Earn your title as King of The Grill with this month’s tasty barbecue recipe from Richard Hughes of the Lavender House in Brundall.
While we all applaud the unprecedented interest in cooking, be it sourcing the ingredients, creating in the kitchen or, most importantly, dining out in your favourite restaurant. One of the less appealing phenomenon is the competitiveness that seems to have crept into what should be a purely pleasurable experience. “I’ve eaten more Michelin stars than you”, “I have found a supplier of English truffles but won’t tell you where”, “I spent 14 hours over the weekend creating this nine-tier cake” ... you must have heard its ilk.
Not only are the cooks competitive but your dinner guests are all food critics and will regularly mark your plates out of 10. This surely has to be fuelled by TV, where a sponge cake is dissected, discussed and judgement is passed down, instead of eating a slice or two with a cup of tea as cake was intended. Masterchef is the biggest culprit, as food gets ever more complicated - it’s very rare you see a plate of food on that particular programme that you’d actually like to eat.
Nowhere more does this competitiveness manifest itself than at the barbecue. Grills are wheeled out that resemble small cars, with price points to match, marinating techniques discussed as though the chicken thighs were on a spa day, and sauces, rub and ketchup recipes are guarded like the family secrets. You are frowned on if you choose gas instead of coals (as I do!) and then we all compete to lay claim to the best burger, kebab or salad. The battle of the bangers doesn’t just take place at the Norfolk Food and Drink Festival but in back gardens across the country every Sunday. Chances are the cook will spend so long trying to light the coals, discussing techniques, produce and seeking acclaim that most guests would settle for a packet of salt and vinegar to ward off the pangs of hunger.
Nevertheless if you must compete this month’s recipe will surely be awarded any gongs going and this burger really cuts the Colman’s. It’s made with local pork, and packs a real punch. I’ve never understood the fast food claims that a burger should contain 100pc beef and nothing else. You should always use the best butcher you can find and that you can afford, but don’t be afraid to liven it up with a few extra ingredients. Pop this on the coals for your guests and even if you don’t possess that combative competitive streak, I think you can still safely lay claim to the title “King of The Grill”.
Richard Hughes is chef proprietor of
The Lavender House at Brundall and the
Richard Hughes Cookery School. He is also director of The Assembly House, Norwich;
www.thelavenderhouse.co.uk;
www.richardhughescookeryschool.co.uk
Pork and chorizo burgers
400g lean pork mince
300g raw chorizo sausage meat or 300g cooked chorizo, grated
300g white bread crumb
Fresh rosemary, thyme , parsley
1 tsp ground cumin
1/2 tsp smoked paprika
1 small onion
4 cloves garlic
Large pinch seassalt
1/4 tsp cracked black pepper
1 egg
Slaw
2 carrots
1 red onion
1 fresh red chilli
Bunch fresh coriander
1 lemon
1 tspn fennel seeds
2 tbsp natural yoghurt
1 Place the minced pork into a mixing bowl.
2 Add the salt and pepper.
3 Add the cumin and the paprika.
4 Finely chop the onion and crush the garlic, add to the pork mince.
5 Add the chorizo.
6 Add the chopped parsley, rosemary and thyme.
7 Add the breadcrumbs.
8 Add the beaten egg
9 Mix all the ingredients thoroughly. Shape into patties.
10 Place in the fridge for an hour prior to cooking to allow the burgers to “firm up”.
11 Meanwhile prepare the slaw; finely slice the red onion and place into a mixing bowl.
12 Grate the carrot
13 Chop the fresh chilli.
14 Add the fennel seeds.
15 Season with salt and freshly milled black pepper.
16 Add the yoghurt
17 Add the juice of half a lemon and the chopped coriander.
18 Mix to make the slaw. Cook the burgers to your liking on the barbecue, on a griddle, under the grill or in a frying pan. Top with the slaw and place in your favourite toasted bun.
