Category: paprika

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chicken coriander cumin food paprika product review sugar

sledgehammer chicken

I’ve cooked a few whole birds on the barbecue before, such as southeast spatchcock and slathered with BBQ sauce. But with getting a drum-style barbecue this year I could try grilling a whole one for the first time.

This chicken came about from trying Sainsbury’s new chicken roaster. It’s a metal stand which holds the bird in a vertical position while it roasts. Assembled it’s rather phallic, but once you look past that you have a metal prong over a tray which all hooks together. The pieces come apart and you are able to fold it away to pretty much nothing. You’re cooking a chicken to a similar principle as a beer-butt chicken which I’ve always wanted to try but just don’t like the taste of beer (the quickest my face goes from happy to sad is noticing there’s onion rings on the menu, then spotting they’re beer-battered onion rings. Horrid yeasty aftertaste, yeeuch).

I rubbed the meat all over with a sweet spice mix and awkwardly impaled the chicken on the spike. And now it looked like it had waltzed off Peter Gabriel’s Sledgehammer video, hence the name.

I started mine off on the BBQ with the lid down, but after 70 minutes the bird had barely started to warm up and it just wasn’t feeling right. I brought it into the oven and finished it off there. The flavour was great and it had taken on some smoke so not all was lost. Carving into it the flesh was moist and tender.

Is the roaster worth it? I’m not quite convinced. You could go down the beer can route on the BBQ, and in the oven it takes up a lot of space being vertical. Being able to put liquid underneath (I used white wine) means a natural mist is retained going up into the cavity but the skin stays crisp. That said as long as time allows I’ll be sticking to my preferred Heston technique. The roaster is a fun gadget, but not essential.

Thanks to Sainsbury’s for sending me the roaster to try out.

Sledgehammer chicken (serves 4 – 6):

1 tablespoon brown sugar

1 tablespoon smoked paprika

1 teaspoon salt

1 teaspoon ground cumin

1 teaspoon ground coriander

Pinch of chilli powder

Olive oil

1 medium chicken

Splash of white wine

  1. Mix the spices together and blend with enough olive oil to make a gloopy paste. Smear all over the chicken and make a real mess of it. Impale the chicken on your chicken roaster and fill the tray with wine.
  2. Light the BBQ. Once the flames have died down and there is a thin coating of white ash over the coals, place your chicken into the BBQ and close the lid. Roast there for 2 – 3 hours until the chicken is 70°C at the thickest part (always use a probe thermometer, it’s the only way to be sure). Or if your BBQ isn’t quite hot enough, transfer to a 180°C oven. Allow to rest for 10 minutes before serving. I served mine with potatoes roasted with chorizo.
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bbq chicken cumin food oregano paprika salt sweetcorn

southeast spatchcock chook with booze-braised sweetcorn

For Mrs. Spud’s birthday and the weather hitting decent heights at last, I wanted to come up with a BBQ featuring some special treats. I thought about cooking a whole chicken and grilling some sweetcorn.

Steven Raichlen’s Barbecue Bible

Thankfully experimenting with the barbecue is really taking off in this country. We’ve always lacked the predictable weather and sustained dry spells to really explore but we’re gradually catching on. The explosion of diner-style and burger / rib joints, with even Jamie Oliver getting in on the act is further proof of the growing interest. In particular it’s worth listening to our American cousins who pretty much have nailed down this cuisine as their own. With dozens of regional variations in cut, technique, rub, baste and flavouring there’s plenty to study. If you want to know more about American BBQ I recommend checking out Steven Raichlen, and I strongly recommend his Barbecue Bible book which is packed with great inspiration. It’s from this book that my chicken recipe started to take shape.

all rubbed, ready for the fridge

I’ve had fun with dry-brining before. The meat juices are drawn out by the salt element, the flavourings dissolve in the liquid that breaks down muscle proteins and get reasorbed back into the meat. The repetition of this process leaves the meat wonderfully seasoned and keeps it juicy, so I was definitely going to use something similar here. Pulling together some of my favourite spices to combine into a rub I left the chicken overnight. In honour of my corner of the country I’ve called it Southeast style. Spatchcocked to cook reasonably quickly and evenly, and allowed to scorch on the BBQ it gave a smoky, sweet flavour with spicy depth. Really tasty. And my top tip for grilling white meat? Get one of those spray bottles from a garden centre. Fill it with apple juice, and with one squirt you can cool off flare-ups and leave behind a sweet glaze into the bargain.

I paired it with some grilled and braised sweetcorn. With undertones of Bourbon and meaty to boot, my first attempt at barbecuing corn was one I’ll be doing again.

