I am always staggered when we journey through France and Italy at the variety and quality of the meat the local supermarkets carry in contrast to the picture I find in my part of the UK.  We were driving along the Rhone on the way to (more…)

We had really enjoyed our “Vitello Tonnato” when we were in Italy and wanted to try something similar now we were in France, but on this occasion we couldn’t find any veal.  So ‘necessity being the mother of invention’ (more…)

After a lovely break in Tuscany we had driven into France, to the Rhône-Alpes to meet part of our “French family”.   (more…)

Well one thing is certain, Italians like veal!  It is so much easier to buy veal in Italy than we have found at home.  This is a real shame as the UK Rose Veal probably has the highest welfare standards  (more…)

Having said that we had only come across grilled octopus once in Tuscany, the very next time we went out to eat – there it was on the menu. (more…)

When is a sardine not a sardine………..?

Out shopping I saw what I thought were some lovely looking fresh sardines – only later when I checked the spelling of Acciughe (also often called Alici) did I realise that the sardines were in fact anchovy!!   I think you have to go a long way to beat simply grilling sardines and adding a little lemon and salt to compliment the oil rich “silver darlings” – so in my ignorance these anchovy were handled in the same way (which is just what the Italians do too!)

The BGE was set up for direct cooking with the cast iron grill in with the wider sided bars uppermost and heated to around 180C.  As we are a little limited for space on the Mini BGE the anchovy had the heads removed to allow a little more space.   They were then simply gutted and then rubbed with salt and olive oil and then tossed on the grill.

The anchovy were grilled for around 4-5 minutes a side until the skins started to blister and the fish took on some colour.  I find it easier to do this without overcooking the fish at around a  temperature of 180C combining grilling and oven cooking that the BGE does so well rather than being tempted to cook at over 200C.  After a few minutes we added a couple of slices of bread to toast to have with the fish.

Once ready the anchovy were plated on top of a green salad with herby crouton and finished with a simple drizzle of fresh lemon.

These are very “moreish” – hope you enjoy!

(it works just as well with sardines!)

On our wanderings we came across a butcher selling ‘home reared’ turkey and turkey breasts.  Well for 2 of us even a 1kg turkey breast seemed quite a lot of meat and even that was going to be a bit of a ‘tight squeeze’ on the Mini BGE.  But the challenge was set!  The question was how to cook it? Well we were (more…)

Grilled Octopus is not something commonly found in the restaurants of Northumberland!  As yet I have only come across it on one occasion in restaurants in Tuscany but perhaps we need to get out more!!  Anyway, octopus has the reputation of being tough and chewy unless it is treated correctly.

Tradition has it that Greek fishermen “thrash” the octopus over the rocks 40 times before cooking it to tenderise it – I have certainly seen them doing that, though I didn’t count the number of times.  I have also read of a women in the United States who “double bagged” an octopus and put it in the tumble dryer to tenderise it – but the less said of that the better!  The most usual way however appears to be to simmer in a pan for an hour – and then get down to the grilling!!

Being on holiday we took the easy route as soon as we found a ready “simmered” Octopus in the supermarket (not something you regularly “fall across” in the Co-op, or Waitrose for that matter, in the UK!!)   So no simmering for us – merely open the pack and prepare for the grill!!

……….delicious!

Update link 2017

Update link 2018

Although I don’t do a great deal, I do like bread cooked in the Big Green Egg – and bread cooking in the Large BGE is a real pleasure (more of that in future posts).  I had always been told that bread cooking in the MiniMax was something of a compromise – though I know Adam from The Cook’s Digest has had some really great results with the MiniMax.  Nevertheless, I have not heard of anyone cooking bread in the Mini BGE and I am sure for good reason!!  However, we were away on holiday, we only had the Mini BGE with us and so there was the challenge!!

The real problem with bread cooking in the Mini and MiniMax BGE is getting the bread as far away from the charcoal heat source and into the “dome” so that the heat differential between the bottom and top of the bread is minimised.  Otherwise, it is burnt bottoms and undercooked tops!  Making it worse we only had the platesetter with us and no sort of pizza stone to further separate the bread from the direct heat!!  Our plan therefore was to use the platesetter in the feet up position with the cast iron grill in place.  On top of this we put a couple of 3 inch cast iron frying pans that we just happened to have with us in place of the pizza stone.  This lifted the bread a little further from the heat source and a little further into the dome.  The bread would be initially cooked in a heavy round 7 inch pan and once “firm enough” flipped over – to cook the top a little more and the base a little less!!

