That camembert was good eh? So good you went to take a nap AFTER STEALING IT FROM ME!

The dog ate my homework. Really. Everything was perfect. Toasted rind. Cheese oozing out. Good lighting. Then I turned my back for a second and poof no more. This 6 month old monster decided to creep up out of nowhere and steal it off the table. Couldn’t believe it. All that work was gone! My mouth was watering yet someone else got to savor perfection. Savor no, gulped is a better word. Oh well, but don’t worry, no one was harmed. She did however get screamed out of the area.

When I saw Dan’s post over at SaltShaker about grilled camembert he enjoyed at Lo Rafael, I thought hmmm one of those little wheels just might have to be forcefully volunteered as a specimen on my parrilla. Like I’ve mentioned before, the chance to enjoy many culinary delights at a restaurant near the bottom of the world is not one that comes easily. When you need something done around here you just have to do it yourself.

Cheeses like camembert and brie are some of my favorite types of aged curdled milk. You know the sort that appear to have been drenched in powdered sugar or fine bleached flour, yet are actually coated with a fungi rind. Thick slices on a baguette with a light warming in the oven until the cheese starts to melt like butter. Good stuff!

I’m no cheese expert, but sometimes I taste a little bitterness on the rind of these cheeses. Sometimes a little too much. I don’t know if that’s a good sign or the result of bad storage. Therefore, I wasn’t quite sure what would happen in regards to bitterness when grilled on a parrilla. When I saw Dan’s photo I noticed what appeared to be a bit of charring on the cheese and posted a comment to see if indeed it affected the rind’s taste. He replied that it was more toasted than charred and delicious. That was good enough to give me the green light on giving a lil ‘bert the grilling it so deserved.

I only have access to Sancor’s (large dairy company) Camembert, which isn’t bad but lacks in flavor and texture compared to the really good stuff. And if you get a freshly delivered batch and it was stored well, it really does appear to be frosted with powdered sugar with hardly any bitterness. No gourmet cheese shops in my area offer anything artisanal from around the country much less anything imported from say France. You gotta make due with what you have.

Although I’ll probably experiment a little bit more in the future I followed everything I did with the first attempt. The outcome was good, short of my dog stealing it, and I didn’t want to try something different, then fail, and start all over again.

Before cooking I decided to keep the cheese slightly cooled. I know that’s a no-no in the grill world but being that camembert is a very soft cheese I feared a melting explosion might occur within a minute on the grill. Cheese is not to be wasted.

I set the grill to where I could keep my hands right above the rack for about 5-6 seconds. Right about the time when your hand screams to the brain: “Please move me!!” Go slow and maybe a disaster won’t be in the making, I thought. Next, made sure the grill was clean and lightly oiled. You don’t want that rind to stick so that upon flipping, all that cheese slips through the cracks; literally.

After I placed the cheese on the rack, I think for every minute that passed I couldn’t stop myself from peeking at the bottom. After six minutes, when there were some nice grill marks and the side felt soft, I decided to give it a flip. Six minutes later the cheese was ready.

You know on those food tv shows how the host or guest exaggerates their satisfaction when sampling food? Swaying their head and upper body around with moans of “That is good, that is good. Oooh man that is so good, so good!” I think I was doing that myself after cutting into this and slathering it onto crackers. Luckily no one was around to see me. Lightly smoky crust with an unbelievable silky buttery cheese. But still, I think it could even be better. Next time I’ll leave it on the grill for a couple more minutes on each side. Also, Sancor produces a camembert-bleu cheese hybrid nambed Blue-Bert and that might just need a trial too.

It is the end of the day. You have the urge to grill something but you don’t want to end up making a big deal out of it. After a quick run to the supermarket to grab a few items, you light the fire. Crack open some cold beers or a bottle of wine to kill the time. Finally, you are rewarded with this….

Chorizo + Bread + Chimichurri = Simplicity at its best.

…or barbecued pizza.

I’m going to continue off the beaten path for a bit because I just couldn’t resist a little more experimentation. I was reading SaltShaker the other day, very well written site by the way if you have not come across it yet. Actually before I go further, if you want the dish on restaurants and cuisine in Buenos Aires–with a dash of tourism, a dollop of culture, and a heaping spoon of humor– I highly recommend you checking it out. He must go out to dinner every night for how many restaurants reviews appear each week.

