Bored of the same old cuts on the grill? Then it’s high time for an upgrade. Anyone here looking to put a top-class steak on the grill sooner or later ends up in the online shop of the Schaffhausen meat refiner Luma Delikatessen. With the help of a strictly secret noble-mould culture, Luma’s two founders, Lucas Oechslin and Marco Tessaro, fire up the flavour on a wide range of cuts. During ageing, which usually lasts five to six weeks, the meat loses about half its weight but, above all, becomes more tender and takes on a nutty note. That alone isn’t enough for Oechslin and Tessaro, though: they also offer Swiss entrecôtes aged for 100 days. Quality has its price, so this delicacy costs around four to five times as much as a superficially similar piece from the discounter. Thanks to its incredibly intense flavour – the nuttiness is squared, as it were, and the fat recalls blue cheese! – the special selection is nonetheless prized by a growing clientele with a taste for the exceptional.
When preparing the super-steak, the rule is the same as always with quality meat: less is more. As for seasoning, no complicated marinade is needed – a little fleur de sel and freshly ground pepper will do. Oechslin and Tessaro also advise going easy on the heat and taking the meat off the grill as soon as it reaches a core temperature of 54 degrees. The perfect complement to the umami punch of the Luma beef is an Argentinian chimichurri sauce with fresh herbs and a good splash of vinegar.
The Finest Meat – and Salad
Besides Luma, Switzerland naturally has a whole range of other suppliers of first-class meat. The Chrummbaum farm in Malters, in the canton of Lucerne, sells Wagyu beef from its own herd – from burgers to entrecôte. The most delicious pork in the entire country comes from Kuro in Oberwil, in the Winterthur district. The eponymous Kuro breed grows far more slowly than conventional domestic pigs; its muscle fibres are finer and shorter, which makes the meat especially tender. The real trick, though – as with Wagyu – is the intramuscular fat. It’s no surprise that gourmets like to compare the two delicacies. Important with Kuro pork: don’t grill it too long – it should still be slightly pink inside.
At Mitja Birlo’s, the 2022 Gault Millau Chef of the Year, even salad goes on the grill. “I cut small lettuces lengthwise in two, rub them with a little olive oil and grill them on the outside for about 20 seconds,” explains the head chef of the 7132 Silver in Vals. In his restaurant he serves the lightly smoky lettuce hearts with a powerful vinaigrette and pickled sea buckthorn, which adds a fresh, fruity acidity. “The dish can be recreated at home in its essentials without difficulty,” says Birlo. “Only the vinaigrette takes a bit more time, as it’s based on a reduced mushroom stock – and mushrooms hold a great deal of umami.” And which other grilled speciality should one try? “Skewers of thinly sliced duck breast,” says the master chef, who holds 18 Gault Millau points and two Michelin stars. Before grilling, Birlo marinates the juicy poultry for 15 minutes in soy sauce, ideally Shoyu Koji, which gives the meat not only a full aroma but also a bright red colour. First-class Swiss-bred ducks are available, for instance, from the family business Geflügel Gourmet, founded in 2008 by the brothers Robin, Gregory and Pascal Geisser in Mörschwil (SG).
In the Style of the Cavemen
Those who like it archaic simply throw their food straight onto the embers. “Caveman style” is the name of this method, which is winning more and more followers here too. The astonishing thing: steaks or chops don’t burn this way and don’t take on a strong smoky flavour – instead, the coveted roasted aromas come through especially clearly. Before serving, you only need to remove a few ash particles, which a brush does in seconds. Caveman style also works, incidentally, with many fruits and vegetables – from celeriac and beetroot to apples or peaches. With the small difference that their skin chars; it peels off very easily, though, revealing a particularly delicate layer beneath, because the intense heat caramelises some of the sugar. Anyone still sceptical of this method – very popular in the USA and Australia – is recommended the YouTube tutorials of the American grill king Steven Raichlen.
Kay Baumgardt, named Gault Millau Pâtissier of the Year 2020 and one of the most prominent representatives of his trade in Europe, appreciates grilled aromas in desserts too. A recipe from his book “Desserts unplugged”, published last autumn, therefore bears the punchy name “Throw it on the grill!”. By “it” he means the parsnip. Baumgardt first peels and quarters the roots, then boils them in salted water for 20 to 30 minutes until soft, and finally roasts them on the grill for ten minutes on all sides. It’s served with parsnip cream, parsnip ice cream, fried parsnip julienne, nut-butter espuma and parsnip dust. Too complicated? No problem: the master pâtissier also has a tip for a very simple grilled dessert. “A pineapple brushed with honey. After ten to fifteen minutes it’s perfect – you just have to turn it regularly and brush it with honey once or twice more after the first glaze. In the end the pineapple has a wonderful sheen and an almost meaty consistency.” Well then: enjoy your meal!
The best online shops: Luma Delikatessen (luma-delikatessen.ch) for top-class steaks, Chrummbaum (chrummbaum.ch) for home-bred Wagyu beef, Kuro (kuro.ch) for the finest pork, Geflügel Gourmet (gefluegelgourmet.ch) for Swiss-bred ducks among other things, and Das Pure (daspure.ch) for the finest soy sauces such as Swiss Bio Shoyu and mushroom shoyu.
This article appeared in MEN issue 1/22 (May 2022).