Focaccia is probably one of the easiest of all breads to make and cook and as we were in Italy and had enough challenges with the BGE set-up, that was where we were going to start!  Getting the flour was easy enough, but hunt the local supermarket as much as I could, I couldn’t find any yeast – but then I was looking for dried yeast as I use at home.  This is Italy, and so every supermarket – no matter how small clearly sells fresh yeast – you just need to know where to look or how to ask!

The Recipe was a simple one which is shown below and has very few ingredients.  Focaccia flour (also suitable for pizza bases), fresh yeast, olive oil, water, sugar or honey, salt and rosemary.  The basic ingredients were mixed by hand in a bowl and kneaded for 5 mins.  As the BGE is small – the quantities were kept small so around 250gm of flour, to 150 ml of warm water and about 7gm of fresh yeast (these were all guessed as we had no scales or measures to hand).  This was then left to rise in a bowl covered with oiled clingfilm for around an hour and then knocked back.  Taking less than half the bread dough, this was flattened into the base of the 7 inch pan.  Olive oil was poured liberally over the dough and then it was “prodded all over with fingers” to flatten further and introduce the oil into the dough.  Finally the top was salted with large grains of sea salt and sprinkled with fresh rosemary from the garden.  The dough was left to rise again for about 20 mins.

Meanwhile the BGE was set up and a little home cured pork was fried off in a small pan on the Egg, to which was added some finely chopped onion and some garlic – for use later.

The BGE was then set as described above and when the temperature reached 180C the 7 inch pan, with the focaccia, was put in the Egg and left for around 20 mins to bake.

Once the base was clearly browning the focaccia was flipped out and put back in upside down and cooked for a further 4-5 mins to brown off the top.  All that was left was to remove it, allow to cool a little and sprinkle with some more oil and serve

– fresh bread cooked in the Mini BGE!!

But why the frying pan and the onions and garlic?  –  well Focaccia’s close cousin is the French “Fougasse” the same dough as Focaccia but often made into a leaf shape with slashes in the leaf like those falling off the trees in autumn.

Sometimes their shapes are a lot more “rustic” and often they have meat, onions, cheese …..  running through them.  So that was our plan.  Cook off a little cured pork with some onion and garlic, flatten out the dough and add the fried mixture and some crumbled cheese – roll the whole thing up into a ball and pop it in the 7inch pan dish to rise a little.

Then into the Egg to cook and when firm enough, flip out of the dish and cook ‘free standing”, flipping it over so the base didn’t cook too much.   Then it was taken out of the Egg and allowed to cool a little, ideally on a wire rack or something similar.  

……………served with a ‘bold red wine’ – beautifully simple!

Having tried our hand with the local beef (click to see previous post) we thought it time to be a little more authentic and go for a larger piece for this Bistecca alla Fiorentina.  As there were going to be 4 of us a 1.4KG steak did not seem too greedy!!  Bought from the same butcher as the previous steak this was again the cut from the loin near the leg of the Scottona and was just a little more than 1.5 inches thick.

We were going to reverse sear again and so the Egg was set up for indirect cooking at 100C with the platesetter in place.

The steak was simply salted and dusted with a little pepper and placed on the grill.  The internal temperature probe was put in place and it was left to cook to a temperature of 48C.  At this stage it does not look very appetising as although cooked to rare all the way through there is no delicious crispy outside!

The steak was removed from the grill, double wrapped in foil and covered with a tea towel to slow down any cooling.  The platesetter was removed and the temperature of the BGE brought up to around 250-280C.  As this was a thicker piece of meat than the last one it was grilled this time for just less than 2 mins per side to form a nice golden crust.

Once completed the steak was removed from the grill, rewrapped in foil and left to rest for around 10 minutes whilst we prepared the Borlotti beans that we were going to serve with it.  The steak was unwrapped, further salted and then carved across the grain.  Crisp on the outside and warm in the centre ; the meat was delicious.

Taking the bone to chew as well as her portion of carved steak our youngest granddaughter paid the finest of compliments……..

…………… “Thank you, this is the best steak I have ever had”

What more could you ask for!……………..

For the full recipe see:- http://smokedfinefood.co.uk/beef/bistecca-alla-fiorentina/

The bread we have found in Italy certainly goes hard quickly!  Partly the weather and partially the absence of additives in the bread.  You quickly realise why there are so many Italian recipes that include the use of “stale bread”!!

Well here is ours ……….

