What’s the secret to perfectly cooked, flavourful meat and fish? It’s in the equipment. Caroline McEneaney toured The Grille at Abu Dhabi Golf Club to learn about its Josper oven.
It’s getting hot in here! Steak lovers will agree that just the thought of those criss-cross grill marks on a perfect cut of beef is enough to make you salivate. There’s something about a grill that makes meat taste particularly appetising, and that flavour is hard to replicate in your kitchen. There’s one appliance, however, that takes the advantages of a grill, combined with those of an oven, and brings them inside into one solid, non-electric super-machine.
The device is called the Josper oven. There’s only a handful of Josper ovens in the capital and The Grille boasts the one that’s been here the longest. It’s an upright apparatus with three doors that resembles a metal cabinet. A combination of a grill and oven, it cooks on a grate over a charcoal flame, but it also has a thermostat and a door. This allows the oven to cook at high temperatures, smoking and grilling at the same time.
The Josper was invented in Spain in 1970 by Josep Armangué and Pere Juli, two chefs who were determined to find a way to grill with charcoal inside their professional kitchen.
Chef Pradeep Sagara, the sous chef at The Grille, swears by the Josper. ‘This is my baby,’ he says, his eyes lighting up. ‘Since I learned how to cook on it I don’t have to be afraid, I trust that it will cook quickly and taste great.’
While at first glance it might look straightforward – it’s essentially a barbecue with a door – cooking on the Josper is a discipline in itself. Indeed, the company behind Josper provide workshops, lessons and events on it in Barcelona and all over the world for chefs.
Never used a Josper? Pradeep advises, ‘If you don’t know how to cook on it, don’t,’ pointing to several scars up and down his arms from his work with the oven.
Pradeep learned to cook with a Josper two years ago and still considers himself a young student of the oven. The Grille only prepares fish and meat on its Josper, but Pradeep says one day he’d like to learn to cook different dishes on it, especially rice dishes such as risotto – a meal that is considered quite advanced when prepared in a Josper.
The Josper model at The Grille has three sections. The top cupboard opens to reveal a filter that collects the ash from the charcoal. Pradeep is careful to mention that this part should never be cleaned as the build up adds to the signature smoky Josper flavour; it should simply be emptied. Alongside the filter is a high grate where food can be cooked at a slightly lower temperature than the main part of the oven.
Below is the body of the oven, where most of the food is prepared and the charcoal burns. Like a traditional oven, there are several slots to adjust the height of the rack. Pradeep explains, ‘Usually I’ll start the meat right over the flame, but you need to be careful if there’s fat in the cut, because if that melts too much, it can cause the charcoal to smoke, leaving the beef with a film that won’t taste good. Then I move the steak to the side to finish cooking. It takes a lot of care and attention. I’ve had to learn to always have the timing in my head while I work.’
There are two draughts that draw air in to fuel the charcoal fire at the bottom of the oven.
The Josper’s key characteristic – that it runs entirely on charcoal – provides several advantages. One is that there are few parts and little maintenance, and another is that the food has a natural flavour. No chemicals or electricity are used to cook the food.
Now you’re probably thinking about running out and getting one yourself at this point, but be warned. The Josper can set you back Dhs110,000. If that’s out of your budget, try a steak from the Josper oven at The Grille instead.
6-10pm Mon-Sat. The Grille, Abu Dhabi Golf Club, Sas Al Nakhl, www.adgolfclub.com (02 558 8990).
