Barbecue Secrets – Détails, épisodes et analyse

SHOW NOTES

In this episode I talk about building an authentic Jamaican-style jerk pit for this year's Brewery and the Beast in Vancouver, where I joined my friends from Johnston's Pork to serve up 14 delicious jerked pork bellies.

A the same event, ninja chef Rob Belcham of Campagnolo restaurant outdid himself by spit roasting a whole 250-lb. farmed sturgeon using three whole octopi stuffed with chorizo as basting brushes.

At the end of the episode I talk about an experience my wife Kate and I had a Jamaican resort a few years ago. Spoiler alert: contains nudism and vodka.

Here's a link to the recipe I talked about for Greek-Style ribs. 

This week's show is a doozy. I have a long, boozy, smoky talk with Eric Lorenz of Lorenz Agave Spirits, along with another busted barbecue myth from Meathead Goldwyn of amazingribs.com. 

RECIPE OF THE WEEK

Oaxacan Daisy (Courtesy of Eric Lorenz)

1.5 oz Sombra Mezcal

1 oz. Cointreau

.75 oz. Meyer Lemon juice

Shake in iced cocktail shaker, then strain into coupe glass. Garnish with Meyer Lemon peel.

Super easy but surprisingly delicious!

When I launched this podcast back in 2006, I had some superb guests. I thought it would be fun to re-connect with some of them and find out how they've been up to.

It was great fun to get caught up with Jackie Weight, the first and only non-American, and the first woman, to win the Jack Daniel's World Championship Invitational Barbecue, way back in 2004. Jackie recounts the story of the contest that changed her life and talks about the evolution of Southern-Style Barbecue in the UK.

I also touched based with Meathead Goldwyn, the founder of amazingribs.com. When I first talked with Meathead he had just launched the site, which has grown over the years to become the most popular barbecue destination on the internet. Meathead is a true barbecue geek. Maybe he's the king of all barbecue geeks. Obsessed with the science of outdoor cooking, he's assumed the role of a kind of barbecue iconoclast -- think of a cross between Alton Brown and Discovery Channel's Mythbusters. He's sharp, he's funny, and he's opinionated to say the least.

Meathead is going to be a regular guest on the show, busting a new myth with each appearance. In this episode he deconstructs one of the most famous grilling techniques, Beer Can Chicken. 

Recipes of the week: Southwestern Style Grilled Chicken Club Sandwich and Tuscan Grilled Game Hens.

Cookbook of the week: On Food and Cooking: The Science and Lore of the Kitchen by Harold McGee.

Jackie Weight is on twitter @MadCowsBBQ and you can find her company on the web at bbqconsultant.co.uk.

You can find Meathead at amazingribs.com, on twitter @ribguy, and like him on Facebook. 

In this episode I connect with tech and barbecue geek Richard Campbell, who shares his recipe for Spanish-style Paella on the Grill and recounts his experience of regional barbecue in Romania, and I have an in-depth conversation with one of the leading lights in Canadian barbecue, Angie Quaale. 

Here's the recipe for Paella on the Grill. 

I recently had the pleasure of being part of a barbecue panel on Terry David Mulligan's new radio show, The Tasting Room, along with my fellow barbecue competitors Adam Protter (www.bigsmoke.ca) and Justin Kyllo (www.smokeandbones.ca). I've turned our segment into an episode of the Barbecue Secrets podcast.

Hey barbecue fans. I hope you enjoy this edition of the show. Here's a link to the recipes I talk about. 

Get grillin'!

Ronnie 

Welcome to the fifth edition of the Barbecue Secrets podcast, a show celebrating the many pleasures of outdoor cooking. E-mail questions, tips and suggestions to barbecuesecrets@ronshewchuk.com. In this edition:

• An interview with World Barbecue Organizer Rocky Danner who talks about how the people of the West Indies used empty U.S. Army oil drums to make the precursor of the modern back yard grill (the photo at the top of this post is an authentic Jamaican barbecue grill made from an oil drum)
• Craig "Meathead" Goldwyn of amazingribs.com and I answer a couple of questions about ribs from listener Craig Jolly one about marinades and rubs, and another about the infamous "Texas crutch"
• Competition Corner -- Jeff of Light My Fire BBQ asks about the merits of wood pellets and Glenn Erho of House of Q wonders if there's a better way to clean the cooking grates of his Smokey Mountain Cooker.