Focaccia rinascere (Focaccia Reborn!!).  

Wandering around the village on Friday we found that Friday here too was fish day – at the end of the car park there was a man selling fresh fish from his van.  Well this was too good to miss!  So amongst other things we bought a lovely Sea Bass and a Sea Bream – only when on the way home did we suddenly think they might be just a bit too big for the Mini BGE!!   Now this is where the MiniMax. would have been perfect!  – But on this occasion necessity is this mother of invention and so a little” fishy modification”  was finally undertaken before cooking – it reduced the aesthetic impact a little – but the taste was still wonderful! – but more of that later!

So how to cook – lets keep it simple.  We were going to cook indirectly – so the BGE was set up with the platesetter in the feet up position with the Cast iron grill on top but inverted so the widest part of the bars were uppermost.  We brought the temperature up to about 140C and then a handful of soaked Oak wood chips were added as a circle just outside the burning charcoal area before putting the platesetter and grill back in place.

Both fish were gutted and lightly descaled, washed and then patted dry.  The head was removed from the Sea Bass and the body cavities of both fish were salted and then stuffed with sliced tomatoes, a little thinly sliced fennel and sliced lemon.  The skin was salted and peppered and dusted with a mixture of dried herbs and allowed to rest as the BGE came up to temperature.

But then we needed to modify the fish a little bit more!  Some trimming was needed for both fish to allow the top of the BGE to be closed properly!  I have to say it did impact on the aesthetics a little – but when needs must!.  As there was fresh rosemary to hand a stem was added for the cooking period – wetting it before hand allowed it to smoulder for that little bit longer enhancing the slightly smoky aroma!

We decided not to tempt fate and so we did not turn the fish over whilst cooking – but that is the great thing about the BGE – it is so forgiving!!   The fish were served simply with a little wild rice, lemon and olive oil and just a little bread to mop the plate at the end.

The tomatoes and the fennel added a delightful sweetnes to the fish and the gentle smokiness set the whole plate off beautifully.  The only difficulty was deciding who had which plate – if only all of life’s problems were so easilly resolved!!

Footnote. We revisited this recipe 2 years later in the same part of Tuscany and yes it was every bit as good – but we had crispy fish skin too!! – see here

So our first experiment with the Italian Veal had worked well and so on to the  Vitello Tonnato – As this dish is served cold it can easily be produced 24-48 hours in advance and I think will have some real “mileage” not just here on holiday but back home – in the summer but also in those lovely autumn evenings before the real “cold weather” sets in.

For this dish we were using the bigger portion of veal silverside.  We would cook it whole let it cool and then slice thinly as the basis of the dish

The first thing to do was remove the “silverskin”.  There is often a layer of connective tissue on meat like silverside which when cooked adds nothing to the quality or taste of the meat and can often just leave an unpleasant “chewy finish”.  It is a bit of a fiddle and requires getting a sharp knife under the silverskin and then working it between the silverskin and the meat itself – rather like when skinning fish.  This silverskin can then just be discarded.

Lightly dust the veal all over with a rub – ours was from necessity very simple. Salt. pepper, sweet paprika and some mixed herbs.  The meat was put to one side whilst the Big Green Egg was lit and came up to a temperature of 100C.  The set up was for an indirect cook with the platesetter feet upwards and with a handful of  Hickory wood chips which had been soaking sprinkled just outside the burning charcoal centre.

We were using the cast-iron grill as this was the only one we had brought with us though at home I would probably have used the stainless steel grill.

The veal took around an hour to reach an internal temperature of  52C. I would normally test this with a ETI Thermapen but as we were ‘traveling light’ we relied on the rather neat “iGrill” mini” – a relatively inexpensive bluetooth indwelling temperature probe. see http://smokedfinefood.co.uk/chicken/spatchcock-in-the-beechwood/

Whilst the veal was cooking it was time to make the the tuna sauce. A 160g can of tuna and one tablespoon of capers were drained. The capers roughly chopped (classically the whole mix would have been blended – but we were on holiday and therefore we went for the “rustic approach”!)  The tuna and chopped capers, were mixed with 3-4 tablespoons of mayonnaise and the juice of ½ lemon.  This was seasoned with salt and pepper left in the fridge until needed.

