What to drink with a kebab - and it's not lager!

Inspired by the British Kebab awards Zeren Wilson wonders what the perfect wine pairing is for a kebab and comes up with some surprising conclusions.

Zeren writes: "Something is stirring in the world of Turkish dining in London, a subtle shifting of the landscape. This week the 2014 British Kebab Awards were held in the Park Lane Sheraton, a celebration of the finest purveyors of this most primal and visceral form of eating, that of slamming bits of animal over white hot coals (sometimes the skewer is flourished), turning them every now and again, and waiting until they are done.

The roots of the Turkish word kebap can be traced back to Mesopotamia, it's origins arriving through the Persian and Urdu languages, with its original meaning summing things up cutely: meat cooked with flames.

As the son of a Turkish Cypriot mother, the kebab has played a role in my upbringing from a disconcertingly early age. At six months old my parents took me along to their favourite Kebab restaurant and Britain's first, Nasreddin Hoca (named after a historical Ottoman figure), and slung me under the table while they chowed on meat, hummus and garlicky yoghurt dip, cacik. If Twitter had existed back then, I would probably have sent my first tweet from under the table.

We Brits have evolved a great tradition of getting plastered on a Saturday night (as one should sometimes) and soaking up all that booze with a late night kebab, which may be a gourmet delight, but so often can be something....less appealing.

The British Kebab Awards were not bigging up the potentially shocking Elephant Leg here (which with good meat, can also be great), but rather theTurkish restaurants that have been serving up thoroughly decent meat, chargrilled with a bit of love.

Apart from hoovering up a few bottles of the Turkish lager Efes (it does a job, but won't shake your shish in an earth-changing way), there are a few styles of wine that have the weapons in their armoury to cope with the bold flavours involved and the smoke of the grill.

Turkish wines have improved considerably over recent years, but on a recent visit to Istanbul I found prohibitive taxes applied to wine, making drinking anything decent an almost impossible task without being shafted on price.

Importers in the UK have started to notice the improvements*, and one of the first to take the leap has been Armit, who bring in wines from the very decent Urla winery, which Jancis Robinson featured on her site a couple of years ago.

Turkish varietals have some wonderful names, chief among them being the burly, tannic grape Bogazkere (poetically translated as 'throat scraper'), and the somewhat fluffier, friendlier Oküzgözü* (meaning 'bull's eye', which is often blended with its more abrasive, tannic cousin to achieve balance and roundness.

A Turkish white varietal which perked up my palate was the versatile Narince, a Riesling-esque wannabe, with great acidity and a broad spectrum of fruit flavours ranging from lime and grapefruit, through to lusher tropical notes. It can also cope with a touch of oak in the right winemaker's hands.

Doluca is another example of a Turkish winery making clean, accessible wines which have the potential to enter International markets and compete on the quality front.

Let's see what else we can pour successfully when perched up against the heat of the mangal . . .

ADANA KEBAB - For me this is the 'daddy' of the kebab restaurant experience, and I never feel satisfied unless I have at least a bite of this glorious 'köfte on a stick'. Named after the fifth largest city in Turkey, this is a boldly flavoured assemblage of minced lamb meat (often with tail fat), sweet red peppers, garlic, onion, parsley, red pepper flakes, with some variations depending on the venue.

Wrapping this in a Turkish flatbread (dürüm) which has been moistened with the fat from the cooking meat, with some salad, makes for a joyous experience. A glorious version in Istanbul involved pistachio nuts. Meaty, fatty, spicy — I would go for reds with big gobs of dark fruit, a ballsy Chilean Cabernet Sauvignon or Merlot, Argentinian Malbec, Aussie Shiraz - that kinda thing.

CHICKEN SHISH - The 'vanilla' of the kebab world, but some mangals marinade their chicken in such a way, that suddenly chicken is not the boring option any more. There is often some heat from the spice of the marinade involved too. A broad-shouldered white or lighter red are the wines to think about here, so perhaps New World Chardonnay that doesn't have too much of a slap of oak, such as a Chardonnay from Mornington Peninsula, Australia (I love Kooyong), or South African or New Zealand Chardonnay or white varietals with a bit of lushness to them - a New World Pinot Gris perhaps. Tempranillo from Spain, or Grenache dominated- Rhône reds should feel at home here too.

LAMB SHISH - The classic cubes of lamb shoulder are the archetypal Turkish kebab item, and no kebab feast would be complete without it. Reds from Ribera del Duero work very well here as do fuller-bodied reds from the Languedoc-Roussillon and South-West France such as Cahors. (These tend to be great value, too).

QUAIL - If you're lucky, a good mangal will have quail on the menu. A chance to pull out your favourite Pinot Noirs and lighter reds. My ideal would be a Californian Pinot Noir, something from the Sonoma Coast. Or top red Burgundy, if you are bringing the wine. Thanks.

