CHAR: All up in my grill

Cooking with fire is a symbolic and elemental way of preparing food. Fire is part of humanevolution and was the first form of cooking; cooking is what distinguishes humans from other animals. Food author Michael Pollan makes the point that, “When we learned to cook is when we became truly human”. He thinks our fascination with fire is some kind of evolutionary instinct: fire is a sign you’re going to be fed. Watching fire can set off excitement centres in your hungry brain. Think of it as kind of fire-based genetic memory Pavlovian reaction.

Photo by George Voronov

There’s certainly a very primal, raw satisfaction to eating something you’ve just seen grilled right in front of your nose on a live flame. Exposing food to high temperatures produces a particular chemical reaction called the Maillard effect. It’s a chemical reaction of amino acids and sugars which activates loads of delicious flavour compounds and may explain why people go gaga for barbecue. Barbecue purists say that only charcoal or wood-based fire cooking is the real deal, but I’ve included a few places that use gas because they too do fun stuff with fire.

I spoke to chef Ian Marconi, caterer and popper-upper extraordinaire, operating under the name Jackrabbit. He uses live wood and charcoal in his cooking and learned his trade at legendary London restaurant Moro where, he says, “everything was done either on a Turkish style charcoal grill or in a wood burning oven”.

“I looked like a coal man and had no hair on my arms or face for years, but I loved it.” He emphasises the instinctive and variable nature of fire cooking.

“You have to get a real feel for how everything works when you’re dealing with something without a dial, timers, temperature gauges. There’s no comparison to the natural, smoky, charred lack of uniformity in the end result when using fire compared to using electrical equipment."

A part of the world very much associated with fire cooking is the American South: North and South Carolina, Memphis, Texas and other areas. The international craze for these Southern US subcultures has been raging in Ireland for a few years now, but it’s not the only gig in town. Fowl Play has Portuguese and Filipino influences. Mongolian and Korean barbecues do their thing and we have our own Irish tradition too. I have money on some culinary hipster opening a fulacht fiadh restaurant in Dublin 8 any day now.

Walking around Meatopia and The Big Grill this summer it struck me that the aesthetic of the 21st century barbecue festival is a post-apocolyptic, smoke-filled carnival. A Mad Max meat orgy. The scale of the cooking and the equipment is big and industrial. There are hacksaws, chains and hooks. There are recognisable animal parts strung up everywhere, and whole pigs and cows on spits. It’s a shameless carnivorous celebration, and not for the squeamish. A barbecue festival is not where you want to take that nice vegan you just met on Tinder.

I chatted to Ivan Garbino, the head chef and pitmaster in Fowl Play at the Square Ball, one of Dublin’s most dedicated barbecue eating spots. It’s owned and run by two of The Big Grill founders and barbecue nuts Andy Noonan of Baste and Trev O’Shea of Bodytonic. Ivan is originally from the Philippines and moved to Ireland when he was 10. He says that cooking with fire was “a natural thing to do in the do” in his home country.

Photo by George Voronov

“It was cheaper to cook with charcoal. The delivery guy would come every week. We had gas and electricity too, but we had an outdoor kitchen and clay pots to cook with charcoal in. You’d just fire it up when you need it."

Ivan studied at DIT Cathal Brugha Street and worked as a dessert chef in Bang Café for a while, but quit when the recession hit, but he still loved cooking and travels kept him interested in food. A chance conversation about smokers and barbecuing at Electric Picnic with Andy Noonan led to him getting involved with The Big Grill. One thing led to another and when Fowl Play opened a few years ago he became the sous chef in its small kitchen. Now he’s head chef and keen to continue the pub’s passion for fire-fuelled grub.

Photo by George Voronov

Fowl Play takes inspiration from many places. They use cherry wood as fuel, as it’s delicate enough for poultry. Their smoker, for slower cooking, is from Texas. Ivan says he uses it for, “the toughest parts of the animal, which would be the most delicious”. The other piece of kit in their kitchen is the rotisserie from Portugal. Cooking with fire requires a particular temperament and Ivan agrees with Ian Marconi, “cooking with fire takes a lot of patience, and a lot of management. You can’t just turn on the knob. You have to manage it, to use your sense, how it feels. But I don’t mind cooking meat for ten hours, there’s pleasure in managing the fire. It’s therapeutic”.

@fowlplaybbq

Here are four more Dublin restaurants where you can get your grill fill…

Bison Bar - Wellington Quay

Bison Bar was one of the first spots in Dublin to delve into the genuine American barbecue experience. They even sent their head chef Oliver Byrne to Memphis to learn the art of smoking and grilling! bisonbar.ie

His Food - Moore Street Mall

His Food is down the stairs and into the basement of Moore Street Mall, a bazaar-like maze of small food units that is full of unexpectedness. It serves a range of incredible Balkan cuisine.

Mongolian BBQ - Temple Bar

The Mongolian barbecue is a simple concept, but really fun. There’s a buffet where you choose a selection of meat, seafood and/or vegetables, herbs, spices and sauces. You then hand a bowl of your selection over to the chefs and they theatrically cook your food in front of you. mongolianbbq.ie

Hailan - Capel Street

Hailan is a Chinese and Korean restaurant that does a roaring trade. It obviously doesn’t have the same smoky feel as cooking with charcoal or wood, but the attraction is watching the food cook right in front of your eyes. Never mind the charcoal purists, gas is grand. hailan.ie