2012 – New Years Day!
Hope everyone had a good NYE, full of friends, family and a bottle of something to keep the cold out.
My night was spent with some friends feasting around an open fire in the crisp winter air. For six hours our rotisserie slowly turned as honey, red wine and rosemary dripped fragrantly into the glowing coals.
My name’s Dominic Dowson and you’re reading my New Year resolution:
This is my blog documenting what happens in my kitchen and the dishes that get created. I’ll be posting recipes and stories of the various adventures attached to collecting some of the ingredients and of course lots of pictures.
This is my blog documenting what happens in my kitchen and the dishes that get created. I’ll be posting recipes and stories of the various adventures attached to collecting some of the ingredients and of course lots of pictures.
To be honest the celebration was a bit of a last minute thing. I have wanted to do a variety of stuffed birds for a while and thought maybe a Turducken for the holidays would be nice but, due to cost, it never happened.
Last minute, of course, it was all decided and I ran to the shops to see if anything was left. The main restriction was that everything has to be done last minute and nothing had time to marinade overnight.
I decided, as pork ribs, loin and beef eye roast was on sale that I’d use apple juice to get a sweet flavor into pork then baste them with a spicy honey over the BBQ.
The Menu:
22lbs of roast beef encrusted with rosemary and salt cooked until crisp and rich with flavor yet still with a hot juicy pink centre.
22lbs of roast beef encrusted with rosemary and salt cooked until crisp and rich with flavor yet still with a hot juicy pink centre.
12lbs of pork center loin, marinated in apple juice and glazed with spiced honey.
3lbs of pork back ribs, also marinated in the same apple juice for six hours and the quickly put over the coals with a sweet jerk sauce.
And on the side, Baked rosemary potatoes.
Results may Vary:
First things first 6L of apple juice went into my largest pot with around 10 cloves and two sticks of cinnamon. This usually goes on a low heat for as long as you can muster, but unfortunately I just didn’t have the time I needed. Eventually the meat will cook and start to fall apart; this is perfect for the ribs, making them really easy to eat and, of course, everyone wants them to literally, ‘fall off the bone.’
The ribs and the pork went in the pot and the lid went on.
Next, the Beef:
‘Mix everything to taste; cook from the heart and everything will taste better. ‘That being said, here’s the recipe:
Beef Rub:
1- small handful of rosemary cut finely
1 tbsp of table salt
1 tbsp cracked black pepper
1 tsp cinnamon
1 tbsp chopped garlic
Give the beef a quick rub with a little oil then apply the rub.
Skewer the beef on the rotisserie and get it over the nice hot bbq as fast as possible. I’m using coal, but propane will work fine. Start with a higher heat and let it die down (or turn it down after about 10 minutes) then keep the heat going.
Find a good medium heat and work very slightly hotter than that. Now try and turn the roast at a speed where the drips of fat stay on, or fall back onto the meat, instead of onto the coals where they will flare up and change the temperature of the fire.
Find a good medium heat and work very slightly hotter than that. Now try and turn the roast at a speed where the drips of fat stay on, or fall back onto the meat, instead of onto the coals where they will flare up and change the temperature of the fire.
I’ve decided to make a tradition of giving the first guest a drink and showing them how to turn the spit; as they get tired and more people arrive they can pass around the responsibility. Best of all there are at least six sets of eyes on the roast at all times preventing it from wavering from perfection.
1/8th Cup beef broth
1/3rd Cup Red wine
1tbsp brown sugar
1 tsp salt
1 tbsp crushed black pepper
1 tsp nutmeg
1 tbsp finely cut rosemary
1 tbsp garlic
Give the baste a taste, it should taste like a beefy, sweet wine.
When it’s done and the meat is starting to colour a little begin applying the baste.
I like to dip my silicone basting brush in the liquid and then run just the edges of the bristles over the meat so as to apply the liquid but not brush off and of the ingredients that have stuck to the meat.