Podcast #5  Recipe: Marinade for Pork

Since Craig and I talked about marinades, here's one of my favorites:

Pork tastes great no matter how you prepare them, but this sweet, aromatic marinade nicely offsets the richness of pork and gives it an exotic edge. You can use this for ribs, chops or tenderloins.

Combine ingredients in a saucepan and heat gently until sugar is dissolved.  Cool before marinating meat in a sealable bag for at least an hour, or overnight in the fridge if you want a stronger flavour.

Rockin' Ronnie Shewchuk is the author of Planking Secrets: How to Grill with Wooden Planks for Unbeatable Barbecue Flavor, and Barbecue Secrets: Unbeatable Recipes, Tips & Tricks from a Barbecue Champion, published by Whitecap Books. 

Welcome to the fourth edition of the Barbecue Secrets podcast, a show celebrating the many pleasures of outdoor cooking. E-mail questions, tips and suggestions to rockinronnie@ronshewchuk.com. In this edition:

• An interview with Barbecue Queen Karen Adler
• Talking with Johan Olsen of Cobb Canada about a great charcoal-fueled portable cooker, the Cobb
• Competition Corner -- Tequilas at dawn

Links

Visit the Barbecue Queens' website. Find more info about the Cobb in Canada, or internationally.

Podcast #4 Guest Recipe

This divinely delicious recipe for grilling flak steak is reprinted with permission from The BBQ Queens' Big Book of Barbecue by Karen Adler and Judith Fertig (Harvard Common Press, 2005)

Grilled Flank, Skirt, Hangar, or Other Thin Steak

The whole steak scene had gotten a bit ho-hum. Very predictable. You knew what cuts were available: rib-eye, strip, sirloin, flank. You knew what to do with them. And then, all of a sudden, things changed. There were new cuts and names, such as beef bavette and skirt, hangar, flat iron, patio, and charcoal steak. Whassup? (as a hip-hop queen might ask).

The change is partly a result of consumer interest in ethnic foods, hence the loose-grained skirt steak (the diaphragm muscle on a steer and the first choice for making great fajitas) and the beef bavette (cut from the flank for the French bistro steak and frites combo). Both can be hard to find at the grocery store but are readily available at butcher shops and from online vendors such as Niman Ranch.

In addition, the National Cattlemen's Beef Association, based in Colorado, has championed new �moderately priced� options such as the flat iron steak, cut from the beef chuck, and the western griller, cut from the bottom round. Cube steak, a.k.a. minute steak, has been around for a while. It is cut from the round and cubed twice to tenderize this tasty but tough piece of meat and make it great for grilling (a minute per side, not surprisingly). The hangar steak comes from the flank and is actually a thick muscle. It is much tougher than flank steak but is a bistro favorite and is also referred to as onglet.

All of these steaks have a chewy texture but great beef flavor. You need to tenderize them either by marinating them for at least an hour (preferably eight hours) or pounding them with a meat tenderizer or mallet. Then you grill them over a hot fire to medium-rare. The final crucial step is slicing them properly to serve. Before you marinate a steak, locate the direction of the grain in the meat, which is easy to do. The grain consists of the lines of muscle fiber, which usually go in one direction. File that information away, grill your steak, and cut the meat against the grain, on the diagonal, holding your knife at a 45-degree angle (so it's slanted, not straight up and down). Perfecto!

For the marinade, we suggest Garlic-Citrus Marinade and the Smoked Garlic Cilnatro Cream Sauce is an excellent serving sauce. They follow below.

Serves 4

1 1/2 pounds beef bavette or flank, skirt, hangar, flat iron, or western griller steak

1. Place the marinade and steak in a sealable plastic bag and refrigerate for at least 1 hour or up to 8 hours.

2. Prepare a hot fire in a grill.

3. Remove the meat from the marinade and pat dry. Grill for 2 to 3 minutes per side for medium-rare. Let the meat rest for 5 minutes, then cut against the grain, on the diagonal and at a 45-degree angle, into slices about 1/4 inch thick. Serve warm.

Garlic-Citrus Marinade

This is a delicious way to marinate skirt, sirloin, or flank steak, but it's also good with chicken, pork, lamb, fish, or vegetables. Guess we like this with everything! Makes about 3/4 cup

1/4 cup fresh lime juice (4 to 5 limes)

1/4 cup fresh orange juice (1 to 2 oranges)

2 cloves garlic, minced 2 tablespoons olive oil

2 tablespoons red wine vinegar

2 tablespoons chopped fresh Italian parsley

1 teaspoon dried oregano

Place all the ingredients in a small jar with a tight-fitting lid. Cover and shake to blend. This marinade will keep in the refrigerator for up to 1 week.

