Giving coleslaw a little kiss of fire
There are several ways to harness the firepower of your grill to make slaw
There are several ways to harness the firepower of your grill to make slaw. Direct The easiest is to use direct grilling: cooking the cabbage over high heat, charring the leaves to impart a decisive smoke flavour to the coleslaw.
To do so, set up your grill for direct grilling, and clean and oil the grill grate.
Cut the cabbage through the stem end into quarters. Lightly brush these quarters on all sides with vegetable oil and grill directly over the heat until darkly singed on all sides, turning with tongs. The key is to work quickly over a hot fire so you char the outside leaves while leaving the cabbage raw and crisp in the centre. A couple minutes per side will do it. Ember-roasted Another even more theatrical technique is to roast the cabbage directly in coal embers (a move I call “cave-manning”). Light a charcoal or wood-burning grill and let the coals burn down to glowing embers. Rake them into an even layer and lay a halved or quartered cabbage on top. Roast the cabbage until charred, even burned, on all sides, a couple of minutes per side.
Use tongs to turn the cabbage, and protect your hands with heavy-duty grill gloves. Once the cabbage is charred, transfer it to a sheet pan or metal tray to cool: don’t use a wooden or plastic tray in the event that a small live ember or two has clung to the charred outside leaves. Brush the cooled cabbage with a pastry brush to get rid of excess ash.
Ember-roasting endows cabbage with an intense and inimitable smoke flavour, a fiery technique cooks in the Middle East have used for centuries to transform eggplant into smoky baba ghanouj. Again, the trick is to roast the cabbage long enough to char the exterior but briefly enough to leave the centre of the cabbage raw and crunchy. Smoked The third method eliminates grilling entirely, but the results are no less smoky or delectable. You smoke the cabbage in an outdoor or stovetop smoker, or even with a hand-held electric smoker, sometimes called a smoking gun. Your challenge here will be to smoke the cabbage without actually cooking it — a task made easy with a pan of ice.
Shred the cabbage in a food processor fitted with a slicing blade or on a mandoline as you would for conventional coleslaw. For an outdoor smoker, place the cabbage in a sturdy foil pan over another foil pan filled with ice, which will keep the cabbage cool and crisp despite the heat. Smoke the cabbage for 10 to 15 minutes in a water smoker, ceramic cooker, pellet grill or electric or gas smoker.
You could even use a charcoal kettle grill: set it up for indirect grilling (coals raked to the sides, the pan of cabbage on its pan of ice in the centre of the grate away from the heat), adding wood chips or chunks to generate smoke. Whichever the vessel, smoke the cabbage until it’s lightly bronzed with smoke but still cool and crisp, about five to eight minutes. Taste it to determine the degree of smokiness you desire.
If you don’t have access to a smoker or grill outdoors, you can use a stovetop smoker or smoking gun. For the stovetop method, you’ll place the shredded cabbage in its pan over another shallow pan of ice inside the smoker to keep it cool.
For the hand-held smoker, place the shredded cabbage in a large bowl and cover with plastic wrap. Insert the rubber tube of the smoking gun under the plastic wrap, then reseal before pumping wood smoke into the bowl.
Let the cabbage absorb the wood smoke for four to five minutes. Remove the wrap so the smoke can escape and repeat the process once or twice more until the cabbage is smoked to your taste. For added flavour, you can use the hand-held smoker and bowl configuration to smoke the mayonnaise for a coleslaw dressing.
These three recipes make this traditional barbecue accompaniment true barbecue. I like to imagine that Simmons, the cookbook author, would have approved.
Grilled Slaw with Ginger and Sesame
Makes 6 servings For the slaw: Canola or grapeseed oil, for brushing the grate 1 head napa cabbage (about 2 pounds) 1 Asian pear 2 scallions 2 to 3 tablespoons sesame oil, plus 3 tbsp for the dressing Sea salt and freshly ground black pepper 1 red bell pepper 2 jalapenos For the dressing: 2 tbsp sugar, plus more to taste 1 tbsp minced fresh ginger 1 garlic clove, minced 2 tbsp rice vinegar, plus more to taste 2 tbsp black or toasted white sesame seeds (optional) 1 teaspoon Chinese or Vietnamese chili paste (optional)
Total time: 30 minutes
1. Light your grill, building a hot fire and set it up for direct grilling. Brush or scrape the grill grate clean and grease it with a tightly folded paper towel dipped in canola oil.
2. Meanwhile, cut the cabbage lengthwise into quarters through the core. Cut the pear in half lengthwise and scoop out the seeds. Lightly brush the cabbage, pear and scallions all over with 2 to 3 tablespoons sesame oil and season with salt and pepper.
