Steven Raichlen's Planet Barbecue

[Steven] Today's show takes us on a culinary journey from classic old-world dishes... That's what you're looking for.

...to new world grilling techniques and flavors.

Looks pretty cool, huh?

Get ready for wood-grilled gazpacho with serrano ham crisps.

It's like a Serrano ham potato chip.

Pearl District spiessbraten with jicama salad.

Listen to that skin, how crackling crisp that is.

[blow torch firing] And smoke torch Catalan creams for dessert.

Mm.

Wow.

From the Alamo in San Antonio, I'm Steven Raichlen.

Welcome to Planet Barbecue.

[opening theme music] [announcer] Steven Raichlen's "Planet Barbecue" is made possible by... [narrator 1] This is the Big Green Egg, where fire and flavor come together.

You can roast, bake, and sear with the versatility of a grill, oven, and barbecue smoker combined.

Locate a dealer at BigGreenEgg.com.

[narrator 2] Fire Magic, combining style with the versatility to sear, smoke, rotisserie cook, and charcoal grill.

Crafted in America for over 80 years.

[music] Shun Cutlery handcrafted in Japan.

[narrator 3] Father's Cooker, multi-fuel, multifunction.

[narrator 3] Argentine Beef proudly supports "Planet Barbecue."

[narrator 4] Truly wireless temperature starts with Maverick.

[announcer] And by the following: [Steven] Food historians wax grandiloquent about New World ingredients like chiles, tomatoes, potatoes, and chocolate, and their impact on the cuisines of Europe.

[animals calls] But the culinary exchange went both ways, with Europeans adding beef, pork, apples, sugar, and coffee, among a host of other foods, to the melting pots of the New World.

No less impactful was the import of metal cookware and grill grates, and beer and winemaking techniques from Europe.

This show celebrates this Trans-Atlantic exchange, with dishes based on European classics, here reimagined with New World flavors and live fire.

Part salad and part soup, Gazpacho is one of Spain's most enduring contributions to world gastronomy.

It's hard to imagine improving on a dish that involves little more than garden fresh vegetables and a quick spin in a blender.

But I'm going to try using a technique you've seen countless times on Planet Barbecue: grilling over a smoky wood fire.

It starts with the vegetables.

Take an onion.

Cut it in half.

Then into one-inch wedges.

Pin each onion wedge together with a toothpick.

This keeps it from falling apart during grilling.

Next, pin together three cloves of garlic to make a sort of kebab.

This keeps the individual garlic cloves from falling between the bars of the grill grate.

Take a poblano chili or green bell pepper.

I like poblanos because they have a little more heat.

Cut off the top and bottom.

Open the poblano.

Trim out the veins and scrape out the seeds and your poblano is ready for grilling.

Then take a red bell pepper.

Cut off the top.

Cut off the bottom.

Make a slit in the side.

Open the pepper up.

Trim off the veins and remove the seeds.

There's your bell pepper.

Next, your tomatoes, and obviously gazpacho lives or dies by the ripeness of the tomatoes.

So, choose the ripest tomatoes you can find, ideally garden fresh that have never seen the inside of a refrigerator.

Finally, have ready a cucumber that you have peeled, halved, and seeded.

To grill the vegetables, I'm working over a wood fire.

Here's a great technique for you.

Instead of putting charcoal in your chimney starter, put wood chunks.

Light them the same way you would charcoal, and you'll have a wood fire in no time.

Brush your grill grate clean and oil it with a folded paper towel and drawn across the bars of the grate.

This prevents sticking, helps clean your grill grate further, and actually serves as a conduit between the heat and the metal and the vegetables.

So, arrange the tomatoes.

Coming back this way.

Then your red bell pepper.

Your poblano pepper.

Onion wedges.

Your garlic.

And finally, your cucumber halves.

This is a quick grill.

You're really just trying to char the outside of the vegetable, impart some smoke flavor, not really cook the vegetable through.

