Harts Kitchen
LICENSE TO GRILL
Everything you need to know about the important business of grilling meat from our expert , Mark Hartstone
S E E + SHOP
Enjoy Mark Hartstone ’ s food at La Fosse at Cranborne – la-fosse . com . Check out our full range of grill options at www . hartsofstur . com
MARK MY WORDS Mark Hartstone runs the acclaimed La Fosse at Cranborne with his wife Emmanuelle . He ’ s won multiple awards including Dorset ’ s Best Chef 2015 . He regularly demoes , teaches , writes and judges food and is a regular at the Sturminster Newton Cheese Festival on the Mousetrap Theatre Stage , as sponsored by Harts .
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lfresco cuisine is taking off again in the UK so cooking on open fires and barbecues is de rigueur . A passion for outdoor life has meant that I have always enjoyed cooking over hot coals , be it with scouts , cadets or the family in the back garden .
My early days as a chef on the Greek islands of the Ionian were often spent manning the firepit by the pool or taking the hotel ’ s launch to prepare a lunchtime BBQ on a far flung beach for the flotilla guests . Now we can cook year round on the open fire with our 8 to 14 seater BBQ hut in the La Fosse at Cranborne ’ s secluded garden .
Cooking dirty As much as we all enjoy a quality burger or old fashioned banger , a little extra effort and forethought can create a communal banquet . Like cooking indoors , the styles of cooking with fire are innumerable . Cooking dirty is very fashionable , this is where you put your food straight onto the coals . The combination of acrid burnt flavours and lumps of charcoal on your food has personally alienated me to this style of cooking . We have progressed since the stone age in some ways after all .
Smoke it out Low temperature cooking usually uses an enclosed BBQ so you can restrict the air flow to get the slow-cooked effect invariably with the addition of particular wood chips for that extra smoky hit . Take care not to use too much as the smoke can end up covering the flavours of your food rather than complementing them . This style of cooking is ideal for larger joints that are tougher and those which have a higher fat content which needs to be broken down . Using hardwood large lump wood charcoal such as Jim Bettle ’ s from local Dorset Charcoal in Hazelbury Bryan makes slow , controlled cooking easier .
Slow cooking Heavy ceramic , Asian-style BBQs also retain their heat along with brick and clay ovens that are now a feature of gardens . Joints of meat are not the only things that can be cooked slowly . Whole beets , onions , squashes or that run away courgette that is now a massive marrow , proves that a foil-wrapped spud is not the only vegetable adaptable to cooking over fire .
Under pressure If time is of the essence for your BBQ you can always give the joint a helping start in a pressure cooker . The Kuhn Rikon 12lt is a really clever way of speeding up the cooking and also of introducing flavours into the joint from the cooking liquor .
Grill ‘ em all Grilling uses a higher direct heat , so regular turns of the food are necessary and can be aided by racks that turn all on the grill simultaneously , or rotisseries do the same job too .
Get even With such a cooking style an even bed of coals is required . Lean meats need to be fairly thinly sliced otherwise they will dry out during high temperature cooking . Fish that has a texture that flakes easily is best grilled whole . To speed cooking and to get lemon and oils into the flesh a dendritic knife cut pattern ( like a tree ) can be made into the fish .
HARTS
TEAM TIP “ Grating semi-soft cheeses such as mozzarella and feta can be really messy . Freezing it for about 30 minutes beforehand makes life a lot easier and cuts down on the mess !” Kirsty , Office Manager
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