It’s better on the BARBECUE

Some of New Zealand’s most expert hands at the grill talk to David Skipwith about way to spice up your barbecue fare.

As barbecue season starts to heat up, Christchurch chef Alex Davies wants you to know there’s more to sizzle than sausages. “Do not fear the flames,” the Gatherings owner says. “The diversity and use of the barbecue should be celebrated and, this summer, cook everything over it.”

Davies says we need to change our mindset about cooking on the barbecue, insisting it’s not just for cooking protein, and should be used to prepare your entire meal.

A big fan of shellfish, he suggests experimenting with cooking mussels and clams on the grill, as a healthy and delicious alternative to your standard red meats.

Most restaurateurs have Hibachi grills, and while barbecuing over charcoal or wood ensures better flavours, a standard gas barbecue will always suffice.

“Cooking shellfish is so easy, and it just expands your repertoire,” Davies says. “It’s just about getting people confident to use the barbecue for other things beyond meat. Getting as many things on the barbecue as you can – that’s a really good thing to learn.”

Davies recommends buying a couple of kilos of shellfish – enough to feed a group of four – to throw on the grill at a very high heat. Cover them with a metal bowl, and you will hear them pop while they absorb all those smoky barbecue flavours.

“[When they pop open] remove them with some tongs, then toss them through with lots of herbs. Parsley always works well with shellfish, along with oregano and chives, and garlic, chilli, and good oils,” he says. “Toss them through that and get them nicely covered within the shells with a good squeeze of lemon juice, and then you get a lovely big bowl of bright colour.”

When grilling vegetables, Davies says not to worry too much about charring as ”that’s all flavour”.

Just as the barbecue heat and smoke gives so much depth of flavour to meat, it does the same with other food.

“Put your vegetables on there, and they’ll get nice and charred,” Davies says. “And there’s the smoky, crispy elements that are exactly what people are after when cooking meat, so you’ll get that through your vegetables instead.”

Davies warns not to muck around getting your cooked vegetables off the grill and into a dressing.

“Pull them off the barbecue and toss them

through a dressing [with] lots of lemon juice, lots of oil, lots of salt and pepper.

“Any moisture that was lost to the barbecue, the vegetables will reabsorb, and you will develop this complex flavour as it soaks it back up, and as you’re dressing it.”

Marinades are another gateway to new flavours, and can provide a taste of what Korean and Samoan barbecue cultures have to offer.

Jason Kim, chef and co-owner of Korean restaurant, Gochu, in Auckland’s Commercial Bay retail complex, suggests experimenting with fruit purees within your marinades to give fresh sweetness to barbecue favourites such as short ribs, beef and brisket.

“In Korean culture, we will use fruit purees, apples or pears – fruit that has high sugar content – in our marinade, with a bit of soy sauce, and garlic,” Kim says. “You marinate it overnight, and the marinade breaks down all the hard tissues in the meat.”

Kim, who arrived in New Zealand with his immigrant parents in 2001, recommends thinking laterally when it comes to grilling vegetables.

He swears by cabbage, cut in half, and coated in a light soy sauce and a seaweed butter, before going on the grill. “Cabbage is a very underrated vegetable,” he says. “Break off some seaweed [dried nori sheets] and crush it into a powder and add it into your melted butter. While you’re cooking the cabbage, brush the butter on top, with some soy sauce.

“The soy gives it a really nice caramelisation, and the seaweed and butter adds a nice extra flavour. It’s no-fuss and pretty easy.”

Kim suggests trying the Korean method of wrapping cooked barbecued food in iceberg lettuce leaves for a different texture and added crunch and freshness.

“Have all your prep done with the meat ready to cook, and then you have the lettuce leaves with rice and kimchi, with the cooked meat on top, and you wrap it all up in one go.”

Samoan chef Uelese Mua champions Pacific flavours, and urges Kiwis to try barbecuing chicken hearts, paired with fa’alifu fa’i (green bananas in coconut cream).

“Chicken hearts are really popular, and are a staple dish at Samoan family barbecues,” Mua says. “Marinate them overnight in chopped onions, garlic and soy sauce. Don’t use dark soy, which can be too intense on the barbecue. Ideally you’re looking for normal soy, not too light or dark.”

Peeling green bananas without breaking the flesh can be difficult, but boiling them whole in salted water, then cooling them makes the job of removing the skins easier.

“The green bananas have a firm texture and are served hot. It’s almost – I don’t want to say sour – but you get the sweetness from the coconut cream, which balances that out,” he says.

“All of that works really well with the umami you get from the marinated chicken hearts. Nothing is in your face, and everything is quite balanced throughout.”

Shepherd Elliott, owner and chef of Wellington’s Shepherd restaurant, says summer stone fruit such as nectarines or peaches can enhance standard grilled zucchini or other grilled vegetables.

“Stone fruit does work very well with zucchini, but it can go with anything really,” he says. “Cut them in half and take the seed out, put a bit of oil on them, and place them on the grill with the cut side down.

“Give them a bit of a cook and some colour, and then take them off and cut them up into bit-sized pieces. You can also serve it with feta or herbs.”

If you enjoy barbecuing all-year round, Elliott suggests roasting yams in the oven before flash frying them on the barbecue. However, you will have trouble sourcing them out of season during summer. Carrots and parsnips also work well.

“Roast them in the oven for about an hour before putting them on the barbecue, to give them a good starting point. Give them a little bit of colour and get that smoky flavour coming through.”

When it comes to the classic steak, Elliott says you can’t go wrong with a scotch fillet.

“I really enjoy a good scotch, which you tend to cook a little more because it’s got a lot more fat through it. “So you want to cook it more towards a medium, which makes it easier to cook the outside well.”

Getting the meat to room temperature first is a must, and can take a couple of hours. Salt the steak and leave it to sit. Closer to cooking you can apply a seasoning, which can be lathered on again when the meat is done.

“Put a little oil on the flat plate itself and let that heat up, and then put the steak into the hot oil, which helps keep it from sticking,” Elliott says.

How often to turn your steak is a hotly debated issue. Elliott recommends getting a decent amount of colour and flavour on the outside by cooking it for a couple of minutes, before flipping the meat over. “When you turn it over, some of the moisture will come off, so when you turn it back you tend to get it a bit crisper on the outside, and it’s a bit more crunchy,” he says.

“Turning it over is quite important, and we’ll do that three, four or five times.”

It sounds like a serious business, but he says experimenting with your barbecue should, above all, be enjoyable.

“It’s such a versatile tool, you can cook anything on it, and you should go for that because you will only have fun seeing what happens.”