After about two and a half to three hours your 20lbs of beef should be ready. You can use a meat thermometer or make your assessment based on the way the meat feels.
Slice on a large wooden board with a trough for the juices, I offered horseradish, a sweet Chianti reduction and some mint jelly. Leave a selection of knives and napkins and run back to start the pork.
The glaze for the pork is:
1cup of honey
1tbsp of brown sugar
2 lemons (squeezed)
1 pinch of salt
1/2 cup of mulled apple cider
1tbsp of brown sugar
2 lemons (squeezed)
1 pinch of salt
1/2 cup of mulled apple cider
To mull the apple cider, put the pan over a medium heat and in a bouquet garni (small cloth bag sold in most cooking stores) include a cracked stick of cinnamon, around 7cloves, 1 cracked nutmeg and a vanilla bean split down the middle.
Spit your pork, hand your glaze and to your assistant or a startled part guest and get ready for the ribs.
The pork will have been fully cooked in the apple cider, as have the ribs so there’s no need to keep them on the heat for a long time. In the case of the pork the fatty exterior will turn a dark brown while the flesh becomes a dark honey colour when it is fully glazed and ready to be eaten. Remember to keep the speed up with the rotisserie so the glaze runs around the meat and doesn’t fall directly into the fire.
For the ribs I had initially planned to do Apple-Jerk but I couldn’t find the spices I needed nor could I find my backup supply of pre-mixed jerk spice. *sad face*
So instead, being new years, I grabbed some jack and honey and made a simple sticky glaze instead. (1/3 Jack 2/3 honey)
I meant to use the Jerk recipe so here it is:
2tbsp of jerk powder (use the premade stuff)
2 lemons worth of juice
1tsp of garlic, minced
2tbsp sweetened apple sauce (1tbsp apple butter)
½ cup honey
aprox ¼ cup of mulled apple cider. Just add enough so that you have a very liquidy solution that will be easy to baste your ribs with.
2tbsp of jerk powder (use the premade stuff)
2 lemons worth of juice
1tsp of garlic, minced
2tbsp sweetened apple sauce (1tbsp apple butter)
½ cup honey
aprox ¼ cup of mulled apple cider. Just add enough so that you have a very liquidy solution that will be easy to baste your ribs with.
Again the ribs are cooked in the apple juice at this point, so no need to keep them over the coals for very long, just long enough to get the sauce on and properly stuck should do the trick.
The rosemary potatoes can be thrown in the coals at any point and cooked for about half an hour depending on the size of the potato and how much of it is covered by hot coals. Careful not to get them too hot!
To make the potatoes:
Give them a little scrub under water then score one side about half to ¾ of the way through and about 1cm apart. Then take your tin foil and put a bit of butter and salt with a few rosemary leaves and place the potato, score marks down, onto the butter and wrap up and toss in the coals.
When the potatoes come out cut them in half and score the inside in a crosshatched pattern and spread butter over the top (or rosemary butter if you feel like it) and sprinkle a little fancy salt over the top, I used pink Himalayan salt but black or red Hawaiian would be great too.
To make the potatoes:
Give them a little scrub under water then score one side about half to ¾ of the way through and about 1cm apart. Then take your tin foil and put a bit of butter and salt with a few rosemary leaves and place the potato, score marks down, onto the butter and wrap up and toss in the coals.
When the potatoes come out cut them in half and score the inside in a crosshatched pattern and spread butter over the top (or rosemary butter if you feel like it) and sprinkle a little fancy salt over the top, I used pink Himalayan salt but black or red Hawaiian would be great too.
And there you have it! A proper feast; cooked over hot coals in the dead of winter. What a great way to spend New Years. Cheers everyone!
Serve that mulled apple cider with .5oz of fireball and .5oz of a spiced rum and everyone will be merry in no time.
So concludes my first blog post. There will be more to come and of course, write to me. I’d love to hear from you.
Enjoy,
Dom
