It’s a long way from the beginning of the new season but inspired by a new barbecue book I received for Christmas, I decided to give some thought about the events of the coming year. I checked out all of my equipment and decided to rid myself of anything that was past its best. The rest I placed in an all purpose toolbox consisting of knives, tongs, spatulas, aprons, gloves, hand cream, gas firelighters and other assorted sundries that I have found over the years to be useful. All my tools are now in one place and should I be asked to cook for some one at their place I merely have to pick up one tool box and everything I need, will be close to hand and easy to transport.
I then looked at my ageing grill and realised I had had the best years out of it and it was no longer up to my standards for the industrial use I put it to every year. It was time to order a new one. Trawling the net to find bargains and end of year clearances produced a Billy Oh four burner gas grill in stainless steel for less than the cost of my old grill. Out came the credit card and it was despatched within hours. I also decided to go back to my roots and buy a decent charcoal powered kettle barbecue. Again trawling for clearance bargains I found a large Webber Kettle drum at an amazingly low price. I know I have said in the past that I would not use charcoal again because it was not as eco friendly as gas but there is no denying that some foods do taste better for being cooked over hot coals as opposed to either butane or propane. Pictures of both appliances are in the barbies/equipment gallery.
During discussions and correspondence from Ted Magnum who is at the moment in Argentina, he expanded upon the virtues of an Argentinean barbecue called a parilla. Consequently a parilla will be built at the home of The Beast and we are currently in the process of persuading Little Miss Sunshine and The Beancounter that it would be a wonderful idea if they built one too as not only would it be practical but it would add value to their homes. A picture of a typical Argentine parilla can be found in the barbies/equipment gallery.
This coming year I hope to find new recipes and new ways of cooking. I am also going to cook two identical items on both gas and charcoal grills for the definitive taste test. I also made the decision that Ghastanbury would no longer be held at Château Ghastanbury and would in future be a roaming event rather like Creamfields. As yet I do not know where the first one will take place but after lively discussions with some of the massive and I am confident that a venue will be found by June 21st.
Here’s to 2008