Food on a Sword

Jabbing a long blade through several chunks of meat and nursing them over an open flame is one of the oldest methods of cookery known to man.

Nowadays, it's often little more than a dazzling act of bravado, but in the old times it was a very practical necessity. There were no forks or knives: even gourmets ate with their fingers, and it was simplicity itself to pluck the juicy morsels off the blade, one at a time, and eat them like bon-bons. Dainty ladies of ancient Greece had a special glove to keep their fingers from getting singed. Of course, a few hardy, hairy-chested fellows gnawed the flaming viands right off the sword, but the less said about these exhibitionists, the better. More important to the Greeks than the practical value of the sword or skewer was the god-like flavor and fragrance of any food cooked in the crisp outdoors. It was an odor described by Athenaeus as "so divine it would make a dead man sniff."

Until the last century, when the cast-iron stove was invented, all roasting was done on large skewers or spits, revolved during cooking and commonly known as turnspits. Dogs held in a cage kept treading ceaselessly to turn the spits. Sometimes slaves, children or ordinary kitchen hands took over the turning. Some of the turnspits were incredibly elaborate. One belonging to the Count de Castel Maria, a Venetian lord, held 130 large roasts at one time. As the huge skewers were turned, music played automatically. Each tune signified that a specified roast was done. When the 12th air was played, the leg of mutton was ready to eat. Tough fowl was tender when the 18th melody was heard.

In Colonial times, rough French corsairs cooked whole cattle over an outdoor fire. The immense roast was ready when it was cooked barbe a queue, the French phrase meaning "from beard to tail." This phrase became corrupted into "barbecue," and finally into "Bar-B-Q" -- which is about as corrupted as a phrase can get.

No man is an accomplished al fresco cook until he knows his skewers. In many department stores now you'll find sections devoted to outdoor barbecue equipment. Here you'll see a display of skewers ranging anywhere from small steel pins to long shining weapons fitted with hilt and ready to do battle with the first chicken liver on the horizon.

The simplest skewers are small straight pieces of steel, pointed at one end and twisted into a hook at the other end, measuring from four to ten inches. These are the ones commonly used in restaurants. When you order a brochette of sweetbread, for instance, it is usually prepared and served on this type of skewer. For indoor broiling where food is cooked under, rather than over, a flame, this skewer is practical. A disadtantage of the small straight skewer is that the meat will often remain stationary while the skewer is spun around to brown the meat evenly on all sides.

For outdoor cooking where the fire can't always be perfectly controlled, something larger and sturdier should be used. One of the best skewers is the Androck. This skewer is shaped at one end into a large ring that can be easily grasped for turning. The metal is not perfectly straight, but is twisted ribbon fashion so that the meat is held securely and turns when the skewer is turned. A set of six Androck skewers can be purchased with a square metal frame with places for each skewer to rest. The Big Boy skewer is a larger, two-pronged affair. The two parallel rods on which the food is fastened keep the food turning perfectly as the skewer is turned. Also, pieces of vegetable which may tend to fall off during cooking are held firmly in place by the twin bayonets. A small movable square metal piece near the handle end of the skewer is useful for resting the Big Boy skewer on the edge of the stove, and makes for easy turning.

Still larger skewers are the handsome culinary swords such as the Ekco. These mammoth outdoor weapons are fitted with sturdy handles of wood, cork or other insulating material. The obvious advantage of these oversize skewers is that you can handle them easily while avoiding the intense heat of the flame. Furthermore, you can broil, if you wish, as many as four to six portions of food on a single skewer. For large picnic parties they are perfect. Of course, if the large skewer is filled with meat, you must have a correspondingly large fire to accommodate it. Then, too, the big skewer is a piece of glamor equipment that automatically makes the food more enticing just as a soup served from a handsome silver tureen seems infinitely better than a soup delivered in a thick crockery bowl.

When cooking on a skewer, it's a mistake to rest the skewered meat directly on the broiler wire above the flames. If you do, some of the meat will stick to the hot metal. When you attempt to turn the skewer, the food may tear and some pieces may fall into the fire. To avoid this dilemma, simply suspend the skewer above the flame and off the wire broiler rack. The Androck skewer frame solves this problem. Another device to keep the skewer from sticking to the broiler wire is to place bricks of equal size on opposite sides of the fire. The ends of the skewers are then placed on the bricks and may be turned easily.

For the best results in skewer cookery, it's important not to cook over flames that are still leaping high. Wait until the rage subsides and the coals are turning to white ash before commencing to cook. You want the charcoal flavor in your food, but if a sea of uncontrolled flames licks against small pieces of food such as mushrooms and shrimp, the charring flames will kill the delicate flavor.

