Ben Tish - Grill Smoke BBQ

Setting out on this project was very exciting for us at Ember Yard, and we were determinedto make it different (hopefully) from other barbecue books out there, and to showyou how versatile barbecuing can be. Venturing beyond the ubiquitous pulled pork,brisket and wings yes, these are there too weve favoured lighter dishes, withmore fish, vegetables and even desserts, all making the most of the barbecues magic.

My own passion for grilling over charcoal and wood is deep-seated, but it began ina typically British fashion. When I was growing up, the annual dusting down of thefamily barbecue and its utensils at the beginning of summer may have been predictable,but it was still full of expectation. Back then it was more about the ceremony oflighting the fire and the anticipation, rather than the actual results: dubious sausagesand 70%-meat-content(!) burgers; perhaps some very well-done, leathery steak; anda nod to the vegetarians, with some corn-on-the-cob.

Fast forward to the present. The ceremony is still as exciting as ever somethingto do with our primal instinct to light a fire for cooking, the smell of smoke andthe lick of flame almost hypnotizing. But now its all about the flavour: the smoky,rich taste of food cooked over an open fire is one of lifes true pleasures, andtheres really nothing like it.

Whether youre cooking herb-stuffed sea bream, a rare-breed Dexter rib steak, a wholechicken, or an anchovy-spiked leg of lamb, the charcoal and wood work their magic.

Having travelled through many parts of Spain and Italy including the Basque Country,Rioja, Tuscany and Piedmont Ive witnessed first-hand the true art of grilling.In these regions, cooking over an open flame is second nature, and many houses andrestaurants have a grilling contraption out the back, or indeed in the actual kitchen.

One of the best pieces of beef Ive ever eaten was a Chianina T-bone grilled overthe simplest of fires in Florences Trattoria Sostanza, the meat expertly blackenedand gently perfumed with smoke from hazel-wood charcoal. The two guys running thegrill were captivating in their deftness and skill (not to mention their abilityto hang a fag from their lips throughout), and completely in tune with the naturalrhythm of the fire and smoke.

Traditional Basque grills especially fascinate me, with their distinctive operatingwheel that precisely raises or lowers the grilling racks to allow food to be cookedquickly, slowly, or anything in between. Chef Victor Arguinzoniz of Asador Etxebarri,in the rolling hills of the Basque countryside, has turned grilling into a true artform.He is in control of the entire process, from chopping down the various trees forthe wood, drying the logs and then burning them in a furnace to make the charcoal.Victor even designed his own custom Basque grill to meet his exacting requirements.Perhaps unsurprisingly, then, the food from Etxebarri is some of the best Ive had.Its incredibly simple, just one or two elements on the plate, and thats it butthese elements all have a controlled, balanced and relevant smokiness to them thatcould only come from Victors intuitive cooking and years of practice.

Etxebarri is a unique experience, and one that cant really be replicated, not leastbecause of its location a backdrop of a grassy mountainside dotted with Basquesheep makes it an ethereal experience! However, much can be learnt from this approach,even by a novice: the importance of sourcing the best ingredients you can find, alongwith natural (chemical-free) charcoal and a fundamental understanding of how fireand smoke work

Nowadays, excellent produce is available from artisan butchers, fishmongers, grocersand even some supermarkets, so theres no need to go down the dodgy sausage routeany more unless you really feel compelled to. And theres plenty of wonderful,slow-burning charcoal out there we like to use single-species varieties of charcoal,such as oak, silver birch, hazel and apple. Their subtle flavours permeate the foodwithout any overpowering acridity, and you can experiment by matching specific woodswith different foods. Great fun.

So, what to cook on? Times have changed, and the choice of barbecues is staggering!The masses have embraced the Weber, kettle-style barbecue and all the accessoriesthat go with it, right down to the gloves and tongs. And very good they are too:the chimney starter is a genius idea, speeding up the whole lighting process andenabling you to top up the coals as you go. Then theres the Big Green Egg, whichis very special but also very expensive, thanks to its NASA-designed insulation thatlets you crank up the heat to ridiculously high temperatures. At Ember Yard ourgrill restaurant in Berwick Street, Soho we use a pimped-up Robata-style grill,as favoured by the Japanese. Our new one is a beast, with a wheel and hoist to raiseit up and lower it down for different cooking styles, and it really is the business.But actually all you need is a sturdy, robust barbecue with a large surface area,and a lid so you can smoke food. Personally, Im not a huge fan of the gas barbecue,but if you have one, by all means use it for these recipes; youll just end up withdifferent flavours.

We want to encourage you to think of barbecuing and grilling as a year-round methodof cooking just an extension of the way you cook in your kitchen, using whatsbest and in season. Dont be afraid to light the coals on a cold winters afternoon.

Yes, it may be chilly, but wrap up warm and get cooking you can always eat inside.Besides, the British summer is usually way too short to miss out on the fantasticsmoky flavours and ceremony of cooking over charcoal and wood at other times of theyear.

Of course, stereotypically, barbecuing is seen as a male-dominated pastime, but wethink otherwise. We hope the contents of this book will make the whole experienceeasy and fun for everyone to try. Its time to embrace the barbecue and grill! Moveon from the ubiquitous summer barbecues and take it up a gear, whatever the weather.

Nearly all these recipes involve using the barbecue one way or another. Some dishes,such as the larger sharing plates, are cooked entirely on the barbecue, while forothers, just one or two elements might be barbecued.

Of course, its not really practical to wheel out the barbecue, light and set itjust to grill some strawberries for dessert (although Ive been guilty of that before!),so I encourage you to use the barbecue for a full meal, or a few dishes, perhapscooking something else in advance, to make the most of the effort involved.

Some of the recipes are quick to prepare and cook, while others require more timefor smoking, marinating or brining, followed by a longer cooking time. Its bestto read a recipe through first and find out what suits the timeframe you have inmind. Personally, I love getting stuck into a couple of recipes over the weekendthat require time and prep and make a fun project of it.