LAMB BELLY - Another option which won't always be there but is a joy to eat, stripping the meat and fat from the bone until there is no DNA left. Reds with great acidity work best to slice through all of that fat, so good Northern Rhône Syrah is an option here: St Joseph, Cornas, or Côte-Rôtie if someone else is paying. Sonoma Coast Syrah is having a bit of a moment too. Step forward, Arnot-Roberts Syrah, which is brought in by Roberson Wines.

Any kebab feast will involve a whole host of flavours, a melange of spice and fat, meat and smoke, and it may be hot, sweaty, and bloody noisy. When it comes down to these myriad factors, wine matching thankfully takes a step back from the discussions of perfect wine combos and you may end up surprising yourself with the combinations that work.

I enjoyed a white that sailed through every course without flinching in the face of the assault of smoke, meat, spice and fat-slicked fingers. This accolade fell to Ataraxia Chardonnay 2012, from South Africa, made by husband and wife team Kevin and Hanli Grant. A modern barrel-fermented Chardonnay with plenty of elegance alongside the heft of New World fruit.

Right, I'm off to Green Lanes in Harringay**, N16, for the mother of all kebab crawls...

* Marks & Spencer has recently started listing one which I made my wine of the week a few weeks back.

** There may be those of you that wonder whether this should be Haringey. I did but Zeren assures me that's how the locals spell it!

Zeren Wilson is a food and wine writer with a background in the wine trade. He publishes his own blog Bitten & Written.

Image by Никита Лазоренко from Pixabay

Which wine to pair with Texas BBQ

US-based wine writer and educator David Furer reports on an epic tasting in the homeland of American barbeque, Austin, Texas pairing a selection of international and home-grown reds with different meats.

Pairing wines with various styles of American barbeque is a chancey proposition. Traditional American tastes tend toward lager beers, iced tea, sodas (what Brits refer to as 'fizzy drinks') and water.

Why? The development of BBQ as an outdoor eating method long preceded the recent exposure of wine to the broader US palate. Add to this BBQ’s tendency to absorb hours of exposure to smoke from wood from which its cooking heat is derived, sweet and/or sour sauces used for marinating, braising and dressing the meats, and a range of flavorsome spices sometimes imbued with fierce chiles - and you have no easy task in hand.

That said Texas's standard, readily applied by our host Franklin Barbecue in my home of Austin, is merely to rub black pepper and salt into the raw meat before allowing it to slowly cook in heat and smoke derived from oak and/or mesquite wood. The results are so good that the addition of sauces, although housemade and very tasty, is akin to gilding the lily.

The wines I chose were exclusively still, dry reds from the portfolio of Pioneer Wine Company, a distributor with extensive choices providing plenty of opportunities for successful and not so successful pairings.

However I thought that these diverse, high-quality wines from respected growers would show better with the food than they did - a sentiment shared by our group of tasters. With the array of intense flavors both in the meats and wines it was one of the most difficult pairings any of us ever experienced.

Joining myself and Stacy Franklin, co-owner of Franklin Barbecue and her husband Aaron, were Nat Davis, formerly a New York CIty-based sommelier now working for Pioneer, Ken Seeber, former chef and now salesman for Texas' Twin Liquors retail chain and Greg Randle, a wine consultant to restaurants and private collectors.

"The fat left in the meats we serve are minimal, we try to render everything so you're left with the essence of fat, not the actual pieces of fat - aside from the brisket where one end is always fatty" said Stacy. "No one wants a piece of pork which has a noticeable piece of fat in it."

She claims Texas BBQ originated from German-owned markets which served BBQ pieces from unsold lesser cuts such as brisket. The ribs take six hours to do well whereas brisket takes her staff 18. "It's more time-consuming so it's more special."

For Nat the unique thing about Texas BBQ is the emphasis on brisket comparable to that of New York City's delis’ emphasis on corned beef and pastrami. "It's such a challenge that when you achieve its pinnacle it's all the more incredible" he said, pointing out that great ribs can, by comparison, be found in many places, a comment which garnered nods from Ken.

Greg's take on the suitability of wines with BBQ is "over-the-top New World with some Rhone wines" citing the Seghesio Barolo 07 as possessing some of that 'in-your-face’ style.

"To me the Musar is a typical acetone-brett cat, sometimes making me think except for its whites 'how can someone drink this garbage?'

“Texas BBQ is about sweet tea, Dr. Pepper and Big Red sodas. As an adult, a porter or double bock beer. I don't typically think of wine going with BBQ except for Zinfandel and Aussie Shiraz."

Nat would have liked a Beaujolais to sip along with the fattier meats "the way you choose Brachetto d'Acqui in Italy to go with cold, smoked meats." He posited that if one grows up with a particular style of BBQ (styles in the US range from Hawaiian to the Carolinas) it may influence one's preferences later in life.

The meats were the full line from Franklin - boneless turkey breast, pulled pork (meat off the bone and pulled apart or shredded), pork ribs, beef brisket, and sausage, a coarse ground beef, heart and pork meat combination, the heart giving it a "little more iron and gamey taste", according to Stacy. Garlic and black pepper is added before the meat is stuffed into the natural casing.

