Fired Up

RECIPES BY GENEVIEVE TAYLOR

W hen you get it right, food cooked with fire quite simply tastes amazing—especially meat. Even as a committed omnivore who adores vegetables cooked over fire, there is no denying that meat forms the backbone of good barbecue, notes fire cooking specialist Genevieve Taylor in the intro of her new book, “Seared: The Ultimate Guide to Barbecuing Meat.” Meat and fire were simply made for each other. The savory celebration of that partnership brings together the joy of being outdoors with deliciously prepared meats such as the following recipes from her book for juicy tri-tip with sauces, pork and steak kebabs, or what she describes as insanely good pork ribs. –mary subialka

BALSAMIC PORK KEBABS, PESTO DRESSING

MAKES 8 KEBABS

Vinegar is a wonderful acidic tenderizer but the slight sweetness to this marinade means the kebabs can burn over too high a heat, so be prepared to cook slightly away from the fire for a little longer. (You will need 8 metal skewers.)

4 tablespoons balsamic vinegar 3 tablespoons olive oil 1 tablespoon brown sugar 3 garlic cloves, crushed 1 teaspoon smoked paprika 2 pound-10 ounce pork leg, diced into 1¼–1½ inch cubes 1 bunch (about 6) scallions, cut into 1½-inch lengths Flaked sea salt and freshly ground black pepper, to taste

2 ounces pine nuts 1 ounce basil, leaves and stems, roughly torn 1½ ounces Parmesan, grated 6 tablespoons olive oil Juice of ½ lemon 1 garlic clove, crushed

1. Mix together the balsamic vinegar, olive oil, brown sugar, garlic and smoked paprika in a bowl. Season with salt and pepper, add the pork and toss together to coat. Cover and refrigerate for 12 to 24 hours. 2. To make the pesto, tip the pine nuts into a small skillet and set over a medium heat. Toast for a couple of minutes until golden, then tip into a food processor. Add the basil, Parmesan, olive oil, lemon juice and garlic along with a little salt and pepper. Blitz to a purée then scoop into a bowl. I always think pesto tastes best when freshly made, but you can make a few hours ahead if you prefer. You can also make by hand by chopping everything and pounding to a paste in a mortar and pestle. 3. When you are ready to cook, fire up the barbecue ready for direct and indirect grilling. Thread the pork onto metal skewers, alternating it with the spring onion/scallion. Cook, taking care to keep the kebabs a little away from the fierce infrared heat directly over the fire: Rest kebabs on the grill bars, slightly away from the fire so they cook over a medium heat and cook on all sides for 15 to 20 minutes. Use a meat thermometer to check the temperature, taking care the tip doesn’t touch the metal skewer or you will get a false reading. Pork is safe to eat at 145°F for medium or take it up to 160°F for well done. Serve the kebabs with the pesto dressing on the side.

Cook’s Note: Pork leg is a lean cut compared to shoulder and can become dry with long cooking, so it’s ideally suited for quick cooks like these kebabs. Increasing the surface area of meat, by slicing or dicing, is a brilliant way to maximize the effectiveness of a marinade since marinades only ever penetrate a few millimeters in, so quite simply more surface area equals more flavor.

MAKES 4 SERVINGS

Rump tail or tri-tip is a triangular cut from the bottom tip of the sirloin, so you get two per cow, one either side. It’s a tender and tasty cut cooked hot and fast, but do take a careful look at your meat before you cook it—although it’s one single muscle, the grain actually runs in two different directions. To ensure that all-important cutting across the grain, you need to slice it in one direction to the point where the grain changes, about in the middle, then turn through 90 degrees and slice it in the other direction. Also, because of its triangular shape, the thin end does have a tendency to be done before the fat end.

