Nearly every country around the globe puts its own succulent twist on cooking with fire—giving chefs a bounty of inspiration for ways to add smoked, charred and seared dishes to the menu. Think simple: tacos, flatbreads or burgers incorporating flavorful barbecued meats give a premium touch to the comfort foods consumers are craving right now. Smoked meats hold extremely well for carryout and delivery, too. And don’t be afraid to infuse smoke into ingredients beyond beef, chicken, lamb and pork. Smoked sugar, smoked cheese, smoked tofu and smoked soy sauce are just a few of the creative ways we’re seeing the fiery flavor trend play out on menus. Finally, don’t forget about the sauce—signature marinades, glazes and rubs transform fired-up meat, vegetable and even fruit-based dishes into instant classics.
PLAN AHEAD FOR PATIO SEASON PERFECTION
Patio season is a wonderful time to differentiate the menu—but in a way that manages time and labor to keep your kitchen running smoothly. In this guide, you’ll find recipes featuring Custom Culinary® products that are ideal for adding to your menu as specials, along with promotional ideas to boost your patio program.
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Three Chefs' Tips for Fired Up Flavor
2.
Try using our True Foundations® Tomatillo Serrano Sauce as a quick chimichurri base by blending in fresh parsley, cilantro and garlic. Great as a side condiment for any churrascaria flame grilled meats.
3.
Add olive oil to our True Foundations® Harissa Sauce and brush onto char grilled flatbread, pita or pizza crust as a base for wood fired handhelds with goat cheese and roasted mushrooms. The ideas are endless — try adding grilled artichokes or smoked olives, for example.
Smoky, umami-rich flavors come to life in our latest recipe video, ALDERWOOD SMOKED SALMON WITH SMELT ROE BUTTER SAUCE. This exceptional entrée is dressed with a smelt roe butter sauce featuring Custom Culinary® Gold Label Ready-To-Use Beurre Blanc Sauce and Custom Culinary® Gold Label Fish Base, then topped with Custom Culinary® Korean-Style Sweet Heat Sauce. Watch the video!
Fired Up Menu Inspiration featuring
CUSTOM CULINARY® Products
Smoked, grilled and other fiery recipes are sure to stand out on your menu as guests are eager to enjoy the experience of restaurant dining in an outdoor setting. Here are some contemporary, practical recipes to try, featuring Custom Culinary® products. From spice rubs to marinades and glazes, savory products from Custom Culinary® bring exceptional flavor to your smoked and grilled dishes.
BLAZING APPLEWOOD GRILLED CHICKEN SANDWICH
A unique grilled pineapple and jalapeño pico made with Custom Culinary® Jalapeño Relish elevates this grilled chicken sandwich, served on a bolillo roll and topped with fried shaved onion and toasted coconut.
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WHISKEY BBQ PORK CHOP
Serve a Custom Culinary® Pork Barbeque Spice-rubbed, pan-seared pork chop with a flavorful combination of whiskey-infused Custom Culinary® Gold Label Ready-To-Use Demi-Glace Sauce, charred tomatoes and jalapeños, caramelized shallots and roasted root vegetables.
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AL PASTOR GRILLED SHRIMP & PINEAPPLE PARFAIT
Grilled shrimp and charred pineapple are tossed with avocado, scallions, bell peppers, lime juice and cilantro all topped with a zesty Custom Culinary® True Foundations® Al Pastor Sauce.
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PERI-PERI CHICKEN GYRO
Strips of chicken marinated in a savory and spicy Custom Culinary® Fire-Roasted Peri-Peri Sauce*, grilled to juicy perfection and served in a grilled pita wrap topped with fresh arugula, cucumber, sliced red onion and crispy chickpeas.
CHIMI-CHURRASCO BURRITO BOWL
A bed of fluffy cilantro-lime rice topped with skirt steak marinated in Custom Culinary® Roasted Garlic Chimichurri*, along with blistered cherry tomatoes, grilled red onion, fresh cilantro and Cotija cheese.
ISLAND SMOKED PINEAPPLE RIBS
Baby back pork ribs infused with Custom Culinary® Smoky Pineapple Soy Marinade*, smoked low and slow until they’re fall-of-the-bone tender. Serve with sides of grilled vegetables and coconut rice.
CHILI-CHARRED SNAPPER
Flaky, tender snapper flame-seared and glazed with umami-rich Custom Culinary® Roasted Chili Oil*, served on a bed of steamed jasmine rice with sides of grilled scallions and garlic green beans.
CAULIFLOWER VINDALOO FLATBREAD
Cauliflower bites marinated in Custom Culinary® Smoked Vindaloo Sauce*, grilled to perfection and used to top a grilled flatbread crust brushed with additional Smoked Vindaloo Sauce, along with spinach, paneer cheese, red onion and fresh cilantro.
Chefs' Perspective
Men and woman have been cooking over live fire since the beginning of time. So, It’s no mystery that this form of cooking will be with us for ages to come. As Custom Culinary® chefs, we have the ability to navigate the globe with our international portfolio of sauces, rubs, and condiments.
If we look at American Regional BBQ styles for example, we can see the most common low smoked meat accoutrements. Mustard based, tomato based, vinegar based, and even mayonnaise based as in Alabama White BBQ sauce, made famous at Big Bob Gibson’s, circa 1925 in Decatur. Custom Culinary® has developed many of these sauces, mops, and brines and have a number of them in our portfolio with a twist such as our True Foundations® Harissa Sauce and Gold Label Bourbon Sauce. One of my favorite all around mops/brines for mesquite smoked pork shoulder is our True Foundations® Latin-Style Citrus Chili Sauce. A great versatile product that can be folded into any smoked meats.
Of course, at many locations around the world, live fire is seen in streets, under roadside BBQ “Joints” and now more than ever, being done on patios at upscale chains and independents. On the west coast, the Santa Maria grill is a popular piece of equipment that has a rack with a pully system, moving the raw seasoned meat up or down over the flames to adjust cooking temperatures. Most commonly used for Tri Tip, a triangular cut of meat from the bottom sirloin sub primal. We love to mix our Gold Label Jalapeno Relish half and half with apple cider vinegar and mop the charred trip tip as it cooks to medium rare.
Even colleges and universities are getting into the game by creating “tailgate themed” open fire cooking stations outside in the courtyards of on campus dining facilities. Recently, operators such as the Mediterranean-style Bavel in Los Angeles, where one of their specialties, grilled prawns marinated in harissa, picks up the smoky charred flavors of the wood fired ovens, the flavors of live fire are found everywhere on the menu. Another great example is the 3-star restaurant, The Charter Oak in one of our favorite spots St. Helena, CA. Their black cod grilled in corn leaves is a fantastically balanced dish. But if you want to get to the heart and essence of live fire flavors and cooking look nowhere else but the Netflix Chefs Table series episode with one of our favorite South American chefs, Francis Mallmann. From the minute he pulls a fish out of the waters of Patagonia in a small wooden boat and throws it onto a hot plancha fixed to the side, you will be hooked.
Custom Culinary® has many sauces and flavors that work so well with food cooked over fire no matter what part of the world you’re experiencing them in. So, put some flavor on your fire and enjoy the fine art of dining al fresco.
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*Products are customized; please contact your Custom Culinary® representative for more information.