steaks on. I prefer them rare so did them for about 1.5 minute a side. Any longer than that and they will quickly cook to medium - and even when taken off they will continue to cook, so I always take the steak off before I think its done (this time around I probably over did it a bit and they weren't quite as bloody as they should have been).

None the less they went down a treat. 

The Chicken

One whole large organic chicken, cut into bbq sized pieces. If you cut them up yourself you can decide exactly how large each piece can be. When cooking for two small I just cut a small chicken in half, flatten it out, bbq it and serve half each.

Slash the chicken across the meatier parts of the flesh to speed up cooking time and help the marinade. Then marinaded in Mary Berry's All Season Sauce (www.maryberry.co.uk) for about 2 hours, cooked indirectly, coals on one side of the kettle, lid on for about 25mins, then finished off directly over the coals to make sure everything is browned (blackened) up well.

The Sausages

Merguez and Pork and Leek from across the road. Half way into the chicken cooking time, nestled these in between the chicken pieces. Kept the lid on as with the chicken above and then finished off directly over the coals.

Neglected to mention that steak only goes on once both chicken and sausages done. This was a really quick bbq, but more than enough for teenage triplets and three adults. Who needs an oven when its not raining?

 

Butterflied leg of Lamb

Having recovered from visiting Cousin Paul a week or so ago, I'm pleased to report that a feast of open air cooking resulted in some very fine lamb. But why not let Paul tell the story in his own words? Thanks for putting this down Paul, it was much appreciated:

"Warning - if you don't like coriander - green and fresh - don't bother with any of this. Pointless.

Lamb - leg, big 'un, leave fat on. In fact, the more fat the better. Most will render out and tenderise the meat whilst cooking. What's left is bloody gorgeous. Any fussy eaters, simply trim and eat it yourself before serving. (dead sheep = decent, ethical, organic, not previously frozen and transported 12000 miles etc. Show the animal some respect by getting something that has been raised well, had some quality of life before the big knifing), butterflied and scored 1 cm deep, 2 cm apart, keep bones.

Put the butterflied lamb in a large plastic freezer bag (with no holes in the bottom!).

Add a well chopped mixture containing the following: 3-4 cloves of garlic , lemon juice (freshly squeezed from 1 unwaxed lemon), large handfu of rosemary, oregano, pepper & salt, 1 red chilli (deseed or not - personal preference), 3-4 tablespoons olive oil. Plus - anything else you fancy that you think would taste scrummy. Try substituting cumin & coriander (freshly heated and pounded in a pestle/ground) for the rosemary & oregano. I have. Gorgeous. Add this to the lamb in the bag 12 hours at least before cooking. Massage the lamb & herby mix regularly. Smell it. MMMMMmmmmm. Massage some more. Go see therapist.

About half an hour before you'd like to start cooking, light the braai - I prefer lumpwood charcoal. Cheap briquettes can be full of chemicals. When lighting the charcoal the trick is create two little piles of charcoal on either side of the kettle, so that when the lamb is laid on the cooking grid, its not actually directly over the coals.

Make sure coals are white before cooking. Get a roasting tin. Pour in 1 cm water. Place raised wire rack in tin. Place bones from butterflied lamb on rack and lay lamb on  bones, fatty side up. Place in braai and put lid on. Cook for 40 mins - 1 hour, depending on how well done you like it. When the lid is on the bbq, the heat from the coals will circulate inside the kettle and the lamb will be cooked indirectly by the heat, ensuring that it doesnt burn (but still gets some of the lovely caramelisation of the marinade). Many make the mistake of fiddling wht the vents at the top and bottom of the kettle at this stage. My advice is to keep both vents comletely open. This keeps the charcoal hot, but you'll be amazed how long you can cook just with a medium amount of charcoal with both vents open.

By the by, we used a Weber for this.

Serve with lots of nice stuff, such as:

Houmous - home made, adapted from Darina Allen's recipe in Ballymaloe Cookbook. Added fresh coriander and lwft a few whole chick peas for crunch and presentation. For goodnessn sake, use UNWAXED lemons - far superior for taste. TOP TIP : Put all the olive oil you will use in a small pan and fry the garlic cloves until golden before whizzing the houmous in a blender. 2 reasons - lovely flavor release and, if making houmous just before eating, it removes the tart bitterness garlic can have when raw.

Guacamole - just do your own recipe - everyone's has their own. Just add loads of fresh, tasty coriander.

Tomato salsa - make your own - tomatoes, spring onion, red onion, seasoning (experiment - normal stuff, chilli oil, avocado oil, touch of really expensive balsamic ) and , guess what? Yup, coriander.   

Raita - Rachel's Farm Greek yoghurt, chopped fresh mint (do NOT use mint sauce), 1/4 of a grated cucumbert, tablespoon or so of cider or sherry vinegar. Mix a couple of hours before eating. No coriander in this. A pinch of salt. Taste and change according to personal preference.

Check lamb, let it rest for 10 mins wrapped in foil (do not pour the juices away after revealing the cooked lamb). Heat some decent bread (pittas, ciabatta) on embers, rub some garlic on bread, slice lamb. Eat. Sit back. Drink lots of wine.

Shiraz - Graham Beck. That's nice. Pinotage goes well, too. What did we drink? Some expensive stuff that Luke had been banging on about. It was good, but somewhat lost in the mists of time.

Pudding - Home made creme brulee with fresh fruit.  If you really want the world's greatest creme brulee recipe, email me. p.miller@virgin.net .This is a braai blog.

Repeat all of above and you will have a seriously good evening. Bear in mind, it was only for 3 adults, so constitutes a light braai. I also cooked some pork ribs for the kids dinner 2 hours earlier - blimey they were nice."

Hey Paul, thanks for that, it was a great evening, hopefully we can reciprocate in the very near future.

First post

Its British summer time - just about. After a few weeks of sunshine, and now just exiting just as many weeks of rain, I wondered whether I was spending enough time outdoors. Well, partially to make sure that I do spend as much time outside as the weather permits, and secondly to make sure I get to do as much cooking as possible, I thought it might be interesting to provide a record of my attempt to cook outdoors once a week for a full year. Equipment used, recipes, wine and beer pairings - the whole lot ought to appear over the next while. Never mind the odd ode to a well cooked sausage. So here goes, I'm at cousin Paul's this weekend. That should provide an excellent opportunity to nick some new ideas, eat and drink a lot more than is healthy as well some material for a first real 'Garden Chef' post.