( bbq school )
Henry showed us how to make our own sausages
and Henry get stuck in with their respective disciplines, while other local food heroes have also been invited onto the Hobbs House curriculum. There’s Trevor, their dad and artisan baker; Sasha Jenner and Carla Moulder, who work at the bakery (the latter as ‘head of cakes’ – now that’s a job title); and there are guest teachers, such as Minchinhampton’s ice-cream whizz kid Ben Vear of Winstones, and Andrew Cooper and Brett Ellis of Bristol’s innovative Wild Beer Co. I’d signed up for a lesson in butchery
A charcoal starter – an essential piece of kit
and barbecue, which is hosted by Henry Herbert and Weber master (and local Stroud lad) Dan Cooper. It’s a day-long course costing £185, and begins with ‘meat mayhem’ in the main teaching room. And yes, this was the first of many double entendres… We learnt to joint a chicken, make
burgers (minced chuck steak, seasoned generously) and stuff sausages with a nifty attachment to the KitchenAid. (I now have the most surreal moment of my career notched on my culinary belt, watching Henry stuff sausagemeat into my casing.) We pickled cucumbers – well, what’s a burger without a pickle? – mixed together a spice rub and created a sticky barbecue sauce and marinade. Henry also talked us through the best cuts to use – fillet isn’t always best, after all. (It’s amazing what you can manage in a morning.) Then, after a quick pitstop, we headed outside for our barbecue lesson in the pretty Hobbs House courtyard. Dan talked us through the basics. First up – what type of charcoal
are you putting on your barbecue? Briquettes are what us seasoned grillers will be used to – compacted pieces of coal – but the best are ‘natural’ or ‘hardwood’, which have no nasty additives. They tend to produce a long and even burn, ideal for bigger bits of meat on a slower cook. Lump charcoal looks like blackened wood – this burns hot and quickly, so is best for steaks, burgers and fast-flamers. Whichever you choose to use, Dan suggests starting the fuel off in a charcoal starter (see page 38 for more details) – this gets the coals burning quickly and evenly. Dan also talked about positioning, and even compartmentalising, the coals to get direct and indirect heat, like in an oven. We talked wood chips – hickory to oak, mesquite to maple (each has its
crumbsmag.com 37 Lunch is served, and no washing up...
own distinct flavour; the Weber website has a good guide) – and what to do with them. All your wood chips should be soaked in water, as this will stop them burning and will add moisture to your meat. As well as adding chips to the coals with our chicken pieces, we also chucked a few into a starter while heating up the coals and roasted an aubergine over the top. Henry gave us his top tips for
avoiding black and blue sausages. He pre-cooks his bangers by poaching them in beer in a throwaway roasting tin on the barbecue with sautéed onions. Once cooked through he just caramelises them quickly on the grill. Steaks sizzled, joints cooked low
and slow, while whole peppers and aubergines blistered and blackened over the heat. And, back through to the cookery school, a late lunch was served. Burgers, with all the works, retro slaw, baba ghanoush, roasted peppers, sticky and smoky chicken thighs and wings, beer-poached sausages, hanger steaks, and a smoked rib of beef (one that Henry and Dan had been working on overnight). And a glass of real ale, of course. Not only is this day packed with
recipes (which are handily emailed to you after the event) and good food, but you also have two experts pouring out their endless knowledge. Impressively, the pair also catered for the needs of one student who had a sugar intolerance. And who wouldn’t want to spend a day with Henry Herbert?
✱ The next Butchery and BBQ Masterclass takes place on 13 August and costs £185. For the full range of courses (full- and half- day) visit
www.hobbshousebakery.co.uk.
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