In building a fire, it's best to use charcoal briquets rather than ordinary charcoal. The briquets supply a more steady glow. A fire is ideal when it burns evenly from one end of the stove to the other. Playboy strongly recommends using one of the prepared charcoal lighting fluids. If you use paper or kindling for starting a fire, you'll often get an intense concentration of heat in one part of the stove while other sections of the fire are scarcely burning. This means a long wait until the entire bed of coals is glowing. All charcoal lighters are combustible. As a safety measure, they should be added to the cold charcoal before applying the match. After the fire is going, lighting fluids should not be added, or there may be a sudden dangerous burst of flames.

The art of the skewer is often a combination of both indoor and outdoor cookery. Many of the dishes, particularly those from Near Eastern countries, require food that is marinated before cooking. The entire skewer may be assembled, seasoned and stored in the refrigerator until ready for the fire. This preparation which can be done in your leisure time is a real help to the impromptu terrace chef who is so often bothered and bewildered by the last minute rush.

We'll lead off with the best known meat bayonet -- shish kebab, from the exotic Bosphorus, the land where girls, waiting for men behind intricately latticed windows, giggle and eat meat lollipops. The word shish, in Turkish, means skewer, and the word kebab means broiled meat. Turks claim the modern version of shish kebab is their own creation, although they concede it was introduced to the world through other Near Eastern countries. Shashlik, for instance, is the Armenian version of practically the same dish. There are now hundreds of kebab varieties from oyster kebab to fruit kebab.

With any skewered meat or seafood you'll want to pass a bowl of fresh summer salad greens with a tangy dressing. Hard rolls or crisp French or Italian bread are preferable to the usual soft buns. Potato salad, the old picnic standby, is a little off key with shish kebab. Instead, serve fresh matchstick potatoes, waffle-cut potatoes or even crisp potato chips. Relishes like Chinese duck sauce or chutney go well. If you want to serve vegetables, they too may be skewered and broiled. Quarters of hard ripe tomatoes, mushroom caps, cooked small white onions, eggplant cubes or other vegetables can be skewered, brushed with butter or oil and broiled until tender. Thick honeydew melon or meaty ripe Cranshaw or Persian melons, sprinkled with lime juice, are grand finales.

The first shish kebab recipe below and the one most widely eaten by Turks has a straight lamb flavor. The second version is marinated in wine and is more tangy.

[recipe_title]Shish Kebab I[/recipe_title]

(Serves 6)

[recipe]3 lbs. leg of lamb, boneless[/recipe]

[recipe]3 medium size onions[/recipe]

[recipe]2 cloves of garlic, smashed[/recipe]

[recipe]1/3 cup salad oil[/recipe]

[recipe]3 tablespoons lemon juice[/recipe]

[recipe]2 teaspoons salt[/recipe]

[recipe]1/4 teaspoon black pepper[/recipe]

[recipe]3 medium size green peppers[/recipe]

[recipe]1/4 cup softened butter[/recipe]

The 3 lb. cut of lamb is equal to about a half leg of lamb. Be sure to tell the butcher you want young spring lamb, not yearling. Have him cut the lamb into cubes about 1-inch thick. Slice the onions about 1/4-inch thick, keeping the slices intact if possible. Cut the green peppers into 1-inch squares. Combine the lamb with all other ingredients except the butter in a bowl. Let the mixture remain in the refrigerator overnight. To prepare skewers for the fire, fasten the lamb on six skewers -- if individual size skewers are used -- placing the green peppers and onion slices in between pieces of lamb. Do not push pieces of meat too closely together. Broil about 4 inches from the flame until the lamb is medium brown. Spread with softened butter just before serving.

[recipe_title]Shish Kebab II[/recipe_title]

(Serves 6)

[recipe]3 lbs. leg of lamb, boneless[/recipe]

[recipe]2 medium size onions[/recipe]

[recipe]2 cloves of garlic, smashed[/recipe]

[recipe]2 bay leaves[/recipe]

[recipe]1/2 teaspoon leaf thyme[/recipe]

[recipe]3 tablespoons minced parsley[/recipe]

[recipe]3/4 cup vinegar[/recipe]

[recipe]3/4 cup dry red wine[/recipe]

[recipe]1-1/2 cups water[/recipe]

[recipe]2 teaspoons salt[/recipe]

[recipe]1/4 teaspoon pepper[/recipe]

[recipe]1/4 cup softened butter[/recipe]

(continued on page 69)Food on a Sword(continued from page 20)

The lamb should be cut into cubes about 1-inch thick. Slice the onions about 1/4-inch thick. Combine the lamb with all other ingredients except the butter in a crockery or enamel bowl -- do not use metal. Let the mixture remain in the refrigerator overnight. Remove pieces of lamb from the marinating mixture. Fasten the lamb on skewers. Broil until medium brown. Spread the meat with softened butter just before serving. If desired, wedges of hard ripe tomato, 1-inch cubes of eggplant, small mushroom caps or squares of green pepper may be added to the skewers alternately with the lamb before broiling.

