On the lamb: Extra virgin olive oil, salt, pepper and, perhaps chipotle really give lamb cutlets a lift.
SHANNON MORRIS
He’s got eight barbecues in the backyard. And when he moves the pots of herbs up onto the lawn there will be room for two more alongside the Smokey Mountain, the Weber Genesis, the Texas Smoker, the Big Green Egg or Kamado – yes, that’s right, a barbecue that almost shares a name with a famous lizard – and the rest.
Bob Hart, author, food writer and broadcaster, happily admits to being obsessed with cooking and food – and gourmet barbecuing.
Hart recently retired after 17 years at the Herald Sun, much of it spent writing about food, restaurants, chefs and, of course, barbecuing.
His passion for gourmet barbecuing and all it entails is no recent phenomenon.
Hart lived in the US from 1980 to 1987, which is where he first saw people cooking food on a strange-looking thing with a hood. “It was a Weber Kettle and I thought, what the hell’s that,” he says.
“Americans are the masters of the barbecue. We are getting better at it, but we are still about 10 years behind the Americans.
“Barbecuing meat has to involve smoke and subtle flavours. You prepare the meat with rubs. And it must be cooked outdoors. I think we get barbecuing mixed up with cremation. We fire up the barbecue, throw some meat on and leave it there until it is dried up and wizened and think we’ve barbecued it.”
Hart graduated from Barbecue University in Colorado Springs, attending a course run by Steven Raichlen, the world barbecue guru.
Now he is about to embark on his latest food adventure – the Australian Barbecue Academy – in a bid to impart his passion and knowledge of all aspects of gourmet barbecuing. Hart’s academy is modelled on the barbecue university course he did in the US.
Raichlen has written 14 books on the subject including The Barbecue Bible, which has sold almost 2 million copies. His latest book, Planet Barbecue, is part travel guide, part cookbook, and part history lesson.
When the renowned author visited Australia on his 60-country tour to discover and document global barbecuing habits, Hart was his guide. Raichlen even included an Aussie recipe of how to barbecue lamb chops on a shovel.
Hart’s three-day course costs $2000 (plus accommodation) and will held at the luxurious Balgownie Estate Vineyard Resort and Spa in the Yarra Valley. Taking a hands-on masterclass approach, participants will prepare entrees, mains and even desserts on a range of barbecues including gas grills, charcoal kettles and smokers.
The course covers beef, lamb, pork poultry and game, plus seafood such as salmon, snapper, prawns, oysters, scallops, mussels and more – if there can be more.
While the Australian Barbecue Academy might be new, the idea of live-in luxurious gourmet cooking courses is not. Savvy Australian foodies have been running residential food/gourmet cooking courses like this for years.
Melbourne born and bred award-winning cookbook publisher Wendely Harvey opened La Combe en Perigord in 1996. Located in an 18th-century country house in the Perigord region of south-western France, which is famous for its truffles and pate, La Combe’s residential food programs feature internationally known guest chefs. Australia’s Stephanie Alexander, Damien Pignolet and Di Holuigue have also been guest chefs.
The courses, which include visits to the local markets, draw clients from all over the world, including Australia and the US.
At $2000, Hart’s course is not cheap, but it is local and caters for all levels of culinary expertise. Graduates enjoy three days of luxury living, food and entertainment, and receive a certificate to confirm they have graduated from the Australian Barbecue Academy, plus gifts and merchandise.
Presenters include Melbourne chef and expert butcher Adrian Richardson, camp-oven maestro Andrew Dwyer and Balgownie’s award-winning winemaker Mark Lane.
“When you meet the people who love barbecuing in the States, they are fanatical and brilliant at what they do,” Hart says.
“Everyone should have their own signature barbecue sauce and it’s really easy to make your own rubs. We love the outdoor life and spend thousands of dollars doing up the back garden and then buy a cheap barbecue and wonder why the food doesn’t taste any good.”
Hart’s love affair with the barbecue goes beyond lamb cutlets, brisket, pork and ribs to vegetables, fish and seafood. He even cooks garlic-infused French brie drizzled with red wine on tin foil on the barbie.
He might be heading towards a dozen barbecues in the backyard, but the Aussie barbecue maestro says most families can get away with two barbies: one for grilling and the other for longer, slower cooking. Just so long as there’s smoke, preferably from hickory chips, it’s outdoors and the meat has been lovingly rubbed and seasoned.
