_Ed_

Looks great. I LOVE collar for pulled pork...

Given that we're all confined to barracks, and the weather is behaving itself nicely here in the UK, thought it was about time to revisit some nice pork. Simple rub, 275F to colour & split fat (3.5 hrs today), wrapped for 2 @ 225F with a bit of Carolina vinegar sauce, and then rested for an hour. Came out nicely.

I have finally managed to find a reliable source for Uda (or Grains of Selim) in the UK. Given we're on lockdown, I think it's time for the suya to come out again.

@tekobo that sounds fun! you do a Dexter, and I'll grab a USDA from Tom Hixson and we can compare notes! The only even close-to-great UK brisket I have managed was indeed a Dexter, but I used the flat for braising and just did the point. Which is the best bit anyway...

Yeah, the whole fully grass-fed brisket thing is always a problem. Here in the UK, grain-fed beef is not very common, and attracts a much higher price than 'normal' brisket - which in the UK is grass fed. I much prefer grass-fed beef in general - forgive me, American friends, but US beef and that greasy palate feel is... unnerving to me - but there is almost no way to produce a good bbq brisket using grass-fed. The marbling isn't there, some of the fat is just too hard to render well, and you almost invariably end up with shoe leather. I've had some disagreements about this with some prominent UK butchers and restaurauteurs, but, having tried their brisket, I'm still of the firm opinion that grain-fed is the only suitable starting product for brisket. If I'm after bbq beef in general, though, grass-fed short ribs and featherblade turn out well.

@Pequod that makes sense! I think a lot of the way I make up for spice differential is a dusting of cayenne after cooking.

@tony b that looks really good! If it's earthier flavours you are after, one of the things missing in the Milk St recipe is either (a) a sufficient amount of black pepper or (b) try some grains of paradise, long pepper, or other varieties. There are all sorts of spices used in W Africa that are not typical to the Euro/American experience - Calabash nutmeg, for example, is a nightmare to find here. Ditto Uda seeds and Alligator Pepper - both of which are used for the pepper soup spice mix, but almost impossible to find in the UK. In fact, the spice element of pepper soup has a lot in common with suya spice, absent the ground nuts and ginger elements. So I can see why the milk st recipe has a 'lighter' taste than the authentic Nigerian version - just a question of availability. To be quite honest, I have often replicated the lack of depth of the suggested substitutions with ground black cardamom (NOT green), which does help ground it a little bit.

you might notice that a wing disappears b/w cooking and the cooked shot. I can't imagine where it went. I'm with you on chicken breasts. I'm very much thighs and wings myself, but the mrs likes chicken breast (these Americans, eh) and I'm oddly dogmatic about buying whole chickens and breaking them down myself. Although the piri piri chicken breast does make a killer sandwich the next day...

Right, piri piri done. Salted overnight, then marinaded for about 8 hours in fresh red chili, kashmiri chili powder, garlic, red wine vinegar, lemon juice, coriander seed, cumin seed, black pepper, and a tonne of oregano, all blitzed together in the blender. Top grate for 35 mins at about 300F, then brushed with additional marinade and seared on the bottom grate. Served with cucumber pickle, and potatoes. Photos are marinated and on upper grill / cooked but pre-sear / seared off / served.

I lived down in Brixton until 2008 - absolutely loved the place. Just when the first wave of gentrification hit, really. I have heard good things about Salon, and have also enjoyed Nanban - Tim Anderson is a thoroughly nice bloke, and his food is really good. Always liked N'duja - my wife is nuts about Italian food, and we use it as a pizza topping frequently. An n'duja croquette sounds amazing. The piri piri has just hit the KK - I'll post some pix when it is done.

@tekobo it's easy enough, I think, to get the pre-mixed pepper soup spice, but sourcing Calabash nutmeg to make your own is a massive pain. Might be worth a trip down to Brixton market to see what they've got down there. I haven't made pepper soup in the UK yet, but certainly will. Now that goat is much more readily available, it'll be on the list to do for sure. Two other thoughts occurred: I'm fairly sure that suya would make a killer taco. Make the onion and tomato into a pico de gallo-style salsa (lose the acid and cilantro, tho), add some more crushed peanuts and possibly some habanero or scotch bonnet salsa too, and you'd be in business. And on the subject of goat, a slow-smoked goat shoulder in the KK is going to be a must-do summer cook.

That's so exciting! Goat pepper soup is my absolute favourite. I once took a friend of mine (who happens to be Scottish) to Yellow Chili in Lagos, and he ordered the pepper soup there. He managed to get one spoonful down before going beet-red and practically diving headfirst into a pint of beer. Oh, happy times. I've got piri piri marinating for dinner this evening. it's definitely African food week here... deep joy.

@Pequod yep, I agree re Milk Street. If you haven't already, try the Fattoush recipe from the same issue as the suya / piri piri - it really is very good indeed. My main objections are, as always, the whole cups/tablespoons thing - please, just some nice, simple metric measurements would be a treat.

I saw the Milk Street recipe, and thought it looked pretty good. It was from the same issue as the Piri Piri chicken, which was also pretty good. I'm South African by background, so thought there were a few Americanisms in both - brown sugar in suya? no thanks - but they are really solid foundations for these great African dishes that few people seem to know about. @tekobo are you up for trying pepper soup next?

okay, so suya was on the menu this evening as promised. Used bavette for the meat, and salted it for a couple of hours in advance. Rub was roasted peanuts, ground ginger, a little bit of paprika, some onion powder, some garlic powder, black pepper and a small amount of cayenne (for me, I'd use a lot more, but the six-year old is still not at Nigerian levels of spice yet...). Added this and let sit for another couple of hours - since I didn't fry out the oil in the peanuts, it was already oily enough to be a marinade without additional oil. Grilled it on the lowest grate at about 350F for ten minutes - enough time for some charring, but not too much. Served with achar (typically served with satay, so went well), and a corn & manchego salad which, whilst not authentic, went perfectly. Photos are cooked / cooking / rubbed & raw. Added some extra cayenne to leftover rub and added it after slicing... Thanks for the inspiration, y'all. A really pleasurable reminder of times past.