Ted Reader - Gastro Grilling: Fired-Up Recipes to Grill Great Everyday Meals

GASTRO GRILLING

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First published 2013

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Copyright Ted Reader, 2013

All rights reserved. Without limiting the rights under copyright reserved above, no part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in or introduced into a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any means (electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording or otherwise), without the prior written permission of both the copyright owner and the above publisher of this book.

Manufactured in the U.S.A.

Food photographer: Mike McColl

Assistant food photographer: Lee Waddington

Principal food stylist: Mia Bachmaier

LIBRARY AND ARCHIVES CANADA CATALOGUING IN PUBLICATION

Reader, Ted

Gastro grilling : fired-up recipes to grill great everyday meals / Ted Reader.

ISBN 978-0-14-318822-3

1. Barbecuing. 2. Cookbooks. I. Title.

TX840.B3R4235 2013 641.5784 C2013-901204-4

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To the loves of my life, my wife, Pamela, and my children, Layla and Jordan, you are my inspiration. Thank you, my family, for all you do for me.

INTRODUCTION

WHAT IS GASTRO GRILLING?

The word gastro comes from gastronomy, and most people seem to think that means pretentious. Understandable, given the way the word is thrown around these days. It shouldnt be known this way, but it sort of is. For the last 10 years or so, we have seen the word gastro get itself attached to endless other words. Probably best known are the gastro pubs still popping up all over the place.

Gastro does not imply pretentious when Im involved. Gastronomy means the art and science of good eating. There are other definitions in play, but I like this one. Its simple and the truth and unpretentious, like me and my food. Gastro grilling is aimed at the man or woman who, like me, loves to fire up the grill any time of the year and turn an everyday meal into a gastronomic delight. They fancy themselves gastronomes and consider grilling and cooking over the hot fire a hobby, not a chore.

Food is a thing we nourish ourselves with. We all know at least one person for whom food is a big nuisance. It gets eaten over sinks and in cars and is rarely tasted and appreciated. Its kind of like filling your gas tank. Anyone who knows me or my books knows that that is as far from what I represent as you can get. Food is for fun and savoring and sharing with friends. There is as much pleasure in its preparation as in its eating. The enthusiastic gastro griller takes pride in their ingredients, sourcing out the best and freshest ingredients as well as mixing in a bit of grocery convenience. They create delicious feasts for the senses right in their own backyards. The gastrosexual is keen to have that deliciousness bring them the spoils of praise, pleasure and possibly even seduction.

I am never happier than when I am in my backyard playing eeny meeny miney mo choosing the grill, or grills, Ill use next. Even happier when I hear the snap, crackle of new wood getting ready for me to start cooking. Happiest of all after Ive singed the hair off both arms and burned myself at least twice. I just love to cook. I love to cook best in my own backyard with my family and friends and kids and dogs all around me. I love to cook any old place at all, as long as theres a grill and some smiles and maybe a few beers in a cooler. But my backyard is where I really get my glow on.

The true purpose of the first gastro pubs in the UK was to take typical bar food and raise it to a level that would surprise even the most discerning palate. They used superior ingredients; often a gastro pub has its own garden for fresh produce. They make their own takes on traditional recipes, and add in a few surprises. How often do you expect to see a Caramel Shrimp Banh Mi on a pub menu? The overall idea seemed to be make it really good, make it affordable and make it fun.

I think we all know that I stand for fun. So the more I heard this term, the more I found myself interested in exploring it. But the more pretentious the establishment I might wander into was, the surer I was that fun was getting lost. Im all about fresh ingredients and twisting things in my own crazy ways. Gastro grilling seemed like something I should, if not invent, at least reinvent. Its about cooking food that I love. In Gastro Grilling, you will find recipes for that special gastrosexual in your family, such as Fire-Roasted Oysters with Crawfish Bacon BBQ Butter (page 44) or Grilled Squid with Grilled Prosciutto-Wrapped Radicchio & Caper Balsamic Sauce (page 312) or Grill-Blackened Turkey Tenderloins with Celery Blue Cheese Salad (page 285). Or what about the ever-succulent Stone-Grilled Butter Burgers (page 148) or Hot English Cheese Steak with Pale Ale & Stilton (page 138)? I could go on for days.

In my professional life, there has always been a battle: am I a gourmet or a gourmand? The Food Lovers Companion defines a gourmet as one of discriminating palate; a connoisseur of fine food and drink food that is of the highest quality, perfectly prepared and artfully presented. A gourmand is defined as one who appreciates fine food often to indiscriminate excess. I would be lying if I didnt admit to the gourmand title, but then gourmet applies too. I appreciate food, and I believe that it is my job to teach people to appreciate it as something more than fuel. Maybe you dont ever sit down and really eat a meal, but that doesnt mean you shouldnt enjoy and appreciate the food you do eat.

For me, gastro means wanting you to have as much fun in your backyard as I have in mine. This book is about food that is of the highest quality you can afford, prepared with fun and passion. Im a fat kid in a candy shop, only the candy shop is a circle of hot smoking and crackling grills and youre along for the ride. I dont care if you have a charcoal grill, a gas grill or even a fire pit in your backyard, I just want you out there in that yard cooking something you love.