Ribs low and slow, brisket rub – American smokehouse lexicon is on the lips and menus of chefs everywhere, Hong Kong included
- Their smokers can be electric or fired by wood – hickory and mesquite for tradition, lychee for local flavour – but ribs, brisket and pork are all on the menu
- Chefs Asher Goldstein, Nathan Green, and Miguel Gallo, who’ve never been to America, and Southerner Chris Tuthill tell us what inspires them and their cooking
If there’s one culinary trend that’s indisputably on the rise, it’s barbecue. Fire and smoke are celebrated as the new alchemy. Netflix has two shows on the subject – Chef’s Table: BBQ and The American Barbecue Showdown.
Of course, cooking over charcoal and fire is done the world over. Yakitori is barbecue. So are kebabs and any suckling pig. But the American South has cultivated the most convivial of grill cultures, distilled from the comfort foods of black slaves and Caribbean cooking.
Among the tenets of this culture is that “low and slow” is the key to tenderising meat. The other flavour feature is smoke, which adds sublime dimensions to Louisiana sausage, Memphis ribs, Texas brisket and Carolina pulled pork.
Hong Kong chefs have started to embrace the holy smoke. However, the down-home barbecue they’re preparing for city slickers doesn’t adhere to Bible belt orthodoxy. They’re evoking the spirit of Southern pit masters rather than following any regional doctrine.
Chef Asher Goldstein is among Hong Kong’s leading grill apostles. After opening Middle Eastern restaurant Francis in Wan Chai, his group launched Mr. Brown in 2019 – the name refers to the dark exterior of barbecued pork – as a self-styled neighbourhood smoke and grill house.
“I always loved smoked food,” says the Israel native. “I wanted a place where all the food revolved around smoking, grilling, roasting. I really wanted to extend the barbecue range with vegetables, chicken, and the way we smoked. I wanted to do something more personal, not just traditional.