Anyway, I was reading a post over there titled “Pizza BBQ“, and for the five years I lived in Buenos Aires, I never got around to sampling pizza a la parrilla. I’ve enjoyed matambre a la pizza numerous times but that is for another post. Therefore, the pizza post inspired me to give it a shot on my grill. The idea has popped into my head a few times, especially after watching an episode from a series by the guy who was voted the UK’s most annoying tv personality: Ainsley Harriot. He cooked a pie on a standard Weber-type grill and although his flamboyance was indeed annoying, the pizza made my mouth water. Since I prefer my pies to have a golden crispy top I knew I could never achieve that on my parrilla. Why? Well, if you’ve seen my parrilla then you know there is no top like your standard grill, like the one Ainsley used, and directing a good amount of heat toward the top of the pie is out of the question.

So this past Saturday I decided to turn the inspiration into reality. I figured that since this was going to be pizza a la parrilla, that I should stay true to Argentina by using the most popular toppings; mozzarella and ham. Ham is the meat topping of choice throughout Argentina much like pepperoni in the States. Still, however, I felt something extra was needed to add some smokiness to the pizza besides cooking it on a grill. Morrones, which are roasted red peppers seemed like a good choice. They’re probably right behind ham on the pizza topping popularity scale. Morrones have a smoky flavor but no, I’ll try them another time. I wanted some kind of meat topping that I could cook on the grill beforehand. Beef, chicken, or lamb didn’t win any votes because I just feel that they aren’t great pizza toppings. Panceta ahumada, or smoked bacon, would be the perfect match.

First the dough. I like to let my pizza dough rise about an hour or two before use, so I proceeded to get that out of the way and let it rise while preparing the grill. Just your standard pizza dough. I wish I had a recipe to post but sorry; pizza dough is one of those things i make without measurements. Just in case I seriously burned the dough, I made enough for about two pizzas. I was determined to have pizza that night and if the first one failed, the second would go into the oven.

Since I wasn’t preparing a full blown asado, I knew I wouldn’t need to light up a huge amount of coals. Just a decent amount to cover the bottom of the grill so that plenty of heat would not only hit the bottom of the pizza but also in the surrounding area. I also needed to cook the bacon a bit before placing the dough on the grill, therefore I cracked open a 3 kg bag of lump charcoal and lit up about 2 kilos (4.4 lbs) off to the side. I could always add more later.

When the coals were just about ready, I pulled some off the pile and placed them under the rack to get the bacon going. To be on the safe side I added some extra charcoal to the fire. I wanted to give the bacon a crispy coating and just in case, needed to make sure I had enough coals for the dough later.

On went the bacon. I lowered the grill to the lowest setting in order to cook it fairly quickly. After about 10 minutes I give it the flip and then pulled it off ten minutes after that.

Time to make the pizza. In order for everything to run smoothly once the dough and grill were ready, I grated the cheese, sliced the ham and bacon, then prepared the sauce. A simple sauce of pureed canned tomatoes, olive oil, salt, pepper, oregano, basil, sugar, and a splash of lemon; sorry no recipe for that either. I then spread around the remaining pile of coals under the rack so that after rolling out the dough, I could immediately plop it onto the grill. About 10 inches, or 25.5 cm, seemed like a good height to set the rack. Still, fear was present in my head. Would the bottom blacken in less than ten seconds? Also, I preheated my oven in case the crust cooked too fast with the cheese partially melted. I figured if the problem arose I could just flash heat it under the broiler to finish it off.

I rolled out some dough to create a 14″ (35.5 cm) wide pie with the thickness of about a 1/4 inch. This was then placed on my trusty well floured pizza peel and with great caution, pushed onto the grill. Soon after it started to go a bit bubbly.

One of the best things about this type of parrilla is that you can peek under the rack in order to prevent casualties of burn. After about 6 minutes, the bottom was getting a nice brown texture. Time to flip and pull it off the grill in order to dress the side that has browned with toppings and sauce.

I sprinkled a little pizza adobo, a store bought mixture of red pepper flakes, basil, pimenton, and laurel, on top for some extra kick. Using my peel, I slid the pizza back onto the grill to finish it off.

The coals were not quite as hot as before, and I didn’t disturb them for a new blast of heat would have arisen if I knocked off the thin layers of ash coating. If the crust browned as quickly on this side as the other, then perhaps the toppings would be left behind on the heat race. Therefore a little extra cooking time could go a long way.

