James Merrell
When the temperature rises and the sun throws out a heat that we’re rarely used to in the UK, we crave eating out and that lovely smoky, charred flavor we associate with summer heat. But let’s be honest: on a weekday evening – or when just walking outside is enough to turn you into a dripping mess – do any of us have the energy to pull out the barbecue, wrestle with the coals and wait the best part of an hour for them to be ready?
This is where the broiler barbecue concept comes in – an American term for achieving all the flavors of live-fire cooking using nothing more than a stovetop, griddle pan or grill. It’s not so much a compromise as a different route to the same destination: that deep, caramelized, mildly smoky note that makes summer food summer food, less lighter fluid, smoke alarms, and hours spent fanning coals while your guests get hungrier and your dinner arrives.
good News It’s that if you break it down, the flavor we associate with charcoal-fired cooking is already sitting in your kitchen cupboard. Smoked paprika, chipotle paste, lapsang souchong tea—these are all smoking shortcuts that chefs have relied on for years. Ottolenghi introduced a generation of home cooks to the joys of roasted broccoli; Then came the now ubiquitous Charred Hispie Cabbage. Both are essentially stovetop techniques disguised as something more basic, with nothing more than a hot pan and a willingness to let the edges of things darken slightly. The same logic applies to aubergines broiled directly over a gas flame for baba ganoush—one of the oldest smokes without barbecue tricks.
So this month, we’re getting creative. Leaning on roasted spices and smoky spices, and putting a few clever store cupboard props to work, we’re introducing four where we can. Consider this an invitation to go into barbecue mode of mind – and leave the coals in the garden shed where they belong. Here are my favorites Recipes From the House & Garden archives for a quick no-barbecue barbecue recipe.
Smoky meat without fire
Spicy, ground chicken kebabs that take their flavor from a classic South Asian spice blend rather than an open flame – proof that the best smoky-tasting kebabs don’t need a charcoal grill.
