[CH] Slightly OT - World BBQ champs in South Africa
Sue Callaghan (scallagh@african-life.co.za)
Fri, 24 Aug 2001 14:37:47 +0200
This may be old news to dedicated BBQ fans in the US, but it was news to me
when I found this story on a local web site today:
South Africa has won the international bid to host the 3rd Annual World
Barbeque Championships which will take place in Cape Town from 2 to 4
November 2001.
International teams from across the globe will join South African teams in
the host city to take part in the Chateau Libertas World Barbeque
Championships. A world-class Barbecue and Outdoor Living Expo will also be
part of the event.
The World Barbecue Association (WBQA) plans to unite the world's 6,5 million
barbecue enthusiasts. Their motto is "Making people happy by Fire, Food and
Fun is a way of saying: Let's barbecue and make friends around the world."
The SA Barbecue Association (SABA) is affiliated to the World Barbeque
Association.
"We are delighted with the response from international teams", says Lannice
Snyman, Championship Organiser. "In addition to top South African braaiers,
we expect superb representation from all over the world. In all, fifty teams
will be competing for the world championships and international entries have
been received from the UK, the USA, Belgium, The Netherlands, Reunion,
Switzerland, Austria, Germany, Estland and Japan."
The rest of the article can be found at:
http://iafrica.com/highlife/goodlife/703140.htm if you want more details.
Apparently a South African team entered last year in Tennessee and cooked
South African inspired dishes such as Smoked Fish with Bacon-Wrapped Figs
and Cape-Malay Spice Rubbed Beef Fillet with African Peanut Samp and Beans.
Samp is a locally used maize product (dried, crushed corn kernels which
according to Cooks Thesaurus is: coarsely ground or broken hominy) which are
cooked with red sugar beans traditionally. To keep this more or less
chile-fied, here is a recipe for Samp and Beans - Chilehead style:
4 cups samp
1 cup brown beans, sorted and rinsed
3 potatoes cut into small cubes
1 large onion, chopped
2 cloves garlic, crushed
2 tomatoes, skinned and chopped
1 red pepper, chopped
3 - 4 fresh chiles, chopped (I would use serranos or jalapenos probably -
whatever is available)
1 beef stock cube
2 teaspoons salt
1 (or to taste) teaspoon chile powder
water
vegetable oil
Method: Soak samp and beans overnight. Put samp and beans with 3 cups of
water in a big pot and cook gently until starting to get soft. This will
take at least 3 hours depending on how fresh the beans are. Check liquid
from time to time and add more water if needed. Don't add any salt at this
stage - it will toughen the beans.
Gently fry the onion for a few minutes in a little oil and then add the
garlic. Fry till it starts to smell good. Add the chile powder, pepper,
fresh chile, tomato and potatoes and fry for a few more minutes (until the
potato starts to soften). Add this mixture, salt and stock cube to the samp
and beans and cook until soft, adding a little more water if needed. Don't
drown it - the final result shouldn't be sloppy - just moist. Total cooking
time : about 4 - 5 hours (cook as slowly as possible). Serves 6 persons.
This makes a great side dish to serve with stews or at braais (barbeques).
Cheers from Sue in sunny SA where spring is in the air, the chile seeds are
planted and the overwintered Rocottos are coming back to life in their pots
in the garage!