SKEWERED.

Summer entertaining? Put a stick in it. If you get my point. (Groan).

All the best menus have skewered snacks right now. Can I just say the words out loud “Drunken Chicken Livers on Vegemite Toast”? Yes, you heard that right, and yes, the livers are on skewers, and the skewers are on toast. It’s one of the opening snacks at the new King Clarence in Sydney from the Bentley group, which wins my heart for having an entire menu section headed Skewers & Dumplings.

And here’s a super-simple idea done by Restaurant Nomad, for the Pork Stars Christmas gathering - they used a peppery coppa and rockmelon, but it would be gorgeous with prosciutto as well. As a little bite with a festive drink - perfect.

And also, would you take a look at THIS???

Trust Andrew McConnell of all our favourite Melbourne restaurants (Gimlet, Cutler & Co, Marion, Cumulus, etc) and Troy Wheeler, Meatsmith butcher, to skewer mortadella and caramelise it on the grill, good lord.

The fact that skewered snacks are trending is ironic when you consider that so many different cultures throughout the world have been threading food onto sticks for hundreds if not thousands of years. But still we find new ways of doing it that inspire and delight, because it’s such a beautiful, fun way to cook and to eat. Andrew and Troy were good enough to share their recipe with me.

MORTADELLA SKEWERS WITH PINE OR MAPLE SYRUP

“The trick here is to grill the mortadella quickly, whether over charcoal or in a frying pan, so it gets slightly crisp, caramelised edges with a warm, soft centre” says Andrew.

• 20 thin slices mortadella

• 50 ml olive oil

• 100 ml pine syrup or maple syrup

• cornichons, to serve

Heat the barbecue to medium-high. Fold the mortadella slices into quarters, making a square parcel. Take 4 skewers and thread 5 of the folded parcels onto each skewer.

Brush the mortadella with olive oil and cook for 4 to 5 minutes, turning frequently to caramelise evenly.

Just before they finish cooking, remove from the barbecue, brush with a little syrup and return to the barbecue to caramelize until golden.

Brush a little extra syrup on, and serve.

(Pine syrup is a sweet and herbaceous Italian condiment made from pine cones, and typically served with cheese -available from Meatsmith, or sub with maple syrup).

Skewer tips: 

Flat metal skewers are great, because they stop the skeweree (the thing skewered) from spinning around. Just be aware they act as a branding iron does, when hot.

Or take a tip from the Japanese and use two skewers through the skeweree to keep it stable. 

Bamboo skewers will burn over an open flame, so soak them for a few hours in water before use.

Or come up with your own skewers – wooden chopsticks, rosemary stalks, lemongrass spears.

Brush the food with oil before it hits the grill, and don’t turn until it has developed a crust, to avoid it sticking to the grill.

NEED MORE THAN A SNACK ON A STICK?

Try my pork belly skewers marinated in a simple marinade of soy, fish sauce, garlic and ginger then grilled. The secret to the lacquered sweet-and-sour glaze is sambal oelek and kecap manis hit with lime or lemon juice. Serve with lettuce wraps, rice and lime or lemon.

SAMBAL PORK BELLY SKEWERS

• 1.2 kg pork belly, boned and skinned

• 2 tbsp soy sauce

• 2 tbsp fish sauce

• 2 garlic cloves, grated

• 1 tbsp grated ginger

• 2 tbsp peanut or vegetable oil

• 1 lime or lemon, cut into wedges

  GLAZE:

• 3 tbsp soy sauce

• 2 tbsp sambal oelek

• 2 tbsp kecap manis (sweet soy) or hoisin sauce

• 1 tbsp brown sugar

• 2 tbsp lime or lemon juice

Soak wooden skewers in water. Cut the pork belly into 4 cm cubes, toss in soy sauce, fish sauce, garlic and ginger, and leave to marinate for an hour or more.

Make the glaze by combining soy sauce, sambal oelek, kecap manis or hoisin, brown sugar and lime or lemon juice in a small pan and bring to a simmer, stirring constantly until it thickens to a syrup.

To cook, thread 2 or 3 cubes of pork onto each skewer and brush with peanut oil.

Heat the barbecue or grill, oil well, and cook the pork belly for 4 minutes, turning once or twice.

Brush the pork with the sambal oelek glaze and cook for a further 2 minutes or until done, turning once or twice (keep an eye out for burning).

Serve with steamed rice, soft lettuce leaves, lime or lemon wedges, and extra sambal oelek. Serves 4.

Pick-up sticks: a random satay skewer pic from my files.

Thanks for dropping by!  Thanks to Andrew McConnell and Troy Wheeler for the recipe and for writing Meatsmith (Hardie Grant Books, RRP $60), and Mark Roper for the photograph. Special thanks to Terry for organising King Clarence for our office Christmas party. Just because there are only two of you in the office doesn’t mean you can’t go out and kick up your heels.

I would also like to acknowledge the traditional owners of the lands and waters upon which I work, live, cook and play; the Gadigal people of the Eora Nation, and pay my respects to Elders past and present, and to the continuing strength and resilience of First Nations people, communities and cultures.