Phoenix BBQ

10/07 PHOENIX BBQ

There is a primal heat burning deep in the iron grills of a barbecue claiming their first victim - be it vegetable or meat, none are safe. The scalding flames heat the iron ferociously with every ingredient sacrificed to it transforming in a charred smokey haze. There is more to a barbecue then shrivelled sausages using methods that slightly refined, haven't changed since the dark ages where cooking on an open fire meant survival.

Meat is essential. Imparting new depth and flavour to the grill each time, the fats charring and smoking through each round of cooking. Barbecued meats are best charred on the outside, heated through but then bloody and rare when cut open. Sausages however need thorough cooking because even Mrs. Lovett can't predict the contents, have a little priest? 

Vegetables benefit incredibly from the slow, intense heat. Wrapped in tinfoil cocoons they need only salt and pepper (to draw the moisture) and a little oil (to speed the heating). Clamped in the iron barbecue the metamorphosis from harvest to banquet is mysterious but glorious. Now you know what lies in the fire - shadow and flame - waiting to appear at the table.

Ingredients (all approximate) - 

4 Spicy Sausages (chorizo or chilli pork)
1/4 Red Cabbage
3 Large Zucchini
1/4 Pumpkin
2 Corn
2 Lettuce (cos)
4 Large Mushroom

Salt + Pepper
Nutmeg
Balsamic Vinegar
Olive Oil
Leftover Wine (any)


What I did - 

I dont intend to over complicate barbecuing because i know everyone has they own way. This is just the way i fashioned over the years, from watching family and friends variously cook on gas grills, open fires, buried embers. The vegetables are all self contained and can be improvised with anything else, quantities expanded or simply ignored. Just follow your nose, careful not to burn it.

(Clockwise from Top Left: Cabbage, Lettuce, Pumpkin, Corn, Mushrooms, Sausage, Zucchini)

Sausages: Just have them at the ready, they don't need anything else.
Cabbage: Cut the quarter into thirds, lengthwise. Sprinkle with salt, pepper, a dash of olive oil and then finally a splash of dark vinegar. Wrap up tightly in tinfoil.
Zucchini: Make an incision lengthwise. Dress with salt and pepper to draw out the moisture and a small slick of oil to aid the heat from the bbq. Wrap each one individually, otherwise they will all mush into one.
Pumpkin: Slice the pumpkin into large even discs. Leave the skin and seeds on. Add salt and pepper to the top of each piece. Add some olive oil to help the pumkin cook through faster. Wrap each slice separately for cooking.
Corn: Corn on the cob. Nothing to see here. Leave in their papery skins. Wrap each tightly in tinfoil.
Lettuce: May seem unusual, but cooks to perfection. Cut the base off so that each leaf is separated. Wrap each head in a tinfoil cocoon, make sure its tight or the lettuce will poke out and burn instantly.
Mushroom: Cut the mushrooms in half (quarters if they're huge) and bundle in a tinfoil nest. Dust with salt, pepper and half a nutmeg shaved over the top. Seal the bundle tightly because the mushrooms will release a lot of moisture, which they need in order to thoroughly cook and shrivel.

With the bbq ignited and slowly heating up, start by 'cleaning' it. All this is is wishing the flat grill with a splash of old wine which will loosen the old charred parts and grease. Scrape it down into the bbq and let the fire consume. Now its ready for the foiled harvest.

Put the sausages first on the hottest part - they should be thoroughly cooked through with darkly charred skin. Arrange the rest of vegetables on the different parts of the grill. The trick here is to not worry about over-cooking. Just make sure you rotate all the items around the BBQ, from the hottest points to the coolest.

The tinfoil helps regulate the heat so that if the parcels are flipped and rotated - every 5/10 minutes or so - they will all cook evenly. Darkly. Smokily. Deliciously. If the bbq has a resting rack, you can leave the cooked items to warm first while the rest finished off. Usually sausages first, through to the corn last.

When ready to serve, arrange all the vegetables in a large bowl. Taking care to slowly peel them from their metal cocoons, so that no foil ends up being eaten and that any excess juice is run off. Don't fear burns or blisters (on the food) instead embrace them, they are the soul of the BBQ.

JG

Pagan Pumpkin

06/04 PAGAN PUMPKIN

Every year I used to partake in a ritual burning of the wicker man to celebrate the winter solstice. As I grew up the wicker men sacrificed became more and more elaborate, with old opera props being used to create the most mythical and terrifying creations towering down over us in the black countryside until they gave into the searing flames, billowing heat and light into the glittering heavens.

I thought nothing of it, and came to see it as a normal yearly ritual. It isn't. Its not normal for families to gather and burn giant effigies which I later found out contained everyones old paperwork. However I love having such formative experiences as that. This recipe pays homage to the many years of slightly pagan upbringing. This is edible pagan poetry.

This pumpkin swelled from the garden, and is divided whole before being blasted in the oven akin to the wicker pile. Then serves in a orange beams radiating the heat of the sun. I believe in many pagan ideas. They, like the aztecs who were the most innovative and chic empire around, worship the sun. And the seasons. And the earth. Things that make sense because we live from it. I get confused by the world most of the time. There is definitely a time and place to burn a wicker man, let the catharsis of the flame take you back to a primitive state of mind. If you can't burn a giant stature, make this pumpkin. Same feeling.

Ingredients (all approximate) - 

1 Whole Pumpkin
1 tbls Aleppo Pepper
1 tbls Cajun Seasoning or Smoked Paprika (up to you)
1 Slug of Olive Oil
Salt + Pepper

What I did - Oven preheated to 220

The thing about pumpkins that put most people off is de-seeding them of their squishy tangled guts. Something about that makes your throat jump into your mouth and skin crawl. Here there is no fear of that. Simply slice the pumpkin into wedges along their cresses. If there thick, say ore than four cm across then cut each lump in half again. Leave the skin and seeds on. Stand them up in a deep baking dish so that the thin edges make a landscape of razor thin peaks.

Lubricate the peaks with a liberal slug of olive oil. Dust the pepper, cajun seasoning or paprika over the top so that the orange peaks are flecked with red fire. Crack the salt and pepper over.

Blast in the oven at 220 degrees for about half an hour, then turn the heat down to 160 for two more. The seeds should by now be crunchy, the peaks charred and the fleshy base gloriously soft . All parts of this pumpkin are now more than edible, they are salty, spicy and moorish.

Eat with a decadent medieval roast, or just pagan-ly by themselves paying tribute to the harvest and the sun. Each wedge a charred ray of light beaming straight to our mouthes.

JG