2 pounds, 4 ounces rump tail 1 tablespoon flaked sea salt, plus more to taste

Freshly ground black pepper, to taste

3½ ounces walnuts

Bunch of fresh tarragon (½ ounce), leaves and fine stalks, roughly chopped 1 garlic clove, chopped 3½ ounces extra-virgin olive oil 2 tablespoons white wine vinegar

2 large red peppers 2 ounces whole blanched almonds 1 slice of slightly stale sourdough bread, torn into chunks 5 tablespoons olive oil 3 garlic cloves, crushed ½ teaspoon smoked paprika 1–2 teaspoons sherry vinegar, to taste

3 garlic cloves, chopped

Large bunch (about 3½ ounces) flat-leaf parsley, larger stalks discarded, chopped 2 tablespoons fresh oregano leaves 2 long red chilies, chopped 3½ ounces (7 tablespoons) olive oil

Juice of ½–1 lemon, to taste

Pinch superfine sugar

1. Begin by dry-brining the steak: Simply sprinkle the salt all over and place on a rack set over a tray. Slide into the fridge for 24 hours if you have time. 2. Decide on your sauce and get that ready. If you are making romesco, go ahead and fire up the barbecue first as you need it to grill the peppers; for the other two sauces, begin inside. Either way, when you are ready to cook, fire up your barbecue ready for direct grilling but leaving half of your grill coal-free so you can maneuver if things are getting too hot. 3. To make the walnut and tarragon pesto, tip the walnuts into a small fireproof skillet and toast over a medium heat for a couple RUMP TAIL OR TRI-TIP, PLUS THREE STEAK SAUCES AND STEAK, SPRING ONION AND GINGER SKEWERS WITH CHILI PEANUT OIL

of minutes. Add to a food processor along with the tarragon, garlic, olive oil and white wine vinegar and blend to a smooth paste. Season to taste with salt and freshly ground black pepper and scoop into a bowl. Set aside. 4. For the romesco sauce, set the red peppers onto the grill bars directly over the fire. Grill for around 20 minutes, rotating regularly until they are soft and lightly charred. Remove from the heat and put in a bowl. Cover and allow to cool for a few minutes, then peel and slice in half, removing the seeds and stems. Add to the bowl of a food processor. Toast the almonds in a dry skillet over a medium heat for a couple of minutes until they are golden. You can do this on the barbecue by setting the pan slightly off the fire, or on the stove inside. Add to the food processor, along with the bread, olive oil, garlic and smoked paprika. Blitz until smooth, adding just enough cold water to make a smooth paste. Season with a little vinegar and salt and black pepper to taste, then scoop into a bowl and set aside. 5. For the chimichurri, add the garlic to a mortar and pestle and crush. Add the parsley, oregano and chilies and pound together.

Stir through the olive oil, lemon juice and sugar to taste and season with a little salt and pepper. Scoop into a bowl and set aside. 6. When you are ready to cook your steak, make sure your grill is really good and hot, adding extra charcoal to the fire if necessary if you’ve been grilling the peppers for romesco. Drizzle a little oil over the rump tail and rest on the grill bars directly over the fire, turning every 30 seconds or so, to build up a good crust all over. Using a meat thermometer, check the temperature of the meat at the thickest point—125°F for rare, 132°F for medium-rare. If the thin end is overcooking but the thick end isn’t ready, rotate the steak so the thinner end stays farther from the fire each time you turn. 7. Set the steak on a board and carve into thick slices before eating with your chosen sauce. If you want to rest the steak before carving, be sure to remove it a few degrees below eating temperature to allow for carryover cooking.

Cook’s Notes: Other favorite thinner steaks (¾ inch or less) for quick, hot and fast cooking include: Skirt, bavette (flank or goose skirt), feather blade and flat iron.

MAKES 8 KEBABS

I love using bavette (also known as flank) steak for kebabs: sliced across the grain and ribboned onto sticks it cooks quickly and stays tender. You could substitute it for hanger (onglet) too. It also stands up to a good long marinade for maximum flavor—48 hours wouldn’t hurt—and the chili oil gets better after a couple of days, so start early if you can. Then the cooking is a breeze. Served with steamed rice and something green like stir-fried asparagus or broccoli, this is insanely good and fast. (You will need 8 metal skewers.) –genevieve taylor

