Charred; a book by Genevieve taylor

“Do you fancy coming to a barbecue this weekend?” – if you have ever been subjected to a partially cooked veggie sausage or a frozen garden burger, these words, as every vegetarian will attest, are enough to turn your blood cold and your stomach over.

For years, vegetarians and vegans have been as welcome at charcoal fuelled gatherings as the Grim Reaper and the catering has, more often than not, been deathly too.  Watery, yet burnt, I know, I know,  under-seasoned  vegetable  kebabs, a few commercial “veggie options” and a lot of salad are in no way satisfying, tempting or appetising.

Which is why this new book, CHARRED from Genevieve Taylor is such a joy.  Vegetables are the main course, the highlight, the centre piece, the works!  

This is barbecue food with a difference.  Properly cooked, highly flavoured,  masses of texture,  belly filling, smile provoking, happiness inducing food.

Barbecue favourites and standbys such as kebabs and burgers are included; with enough recipes to suit the most discerning of outdoor diners and satisfy the biggest fresh air appetites.  But these are just the start, chapters 1 and 2 to be precise.  Beyond the pleasurable delights of these plant based staples are more treats to tempt every palate.  We already have page markers in each of the Low, slow and smoked; Stuffed and wrapped and Sharing plates sections, where we also found the best advice in the whole book - "The best way to eat them (Caramelised fennel and oranges, page 166) is to get stuck in with your fingers".

As well as an abundance of recipes, including the all important relishes and sauces, the book brims with advice for how to get the best out of your barbecue; the practicalities; equipment and techniques, so you can face the fire with confidence.  And mindful of our fickle climate, instructions for cooking indoors are also given.

Genevieve is a fan of our chapa griddle plate "brilliantly sturdy and will last me a lifetime", regularly uses our prospector pans and is currently testing some new kit for us - keep watching for further updates. 

So if you know a barbecue king or queen, who could do with a little veggie help, we won’t mention any names, we promise, or you just want to expand and enhance your own barbecue reputation and repertoire – buy this book.

And if you fancy tasting a few of the recipes and enjoying a couple of beers, join us at the launch party on 1st June 2019.

Netherton Foundry Shropshire 2019 ©

www.netherton-foundry.co.uk

New product, new recipe

One of the joys of developing new product ideas is the opportunity to create some new recipes.
If you have been watching our social media closely, you will have noticed that the chapa family has grown.
We now have a compact 12" chapa, the family sized 15" chapa, the party version, a split giant chapa, measuring 24" in diameter and the barbecue chapa.
The record breaking Easter weekend weather  saw an outbreak of barbecues across the land, but I waited until today to try out the barbecue chapa; cue torrential downpours, a thunderstorm and a power cut!  But then the sun came out, and so did the chapa.
The wind certainly helped with the fire lighting, just enough to create a good draught and also ensured that whichever angle I approached from, I was guaranteed a face full of woodsmoke.

The first test was some juicy pork loins, marinaded for a couple of hours while the rain came down.

This gives you enough marinade for up to 8 pork loin chops.

1" root ginger, peeled and grated
Juice and grated zest of 1 lime
1 tblsp honey
2 tblsp soy sauce
1 tblsp oil (I used Bennett And Dunn smoked rapeseed oil)
Generous grinding of black pepper
1 tsp crushed fennel seeds

Mix all the marinade ingredients together and place in a shallow dish.  Add the pork and ensure that each piece is well coated.  Leave to marinade for at least 2 hours.
Light a good fire under the chapa and allow the grid to get hot.  Be patient, have a glass of wine, relax.

When the grid is nice and hot, place the pork on top and cook for 10 minutes on each side.  

Check that the meat is cooked through and serve with a cold noodle salad. 

Netherton Foundry Shropshire 2019 ©

www.netherton-foundry.co.uk

Salami inspired burgers

Some time ago, we were asked by one of our trade customers to suggest a burger recipe to help them promote items from our outdoor cooking range.
Now you make think that outdoor cooking is a summer thing, dragging the barbecue out of the garage, chilling the beers and inviting all the neighbours round and there is nothing wrong with that.  But there is more to outdoor eating than that and our range includes some great compact outdoor cooking items that are practical to use in the great outdoors or in the back yard all year long.

We decided to come up with a totally new recipe on this occasion and we have yet to see it published anywhere else, so wanted to share it with you here.  These are inspired by the flavours of Italian salamis, perked up with the aniseedy waft of fennel seeds and warmed with paprika.  These have been served up on one of our baking and serving trays

Unfortunately rain stopped play on the day these were created, so the photos are taken using the griddle plate on the indoor hob, rather than over fire on its chapa legs, but you get the idea..... and you also get to see how versatile the chapa griddle is.


