Shovel grilling began, so legend goes, with a rancher in the Australian outback who had lamb (no shortage of that in Australia) and a campfire, but no grill grate to position over it. So he sterilized the blade of shovel in the hot flames, arranged lamb chops seasoned with salt and pepper on it (and why not chopped fresh garlic and rosemary, too?), and grilled the lamb on the spade thrust directly into the fire.
It's super easy and you can do it over a campfire, wood-burning grill, or charcoal grill. I suppose you could do it on a gas grill, but I'm not quite sure I'd see the point.
- Build a substantial hardwood fire (preferably in an outdoor fireplace or fire pit or where campfires are allowed) or use natural lump charcoal and add hardwood chunks for flavor. Allow it to burn down to glowing, ash-covered embers. (Note: Never burn resinous pine or other softwoods. Ditto for pressure-treated lumber.)
Try out your shovel grilling skills with these recipes:
SIGN UP for Steven Raichlen's UP IN SMOKE newsletter to learn more about barbecue!
Steven Raichlen is the author of the Barbecue! Bible cookbook series and the host of Primal Grill on PBS. His web site is www.barbecuebible.com.