Day 15: The last cook of the Group Stages
Day 15, is the last day of the group games in the 2018 World Cup. For the World Cup of BBQ, we return to South America, specifically Colombia, to cook Arroz Atollado.
Arroz Atollado is a Colombian cuisine dish from Cali, Colombia and the surrounding area. It is a typical dish of the Valle del Cauca region. Apart from rice, it contains chicken, pork, potatoes of various kinds, vegetables and seasonings. Arroz Atollado may be served with fried plantain pancakes, hogao sauce and sausages.
The Cook
This was quite a straightforward cook although I had to cook it in a couple of different stages on the BBQ. It is the first time I think I have cooked steak, pork and chicken all in the same dish.
The first stage of cooking was to get some smokiness into the meat, setting the BBQ up for an indirect cook. When the temperature got up to around 200°C, I added 2 oak wood chunks and the meat, then cooked indirectly for around 20 minutes, before taking the meat off and allowing it to cool.
Next, I added the wok, still cooking using an indirect method, for the Weber GBS and added the water and initial vegetables, with a couple more oak wood chunks, before adding all the other ingredients. For the final 10 minutes, I moved the fuel holders and cooked direct.
Once the rice had absorbed all the liquid I removes and dished up, serving with a fried egg on top.
The Verdict
This dish was fairly similar to Arroz con pollo from Costa Rica. It was really tasty, with the 3 different types of meat and the vegetables that were added. What did really please me with this cook was the amount of smoke I managed to get into the dish. I think cooking the meats indirectly first really helped the process.
BBQ Arroz Atollado
- Prep Time30 min
- Cook Time1 hr
- Total Time1 hr 30 min
- Serving Size2
Ingredients
For the Arroz Atollado
- 250g Pork Tenderloin
- 250g Sirloin Steak
- 250g Chicken Breast
- 500g Basmati Rice
- 1 ltr Water
- 2 Chorizos
- 5 Tomatoes (chopped)
- 1 Red Pepper (finely chopped)
- 1 Carrot (chopped)
- 100g Peas
- 4 Spring Onion (sliced)
- 6 Garlic Cloves (crushed)
- Salt and Pepper
Method
Light your BBQ and initially set it up for an indirect cook. Once up to temperature (around 200°C) place 2 wood chunks on the coals and add the beef, chicken, and pork. Cook for around 20 minutes. This is to impart some smokiness into the meat.
Remove the meat, and then add the wok to the BBQ. Add the water, spring onions and garlic. Then add the pork and beef (both uncut) but not the chicken to broth. Cook for 5 minutes then remove the meat and pace to one side.
Next, add all the other ingredients to the wok and cook for 5 minutes, Chop the meat into bite-size chunks and add to the mixture together with the chorizo, giving it a good stir. Place the lid on the BBQ and cook for 5 minutes.
Add the rice to the mixture and stir well. You want the rice to absorb all the liquid. Cover the BBQ and allow smoke to infuse into the dish. Check every 10 minutes, making sure the rice is not sticking. For the final 10 minutes, I cooked directly to speed up the cook as the rice was not absorbing the liquid that quickly.
Once all the liquid has been absorbed remove from the BBQ and served. I also fried an egg and served on top. Another suggestion I read was serve this with plantains on the side.
