The owner-chef at Arthur restaurant in Sydney shares a favourite barbecue recipe.

Brined and barbecued wagyu skewers with saltbush and honey glaze

This is my favourite dish to cook on a day off with my family, who doesn't love a BBQ on a sunny day?

INGREDIENTS

• 1kg short rib intercostal* (I use Stone Axe 9+ wagyu)

Brine

• 2 litres water
• 100g sea salt
• 60g brown sugar
• 4 bay leaves
• 8 garlic cloves, crushed
• 20g black peppercorns
• 15g yellow mustard seeds
• 10g cloves
• 2 cinnamon sticks
• ½ bunch fresh thyme

Glaze

• 125g honey
• 20ml white wine vinegar
• 20g Dijon mustard
• 20ml Worcestershire sauce
• 20ml soy sauce
• 20ml Sriracha (or chilli paste)
• 30g finely chopped saltbush** (or parsley)
• 10g salt

Bitter leaf salad

• 1 bunch escarole
• 1 bunch mustard leaves
• 1 large kohlrabi
• 1 red onion, halved
• 1 bunch breakfast radish, trimmed and quartered

Horseradish dressing

• 100g creme fraiche
• zest and juice of 1 lemon
• 40g fresh horseradish
• salt and black pepper, to taste

METHOD

1. Place all the brine ingredients into a pot and bring to the boil, simmer for 2 minutes then remove from the heat and chill in the fridge until completely cold.
2. Score the beef, then lay the strips down in a roasting tray and ladle the chilled brine over the meat. Ensure the beef is submerged, then place the tray in the fridge for about 12 hours. x
3. Remove the beef from the brine and pat dry with paper towel. Slice into small square pieces and stack onto the skewers like a mini rotisserie. (If making ahead, the skewers can be placed in the fridge until ready to cook. Remove beef from the fridge 30 minutes before grilling to temper.)
4. For the glaze weigh out all ingredients into a bowl and whisk together.
5. For the salad dressing, add the creme fraiche to a bowl. Add the lemon zest and juice. Peel and grate the fresh horseradish directly into the bowl using a Microplane. Season with salt and pepper and mix well.
6. To assemble the salad, wash the mustard leaves and escarole and roughly tear into bite-sized pieces. Peel the kohlrabi and onion, then slice them both using a mandolin so they are about 2mm-thick. Add all the salad ingredients to a bowl, including the radish, season with salt and pepper and toss with the horseradish dressing.
7. Heat a charcoal barbecue until the coals are white-hot, then grill the beef until medium – the intercostal meat has a lot of fat and connective tissue that needs rendering, so the meat will be more tender if you cook it slightly further than medium-rare. As the skewers are cooking brush the glaze onto the beef, being careful not to burn the glaze.
8. Season the skewers with salt and serve with the bitter leaf salad.

Serves 2-3

*The intercostal is the meat that runs between the bones of the short rib. Use beef short rib if you can't find intercostal.

**Saltbush is a native herb available from specialty grocers.

This recipe is from episode one of Good Food Kitchen season 2, screening on 9Now.