1 pound, 12 ounces quick-cooking steak, such as flank, skirt or hanger is ideal 1 bunch (about 6) spring onions/scallions, cut into 1¼-1½ inch lengths 2 ounces fresh root ginger, grated 4 tablespoons soy sauce ½-1 teaspoon Chinese five-spice, or to taste (it’s quite a strong spice blend)

Freshly ground black pepper, to taste

1 cup vegetable oil 2 ounces salted peanuts, chopped 2 ounces dried chili flakes 4 garlic cloves, sliced 1 banana shallot, finely chopped 2 teaspoons flaked sea salt

1. Rest the steak on a board and use a large sharp knife to cut into ½-inch strips, making sure you cut across the grain. Toss into a bowl and add the spring onions/scallions, ginger, soy sauce, fivespice and a generous grind of black pepper. Toss to mix, cover and refrigerate for 24 to 48 hours. 2. At the same time, make the chili oil as it improves after a day or so. Pour the oil into a small heavy-based saucepan and set over a low heat on the stove. Add the peanuts, chili flakes, garlic, shallots and salt and simmer really gently for a good 30 minutes until the chili is crispy and the peanuts, garlic and spring onions/shallot are golden. Leave to cool in the pan before transferring to a screw-top jar or a bowl with a lid. Once cold, slide into the fridge where it will keep for a good month, although I guarantee it won’t last that long. 3. When you are ready to cook, thread the meat onto the skewers, ribboning the slices a few times on the sticks, and alternating them with pieces of spring onion. 4. Fire up your barbecue ready for direct grilling—the skewers cook quickly, so you shouldn’t need to use too much fuel (just half a chimney or so, if you are using the best quality charcoal). 5. Sear the skewers over a high direct heat for 5 to 7 minutes with the lid open, turning regularly. Cooking with the lid open means you are only using direct radiant heat from the charcoal plus conduction heat from the grill bars, so you have a good chance of a getting a lovely caramelized sear on the meat before it overcooks. Serve immediately with the crispy chili oil alongside. BEIGNETS

MAKES 4 TO 6 SERVINGS

This insanely good roast pork belly recipe breaks all the rules of marinating as it contains quite a lot of sugar, which could burn very easily on a barbecue. The trick is to cook it indirectly, at a fairly low to moderate heat. You will still get a lot of lovely browning and sticky caramelization, which may surprise you— but remember that the marvelous Maillard reactions happen at low temperatures as well as high ones (see Cook’s Note). Traditionally maltose is the sugar of choice, although a neutral-tasting honey is a good substitute. Beware, maltose is exceedingly thick and sticky. Use a spoon warmed in boiling water to scoop it out and into a small bowl, then give it a few seconds in a microwave to melt before using in the marinade. Pork belly, sliced into ribs, is essentially the same as spare ribs but just extra meaty and with less butchering involved, so you could substitute spare ribs if you like.

4½ pounds bone-in pork belly 4 tablespoons soy sauce 3 tablespoons rice wine 3 tablespoons hoisin sauce 3 tablespoons maltose, warmed, or runny honey 1 tablespoon molasses 1 tablespoon sesame oil 1 tablespoon tomato ketchup 3 garlic cloves, crushed 1 ounce fresh ginger root, grated 1½ teaspoons Chinese five-spice 1 teaspoon white pepper, ideally freshly ground