The vegetables should remain raw in the center.

This rawness is the essence of gazpacho.

So, really just a minute or two per side will do it.

See already after 30 seconds, we've blistered the tomato skins.

Oh, those are beautiful.

That's what you're looking for right there.

And once the vegetables are lightly charred, transfer them back to the sheet pan.

The onions take a little longer, so I'll move them over the hottest part of the fire.

All right, I'm going to pull off the onions.

So, there are your wood-grilled vegetables for the gazpacho.

Let the grilled vegetables cool to room temperature.

Meanwhile, Serrano ham is Spain's answer to Italian prosciutto and another of its most enduring contributions to world gastronomy.

Start by painting thin slices of serrano ham with extra virgin olive oil.

Turn the ham slices over.

And brush the other side the same way.

Arrange the ham slices on the grill and grill until crispy and brown on both sides.

A minute or two will do it.

When brown on one side, turn the ham slices over.

When the ham slices are browned on both sides, transfer them to a wire rack over a sheet pan.

The ham will crisp upon cooling.

To finish the gazpacho, cut the vegetables into one-inch pieces.

Take out the stem end.

And of course, you want to keep that flavorful charred skin.

Then place the tomato in the blender bowl.

Dice the poblano pepper.

Then the red bell pepper.

Then un-skewer the garlic.

Give it a rough chop.

And add it to the blender.

Take your cucumber and cut it into one-inch pieces.

And finally, your onion wedges.

Be sure to remove those toothpicks.

Now add your flavorings.

Red wine vinegar for acidity.

Extra virgin olive oil for richness.

Sea salt.

Freshly ground black pepper.

And water to thin the gazpacho to a pourable consistency.

I also like to add fresh herbs.

So, we'll tear off a few fresh basil leaves.

Some flat leaf parsley.

Some fresh oregano.

And some fresh tarragon.

Now place the blender bowl on the blender.

And puree the gazpacho as coarsely or as finely as you like.

You can see those little specks of charred tomato skin and onion.

That's going to add flavor and color.

And the most important step of all, taste it for seasoning.

Mm.

I think we need a little more vinegar for sharpness.

A little more extra virgin olive oil for richness.

Sea salt.

I like the consistency.

So, we'll blend again.

We'll pour it into a bowl for serving.

A sprinkle of fresh herbs.

A slice of crispy ham.

And there's your wood-grilled gazpacho.

Mm.

Super refreshing, like conventional gazpacho, but with something extra.

That little whiff of wood smoke.

Nice balance between the acidic vinegar, the rich olive oil.

I'll take some piece of the crispy ham.

Mm.

It's like a Serrano ham potato chip.

Wood-grilled gazpacho with crispy Serrano ham.

It takes a Spanish classic to a whole new level.

The Mexican influence on south Texas cuisine is ubiquitous and profound, but German immigrants at the turn of the last century had an equally marked effect on local food and drink.

A German brewmeister founded San Antonio's city brewery, today the trendy Pearl District.

German sausage morphed into Texas' popular jalapeo beef hot guts, which brings me to our next dish, a rotisserie pork shoulder from the Saarbrcken region, reborn as my Pearl District spiessbraten.

It starts with a boneless pork shoulder.

Open it up and season the inside with coarse sea salt and freshly ground black pepper.

Then spread the inside with Dsseldorf mustard.

Now arrange three slices of muenster cheese along the inside of the pork roast.

Carpet the roast with smoked ham.

And sliced pickles.

Finally, add three more slices of muenster cheese.

Now roll the pork shoulder back into a compact cylinder.

Tie the top of the roast with a piece of butcher string.

Then tie a slip knot.

You loop over your finger, bring it under, tuck the end of the string through.

Pull tight and tie it off.

Great.

Now take another piece of string, pull it under the bottom of the roast.

And once again, that slip knot, it's looped through it once.