Southeast spatchcock chook with booze-braised sweetcorn (serves 4 with plenty of leftover chicken):

1 medium chicken

For the rub:

2 tablespoons salt

1 tablespoon cumin

1 tablespoon brown sugar

½ tablespoon dried oregano

½ tablespoon smoked paprika

Grated zest of ½ a lemon

For the sweetcorn gravy:

500ml chicken stock

1 tablespoon BBQ sauce

10g butter

20ml Southern Comfort

4 corn-on-the-cob

  1. Free the chicken from its packaging, remove any string and open the chicken out. Turn it over so the breast is face-down, and use a strong pair of scissors to cut down the spine. You can then turn the chicken back over the other way and press down firmly on the breastbone until you hear a sickening crunch. Use two skewers, each corner to corner to hold it open. Combine all the salt ingredients and rub all over the bird. Leave in the fridge uncovered overnight.
  2. The next day, light your barbecue and once the flames die down and the charcoal is covered with white ash place your chicken over the grill. Turn and rotate often to cook evenly. It will take between 40 – 60 minutes to cook depending on about a hundred variables. You can only be sure if it’s done with a meat thermometer reading 75°C. I recommend the Heston branded one, but any will do.
  3. While the chicken cooks make your sweetcorn gravy. Combine all the ingredients and bring to a simmer (you may find this quicker and easier to get this started on a regular hob). Dip your sweetcorn in the gravy and transfer the corn and your pan to a hot BBQ. As it starts to char and pop you’ll want to turn it, but just before you do give it a dip in your gravy and then back on the grill. Repeat until charred on all sides, then place them in your gravy pan and cover for 5 minutes to cook through. Strain off the liquor to serve on the side, carve the chicken and serve with a panzanella and potato salad.
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chicken food onion paprika peppers thyme tomato

karo tacos

There are times when Twitter is completely inspirational, and tonight was one of those times. I knew I wanted tacos (who doesn’t love tacos? It’s like eating crisps and pretending you’re a grown-up), and had chicken ready for them. But how to season? I’d made them a dozen times. Casting around on Twitter, @karohemd came up with the nub of this recipe, and it’s him I dedicate this sweet-spicy dinner treat to him. Thanks Ozzy!

Karo tacos (serves 4):

3 chicken breasts, diced

1 clove of garlic, finely diced

1 teaspoon hot smoked paprika

1 teaspoon dried thyme

1 tablespoon red wine vinegar

Zest of ½ an orange

1 onion, sliced

3 peppers, sliced

½ teaspoon coriander

1 tin cherry tomatoes

12 tacos

  1. Put the chicken in a bowl along with the garlic, paprika, thyme, vinegar, a splash of oil and salt & pepper. Combine and cover to marinate for at least an hour, more if you have time.
  2. Get a large pan over a lowish heat and add some oil. Add the onions and peppers and stir-fry for about 10 minutes, or until the veg starts to soften. Add the coriander and some seasoning and stir well.
  3. Throw in the tomatoes and raise the heat. Simmer briskly to reduce some of the tomato liquid (tacos don’t work too well with soggy fillings!). Heat the tacos according to the packet instructions.
  4. Now push the veg to the sides of the pan to make some space, then fry the chicken alongside everything. When the chicken is coloured all over stir everything together and continue cooking until the chicken is done. Serve with guacamole, salsa, jalapenos and all those other yummy Tex-Mex garnishes.
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beef cumin oregano paprika tomato

beef chilli

Sometimes you see a recipe on TV and you have to do it immediately. And so it was with Jamie Cooks Summer, where Jamie Oliver cruises around a festival and cooks a bit. He made a chilli with a big slab of brisket as opposed to mince, rubbed it with spices and then braised it in tomatoes for hours. Watching the tender meat pull apart with a spoon is guaranteed mouth-watering.

I couldn’t find reasonably priced brisket (what’s happened to the price of brisket?!) so I used a large chunk of casserole steak instead, which still gave the same loose texture and great taste. I also added peppers and kidney beans to mine to round it out a bit. I left out the absurd amount of chillies that Jamie puts in every recipe, but still left plenty of tongue-tickling heat in there. It’s a great fun recipe though and a big hit for a party.

Beef chilli (serves 6):

800g casserole steak, scored

Paprika

Oregano

Cumin

Chilli powder

2 tins of tomatoes

2 large onions, sliced

4 cloves garlic, minced

2 red peppers, sliced

1 tin kidney beans, drained

  1. Get a large lidded casserole dish on a low hob, and a large frying pan on a high heat with a splash of oil.
  2. Rub a dusting each of oregano, paprika, cumin and chill into the meat with a sprinkle of salt. Make sure it’s well massaged in and sear the meat all over in the frying pan to get a lovely spicy crust on it.
  3. While this is searing, add the tomatoes to the casserole and half as much water again. Remove the meat to the side for a minute while you fry the onions and garlic until softened, then chuck the onions, garlic, meat and peppers into the pan. Stick the lid on, turn the heat down and simmer for 2 hours.
  4. Add the beans and cook out for another hour, or until the beef just falls apart. Serve with wraps, guacamole, salsa and rice.
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