Hugh Mangum's book of barbecue recipes brings international flair to the grill
When Hugh Mangum was growing up in Los Angeles, his Texan father showed off his barbecue skills in their backyard nearly every weekend. It became a ritual for the family to patiently tend to the fire.
After his father's death more than 20 years ago, Mangum carried on the tradition, first experimenting with a little smoker after he moved to Bucks County Pennsylvania.
'Whenever I start a fire, there's just this kind of presence,' he said. 'I feel it in the soul of my belly, my heart, like he's there.'
Now he is more steeped than ever in the barbecue world, with in-laws from barbecue-loving North Carolina and a 7,000-pound smoker. Not to mention his nine locations of Mighty Quinn's barbecue restaurants in the New York area, plus franchises in Florida and Maryland.
His father's recipes formed the base of the menu at Mighty Quinn's and now of Mangum's new book, 'Barbecue: Smoked & Grilled Recipes From Across the Globe.'
Where the book differs from the restaurants is its international outlook, and that was inspired by his father too. The elder Mangum had traveled the world for work, bringing back influences from Peru, Japan, Spain and elsewhere.
'He so celebrated food all over the world, ' Mangum said. 'So, I think that there was a seed planted.'
In the book, the seed translates into using a meat grinder for homemade sausages spiced as they are in Bulgaria, Panama or Alsace, France. Or making skewers in the style of the Philippines, Bali, Lebanon or Croatia, for starters.
Short ribs can be simply smoked with only salt and black pepper. Or other recipes call for grilling and slathering ribs with Colombian chimichurri or marinating them in Korean seasonings and serving the meat in lettuce wraps.
He calls beef brisket the 'holy grail of Texas barbecue but also the most daunting cut of meat to smoke.' It requires 12 hours of consistently tending the fire, but he promises incredibly juicy meat 'with a bark that is equal parts smoky and salty with a hint of sweetness.'
For beginners, Mangum recommended smoking chicken, starting with wings to get used to a new smoker before trying a half chicken.
Despite all the variations on grilled red meat in the book, he said one of his favorite recipes is gai yang, whole grilled chicken from northeastern Thailand. Marinated for 12 hours with a puree of lemongrass, garlic, fish sauce, turmeric and more, the chicken is grilled first on the cool side of the grill skin side up. Just before it finishes cooking, he flips it over the high heat to crisp the skin.
Served with two dipping sauces, it's smoky and lightly charred, and bursting with flavor.
'It's this incredibly flavorful, bombastic version of chicken that people will be like, 'Holy crap,'' he said. 'It's just so good.'
Thai Grilled Chicken with Sweet Chili Sauce
From 'Barbecue: Smoked & Grilled Recipes From Across the Globe,' by Hugh Mangum
Preparation time: 20 minutes, plus overnight marinating and at least 1 hour standing
Cooking time: 50 minutes
Serves: 4-6
Ingredients:
For the marinated chicken:
8 cloves garlic, minced
2 shallots, chopped
1 stalk lemongrass, outer leaves removed and chopped
½ cup (1 oz/25 g) cilantro (coriander) with stems, chopped
4 tablespoons soy sauce
2 tablespoons vegetable oil
2 teaspoons sweet soy sauce or dark soy sauce
2 teaspoons fish sauce
2 tablespoons palm sugar or light brown sugar
1 teaspoon salt
½ teaspoon black pepper
½ teaspoon ground turmeric
1 (5–6-lb/2–3-kg) chicken, butterflied
___
For the dipping sauce (Nam Jim Jaew):
1 tablespoon palm sugar or light brown sugar
2 tablespoons fish sauce
1 tablespoon tamarind paste
1 tablespoon toasted sticky rice (kao khua), ground (optional)
1 tablespoon chopped cilantro
1 tablespoon chopped scallions
2 teaspoons red pepper flakes
___
For serving:
Sticky rice
Lime wedges
___
Directions:
For the chicken:
In a food processor, combine the garlic, shallots, lemongrass and cilantro and blend to a paste. Add the remaining ingredients except the chicken and blend well.