Bring it over, loop it over your finger, pull underneath, tuck through.

Pull tight and tie off the second knot.

All right, ready for number three?

We'll come under, pull it through, pull tight, and lock that knot.

Take a fourth string.

We pull tight.

Pull the string through.

Tighten up that knot.

Snip off the end.

Finally, take a last piece of string, loop it under the roast, bring it over and tie from end to end.

Pull it tight.

And trim off the excess string.

Then take sprigs of rosemary and pull them under the strings... ...alternating with whole bay leaves.

Turn the roast over and add the same flavorings on the other side.

Insert the wireless probe of your thermometer into the end of the spiessbraten.

And there is your spiessbraten, ready for roasting.

So, "spiess" in German is a spit, like a rotisserie spit.

"Braten" means roast.

Hence the name spiessbraten.

Now, insert your rotisserie skewer through one end of the roast and out the other.

Snugging the roast onto the prongs.

Then come in and do the other side.

And it would be nice for me to get this in a little bit more.

There we go.

One, two, beautiful.

Now tighten the prong screws.

And then I like to use a fork just to snug up those prongs.

To spit roast the spiessbraten, I'm using a gaucho style rotisserie.

I set it up for indirect grilling.

That means that the logs are pushed to one side and the other with no fuel in the center.

You never want to spit roast with a fire under your roast, otherwise the dripping fat might catch fire.

Put the spit on the rotisserie.

Once the socket is set, switch on the rotisserie.

Cooking time, two to two and a half hours, and that's all there is to it.

Meanwhile, I'll show you how to make a cucumber and jicama salad to go with the pork.

In Germany, spiessbraten is served with an icicle radish salad.

I'm going for a more Texas accent with cucumber and jicama.

Jicama Is a root vegetable associated with Mexico and the American Southwest.

People liken the flavor to a cross between an apple and a potato.

For me, it's mostly about the crunch.

Now add two finely chopped scallions.

A generous pinch of salt.

Freshly ground black pepper.

Sour cream for a creamy tartness.

White wine vinegar for acidity.

And chopped fresh dill for brightness.

Toss the salad to mix thoroughly.

I'll take a taste.

Mm.

Nice bright dill flavor.

Let's check the spiessbraten.

So, you can see the roast is browning nicely.

The fire looks good.

It's just really a matter of patience.

We've got another hour, hour and a half to go.

It's been two and a half hours and our spiessbraten certainly looks done.

On my wireless thermometer, 190 degrees.

Bingo, that's where we want to be.

So, I'll turn off the rotisserie motor, put on gloves.

Pull forward and back.

So, here's your spiessbraten.

Looks pretty cool, huh?

What we'll do is loosen the prongs.

One.

And don't forget to remove your wireless thermometer.

And then while the pork is resting, you can cut the trussing strings.

Listen to that skin, how crackling crisp that is.

And untruss your pork.

Transfer the spiessbraten to a cutting board and make one cut.

Once you get through that crisp skin, the knife glides through the meat as though through butter.

Ah, look at that.

So, there's your spiessbraten.

And a spoonful of your cucumber jicama salad.

How's that for grilling from across the pond?

So, let's take a taste.

Mm.

That pork skin, as crisp as a potato chip.

You get the mustard, you get the smokey ham, the oozy cheese, nice smoke flavor from the wood.

Now let me try the jicama salad.

Cool, crisp and fragrant with dill.

The perfect counterpoint to the rich pork.

So, there you have it.

Pearl District spiessbraten with cucumber jicama salad.

From Germany to Texas via Planet Barbecue.

Up next, smoked, torched Creme Brule.

Our last dish is a custard.

The Spanish call it "crema catalana."

For the French, it's Creme Brule.

It belongs in Planet Barbecue thanks to the use of live fire to burn its sugar topping to a candy crisp crust.

The only thing that could make it better, a soulful blast of wood smoke.

I give you smoked, torched Creme Brule.