[recipe_title]Scallops on Skewer[/recipe_title]

(Serves 4)

[recipe]1 lb. fresh scallops[/recipe]

[recipe]4 tablespoons imported French mustard or domestic prepared mustard[/recipe]

[recipe]4 tablespoons heavy cream[/recipe]

[recipe]Salt, pepper, paprika[/recipe]

[recipe]Bread crumbs[/recipe]

[recipe]Salad oil[/recipe]

[recipe]6 tablespoons mayonnaise[/recipe]

[recipe]2 tablespoons horseradish[/recipe]

[recipe]1/2 teaspoon dry mustard[/recipe]

Combine mayonnaise, horseradish and dry mustard. Set aside as a cold sauce to be eaten with scallops.

Wash scallops in cold water. Cut, if necessary, into slices about 3/4-inch thick. (The small bay scallops available in the fall and winter need not be cut.) Combine the mustard and heavy cream. Dip the scallops in the mustard mixture. Dip the scallops in the bread crumbs, coating each piece completely with crumbs. Fasten the scallops on skewers. Sprinkle with salt, pepper and paprika. Sprinkle generously with salad oil. Broil at least 5 inches from hot coals. Broil only until scallops are medium brown. Do not char. Serve the scallops with the cold sauce.

[recipe_title]Shrimp Kebab[/recipe_title]

(Serves 4)

[recipe]2 lbs. fresh shrimp[/recipe]

[recipe]1/4 cup salad oil[/recipe]

[recipe]1/4 cup lemon juice[/recipe]

[recipe]4 cloves of garlic, smashed[/recipe]

[recipe]2 teaspoons salt[/recipe]

[recipe]1/4 teaspoon black pepper[/recipe]

[recipe]1/4 teaspoon paprika[/recipe]

[recipe]1/4 lb. butter[/recipe]

Remove shells from shrimp. Remove vein running down back of shrimp. Wash shrimp well in cold water. Combine shrimp, salad oil, half the lemon juice, garlic, salt, pepper and paprika. Let the mixture marinate in the refrigerator 2 hours.

Fasten shrimp on skewers so that skewers pierce each shrimp in both the head and tail ends. Wipe off any pieces of garlic adhering to shrimp. Broil over charcoal, keeping skewers at least 5 inches from flame. Broil only until shrimp are light brown. Do not char. While shrimp are broiling, melt the butter over a slow flame. Combine butter with balance of lemon juice. Dip shrimp in melted butter sauce at the table.

Curry addicts will like the beef with cumin combination described next, since cumin is one of the principal ingredients in curry. This is one skewered dish which may be cooked with the flames actually touching the food. The charred (concluded on next page) beef flavor seems to blend well with the pungent aroma of the cumin. At the patio table, there should be plates of sliced red ripe tomatoes as well as the sour cream salad described below. Another excellent side dish with this kebab is the Torino brand pepper salad in olive oil. Serve cold beer in oversize mugs with this peppery combination.

[recipe_title]Beef Kebab with Cumin[/recipe_title]

(Serves 4)

[recipe]2 lbs. boneless sirloin steak[/recipe]

[recipe]2 medium size onions, sliced thin[/recipe]

[recipe]1/3 cup salad oil[/recipe]

[recipe]3 teaspoons ground cumin seeds[/recipe]

[recipe]1/2 teaspoon ground black pepper[/recipe]

[recipe]1 teaspoon salt[/recipe]

[recipe]2 tablespoons lemon juice[/recipe]

[recipe]2 tablespoons softened butter[/recipe]

[recipe]1 cup peeled cucumber, cut into 1/4-inch cubes[/recipe]

[recipe]1/4 cup radishes, sliced thin[/recipe]

[recipe]1 cup sour cream[/recipe]

[recipe]1/4 cup mayonnaise[/recipe]

Have the butcher cut the beef into cubes about 3/4-inch thick. Combine the beef with the onions, salad oil, cumin seeds, black pepper, salt and lemon juice. Let the mixture marinate in the refrigerator overnight.

Combine the cucumber, radishes, sour cream and mayonnaise. Chill well in the refrigerator and set aside as a salad to be served at the table with the skewered meat.

Fasten the pieces of beef to four skewers. Broil close to charcoal until beef is brown. Brush with softened butter just before serving. Try to look as swarthy as you can.