500g belly pork, ask your butcher to mince it for you

250g smoked streaky bacon

7 fennel flower heads or 1 dessertspoon fennel seeds

1 tablespoon fresh marjoram 

Black pepper

1 tablespoon smoked paprika 

 If the butcher hasn't minced the pork for you, chuck it in a food processor and give it a quick blitz, or if you are lucky enough to own a Spong mincer or a fancy attachment for your food mixer (several brands are available and as none of them have offered us money or free samples to endorse them, we will name no names), mince it yourself.  

Finely chop the bacon, the fennel flowers (if using) and the marjoram.

Mix all the ingredients together in a large mixing bowl - start with a wooden spoon, but then get in there with your hands, it's the best way to bring the mixture together.

Shape in to 6 equal sized burgers and set aside while you heat your barbecue, outdoor hob, chapa, griddle plate or frying pan

As soon as the cooking surface is hot, slide in your burgers.  You shouldn't need any oil, as there is a fair amount of fat in the pork and bacon.  This is not only great for cooking, but adds flavour and juiciness to your burger.

Cook for 6 minutes on each side - do NOT be tempted to keep prodding and turning them, they will end up sticking and/or falling apart, let the heat do the work.

                                              

Serve in ciabatta rolls with a tart apple sauce for a Britalian fusion burger.

Netherton Foundry Shropshire 2017 ©

Girls just wanna have fun

We have always operated an open house policy for our children's friends and with the elder rapidly approaching his 20th birthday, we have experienced a generation of sleepovers.

These have, without exception, been a pleasure and on occasion particularly memorable.

Of course, food, and latterly booze, have played their part and it has been a joy serving up home made treats to all of their friends.  It has also been a revelation and an education, producing interesting reactions and a response to strawberry ice cream for a very small boy that is remembered by his father over 16 years later!

Most recently, Netherton's daughter proposed a "gathering" for some of her college friends simply to celebrate the joy of summer.  Of course,as the kids have got bigger, the house has felt smaller, and so whenever possible, these get-togethers have taken place in the garden, affording both them and us a sense of space.

What was once a pond, totally unsuccessful as a garden feature, has been long filled in and has created the perfect fire pit area.  This makes it the ideal location for setting up the chapa griddle.
The girls gathered around this long into the evening, chatting, drinking, eating and creating memories that they will take away with them to their various destinations as they embark on the stage of their academic lives.
I was warned by my daughter that Lyd only drinks water or Malibu - of all the options, how did she choose Malibu? - and only likes plain food, nor does she eat burgers.  My idea of outside cooking was somewhat kiboshed by this and I was prepared to offer sausages and, well more sausages.

However, culinary negotiations within the gang ensued and it seemed that Lyd was feeling daring; she was going to try my marinaded chicken.
This has been a mainstay of many a barbecue and is so easy to prepare.
The girls gathered, the fire was lit, the sun set and the chicken was cooked................. and the verdict?
Delicious!!   And as no Malibu had been imbibed,  think we can safely say that this was a success.

So, here for Lyd and the rest of you is my simple and straightforward marinade for barbecued chicken.

This is sufficient for around 6 - 8 chicken thighs.
2 tablespoons of tomato puree
2 tablespoons brown sugar or honey
1 tablespoon Dijon mustard
1 tablespoon smoked paprika.

Mix all the ingredients together in a large mixing bowl.
Chuck in the chicken thighs and, using your hands, thoroughly coat them in the tomato mix.
Cover the bowl and leave for around 2 hours.
Cook on a barbecue, or better still a chapa griddle until the juice run clear and the meat is cooked through to the bone

(Alternatively, throw them on to a baking tray and cook in the oven for around 30 minutes at 180ºC)

Eat with your fingers and wash them down with the beverage of your choice - Malibu is not compulsory.

© Netherton Foundry 2017

www.netherton-foundry.co.uk

Big Day Out

It started with a tweet and ended up with us going to Kate Humble's Big Day Out on her farm in Monmouthshire, alongside Dallas Campbell and his "Science of Pizza" demonstration.

Kate had asked Dallas to do a demonstration at the Big Day Out on the theme of pizza, to show off the Esse wood fired pizza oven, so with his usual enthusiasm and hands on approach, he duly did his research and rocked up to the event with some great facts, figures and anecdotes. Daniel Blewitt from Esse was on hand to lend his considerable expertise to the proceedings
But before that, his research led him to investigate the best surface on which  to cook the perfect pizza and he turned to us, figuring we'd be able to help.

Of course, we love a challenge, so the quest for the perfect pizza plate was joined and we started our own experimentation. We came up with a 15" diameter, ¼" thick black iron plate. Out of which was born our brand new griddle and bake plates - not only good for pizzas, but a whole host of other goodies too.
So now you can choose from 2 sizes - 12" and 15".
UPDATE: we have now added the long handle and short handle pizza peels to the raqnge
Please take note, more recipes will be coming this way soon.................

