National Geographic Traveller (UK) - Food
On the menu SPECIALITY STEAKS Firedoor, Sydney
WHETHER YOU’RE GOING THE WHOLE HOG OR SAMPLING A FEW SKEWERS, A LOCAL BARBECUED DELICACY IS A MUST WHEN TRAVELLING. HERE’S OUR PICK OF THE WORLD’S BEST FLAME-GRILLED DISHES.
There’s no gas or electricity in Lennox Hastie’s kitchen — just fire. Dishes are cooked over the embers of an assortment of different woods, each selected for the way it enhances flavour. The menu changes daily, but steak is the thing to order, with options including a 150-day dry-aged fullblood Wagyu rump or 200-day dry-aged, highly marbled Black Market beef. Expect to pay around A$180 (£100). firedoor.com.au
FRESHLY SHUCKED WILD WAD OYSTERS Khwan, Berlin
At Khwan (Thai for ‘smoke’) in Berlin’s Friedrichshain neighbourhood, the bold flavours of Northern Thai and Isan cuisines are celebrated using age-old preservation and fermentation techniques and a wood fire pit. The freshly shucked wild giant oysters, hand-picked in the Dutch Wadden Sea, are cooked briefly and directly on hot coals and served with nam jim, a punchy Thai dipping sauce. Two oysters for €6 (£5.20). khwanberlin.com
ROD’S ORIGINAL WHOLE HOG PORK PLATE Rodney Scott’s Whole Hog BBQ, Charleston
James Beard Foundation Award-winning chef Rodney Scott specialises in a style known as whole-hog barbecue. The hogs are slow-cooked over hardwood charcoal for 12 hours before the meat is dressed with a spicy vinegar sauce and served pulled. An 8oz serving of pit-cooked whole hog, plus two sides, for $14.99 (£10.80). rodneyscottsbbq.com
JAFFNA SPICED NATIVE BREED PORK BELLY SKEWERS Paradise, London
These skewers are a contemporary take on a traditional Sri Lankan pork curry dish. The Lancashire-sourced pork is flavoured with a roasted blend of spices, including chilli and fenugreek, that, when grilled, creates a smoky, spicy aroma; it’s balanced by sweet treacle made from the sap of the kithul palm. £7. paradisesoho.com
MOLLEJAS (SWEETBREADS) Don Julio, Buenos Aires
This traditional Argentine steakhouse (known as a ‘parrilla’) is famous for its grass-fed, house-aged steaks from cattle raised in the countryside just outside the city. Every part of the animal is celebrated here, however, and the menu lists several great offal dishes, too. If you pick just one starter, make it the crispy sweetbreads, served with a delicate sprinkling of salt. parrilladonjulio.com
LOS RANCHOS FOUR-CHILLI BURGER Steel Bender Brewyard, Albuquerque
The ingredients packed into this award-winning green chilli cheeseburger are all organic and/or locally sourced. Sandwiched into a bun from much-loved local bakery Pastian’s, the beef patty — with meat sourced from Navajo tribal lands — is accompanied by cheddar, tomatoes and rocket dressed in balsamic truffle and onion vinaigrette. There’s also a heap of chopped hatch green chile and a slick of mustard spiked with three more kinds of local chillies. Served with hand-cut fries for $16 (£11.50). steelbenderbrewyard.com
BUTCHER’S FEAST Cote, New York
At Michelin-starred Cote, traditional Korean barbecue is blended with classic American steakhouse cuisine. The Butcher’s Feast menu comprises four cuts of USDA prime and American Wagyu beef, that are all cooked together at the table on a smokeless grill. The meat is accompanied by seasonal vegetables, salads, two stews and a luxurious savoury organic egg souffle. $54 (£38.80) per person. cotenyc.com
BARBECUED BEEF BRISKET BUN The Little Chartroom on the Prom, Edinburgh
This seaside shack, an outpost of Edinburgh bistro The Little Chartroom, lies three miles from the city centre, on the promenade of Portobello Beach. The menu comprises simple French-british-style dishes, the most popular being the Scottish beef brisket. Brined for five days, the meat is smoked on a ceramic charcoal barbecue and finished with a treacle glaze. It’s served in a brioche bun with pickled celery, green peppercorns and a kohlrabi and yoghurt slaw. £11. @tlc_ontheprom