After about 6 minutes, everything was looking really great. Cheese was melting faster than I expected. I might just be able pull this off I told myself. A quick glance under the rack showed me that the crust was browning at a good rate.

A couple minutes later the cheese was fully melted and the crust appeared brown and crunchy. Since I prefer my pizzas to be finished with golden and bubbly mozzarella I debated whether or not to slide this pie under the broiler for a minute or so. No. The whole point of this experiment was to see if I could create an enjoyable pizza that was strictly cooked on the parrilla so to the plate it would go.

How did it turn out? Very good. I was quite pleased with myself actually. The crust didn’t have much in terms of the smokiness that I had expected; about the same as you would get with a pizza stone. I feared that the texture would be too dry but I was seriously mistaken. Slightly crisp the outside yet fluffy and moist on the inside; not chewy at all. However, I think it could’ve held up to more cooking on both sides to give it a more crunchy exterior. The toppings were not bad. Not the same texture as an oven cooked pizza but good nonetheless. Overall the pizza was very similar to one cooked on top of a pizza stone.

Would I do it again? Definitely yes, this is something I want to master. However, you won’t find me cooking this once a week. I think I could probably do two pizzas in a row but no more than that. If any guests want to eat pizza at my place it’ll come out of the oven.

Notes for next time:

I think I’ll cook the side I placed the toppings on longer next time. Also, I might rotate it a bit to brown the areas that were not exposed to the coals (see 3rd picture from above). Same goes for the second half of the cooking process. Although the cheese was thoroughly melted and the toppings were heated through, I felt it could have used a little more time on the fire. The crust needed a bit more crunch.

You are witnessing history here folks. Something so grand and so extreme that all previous attempts never succeeded because the idea was never conceived. Ok, maybe I went a little too far with those statements but who knows, maybe I’m not too far off the mark.

I’m going to break away from the norm for a bit because, quite frankly, I felt this would make for a good post and it is about cooking on a parrilla. I returned from a trip this past Wednesday and found a huge monstrosity wrapped in a plastic bag at the bottom of the refrigerator while reaching for a cold beverage. At first glance I had no idea what I was looking at. It was definitely a bird but I’ve never seen a bird so large. My first thought was that it was perhaps a rhea, the South American version of the ostrich, but on closer inspection I determined that this must be a turkey. Now it would be nice if we lived in a world where robbers break into your house only to give you items instead of steal them but this was not the case. I had an idea of who was the mystery gift giver and after inquiring with the person in question I was told this turkey came straight from the farm of a family friend who breeds them.

The next question in my head was what to do with this bird. Being from the States I’m quite familiar with how to cook a turkey; season, tie up, and plop it into some sort of cooking device. There was one problem however, this bird was at least twenty pounds. I don’t have a smoker (yet) and there was no way this beast would fit into my oven short of removing the racks and cooking it on the bottom. I’m familiar with 14-15 pound turkeys but not something the size of a cow. The solution was to cut it up. Not a hard task if you know how to cut up a whole chicken. Use of the oven was still out of the picture since I would have to cook the pieces in two batches, therefore enter the parrilla.

I have never seen or read about anyone cook a whole cut up turkey on a parrilla before, but that isn’t to say it has not been done by others, and therefore I had no idea how the outcome would be. I searched around and found only a few instances of turkey cooked on a parrilla but only calling for the breast meat. Turkey is not a popular meat in Argentina. Whole turkeys are usually passed off as too large and cumbersome to cook. The common answer an Argentine will give when asked why they don’t cook a whole turkey is simply because it ends up too dry. Well, that answer is common around the world I should say but it all boils down to how it is prepared. Probably the most popular form of turkey in Argentina is as a deli meat; smoked or processed. However, quite a few recipes float around that call for rolling or stuffing the leg and breast meat with a filling of some sort. Most major supermarkets carry whole frozen turkeys but I never seem to catch anyone in the act of buying one.

Since I couldn’t find any tips, I decided to just picture the turkey as a huge chicken and cook it as such. Butterflying the turkey, cutting and opening along the backbone or breast, didn’t seem practical. Time being one of the reasons and since the meat is quite large I figured many parts would be dried and overcooked before the rest. Therefore, cutting the turkey into pieces seemed logical. Two boneless breasts, two wings, two thighs, and two legs. What was left was passed onto the gift giver as a base for soup stock. You want sneak a turkey into my fridge then you better be prepared to take what I don’t use.