Smoked Garlic and Cilantro Cream Sauce

Delicious served with grilled or smoked meats. If you don't want to use smoked garlic, substitute two minced garlic cloves for a sharper but still delicious flavor. Makes about 2 1/2 cups

2 cups heavy cream

1/2 cup fresh cilantro leaves, plus more for garnish

3 tablespoons fresh lime juice

1/2 teaspoon kosher or sea salt 6 cloves garlic, smoked (see page 000) and peeled

1. In a blender or food processor, combine all the ingredients and process until smooth.

2. Transfer the puree to a medium-size saucepan over medium-high heat and cook until the sauce begins to bubble. Serve immediately.

Rockin' Ronnie Shewchuk is the author of Barbecue Secrets: Unbeatable Recipes, Tips & Tricks from a Barbecue Champion, published by Whitecap Books. Find him, and more recipes, at www.ronshewchuk.com.

Welcome to the third edition of the Barbecue Secrets podcast, a 29:15 minute show celebrating the many pleasures of outdoor cooking. In this edition:

• An interview with Jackie Weight of Mad Cows Barbecue
• Answers to listener questions about warm-up time for your grill, (24:48) BARBECUE SECRET OF THE WEEK: how to avoid food sticking to the grill and (26:09) when to use granulated garlic (22:49)
• Competition Secret of the week: one word: plenitude!

Links: Jackie and Rick Weight's website, visit www.americanbbq.co.uk. 

This week's recipe: Stuffed Tenderloin of Pork

• Ingredients:
  • 1 whole pork tenderloin (weighing around 1-11/2 lbs)
  • 1 small red onion - finely chopped
  • 5 oz. mushrooms - finely chopped
  • 1 oz. butter or olive oil
  • Pinch of dried sage
  • Pinch of dried thyme
  • 4 oz fresh breadcrumbs
  • Grated rind of 1 lemon
  • 2 tablespoons lemon juice
  • 1oz toasted pine nut kernels
  • 4 tablespoons fresh chopped parsley
  • 6 cardamom pods (seeds only - finely ground)
  • 3 teaspoons of sweet chilli sauce (more if you like it hot)
  • 4 tablespoons fresh chopped coriander (cilantro)
  • 4 oz dried apricots - very finely chopped
  • Fresh Spinach
  • Black Pudding / Blood Sausage
  • Butter for brushing the meat
  • Bacon

Fry the onion and mushrooms in olive oil or butter until tender, transfer to a bowl and add the sage, thyme, breadcrumbs, lemon rind, lemon juice, pine nut kernels, parsley, cardamom, coriander and chilli sauce; mix well, season to taste.

Take the pork tenderloin and butterfly it (split lengthways). Place a piece of cling wrap underneath it and one on top and beat it out to a thin square.

Remove the top piece of cling wrap, brush meat with butter and lay spinach leaves (remove any tough stalks from the spinach leaves) so that the whole meat surface area is covered. Take the filling mix and spread it over the spinach - use your fingers to get an even covering.

Now take the black pudding / blood sausage, remove casing and cut in half lengthways, mould the finely chopped dried apricots to form it into a full sausage shape again and place along the length of the meat / stuffing area.

Using the remaining piece of cling wrap to help you, roll the whole thing up (similar to a Swiss roll or roulade). Dispose of cling wrap.

Once rolled, wrap the bacon around the whole piece of meat in a spiral so that you have completely covered the meat. Roll up with a fresh piece of cling wrap and refrigerate until ready to cook (best to leave this for at least 1 hour to allow the flavours to infuse).

Cook in a roasting pan, over indirect heat on a barbecue, or in the oven at 350F for approximately 1 hour or until a meat thermometer inserted into the centre reads 170F. Deglaze the roasting pan with a little white wine and add 1 oz of butter to make a sauce if desired.

Allow meat to rest for at least 15 minutes and serve cut into approx 3/4 inch slices.

Rockin' Ronnie Shewchuk is the author of Barbecue Secrets: Unbeatable Recipes, Tips & Tricks from a Barbecue Champion, published by Whitecap Books.