Central Texas BBQ – 36 hours in the smoke

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Standing in line in the baking Texas sun, slowly turning into lizards, necks getting redder. The free beer gets absorbed and sweated out in seconds. But you’re not alone, the line is around the block. All for a taste of some of the best BBQ in Austin. If queue length is testament then the 4 hour waiting time for Franklin BBQ makes it the best in town. Thankfully Franklins was closed when I visited Austin and the 2 hour wait in line for La Barbecue seemed like a cinch in comparison. We had 2 days or 36 hours to eat and experience as much BBQ as possible and had no time to waste. Continue reading →

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Backyard Brummies at Grillstock Bristol 2015 – KOTG Report and Rub Recipe

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Double tops!

My buddy Nick “Professor Brisket” Loman and I started the Backyard Brummies 4 years ago in an unusual fit of bravado. It went something like “Let’s do a BBQ competition, I mean how hard is it to cook competition BBQ?” It turns out it’s pretty straightforward to do, all you have to do is turn up with the right equipment and drink lots of beer. But to do it well takes some luck, determination and a plan. The plan this year was to keep doing what we do with ribs and brisket and try not to mess up too bad on chicken and pulled pork. Here’s how the plan went down. Continue reading →

Carters @ Loaf

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Collaborative veg

The news had come in this Monday that Carters of Moseley were number 87 in the National Restaurant Awards 2015. Along with Purnells (88) they alone from Brum were recognised by their industry peers. Of course Brad and Holly had been invited to the award ceremony but had to decline because Carters were popping up at Loaf Bakery and Cooking School in Stirchley. It had been coming, after talking about it for a while, a collaboration between the two was well overdue. I was lucky enough to get to design and cook the menu with them.

A full set of photos from the evening can be found on this link.

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Canelé, recipe and notes

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Objet d'art

Objet d’art

It’s all the rage, apparently. Though something as well known and classic as a canelé is, in my mind, immune to the trends and foibles of the mewling fooderati. Let’s get this straight, a canelé (can-eh-lay) is not just a chichi sponge cake baked into that characteristic fluted shape. If the dark caramelised shell doesn’t crackle like a chewy brûlée hiding a barely set lacey custard then it’s just not right! It’s these very properties that make canelés so special. Continue reading →

Beef Cheek Pastrami Recipe Redux

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A knife through hot pastrami

Humans like pastrami. Thick juicy slabs of it dripping from a toasted sandwich, melty cheese glueing the crimson meat to sharp sauerkraut and sweet russian dressing. Oh it seems I’ve just described my favourite sandwich, the Reuben! But the reality is in the UK the pastrami that we normally encounter is the equivalent to cheap wafer thin ham. Next time you eat any sandwich described as “New York” ask yourself how close are you actually getting to the soft, juicy, meaty, sweet, spicy pastrami or saltbeef of that city. Continue reading →

Hanoi Old Quarter, noodles, herbs, calamansi and a squatting guide

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Real streetfood

Real streetfood

Still digesting. It’s been almost a month but the other worldliness of the streetfood in Hanoi’s Old Quarter takes some processing. Four nights and nearly forty dishes later I think the surface has been scratched, just need any slight excuse now to go back and dig deeper. I’ve been cooking at home trying to understand, recalibrate my palate so I can communicate and reinterpret with the ingredients I have available in the UK. Underlying everything is one simple concept, freshness. Vibrancy is an oft used term in describing food. The dishes and produce in Hanoi will make me think twice about using “vibrant” again for anything less! Continue reading →

Sweet Pickled Herring

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Sweet herring and beetroot

Sweet pickled herring and beetroot

I love a shiny fish, my favourite is mackerel, cheap plentiful and delicious when in season. In the summer it’s sardine. Few foods are better than a grilled mackerel or sardine. They dont even have to be cooked, a light cure or pickling and it makes the best sushi. Hikari mono is the japanese catch-all term for shiny fish sushi. To my eyes the shimmering iridescence is so appetising, it’s always the sushi item I look forward to the most. Especially in Japan, kohada or gizzard shad is sublime. Continue reading →

UK Burger Battle 2

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The Gone Burger from The Flying Cows

The Gone Burger from The Flying Cows

Belated photos from the last UK Burger Battle 15th Feb on this clickity link here (perfectly safe for work).

On the night London posse Gone Burger beat local beef slingers The Flying Cows in the diners and judges vote. Well done guys, their burger was a classic chargrilled pattie in a sesame seed bun. It was well seasoned and the simplicity of it won over the diners. The Flying Cows burger looked fantastic but the pulled pork did nothing for the burger. The beef itself was superior tasting but really under seasoned. A shame because a local win would have been great!

Another fabulous event from Ahmed and the team, so good it won the readers award for best event in Birmingham on designmynight.com. The next one is 26th April and you can get your tickets here.

Kimdooya, a kind of nduja, an expression of pig fat and chilli

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None more red

None more red

Nduja (en-doo-ya) is a lethally spicy but incredibly addictive spreadable salami from Calabria, Southern Italy. It gets it fearsome heat and blood red colour from the local Calabrian chillies, scorched by the sun to a vicious intensity. You don’t need a lot of n’duja melted on a pizza to make it special. Three or four blobs on a nice chewy base and you’re good. Or a small dollop melted in a pan throw in pasta and some seafood, forget about it! Continue reading →

Sheng Jian Bao 生煎包

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Dumplings like

 

I remember the first streetfood experience we had in Taiwan were these Sheng Jian Bao. They are incredible pan fried dumplings filled with juicy pork. It set the tone really for what was an incredible eating holiday. Sheng Jian Bao are a Shanghai speciality related closely to the more famous Xiao Long Bao soup dumplings. The filling is identical, the difference is that the wrapping is a yeasted dough and they’re pan fried with a crispy bottom. Much more robust than XLB. So if you’re rubbish with chopsticks you’re less likely to burst them and lose Chineser points. Continue reading →