Fire Cooking

with CHRIS JELLIE Wading in the Warren

As we usually do, we left the city around dinner time, for a five hour drive ... Whilst it’s not for everyone, we enjoy a night drive. Less traffic makes for much more relaxing travel and setting up in the dark adds another dynamic too. We headed for the D’Entrecasteaux National Park, passing through Donnybrook, Balingup, Manjimup and Pemberton along the way. We sheepishly snuck into Drafty's Campground, a little after we were supposed to, set up and crashed for the night. Drafty's had been a stop-over for us in the past so we were familiar with the place. This was a different time of year and we were promptly given stick of our late arrival by the camp host, Dave. He was a great fella and we chatted a lot about different places in the beautiful state we had visited. We smashed out breaky, packed up and made our way towards the Yeagerup Dunes. Along the way we found Ralph’s Organic honesty stall. We grabbed some fruit, avocados and lemon myrtle leaves. These honestly stalls remind me of my childhood in NZ, you would see many dotted along the roadside with their different offerings. We aired down and headed through the dunes toward the beach and the infamous Calcup hill climb, not knowing of our next destination. There was a couple of small groups tackling the climb so we jumped in the middle and gave it heaps! The new turbo diesel pump on the GQ really made the car sing like it hadn’t before in the 18 months of ownership. We attacked the hill and meandered on through the peppermint trees before stopping for some lunch at a shaded clearing.

After some good snacks and a drink, we got chatting to some campers that were set up there. Being locals from Manjimup, they knew the place well. Not wanting to encroach on their spot, we asked if they knew of any other camp spots. The top people they were, they even drove us to a spot they hadn't been for a couple of years. Absolutely stoked was the only way to describe it as we pulled in to a secluded spot right on the Warren River! We cracked an ale and relaxed, taking in the gorgeous view we now had. The tents were set up promptly after, and a quick feed of chicken wingettes was grilled with our Lemon #1 dry rub. After our bellies were full, we needed to prep a porchetta for Christmas dinner the next day. I dried the skin, added apple cider vinegar and salt and left it in the fridge until the next day. Waking the next morning to black cockatoos dropping gum nuts and squawking in the large flock was so very cool. You would imagine the sounds they make to be prehistoric. It was a warm Christmas Day and they would land on trees that sat in the water, wander down and cool off in the water. The flock was over 100 at a guess. It was warm for us too, floating around in the river a few times was so refreshing and much needed. Spinning the porchetta on a rottiserie next to the river was a great way to close out a much needed relaxing day in the bush. The feast was well enjoyed by our small family as we took in the idyllic place some more. We love to immerse ourselves in the location rather than a fleeting visit, seeing things you may not otherwise see. Boxing Day was unfortunately time to head home and the dreaded pack up began. It’s always slow for us, wanting to savour every minute we can. Heading up through Nannup this time, then through some back roads for that different perspective of the road less travelled. Until next time, take care and enjoy the beauty in the bush!

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Char Bro's Lemon #1 Chicken Wingettes

We developed Lemon #1 in mid 2020 and released it later that year. We have many return customers that MUST have it in their cupboard. We have now sold over 600 bags and have just under 10 stockists. In my humble opinion, wings are one of the best bang for buck bbq foods going. Adding Lemon #1 gives them a tang and punch you'll be hard pressed to find elsewhere. We hope you enjoy it as much as we do!

Ingredients

1kg of chicken wingettes (drums and flats) Approx 1/4 cup Char Bro BBQ Lemon #1 dry rub/seasoning - or to taste Oil for coating wings

Method

Coat chicken in oil, just enough for the rub to bind to the meat. Sprinkle Lemon #1 as evenly as you can over the chicken, tossing as you go. You are looking for a medium coverage or to taste, you just don't want to cake it on. This can be done prior to cooking and left in the fridge for a dry brine effect, or just before cooking. Either way produces good results. Heat up your BBQ or grill. Cooking can be done by grilling directly or indirectly. Direct grilling you will need a medium to high heat as you don't want to burn the rub or wings. You should be flipping regularly to get a good colour or crust, this should develop the more you flip them. Indirectly is more suited to lid down cooking on a Weber or larger gas BBQ. You will want a high to very high heat here to achieve that good crust. You wont need to flip the wings with this method as the even heat surrounding the meat will cook it all thoroughly. With both methods, anything over 165° Fahrenheit is good to eat, however, i recommend hitting the 180° Fahrenheit mark and the wings will render a bit more fat and will easily slide off the bone! Enjoy with good company.