After about an hour the veal had reached the desired temperature of 52C and was removed from the BGE and wrapped in foil and allows to cool.  Once cool, it too was refrigerated

To serve the vitello tonnato, the veal was sliced into neat thin slices and served on a bed of green salad, dressed with local olive oil and capers.  The plate was garnished with the tonnato sauce and finished off with a drizzle of lemon juice – next time we will probably add some grated lemon zest too.  Traditionally, Vitelli tomato is usually served as a single layer of veal with the slightly more fluid tonnato sauce spread over the top and then garnished with lemon.  I know I am biased – but I think this version looks better!!

….… buon appetito!

Footnote:  the Tonnato sauce also works beautifully with pork – see Pork Loin with Tuna and Caper Sauce – Lonza di mail Tonnato  

Source: Cooking Food To Temperature – The Cook’s Digest

Over the past 2 years I have moved away from the idea of cooking a piece of meat for a specific length of time at a given temperature, to the idea of cooking the meat until it reaches a desired “core temperature”. The article in this link Cooking Food To Temperature – The Cook’s Digest  from Adam at “The Cook’s Digest” is an excellent introduction to the concept of cooking to specific “core temperatures”.  Sadly,as yet, most commercial cookery books still use the “time/temperature” method – but I am sure this will change – until then you can will find “core temperature cooking” methods on Smoked Fine Food – as well as in The Cook’s Digest – happy reading!

One thing we wanted to experiment with was Vitello Tonnato – a classic Italian dish served cold – this has the advantage that you can prepare in advance and is ready just when you want it.  Our version was going to have a little twist on the classical Italian version – but before that a little shopping and some experimentation was needed!  The first confession is that I have never knowingly cooked veal and certainly never on the BGE!  So the first thing was to track down the veal.  As we were approaching the Italian holiday of Ferragosto – on the 15^th of August there was a good chance of finding some reasonably easily!  We were hunting for what is in effect a veal silverside – which is used to make veal escalope – but the plan was to cook it whole let it go cold and slice it very thinly!!

Well we found a piece of veal – but just one and a little large for the 2 of us at 1Kg!  but this gave the opportunity for some experimentation!  We cut off about a quarter, removed the “silverskin” then added a little “rub”. We were limited with what we had to hand, so tried simple salt and pepper, a little paprika and some dried  herbs.  The piece of veal was going to be served hot with a lightly spiced Italian sauage, with a green salad.  The BGE was set up to cook indirectly with the platesetter feet up and the cast iron grill on top and was brought up to just 130-140C.  The sausages were popped on first  as we wanted those cooked through and then was joined after about 10 mins by the veal with the temperature probe sitting in the centre of the meat.  The plan was to cook it till it just reached a core temperature of 52C which should be around medium rare.  Meanwhile a “Tonnato sauce” was made – not normally served with hot meat it did give the opportunity to experiment a little (and I have to say it does go well with hot meat!! )– for the recipe – see Vitello Tonnato.  Once the veal had reached 52C it was taken off the grill and wrapped in foil to rest for around 10 mins.  When the veal was sliced there was just a touch of pink, slightly less than I would have chosen suggesting that the core temperature of the meat continued to rise when it was resting – note to self for next time!!

However, served with the salad and the Tonnato sauce with just a little of the meat juice that collected in the aluminium foil spooned onto the veal – it was looking good!  The veal was tender, very lightly smoky and the outside of the meat had a little tang from the paprika and white pepper

– simply delicious!!

Today’s post is short but sweet….

We found a little wild rosemary which was placed on the grill and the chicken was sat on top.  There was just enough room on the Mini for a couple of potatoes too. The chicken had previously been rubbed with a little olive oil all over and then seasoned with a mix of sea salt, pepper and some mixed dried herbs.

The Egg was closed and left to work it’s magic!

After around 15 mins the chicken was cooking well but probably a little quicker on the underside than the skin side – and that would never do!  So the chicken was flipped over and just to make sure we didn’t end up overcooking it we put the in-dwelling temperature probe from the iGrill mini into the thickest part of the chicken.

This is a very neat inexpensive little battery powered bluetooth temperature probe.  It is safe to use with the platesetter in place – running the heat resistant cable over one of the legs of the platesetter to protect it from any flames.  Best of all it sends the core temperatu

re of the cooking meat to your bluetooth enabled phone, meaning you don’t even have to stand up to check – this is what being on holiday is all about!

Wanting a final core temperature of 74C once the probe indicated we were near 70C the vents of the BGE were closed and the Metal cap replaced with the snuffer cap. The final part of the cooking would be completed using the residual heat of the egg (so we burn less charcoal and the egg cools down quicker for later transport!).