1. Take your pork belly and use a very sharp knife to remove the rind, cutting between the skin and fat below with gentle sweeping strokes. Cut the belly into slices, following the bones, so you get really thick, meaty ribs. At the ends the pieces may be rather more triangular than long and rib-shaped, which is just fine. Set in a shallow dish in a single snug layer. 2. Make the marinade by stirring together the soy, rice wine, hoisin, warmed maltose or honey, molasses, sesame oil and tomato ketchup. Add the garlic, ginger, five-spice and white pepper and stir well to combine. Pour over the pork and toss it about to mix thoroughly. Cover the dish and set in the fridge for 24 hours if you have time; 48 hours wouldn’t hurt. 3. When you’re ready to cook, fire up your grill ready for indirect grilling, with a fire piled to one side of your barbecue. You are aiming to have a temperature of around 260–280°F inside the barbecue, so shut air vents right down to keep the temperature steady. 4. Rest the pork onto the grill bars, arranging it so the pieces are as far from the fire as possible. Reserve the extra marinade left in the dish. Shut the lid and cook for around 4 to 5 hours, maybe a little more, turning and rotating the pieces every 45 minutes or so and brushing with a little of the extra marinade as you go. You are aiming for a soft and yielding texture, so test by easing the meat from the bone. If it’s resistant, cook for longer. As long as the meat is far from the fire, the cooking here is really rather hands off. Serve hot and sticky, straight from the grill. Cook’s Note: Maillard was a French chemist who first described the phenomenon in 1912. More than just caramelization, which is simply the burning of sugars, Maillard is a chemical reaction sequence that begins between a simple sugar molecule and a protein, or amino acid, creating an unstable intermediate structure. This then goes on to react again and again and again in a series of simultaneous chain reactions that produce literally hundreds of new flavor molecules. It’s no wonder we find browned food irresistible. Maillard reactions are the backbone of good cooking and good eating: Things that have undergone its reaction process simply taste of more. ■

CHAR SIU PORK BELLY

nutrition (per serving)

ONLY) CALORIES: 315, FAT: 16G (SAT: 7G), CHOLESTEROL: 91 MG, SODIUM: 1830 MG, CARB: 0G, FIBER: 0G, SUGAR: 0G, PROTEIN: 56G

Pesto: CALORIES: 380, FAT: 41G (SAT: 5 G), CHOLESTEROL: 0 MG, SODIUM: 0 MG, CARB: 4G, FIBER: 2G, SUGAR: <1G, PROTEIN: 4G

Romesco Sauce: CALORIES:

280, FAT: 25G (SAT: 3 G), CHOLESTEROL: 0 MG, SODIUM: 55 MG, CARB: 12G, FIBER: 3G, SUGAR: 3G, PROTEIN: 5G

CALORIES: 240, FAT: 25G (SAT: 3.5G), CHOLESTEROL: 0 MG, SODIUM: 15 MG, CARB: 6G, FIBER: 1G, SUGAR: 2G, PROTEIN: 1G

CALORIES: 294, FAT: 20G (SAT: 4G), CHOLESTEROL: 67 MG, SODIUM: 240 MG, CARB: 6G, FIBER: <1G, SUGAR: 4G, PROTEIN: 36G

You can set out your fire in different ways depending on what you are cooking and how long it is going to take. What you never, ever want to do is fill the base of your barbecue with an even layer of lit fuel. This would ruin your ability to create the all-important “heat zones” and would give you no temperature control whatsoever. Things would just be HOT. So the fuel needs to go in one area while another area is left entirely fuel-free. This gives you direct vs indirect cooking, the absolute linchpin to mastering barbecue cooking. These are different fire set-ups I go to as standard in my kettle barbecue: n Half and half: My most used set-up. Lit coals on one half, no fuel on the other. The amount of heat energy is greatest directly over the fire, and falls away in a left to right gradient the further away, or more indirectly, you go. n Two fires: If I am roasting a chicken or big joint of meat, I usually light two small fires, one to either side of the barbecue, with a good-sized fire-free gap in the center. This means the food gets a steady, even amount of heat from both sides, meaning you won’t need to rotate it mid-cook to make sure both sides get the same amount of heat. n Center fire: If I’m cooking a lot of small things— like chicken wings—I will light a fire in the center and arrange them in a ring around the perimeter of the barbecue. This way each wing is equidistant to the fire, getting the same amount of heat for a more even cook. I might use this way for sausages too. —genevieve taylor

CALORIES: 490, FAT: 47G (SAT: 8 G), CHOLESTEROL: 31 MG, SODIUM: 1160 MG, CARB: 5G, FIBER: 1G, SUGAR: 1G, PROTEIN: 25G

CALORIES: 637, FAT: 46G (SAT: 16G), CHOLESTEROL: 154 MG, SODIUM: 1120 MG, CARB: 20G, FIBER: 0G, SUGAR: 16G, PROTEIN: 62G