Rub the marinade over the chicken. Cover and refrigerate overnight or, preferably, 12 hours.
___
For the dipping sauce:
Combine the sugar and 1 tablespoon hot water in a large bowl and stir until the sugar dissolves. Add the remaining ingredients; set aside.
One to 2 hours before cooking, bring the chicken to room temperature.
Preheat a grill to high for indirect grilling (hot coals grouped on on side, or just half the burners turned on a gas grill).
___
Place the chicken, skin side up, on the cooler side and cook for 45 minutes, or until the internal temperature of the breast reaches 140°F (use a meat thermometer). Flip the chicken and place it on the hot side of the grill. Cook for another 3 minutes, until the skin is crispy. Set aside to rest for 5 to 10 minutes.
Serve warm with sticky rice, the dipping sauce and lime.
EDITOR'S NOTE: Albert Stumm lives in Barcelona and writes about food, travel and wellness. Find his work at https://www.albertstumm.com
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
The Independent
5 hours ago
- The Independent
‘Pop, pop, pop': AA flight with smoking engine sparked concern at takeoff, says plane mechanic who was onboard
An American Airlines flight departing from Los Angeles encountered a frightening engine malfunction Wednesday morning, but two aircraft mechanics onboard say the emergency landing was unexpectedly calm and controlled. The plane, Flight AA 1665, from Las Vegas to Charlotte, North Carolina, experienced a sudden surge of sparks and smoke shortly after takeoff. 'We took off, and as soon as the pilots put the gear up, it was like pop, pop, pop over and over,' Paige Mitchell, an airplane mechanic in Las Vegas, told Fox 5. 'You could kind of see like orange and yellow, like glowing, like every time you hear the pop.' Michael Lockett, a fellow passenger and Air Force veteran with decades of experience working on military aircraft, said the sound was immediately recognizable and alarming. 'With my background, as soon as it happened, I knew kind of what it was because I've seen it on Air Force aircraft before,' Lockett told the outlet. Lockett remained outwardly calm but admitted to mentally bracing for the worst. 'I already knew it was an engine failure,' he said. 'I didn't say anything out loud because I didn't want to, you know, get people riled up, so the most I did was just pray until we got back on the ground.' Mitchell said her mechanical instincts also had her bracing for a rough landing, but she was impressed by how smoothly the pilots brought the plane down, with emergency crews meeting passengers the ground in Vegas. 'I was like 'oh, this is going to be rough', but no, they actually put us down really nicely, and as soon as we hit the ground, they stopped, and there was fire trucks and police waiting for us,' she said, adding that the landing was'one of the smoothest landings I've ever experienced.' Both AA and the FAA told The Independent that Wednesday's emergency return was due to a 'mechanical issue.' 'The aircraft taxied to the gate under its own power, and customers deplaned normally. We appreciate the professionalism of our crew and thank our team who are working to get our customers to their destinations as quickly as possible,' an AA spokesman said.
The Guardian
16 hours ago
- The Guardian
Why is so much of life spent clearing up?
