Grill Master Sid's Secret Recipes
07/01/2010
Also a world traveler and photographer, Stafford cooks by instinct, so he isn’t wedded to recipes with precise measurements. It’s probably better to throw caution to the winds and be as willing to experiment as he is.
That’s how he arrived at his ideal barbecue rub base after starting his reign at the grill using Paul Prudhomme’s K-Paul’s Magic Barbecue Seasoning. “I used it for a long time and got bored with it, so I started changing it,” he says. “I’m really fond of paprika, and there are so many different paprikas out there.
I like their earthiness and fruitiness; you can get smoky Spanish paprika and sweetness from Hungarian paprika. Like with salmon — you can just do a light dusting with paprika and salt, and that’s all you need. Just keep it simple, but if you want to make it complicated, you can go crazy with it.”
Stafford also recommends customizing the rub for your meal. “You just have to experiment with different herbs and spices and find out what you like. Sage and rosemary are great with poultry, and herbs of Provence with lavender is great with lamb. For fish, you have dill and mustard.” He also suggests ground coffee with beef. For best results, barbecue over charcoal.
Sid’s Basic Rub
Sid says ingredients are listed in descending order of volume – in other words, sea salt is the most plentiful and black pepper is the least. Calibrate amounts to your taste, and try to use organic ingredients wherever possible.
Sea salt
Paprika
Granulated garlic
Sugar
Mustard seeds
Granulated onion
Black pepper
Grill Master Sid’s Portuguese Chicken
(Frango no churrasco)
Ingredients
1 whole chicken
2 tablespoons sea salt
4 cloves garlic
3 whole lemons
3 tablespoons olive oil
A few sprigs of fresh rosemary
Method
1. Butterfly the chicken and place it in a plastic bag with the salt and garlic. Squeeze the lemons and add the juice and rinds. Marinade overnight.
2. Rub the salt off the chicken and dry it. Coat with olive oil and place on the grill, skin side up. Lay the rinds and rosemary sprigs on top of the chicken. Cover and cook on high-medium heat (without flipping) for an hour, until the skin gets brown and crusty.
Grill Master Sid’s Smoked Salmon
Ingredients
Salmon filets
Extra virgin olive oil
Cherry or alder wood planks
Sea salt
Whole mustard seeds
Dried dill
Method
1. Soak the planks in water overnight. Leaving skin on, coat filets with olive oil and place on plank skin side down. Lightly dust fish with sea salt, whole mustard seeds and a bit of dried dill.
2. Set smoker at 250 degrees and smoke fish for about 2 hours. Serve on the plank.
DIGG | del.icio.us | REDDIT