Our joint experiments concluded that this plate is fantastic in a wood fired oven like the Esse featured in this post, a domestic oven - see photos below - and Dallas's own experiments which proved that you can create a great Napoli pizza by cooking first on the hob and then finishing off under the grill.

Using the following recipe and flour from a 25kg bag  that he bought for less than £20, Dallas made pizza bases for around 4p each.

Mix 3g fresh yeast (or 1½g dried yeast) into 600ml water.
Put 1kg of 00 flour into a bowl and add 35g salt
You do not need anything else!!!

Make a well in the middle of the flour and add the water.  Draw the flour into the water and bring together until thoroughly combined.
Turn out onto a floured surface and knead for 5-10 minutes until the dough feels "elastic".

Cut into portions weighing approx 250 - 280g and shape into balls with a smooth upper surface.
Place on a floured tray and cover with a damp tea towel or oiled clingfilm
Leave to prove for 8 hours.

Heat the oven to the highest it will go, or the wood fired oven to 350º or heat the hob and grill.
Place the pizza plate on the hob or in the oven to preheat.

Press out the dough to your preferred thickness - a true Neapolitan pizza has a THIN crust.

The sauce was made from a 40p tin of tomatoes, simply blitzed with a stick mixer.

Spread a thin layer of sauce on to the pizza - too much will give you a soggy bottom, to quote a well known baking personality.

Finish off with a dusting of grated Parmesan and some Mozzarella.  A few leaves of basil will turn this into the classic Margharita.

Carefully transfer the pizza onto the pizza plate, using a pizza peel - more news of these coming soon - and transfer to the hob or oven.
Alternatively, you can build your pizza directly onto the pizza plate.

It should be ready in a matter of minutes - depending on the cooking method.

And there you are, Dallas's genuine Neapolitan pizza - delicious, simple and incredibly cheap.

Of course, we were lucky enough to hear his anecdotes and yarns...... but you never know, he may be back again next year or may even find an opportunity to share the adventure on TV.

But this was not the only cookery demonstration of the day............

At a varied and fun event we also got to see Tom Herbert - one of the Fabulous Baker Brothers making bread and butter -  delicious soda bread with home made butter.
We are lucky enough to have met Tom before and he and his brother Henry have been using some of our cookware around the country for their outdoor cooking escapades.

And let it not be said that the barbecue is the sole domain of the suburban, Neanderthal male.

You may have seen recent press coverage of the rise of women in the hitherto macho domain of outdoor cooking and here to show off their altogether more appetising alternatives to charcoaled sausage were Genevieve Taylor, launching her fascinating and appetite stimulating book "How to Eat Outside"

and the utterly lovely Shauna and Samantha, who together are the HangFire Smokehouse gals.

The gals

Neil and Dallas inching towards the HangFire stall

And there was not just food, we were lucky enough to chat with Oliver from The Noses and got a wave from Gareth Malone, who naturally enough led the children in a fantastic rendition of Old MacDonald and other great favourites.

We would like to extend our personal thanks to Emily, the Farm Shop Manager and all her staff for the warm welcome and the terrific way in which the have displayed their stock of Netherton Foundry wares.

  

 

And we mustn't leave out Josh, Guyrope Gourmet with his camper van and Pioneer stove

and Alexis from Embers in Bristol with his Kamodo Joe

© Netherton Foundry Shropshire 2015

www.netherton-foundry.co.uk

Looking forward to summer

It's here!!!

No, not the summer, you'll need to wait for Spring first, although the sight of the snowdrops and first primroses and daffodils does make me feel it's on the way.

No, what I mean is our latest exciting product - the Garden Hob.  You can barbecue, slow cook and even tagine IN THE GARDEN.

All the features you love about the Netherton Foundry slow cooker, powered by charcoal.  All British made; cast iron, seasoned with flax oil, oak feet and knobs and a range of our recipes.
Just fill the base with charcoal, light it and wait until the flames die down. Then you can cook directly on the grid for a traditional barbecue experience or put the cooking bowl on top and this will cook for at least 5, and up to 7 hours.  Great for party meals, but also perfect for making a big bowl of Boston baked beans to go with your burgers.  And you don't need perfect weather, I tested this in the snow!

The tagine lid is available in striking copper and also with our hand painted Rachel Frost lids - match it with your flower beds!

Then when the sun goes in - take the bowl indoors and use it in the kitchen

Give us a call if you want more information - I can't wait for your recipes.

Netherton Foundry Shropshire 2012 ©

www.netherton-foundry.co.uk