AUSTRALIAN BARBECUE ACADEMY
Spring class: 2010
When: Sunday, September 12 - Wednesday, September 15
Where: 4½ star Mercure Yarra Valley Balgownie Estate Vineyard Resort and Spa, Yarra Glen, Victoria
Cost: $2000 (plus accommodation) per course participant
Includes:
Welcome cocktail party (also for partners/families)
All materials provided for all sessions
Balgownie Estate wine pack and merchandise
Graduation certificate
Methods and recipes and extensive course notes
Special room rates for participants*
Enrolments: Robyn Trewhella at Balgownie Estate
Phone: 9730 0723
Email: functions@balgownieestate.com.au
Inquiries: Bob Hart at ABA
Email: hartbeat@me.com
Web: australianbarbecueacademy.com
* subject to availability
Hart's barbecues are:
Weber Genesis (gas)
Weber Baby Q (gas)
The gas Webers (Baby Q and Genesis) are grilling machines – great for steaks, chops, fish fillets and vegies.
Weber Smokey Mountain (charcoal)
Texas Smoker (charcoal)
The Smokey Mountain and Texas Smoker are for long, slow, smoking jobs such as pork spare ribs (four hours), whole pork shoulder (eight to nine hours) and whole brisket (10-11 hours).
Weber Performer (charcoal kettle)
Heat Beads Entertainer (charcoal)
The Weber Kettle and the Heat Beads Entertainer are charcoal barbecues with different properties – ideal for butterflied chickens or boned legs of lamb, both cooked with lots of smoke from wet hickory on the charcoal.
Big Green Egg (Kamado, charcoal)
The Big Green Egg works as a roaster, a griller or a smoker – ideal for cooking the Christmas turkey, or a whole, large snapper, or a beer-butt chicken (a chook cooked vertically with a can of beer shoved ... well ... there is a picture in the brochure, and it’s an amazing dish. If you use this approach, try it with a duck and a can of Fanta: you get duck a l’orange (below left).
Sort of ...
Spithouse rotisserie (charcoal)
The rotisserie is a small one, ideal for pork, lamb or beef roasts or whole pineapples, but it will also hold a small suckling pig or even a small snapper.
And he’s still looking ...
Bob’s barbecued lamb cutlets
There are spectacular barbecue dishes that demonstrate the unique capabilities of this brilliant cooking method. But an equally effective way to demonstrate the difference an enlightened approach to barbecuing can make is to apply the rules to a simple dish.
- Take lamb cutlets as an example. Instead of simply tossing them onto a grill until they are burnt to a crisp, then expecting your guests to eat them and smile, try this: a sharp mint sauce is not something to apply to delicate lamb cutlets, but lamb certainly has an affinity with mint.
- So make a mint pesto by processing 50 grams of blanched, raw almonds to a paste with a well-packed half-cup of fresh mint leaves, two peeled cloves of garlic, a pinch of salt, 3/4 cup extra virgin olive oil and a dash of sherry vinegar. Stir in 40 grams of parmesan (Italian, grated on a Microplane). And that’s it.
- Slice a couple of well-trimmed racks of lamb into cutlets and pound each cutlet just once to flatten it slightly. Or have your butcher do this for you. Place these on a large plate, drizzle with extra virgin olive oil and season with salt, pepper and a generous sprinkle of chipotle (smoked chilli) seasoning (optional, but it makes the dish more interesting). Available through Spanish or Mexican food suppliers such as Casa Iberica in Johnston Street, Fitzroy (casaibericadeli.com.au) or Monterey Foods, Sydney (montereyfoods.com.au), who sell online and deliver).
- If you have a charcoal kettle-style barbecue, fire up the charcoal (in a chimney charcoal starter) and set up for direct grilling. Toss a handful of wet hickory chips on the coals and position the cutlets in the middle of the grill at 45 degrees to the bars and cover. After 90 seconds, turn them through 90 degrees. After another minute, turn them over and place at 45 degrees to the bars. And after another minute, turn them through 90?degrees and cook for a final minute.
And that’s it. The cutlets will be pink, smoky, and with glorious grill marks. Serve them with a dollop of mint pesto and see the difference.
Note: If cooking on a gas grill, fire it up, make a couple of foil pillows containing wet hickory chips, punch holes in the pillows and place on the grill or as close to the heat source as possible. Get them smoking before cooking the cutlets in the same way as with the kettle grill.