For Paco Martin Romano, chef at Tapa in Edinburgh, salsa española is one other important base. In a good olive oil, fry chopped onion, mushrooms and garlic, add a splash of Spanish brandy, then stir in a little flour to make a roux. Loosen with red wine and meat stock , reduce, then blitz smooth; a vegetarian version is completely acceptable, too. Use with roast meat and as a base for paella and all manner of other rice dishes. A sofrito, meanwhile, is the first base for many a Spanish meal. In Linton’s book The True Food of Spain, she warns that it isn’t a quick repair, nor does she advise utilizing out-of-season tomatoes.
In St. Augustine, Fla., Roger meets Nick Carrera, a grill master and grill maker behind Urban Asado. They roast complete lambs and greens on Nick’s asado crosses and asado grills for an Argentinian cookout. In Smyrna, Ga., Roger hangs out with Chef Andre Gomez, the proprietor of Porch Light Latin Kitchen, who cooks up Puerto Rican classics in his backyard when he’s off the clock. Roger and Andre build a rustic cinder block pit to roast a complete pig. While the meat cooks, they make empanadas by encasing shredded braised pork cheeks in a dough created from green plantains, and they shallow-fry them in a pan of oil set over a bed of scorching coals. From live-fire cooking to low-and-slow barbecue, Roger Mooking meets up with two couples making fiery feasts and creating sparks in California.
The American barbecue belt in the South stretches from the Carolinas to Texas, and today Roger Mooking heads to the center of it, Alabama. In the coastal town of Mobile, Roger meets Alabama native Bill Armbrecht, owner of The Brick Pit. Decrease the meat and increase the greens in stews and casseroles.
Roger and Travis fill a large metal rotisserie smoker with slabs of briskets. Then, within the kitchen, Emma and Roger build the Heimburger — two beef patties blended with brisket trimmings and topped with molten cheese and bacon burnt finish bourbon jam. In Tomball, Roger visits one-of-a-kind spot Tejas Chocolate and Barbecue. The “three chocolatiers” show Roger tips on how to make their signature mole sauce with their craft bean-to-bar chocolate.
In Solvang, Calif., the Alisal Guest Ranch and Resort is residence to 10,000 acres of land with horses, cattle and a bevy of fiery cooking contraptions. Roger helps fire up a meal of juicy beef ribs and grilled chickens for their weekly ranch cookout. In San Diego, Roger visits the outdoor kitchen of caterer Clyde Van Arsdall of 3 Squares Gourmet to slow-roast herb and citrus-stuffed turkeys on the spit whereas greens roast in the oven.
You also can chop or slice greens and sauté or stir-fry them in a pan or a wok. Another method of cooking vegetables and grains like rice is by boiling or steaming them. You can peel greens like potatoes and carrots before cooking them, and even mash them after they’re cooked when you like.
Roger Mooking’s quest for lip-smacking smoked meat leads him back to the Lone Star State. In Houston, Texas, Grant Pinkerton is an award-winning pit master who lately opened up his first restaurant. His specialty is Central Texas barbecue, however he likes to assume outside the firebox and cooks up one-of-kind cuts.. Roger and Grant season two whole goats with a spice mix that features guajillo chile, cumin and purple pepper. The tender meat gets hand-pulled and piled on tortillas and topped with all the fixings, and served with a facet of Mexican road corn.