Get Your Chops Off

Salvage Your Summer With Some Help From Farm & Field

Barbecue. It’s a universal language, but one that’s rich with inflections. In it’s purest form: fire + meat = awesome. But the word ‘barbecue’ means very different things to different people, from the Southern US, to Japan or Patagonia. It’s the great culinary equalizer, stripping cuisine of pretense and self-indulgence. And yet every culture has uniquely refined this primitive cooking technique into an art/science hybrid, a highly-individualized badge of honor.

As fortunate as most of us have been on the Western shelf of the country, in regard to viruses, wars, wildfires, and all the other miscellaneous carnage of the past couple years, we’re still yearning to glimpse 2022’s summer upon the soggy horizon. For anyone who’s lost track (which happens with alarming ease, now): it’s currently May. The walls appear to be closing in on us a little more each day. Tempers are razor thin. And our barbecues might just be the heroes who save us all.

Is there a better method, in our current state of unease, for family and friends to feast? Even though it’s been a go-to for a few millennia, barbecue seems built for the now: Satiating our social tendencies in an environment that promotes a healthy amount of distance, fresh air, and the disinfectant properties of smoke and fermented beverages (*unverified, but still worth further testing). Barbecuing has survived pestilence and plague thus far, and in uncertain times the best strategy is to lean into the proven. Go primeval. And while caveman-grunting or knocking a potential partner over the head with a log might be frowned upon, someone has to do the hunter-gatherer thing, for the sake of the tribe. Luckily, your local butcher has your back.

Thankfully, Rebecca Teskey’s Farm + Field butchery has done the hunting, the gathering, and the highly skillful preparation for you. Wandering into Teskey’s sleek, modern downtown storefront counterintuitively invokes a sense of nostalgia. There’s something “old-timey” about a traditional butcher, with their rows of neatly stacked cuts, condiments and accoutrements; a throwback to an era before the omnipotent Supermarket became our one-stop-shopping solution.

Teskey suggests a range of options for approaching this barbecue season, that cater to anyone’s skillset and budget. Start easy with sausages. Good ones. Not your dad’s “smokies.” And choose a variety of flavors. How can you not, when Farm +Field are concocting tubed-meat delicacies like Korean BBQ, chicken with prosciutto and dill, mint and lemon lamb, chicken with basil and peach. Teskey suggests that you “buy some fresh, locally-baked buns, make a quick potato salad, and feed a crowd, easily.”

That sense of variety turns a one-dimensional meal into an inspired spread, and it isn’t just limited to sausages. If you’re ready for the next level, go for the chop-house classic “mixed grill.” For steak, Teskey recommends a hanger steak, as “they maintain this elastic quality, and don’t get tough—just stay under medium rare—and the flavor is super beefy.” F+ F also offers pre-marinated cuts which can do wonders not only for flavour, but texture: “Sitting the meat in something that has a little vinegar and salt will keep it extra tender.”

Don’t be afraid to throw in some chicken: “Half a chicken, bones in, for 45 minutes at medium heat. If you have a two-burner (or more) barbecue, you can keep one side hot and the other cooler, it keeps the hot air moving and won’t char too much. Keep the bone-side down, no need to flip it—by the time it’s done the skin will crisp up.”

Pork isn’t the first thing that comes to mind when we think backyard barbecue, but thin cut, deliciously marinated “coppa” pork steaks are a great left-field addition to your platter. Mildly spicy, with a slight zing of vinegar—and an easy couple-of-minutes-per-side cook-time. As with any pre-marinated meat, season with salt to taste after cooking: adding salt into the marinade affects the texture of the meat, so knowledgeable butchers like Teskey will purposely minimize their salt additions.

If you’re a grilling purist, or simply looking to part with a sizeable chunk of a dining budget, look no further than the withering, wonderful chunks of meat hanging in F+F’s dry-ageing locker. “If you want to go special, it’s dry-aged ribeye,” says Teskey. But novices beware: “The ageing process dries out the water from the meat, so it cooks faster than usual. So: super hot grill. Drizzle with oil, and a little salt. Add pepper later. Just be careful—you’ll hate yourself for overcooking it.”

Victoria is becoming spoiled for choice with its plethora of quality butchers. It seems that most of our satellite communities now boast a “purveyor of fine meats,” with an extensive, carefully curated and artfully prepared selection of carnivorous delicacies. If you’re anywhere near downtown, swing by for a chat with Farm +Field’s experienced butchers. They’ll set you up for success as we cautiously re-enter social life—and hopefully reclaim some normality in this long-delayed summer.