3. Grill the cabbage until darkly charred on all sides, two to three minutes per side. Char just the outside; the inside should remain cool, firm and crisp. Transfer to a sheet pan to cool.
4. Grill the cut sides of the pear until grill-marked, two to three minutes per side. Grill the scallions, bell pepper and jalapenos until grill-marked, turning halfway through, about four minutes. Transfer to the sheet pan. Let the vegetables cool to room temperature.
5. Make the dressing: In a large bowl, mash together the sugar, ginger and garlic with 1/2 teaspoon each salt and pepper. Add the rice vinegar and whisk until the salt and sugar are dissolved. Whisk in the remaining 3 tablespoons sesame oil, plus the sesame seeds and chili paste, if using.
6. Cut away and discard the core of each cabbage quarter, then thinly slice the charred cooled napa cabbage crosswise and add it to the dressing. Julienne the pear, bell pepper and jalapeño and add them to the slaw, discarding the bell pepper and jalapeño seeds. Thinly slice the scallions crosswise, discarding the root ends, and add them as well.
7. Taste the slaw for seasoning, adding more vinegar, sugar and salt to taste. Refrigerate until serving and serve within a couple hours of mixing.
Ember-Roasted Slaw with Mint
Makes 6 servings 3 tablespoons cider vinegar, plus more to taste 3 tbsp sugar, plus more to taste 3 tbsp vegetable oil 1 tbsp Düsseldorf or Dijon-style mustard
1⁄2 to 1 teaspoon caraway seeds Sea salt and freshly ground black pepper 1 head savoy cabbage (about 2 pounds), quartered lengthwise through core
1⁄4 cup thinly sliced fresh mint
Total time: 30 minutes
1. Light a charcoal or woodburning grill and let the coals burn down to glowing embers.
2. Meanwhile, make the dressing: In a large bowl, whisk the vinegar and sugar until sugar dissolves. Whisk in the oil, followed by the mustard and caraway seeds. Season to taste with salt and pepper.
3. Lay the cabbage quarters directly on the coals and roast until all sides are charred, turning with tongs, about two minutes per side. Transfer to a sheet pan and let cool.
4. Discard the tough core of the cabbage then thinly slice the cabbage crosswise. Add the sliced cabbage to the dressing and toss to coat. Season with salt, sugar and vinegar to taste. Refrigerate until serving and serve within a couple hours of mixing. Just before serving, stir in the mint.
Smoked Cabbage Slaw with Creamy Horseradish Makes 6 servings
For the slaw: 1 Honey Crisp or other firm apple 1 small head green cabbage (about 1 1⁄4 pounds), quartered through the core 1 small white onion, peeled and quartered 2 carrots, trimmed and peeled
1⁄2 cup yellow raisins Ice, for smoking For the dressing:
1⁄2 cup mayonnaise 3 tablespoons prepared horseradish 2 tbsp cider vinegar, plus more to taste 2 tbsp sugar, plus more to taste 1 tbsp Dijon mustard
1⁄2 teaspoon celery seed Sea salt and freshly ground black pepper
1. Set up your smoker following the manufacturer’s instructions and heat to 225 F. Add apple wood or hickory wood as specified by the manufacturer. If using a charcoal grill, set it up for indirect grilling, using half a chimney starter of coals instead of a full chimney. Add wood chips or chunks to the coals following the manufacturer’s instructions.
2. Meanwhile, peel and core the apple, then cut the cabbage, onion, apple and carrots into thin shreds on a mandoline, in a food processor fitted with a shredding or slicing disk, or with a chef ’s knife. Stir the raisins into the slaw. Working in batches if necessary, divide the mixture among two disposable 9-by-13-inch aluminum foil drip pans; spread in a loosely packed even layer. (Cabbage mixture should be no deeper than 1 inch.) Place each pan over another 9-by-13 aluminum pan of ice so the vegetables smoke without cooking.
3. Transfer pans to the smoker or grill, cover and smoke until lightly bronzed with smoke but still raw, 10 to 15 minutes. Transfer smoked slaw mixture to a large bowl and repeat as necessary to smoke any remaining slaw.
4. Meanwhile, make the dressing: Combine the mayonnaise, horseradish, vinegar, sugar, mustard and celery seed in another large bowl and whisk until the sugar is dissolved. Season to taste with salt and pepper.
5. Stir the smoked vegetable mixture into the dressing; season to taste with salt, sugar and vinegar. Serve right away, or refrigerate, covered, up to a few hours before serving.