Chefs across the country are broadening their horizons to bring their clubs’ signature styles to the great outdoors.
When it comes to outdoor cooking, the bigger the event, the better. And if the numbers for what needs to be served to whom exceed the capacity of the usual equipment on hand, club and resort chefs aren’t letting that hold them back—they’re thinking big in finding creative new ways to cook for the masses.
At the Arizona Country Club in Phoenix, Executive Chef Kevin McElroen feeds between 850 and 1,100 guests and members on July 4th from a full trailer barbecue big enough to hold two pigs. The giant grill has spits and cradles for sausages and hot dogs, and can be accessed from either side.
SUMMING IT UP
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Just the smell from the grill alone sets the tone for a fun day outdoors, he notes. “For our men’s member/guest tournament, we take our entire kitchen outside—fryers, flat tops and all,” McElroen says. “Everybody gets really excited.”
One favorite dish is Berkshire pork rack, Cajun-brined for two days. McElroen cuts the rack into double chops, then blackens them before grilling. The chops are served with a grilled pineapple salsa.
A favorite side is an adult spin on macaroni and cheese featuring bleu cheese, smoked gouda, smoked cheddar, white cheddar and gorgonzola. He also does a chipotle mac and cheese. Another popular side is caramelized onion mashed potatoes.
In addition to the special wood frame box he’s made for s’mores and to serve as a raw bar at The Country Club of Virginia in Richmond, Executive Chef Gary Whitecotton recently had a 14-foot-long grill and smoker box built according to his own specifications. The grill has a crank to make it easy to turn the grates over as the meat—as much as two whole pigs—cooks.
In April, Whitecotton (who presented on outdoor cooking at the 2014 Chef to Chef Conference) broke in the grill in a big way for the club’s Oyster and Craft Beer Fest, for which he roasted five bushels of Chesapeake Bay oysters for 150 to 175 guests. He also plans to use the new grill to cook whole fish and briskets.
Two side burners are included to accommodate baked beans, corn or other cookout accompaniments. A cage in the front holds a 100-quart cooler for ingredients that need to be refrigerated. The whole set-up is mounted on a trailer for easy mobility.
Even before he got the new grill, Whitecotton was using a Cuban grill to make one of his specialties, Lechon Asado Pork. For this preparation, the meat is injected and rubbed with a mojo liquid and paste made from a variety of fresh herbs, including cilantro, Italian parsley, oregano and garlic; jalapenos; brown sugar; cumin, and fresh orange and lemon juice. He serves the pork in a martini glass finished with cilantro crème fresh, Cuban pink or pinto beans, pickled onions and farmers cheese.
At Shadow Glen Golf Club in Olathe, Kan., Executive Chef Hunter Allen Blair brings the elegance of his dining room outdoors by using his gas and wood grills to prepare gourmet fare such as cabernet wood-roasted prime strip loin with grilled vegetable salad for outdoor wine-pairing dinners. Blair may partner with local wineries to design the menu.
Although he has a six-burner propane gas grill, a grill for charcoal and hard woods and a mobile smoker, Blair often has to get creative to carry out a theme away from his kitchen. Last year, for example, he turned a portable gas turkey fryer into a crawfish boiler for a Cajun-themed event. For another event, he worked with the club’s maintenance crew to create a clam bake using rocks, sand and tarps.
Ready to Give Them S’More S’mores have become synonymous with outdoor cooking. So for the fun of it, Gary Whitecotton, Executive Chef at The Country Club of Virginia, made his own simple s’more grill for outdoor events. First, he built a 2-inch-by-6-inch-by-8-foot-long frame from waterproof salt-treated wood. He painted the frame white, then went over it again with light colonial gray and blue paints, to create a rustic, aged look. At event time, he fills the frame with colored marbles and sterno cans, to create s’mores as guests watch. For one event, his homemade s’more station served 200 people. Whitecotton also fills the same wood frame box with lobster seaweed (the seaweed that lobsters come packed in) and battery-operated rock ice lights, to use as a raw bar. The seaweed holds droplets of sea water, and the sparkling droplets make for an elegant, ocean-centric station. |
Justified Expense
Outdoor cooking has gained enough popularity in many clubs that chefs are also making new equipment purchases specifically for that purpose. Whitecotton recently purchased a 36-inch circular cooktop on which he can prepare a wider variety of foods. On the cooktop, he says, he can sear, sauté, grill, roast, simmer, poach, stir fry, steam and boil outdoors just as he does in his kitchen. A stainless-steel trap catches grease and other drippings.
“Now I can cook pancakes, fried eggs and other breakfast dishes right on site for our golf tournaments,” he says.
Popular choices at Arizona Country Club are McElroen’s carne asada or chicken “street tacos,” which he prepares on the flat top in front of members and their guests. (“I also do mahi tacos for those looking for a more healthful option,” he says.) To top the tacos, he sets out a spread of condiments that includes salsas, avocado puree, shredded lettuce and an assortment of cheeses, so each one can be customized.
Among other riffs on street-food favorites, McElroen also uses the flat top to prepare lobster sliders, which are made with a lobster-tail puree, spiked with finely chopped garlic and shallots and small dices of red and green bell pepper. The mixture is made into a roll and cooked sous vide. To finish, the sliders are sliced from the roll and seared on the flat top, and then served on Hawaiian rolls with mango ketchup and microgreens tossed in olive oil.
He does a similar preparation with Alaskan king crab legs, served on hot brioche buns with a remoulade sauce and micro greens. “Both of these are great for upscale outdoor events,” he says.
Another new purchase for Whitecotton is an outdoor fryer that holds 40 pounds of oil and has a cover for safety. With this equipment, Whitecotton can prepare fried chicken, fried oysters and other foods that used to be cooked in the kitchen or outdoors in smaller fryers that wore out quickly. One specialty he is looking forward to bringing outdoors is tacos made with fried puffer fish.
The fryer is also useful for making fresh pommes frites for weddings and other upscale events. “We can make regular French fries, tots and sweet potato fries that can be seasoned with truffle salt or served with different aiolis,” Whitecotton says. “The fresh fries make a major difference in the presentation.”
Whitecotton also uses a large outdoor gas wok for more than just stir-fries. It also works well for cooking fried soft-shell crabs and seafood stews, and for a carnival-like event that is a fall tradition at The Country Club of Virginia, he brought it out to make kettle corn.
“It went well with the other food offerings, such as hot dogs from a cart and chili,” he says. “It was very festive, everybody loved it and the wok made it easy to make more kettle corn as needed.”
Having this assortment of portable cooking equipment gives him a great deal more flexibility in planning unique outdoor events, Whitecotton notes.
“We believe in ‘shirt-tailing,’ which simply means working together with other departments to come up with more comprehensive events,” he says. “For example, if there is a corporate event and not everyone wants to play golf, tennis or swim, I can arrange to do an outdoor cooking class.”
Whitecotton calls his barbecue class “License to Grill,” and in the summer, he has also held classes on making cold soups and smoothies.
As part of monthly cooking classes that Blair holds for members at Shadow Glen, at least two are now dedicated to outdoor cooking. During these classes, he teaches everything from how to butcher a full strip or tenderloin to how to cook a perfect steak on the grill. He also likes to show the versatility of the grill, demonstrating side dishes such as grilled new potato salad, and desserts such as grilled peaches with balsamic vinegar and black pepper, to go with entrees such as flank steak with chimichurri sauce.
“Many people, both men and women, are afraid to try to grill and they just need a little confidence booster in addition to the basic information,” Blair says. “I feel good when they come back to tell me that they grilled a good steak.”
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