Gardening, I've realised, is easy. It's clearing up afterwards that takes all the effort. This is true of many things, from cooking to relationships. Doing them is one thing; sorting the mess out afterwards is another. Planting stuff is a doddle. Planting the right things in the right place is less straightforward. But both are easier than the clear-up. I've learned this the hard way, by working like an ox all day, only to leave the place looking as if a team of oxen has been driven through it. I had thought that pruning trees, fighting hedges, pulling up brambles and obsessively weeding counted as tidying. In this I was mistaken, because cutting, hacking and digging count as tidying only if you, well, tidy up after yourself. Leaving stricken branches and weeds where they lie creates more mess. Obvious really, but at some level I must have been thinking that all that browning vegetation would sort itself out by means of decay and decomposition. Or birds would take it away and build nests. Not so. A gardener friend came round, had a look, said he could see how much work I had done, but inquired as to why I'd left it looking such a mess. This was a fair question, to which I had no answer. He pointed at the path through it, covered in weeds, discarded and growing. 'If I were you,' he advised, sagely, 'I'd get the path nice and clear and everything will go from there.' I did, and he was right. With the pathway clear, the rest of the garden looked a lot better. It feels as if there's a maxim for life in there. I blame myself for my chaos – ye gods, you should see the state of the kitchen when I've finished my culinary magic. But I also blame gardening and cookery programmes. Advice on tidying up, or even merely the importance of it, isn't proffered; you rarely see the gardener with a broom or the chef with a cloth. If tidiness is next to godliness, then I am doomed. I'm determined to change my ways before it's too late. No longer do I venerate the topiarist; it's the poor devil clearing up all the clippings I most admire. The Welsh are on to something when they use 'tidy' to mean good or nice. Yes, that's right. Tidy, in fact. Adrian Chiles is a broadcaster, writer and Guardian columnist
The Guardian
19 hours ago
- The Guardian
How to turn the whole carrot, from leaf to root, into a Moroccan-spiced stew – recipe
Today's warming recipe makes a hero of the whole carrot from root to leaf, and sits somewhere between a roast and a stew. The lush green tops are turned into a punchy chermoula that is stirred into the sauce and used as a garnish. One image has stayed with me ever since a journey through a small Moroccan village near Taghazout, just west of Marrakech, all of 12 years ago. Bright orange carrots lay in vast heaps on contrasting blue tarpaulin spread across the ground. I was especially struck by how the vast majority of each pile was green with the feathery foliage that was still attached to the roots we love. The carrot is so often robbed of its crowning glory before it reaches the supermarket shelf, but when you find a bunch with those vibrant tops intact, you're getting two ingredients for the price of one. Those super-nutritious greens can be stirred into stews, tossed with other leaves, or blended into bright green sauces such as a pesto today's punchy chermoula, a piquant North African herb sauce that adds brightness and depth to this warming stew. Serves 4-6 For the spiced carrots 1 bunch carrots (about 600g), with foliage attached 650g new potatoes, halved 2 red or white onions, peeled and cut into thin wedges 4–5 tbsp extra-virgin olive oil Juice and finely grated zest of ½ organic unwaxed lemon 6 garlic cloves, peeled and lightly crushed 5 tsp ras el hanout, or your own blend featuring cinnamon, turmeric, cumin, coriander, paprika and/or ginger 2 x 400g tins chopped tomatoes 2 x 400g tins chickpeas, including their liquid (or 1 x 550g jar) 50g toasted chopped almonds, or walnuts or hazelnuts Cooked couscous, or barley or quinoa, to serve Yoghurt, to serve For the chermoula 2 tsp cumin seeds 2 tsp coriander seeds 1 tsp sweet paprika 1 tsp sea salt 2 garlic cloves, peeled 1 red chilli, diced, or 1–2 tsp cayenne pepper 60g carrot tops (stalks and leaves) Juice and finely grated zest of ½ organic unwaxed lemon, or 1 tbsp chopped preserved lemon 100ml extra-virgin olive oil Heat the oven to 190C (fan). Separate the carrot tops from the roots. Wash both thoroughly and set the tops aside for the chermoula. Put the carrots (about 450g), whole or halved if thick, 650g new potatoes and two red or white onions (cut into wedges) on a large tin. Drizzle with olive oil, cover with parchment and roast. After 35 minutes, remove the parchment and cook for another 15–25 minutes, until charred and tender. Mix in the lemon zest and juice (or the chopped preserved lemon), six lightly crushed garlic cloves and five teaspoons of ras el hanout (or your own blend) and roast for 10 more minutes. Stir in any leftover carrot tops (roughly chopped), the chopped tomatoes and the undrained chickpeas and roast for a final 15 minutes, until hot and bubbling. Meanwhile, make the chermoula: toast the cumin and coriander seeds in a dry pan, then grind to a powder. Add the paprika, sea salt, garlic and diced red chilli, pound to a rough paste, then smash in 60g chopped carrot tops. Mix in the lemon juice and zest and extra-virgin olive oil, then season to taste. Dot spoonfuls of chermoula on the carrots in the tray, scatter over the crushed nuts and a few extra sprigs of carrot tops, and serve with couscous and yoghurt on the side.
