Helen Evans Brown - The complete book of outdoor cookery

The Complete Book of Outdoor Cookery

James Beard and Helen Evans Brown

For John Schaffner

PREFACE

This book is for you, whether you do your charcoal cookery in a portable grill, on the deck of your yacht, or on a stack of bricks in a city back yard. Such cookery may be limited to an occasional campfire at the beach, or it may be that cooking and dining al fresco is the order of your summer day. In any case, you will find information here that will suit your every need.

In recent years all America has become enchanted with outdoor cookery. We love the informality of such a meal, our keen outdoor appetites, and the joy of watching the meat as it cooks to mahogany perfection. But most of all we marvel at the flavor of the food. Restaurateurs, taking heed, were quick to install charcoal broilers and rotisseries in their establishments, and to boast of their foods from the grill. The family cook was not far behind. Although most coals cookery is still done under the sky, more and more luxurious residences are being equipped with kitchen or playroom fireplaces which include grates for broiling, spits for roasting. Whats more, many a family has taken to using a hibachi or other portable grill in the fireplace, and enjoying charcoal-cooked meals throughout the year.

We know that, though cooks may be born ones, theyre not born with experience, and that thats also true of the charcoal cook. It is our hope that this book will keep them from the mistakes that novices at the grill sometimes make, but we want it to be helpful to the old hand as well. For this reason we include everything, from making a fire to roasting a goose and smoking pastrami. When we didnt know the answers, we either experimented until we found them or turned to experts on the subject. To them, and to Philip Brown who did much of our testing and tasting, we give our thanks.

Though we do not attempt to give directions for everything that could be cooked out of doors, we do present some recipes for dishes that are not necessarily prepared over coals. These include dishes that go well with grilled foods and may be cooked in the kitchen oven or in an electric device near the scene of the grilling. There are also recipes for salads which need no heat of any kind. We give many suggestions for menus, including what wines go best with them. Chapters on Camp Cookery, Picnics and Cook-outs, Galley and Trailer Cooking are here, as well as a section on sauces that are as right for the patio as they are for the dining room noted for its haute cuisine. Broiling and roasting have always been high in the field of gastronomy, and it is our aim to introduce more of you to the thrill of the grill.

Helen Evans Brown

James A. Beard

Charbonadoes, or carbonadoes, is meat broyled upon the coals, of divers kinds according to mens pleasures.

GERVASE MARKHAM , The English Housewife, 1649

[Recipes for items printed in bold face may be located by consulting the Index.]

CONTENTS

CHARCOAL GRILLS AND GRILL EQUIPMENT

charcoal grills

So great has become the urge to cook over charcoal that the manufacture of barbecue equipment has become big business. However, an elaborately engineered grill is not necessary to enjoy this newest form of recreation. Your broiling facilities may be a piece of gridded iron, salvaged from an old stove and propped up on a pile of rocks, or it may be a gorgeous stainless steel cookery unit, complete with an adjustable firebox, an electric spit, and other such luxurious accouterments. Whatever your financial circumstances, whatever your available space, you can find some device that will fit your needs, at a cost of from a few cents to several hundred dollars.

MAKESHIFT GRILLS

A grate from an old oven, propped up on bricks, makes a good one if yard space is available. Another popular one is a Chinese wok, or the top of an old hotwater tank, set on a tripod or propped steady with bricks or stones. With this type of grill its wise to put a few inches of sand in the bottom to make the fire bed level and to raise it a bit.

PORTABLE GRILLS

These are of several types, and there are many of them. There is the folding type, usually with a trough-shaped firebox and folding legs, and the bucket type, an insulated pail with a grill top and a cover. The latter offers the advantage of being able to carry the fuel to the picnic, ready to light on the spot. The Japanese hibachis, at least those made of cast iron, may be a little heavy for toting any distance, but they are easily moved from patio to indoor fireplace, or to station wagon. A hibachi is a little portable charcoal stove or fire bowl, which has been used in Japan for centuries, mostly for heating purposes and keeping tea water hot and hands warm. It has captured the fancy of the American hostess, and hibachis are everywhere. A very small portable grill that sells for a few dollars is designed for individual usean amusing if not too practical idea. The firebox is necessarily small, so only hors doeuvre or minute steaks or hamburgers can be cooked on them. A larger portable grill, one that folds and fits into a carrying case, is useful over outdoor fires or for persons who want to cook in their fireplaces but lack storage space. Then theres a folding device that is light in weight and low in cost. It uses aluminum foil for added heat through reflection.

WHEELED GRILLS

This is probably the most popular kind of barbecue grill. There are four general types. One, the brazier, has a large shallow round firebox with a grill which may or may not be adjustable. Some of these are equipped with spits, either hand or electrically turned. Many families have used and enjoyed this type of barbecue for years. Another is the cart, or wheeled table.

This may be a simple grill with a firebox beneath, or a de luxe job that includes shelves under the firebox, a hood, a warming oven, cutting boards, and a spit, either manual or motor-driven. This is probably the most practical of all grills. We believe that the very fancy ones are no more functional than the simpler ones, but we also think that, if you do more than very occasional charcoal grilling, it is wise to purchase a well-made one with a grill sufficiently large to accommodate food for your usual number of guests, and with an electric spit if you intend to do any roasting. Manually operated spits are picturesque but too laborious for fun. We also believe that a stainless steel grill is a good investment. It requires a modicum of care and will look handsome for years. We recommend one that can be removed from its wheeled base, so that it may be transported in a car or used in brick or stone fireplaces inside or out.

The third type is the vertical grill. With this, the food cooks in front of the fire rather than over it. Some cooks like this idea, claiming that as the fat or baste cannot drip into the coals there will be no flare-up. This we admit to be true, but we believe that neither will there be flaming of the fire if it is properly controlled and, though we do not go all out for smoke cookery, we feel that a little flavor of the charcoal adds greatly to the palatability of the meat.