Next I decided that a good brining would help to keep the meat juicy and tender for the lengthy cooking process that was to come next. I soaked all of the pieces for about 12 hours in a brine solution of 1 Tablespoon of salt per cup of water. About one hour before tossing my little bird on the grill I rinsed the meat and allowed it to rest at room temperature. This allows the outside of the meat to dry a little from soaking in brine for so long.

Grill time. Since this was a mix and match of parts with pieces of various thickness, I had to map out how the coals would be arranged under the meat. Again, I followed the same pattern I use for chicken. More coals around the thighs, and thicker parts of the legs and breasts. I set the grill rack a bit higher than usual at about 11-12 inches. I figured that the outcome would improve if I cooked the meat longer at a lower temperature; similar to smoking. Except for the legs and wings, meat was placed skin side up on the grill.

To keep the outside of the meat from drying out too much, I brushed a tangy lemon-rosemary sauce on the meat.

Lemon-rosemary basting sauce:

200 g butter
Juice of four lemons
1/2 cup red wine vinegar
3 tablespoons dried rosemary

Place all of the ingredients into a saucepan and boil for a couple minutes.

I had to flip the meat about four times throughout the cooking process to keep the sides from getting to crisp or burnt. Short of three hours later the meat was ready.

So how did it turn out? Pretty good for the first time. Better than any turkey I’ve had that was cooked in an oven. The legs and thighs were excellent and couldn’t be better. The wings were a bit tough but I think it had more to do with the muscles of the turkey. The thicker part of the breasts were succulent and tender but the thinner side was a bit dry. I should have butterflied the thicker part to create a more even cut. Overall I believe with another trial or two I can perfect the outcome. Would I do it again? Maybe, but I better invite quite a few guests. If you are familiar with Thanksgiving leftovers in the United States then you know that having to eat turkey for the next few days gets to be a bit boring now matter what dishes you invent. Invite as many people as you can to finish it off in one sitting.

If you love cheese, warm melted cheese that is, provoleta is a must have pre-meat dish for an asado. Provoleta is semi-hard provolone cheese in cylindrical form. For asado it is sliced about 2 cm thick and cooked on the grill until melted with a crispy exterior. Both sides are typically seasoned with a generous amount of oregano or other herbs and spices. A light sprinkling of dried red chili flakes may be included for the brave. The herbs and spices are pressed well onto the cheese in order to prevent them from falling of during the cooking process.

How To Cook

The true method of cooking provoleta is to place it directly on the grill. This method can be quite difficult and takes a bit of practice to master. If done incorrectly, the cheese can melt right through the rack and onto the coals leaving you with a gooey mess on the grill; not fun to clean. If you are quick enough to pull off the grill before it falls, you’ll just have a puddle of melted cheese to serve on the plate. To prevent all of this from happening, you’ll need to let the cheese sit at room temperature for about an hour or more. If you have ever left cheese out for a while, you’ll notice that a dryish skin forms on the outside. This will help the exterior to become crispy while cooking and prevent a huge melting mess. The will need to be very hot with a substantial amount of coals underneath in order to keep that heat and further help the searing process. You can either serve it as is with one side crispy or attempt to flip it. The choice is up to you. Do it right and you’ll end up with an outstanding smoky flavored melted piece of gooey madness.

If cooking cheese directly on the grill seems too risky or if you decided to throw in the towel after too many failed attempts, do not despair. You can use one of those small and shallow disposable aluminum pans or create one with foil wrap to cook the cheese. The grill will still need to be super hot but you won’t have to worry about losing the cheese. As easy as it may sound, a little trial and error may still be in order because the cheese may stick to the pan making it difficult to serve. Flipping may be somewhat difficult with this method.

Finally, there is one method that is extremely hard to fail, but is considered cheating. Lightly coat a non-stick frying pan with oil and cook the cheese over medium heat. Flip the cheese when one side gets slightly crispy.

Whichever method you choose, try not to let one side cook for too long. If the cheese develops too much of a crunchy crust it may become slightly bitter and difficult to cut.

Serving

About half of one slice is enough for one person. Eat it plain or along with a slice of crusty bread.