Once 74C was reached the chicken was taken off the grill leaving just the potatoes to finish off.  The chicken was wrapped in foil and allowed to rest for 10 minutes.

The chicken was simply divided into 2, and served with the potatoes a green salad and local tomatoes, and of course a glass or two of the local red wine!  The skin was crispy all over and beautifully flavoured, but the big discover” was cooking the chicken simply sitting on the bed of rosemary – now that is something we will do again …Salute!

Steak is perhaps not the first thing you think of when you consider Italian cooking but if you are in Tuscany then think again!

Bistecca alla Fiorentina, the Florentine Steak is famous throughout the world.   Traditionally it is cut from the loin near the leg of the Scottona (a young female cow that has never been pregnant). Traditionally from the huge Chianina cattle from Tuscany’s  Val di Chiana valley, near Arezzo.  So large are these cattle that the T-bone steak that goes to make the Bistecca alla Fiorentina may way up to 3kgs.  In different parts of the world it is described as a Porterhouse Steak – but that is nowhere near as romantic!   The meat should be well marbled and hung for between 15 and 21 days before cutting.

As you would expect there is a strong “folklore” associated with cutting the Florentine steak in the first place!  It is said that the minimum thickness should be 1.5 inch but better still if 2 to 2.5 inches and they range in weight from 1.5 to around 4 lbs but can be more!

Our version of dish was a little more modest and cooked a little differently from the classic Florentina!

The cut of meat was correct, loin from near the leg of the Scottona – from the butchers counter of the local supermarket in the village we were staying.  I would normally not buy steak from a supermarket in the UK but I have to say that here in Tuscany the meat is excellent.  This piece by Florentine standards was 650gms (1lb 4oz) but still generous for two!  Being thinner than a traditional Florentina, just 3/4 inch (traditional Bistecca alla Fiorentina can be up to 3 inches thick!) a different cooking method was used; the Reverse Sear.

Traditionally the Fiorentina is cooked over a very high heat for between 5-10 mins per side and then stood on the T-bone on the grill for a further 5-10 mins to give a very crusty outside and a rare middle.  With a thinner steak such as this the chances of over cooking was high – hence the reverse sear!

The steak was seasoned with salt and pepper with internal temperature probe in place ready to go on to the grill.

The Big Green Egg was heated to 110°C with the platesetter in the legs up position and the cast iron grill on top.  Once the Big Green Egg was up to temperature the steak was added and cooked to an internal temperature of 47-50°C (you could even be a little less if you like very rare steak).

Pop the steak onto the grill and allow it to warm up to around 47-50°C – at this stage the meat will be rare all the way through – but with no delicious crispy outside!

Wrap in tin foil and set to one side.

Remove the plate setter and replace the cast iron grill – heat the egg up to 250°C.  Once there, pop the steak back on for approximately one min per side (certainly no more than two!).

Then remove from the grill and re-rap in the foil and let rest for 10 minutes at least.

Slice across the grain from either side of the T-bone and serve with a salad or some roasted peppers – or just by itself with a squeeze of lemon!

Simply delicious!

Summer 2016  I simply said to my wife Jackie: Do you think it would be a silly idea to take the Big Green Egg on holiday with us? – quite expecting the “yes of course it is silly!” reply.  We were driving to Tuscany from the North of England for three weeks before coming back into France for a week with our French family then making our way home through northern France and Holland.

“No I think it would be a good idea” said Jackie.  Well, that will teach me…

The practicalities of it now needed to be thought about. I’d need to slim down the usual things I would pack, slightly less bike gear, slightly less camera stuff actually this was going to be quite do-abIe as long as we took our smallest Egg – the Mini.

No longer available in the UK it is a little smaller than the MiniMax – but as this was a travel experiment it would be a good test without much impact on the amount of other belongings we would take!

So the Mini was cleaned and loaded with charcoal so ready to go at a moment’s notice.  The Platesetter, the Cast Iron Grill and the Duel function Metal top all put inside together with a box of firelighters, some matches and the grill gripper.  The Big Green Egg was wedged between our bags and was as stable as anything.

Goodbye Northumberland – hello Tuscany!

Unpacking in Tuscany was completely uneventful. Turns out this was a very easy way to transport an Egg!  We later found out that when driving out for picnics etc with the Egg that a stretched cargo net over the Egg made driving with the Egg completely worry free. Two lessons learned already!

So the Big Green Egg goes on his holidays – welcome to Tuscany!

Now to decide what to cook first – let’s see what day 2 Tuscany brings …