Step number one, scald three cups of heavy cream in a pot over a click burner.

Flavor it with a vanilla bean, which you will split lengthwise.

I'll just scrape with the point of a knife so you can see these tiny, fragrant vanilla seeds.

Place the vanilla pod and seeds in the saucepan.

Next, add a cinnamon stick and a strip of a lemon zest, the oil-rich outer rind studded with three cloves.

We're flavoring this Creme Brule with tropical spices, cinnamon, cloves, vanilla, and a strip of lemon zest.

Next, make your egg mixture.

Crack three eggs into a mixing bowl.

Add three egg yolks, which will make the Creme Brule extra rich.

And one third of a cup of brown sugar.

Whisk this mixture until smooth.

Once the egg mixture is smooth and the cream is scalded, whisk the cream into the eggs in a thin stream.

It's important that you add the cream gradually, so you don't scramble the eggs.

And I'll leave the vanilla bean and cinnamon sticks in until the very last minute for extra flavor.

Then strain the Creme Brule mixture into a measuring cup.

Next, pour the Creme Brule mixture into Creme Brule dishes.

These are low-sided custard dishes.

And you can see the tiny little specks of vanilla beans, that shows you've done it right.

To smoke the Creme Brule I'm using a ceramic cooker.

I've set it up for modified indirect grilling.

That means heat diffuser plate on one side, open on the other side.

I'll add a handful of soaked cherry wood chips to generate wood smoke.

Then place the grate on the grill.

Place the Creme Brules over the deflector plate.

The idea is to shield the delicate custards from the direct heat.

Then close the lid of the grill.

Adjust the vents to obtain a temperature of 300 degrees.

Total cooking time, 30 to 40 minutes.

You're looking for a jiggle rather than a ripple when the Creme Brules are cooked.

It's been 40 minutes, the Creme Brules should be cooked.

And you can see they are set.

So, take the Creme Brules off the grill and transfer to a wire rack.

Let the Creme Brules cool to room temperature, then refrigerate until serving.

And now the fun part.

Sprinkle the top of the Creme Brule with granulated sugar.

Swirl it around to get an even coat.

Now, light your blow torch.

[blow torch firing] And caramelize the sugar on top.

There you go.

Good.

And there's your smoked, torched Creme Brule.

So, you kind of crack the crust.

Mm.

Creamy custard, crackling crisp crust.

You know, Creme Brule is a dessert you've eaten a thousand times, but the addition of wood smoke transforms it utterly.

So, that's our show on grilling from across the pond.

We're Planet Barbecue.

Thanks for watching.

See you next time.

[announcer] For recipes, books, and more live fire cooking, visit StevenRaichlen.com.

You can also follow Steven Raichlen on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, and TikTok.

Steven Raichlen's "Planet Barbecue" was made possible by... [narrator 1] This is the Big Green Egg, where fire and flavor come together.

You can roast, bake, and sear with the versatility of a grill, oven, and barbecue smoker combined.

Locate a dealer at BigGreenEgg.com.

[narrator 2] Fire Magic, combining style with the versatility to sear, smoke, rotisserie cook, and charcoal grill.

Crafted in America for over 80 years.

[music] Shun Cutlery handcrafted in Japan.

[narrator 3] Father's Cooker, multi-fuel, multifunction.

[narrator 3] Argentine Beef proudly supports "Planet Barbecue."

[narrator 4] Truly wireless temperature starts with Maverick.

[announcer] And by the following: [Matt] Oh, and you got to talk.

Oh, okay.

You ready?

[Matt] Yep.

Up next, a Pearl District spiessbraten.

[Matt] We're good, we're good.

You're good.

Okay.

Mm.

Wow.

Refreshing.

Like conventional...

I got to do it again, sorry.

[Matt] Ubiquitous, right?

Ubiquitous.

So, what did I say?

[Matt] Ubiquitous.

Ubiquitous.