The wines we tried are listed alphabetically with comments an amalgamation of those supplied by the group unless specified otherwise:

Aalto Aalto Ribera del Duero 2008

Excellent wine, swamps the turkey and zips up a little better with the pulled pork. Good with the rib which laid well into the layers of flavor. So streamlined, it went seamlessly well with the brisket. "It’s the chameleon wine of the day as it fits almost any tasting with any meats," said Ken. The standout for Ken and Stacy, a close second for Nat, Greg, and I though it topped all for its flexibilty.

Alpha Xinomavro, Hedgehog Vineyard, Amyndeon Greece 2008

Good, smoky and earthy wine which does alright with the turkey, not so much with the pulled pork. The tart cherry flavor contrasted and cleaned up the sausage.

A. A. Badenhorst (Shiraz, Cinsault, Mourvedre, Grenache) Southern Cape 2008

Good wine, balanced. Fun with the pulled pork, a pleasant chug with the garlicky sausage.

Barboursville Octagon (Merlot, Cabernet Franc, Cabernet Sauvignon), Virginia 2006

Light-medium body, nearly austere, the olive character comes alive with the turkey. Fends well with most, best with the rib.

Caduceus Nagual de la NAGA (Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot, Sangio, Tempranillo) Arizona 2010

Good upfront fruit character with a tannic finish. Missed with the turkey, much better with the pulled pork and ribs, fair with the brisket and sausage.

Domaine de la Janasse Chateauneuf-du-Pape 2008

Compact and intense wine which is softened from its primarily raspberry character by the peppery turkey. Its iron depth comes across even more with the pulled pork, its richness more with the rib. Works with the brisket although the alcohol jumps with this. Nat found the Janasse with the turkey and pullled pork acquired a juicy, concentrated pomegranate note, Stacy agreed finding the combination more mellow than other wines. Greg's top wine for the meal.

Fall Creek Vineyards Tempranillo (Salt Lick Vineyards.) Texas Hill Country 10

The American oak-derived vanilla clobbered the turkey but for Stacy showed well with the sausage, I thought this local favorite also did well with the brisket.

Fin Amour vin de pays Côtes des Catalanes (Grenache/Carignan) 2007

Gorgeous black cherry nose. "The sweetness of the wine comes out best with the ribs’ fat and meat," said Ken. "Genius with the ribs," said Greg, a sentiment echoed by Nat whereas I thought its mineral intensity lent it a powerful undertone perhaps not in keeping with the relative lushness and smoke in the meats.

Mas de Daumas Gassac Rouge 2010 (80% Cabernet Sauvignon with Merlot, Petit Verdot, Pinot Noir and Syrah)

Tight, really young. Solid with the pulled pork, better with the rib. Its youth didn't help it, perhaps a few hours decanting would've improved its reception.

McPherson Tre Colore (Mourvedre, Carignan, Viognier) Texas 2010

Soft, light and easy-to-drink, supple with the turkey if the pepper is avoided. Pleasant with the pulled pork and a bit less so with the rib. Ken found the raspberry note pleasant, I thought it an easy quaff with the brisket.

Mendel Malbec Mendoza 09

Dense prune and earth too much for the turkey. Good with the brisket with some deep black fruit coming out. "All mixed up with the earth and deep fruit notes," said Greg of the pairing with the pulled pork.

Chateau Musar 2004

Accentuates the turkey's pepper too much though weight of each is good. Balance is great though the leafiness in the wine comes out.

Neyen Red Blend (80% Carmenère/20% Cabernet Sauvignon) Colchagua Valley. 2008

Spicy with plenty of depth. Not for turkey. OK with the pulled pork. Too concentrated, forced with the rib. Mixed reviews with the brisket, some liked it while others thought it needed sauce to match the wine's rich fruit.

Quinta dos Roques Tinto, Collector's Reserva Douro 2000

From a winery best known for reviving varieties thought forgotten. Greg thought the juicy fruits worked well with the turkey which Nat found problematic. Too austere for the pulled pork and ribs.

Quivira Zinfandel, Dry Creek Valley. 2010

Turkey brought out the quaffing quality, the bright fruit of the wine, density worked with the pepper. Balanced beautifully with the pork, favored by a majority of the judges. OK with the ribs. Worked with the brisket but was beat up a bit by the fat. For Nat it either sang as it did with the pulled pork or was able to hold its own, making it his standout wine for the meal of mixed meats.

Robert Sinskey Pinot Noir, Carneros 2009

Overwhelmed by the turkey's pepper. Washes down easily with the brisket without adding contrast, Nat's favorite wine with the brisket.

Seghesio Barolo 2007

Streamlined and restrained which made it surprisingly good with the turkey. The fruit comes out more with the pulled pork and the rib. Too tannic and restrained in its oak for the brisket.

Cantina Taburno 'Fidelis' Aglianico del Taburno 2008

Young, just coming around, blending its red fruit very well with the turkey and pulled pork for Greg. Brought a leafy quality for Nat. A bit too bitter for the rib, good with the brisket.

Torbreck Shiraz 'The Struie' (Barossa/Eden) 2008

Rich red fruit character which doused the turkey, OK with pulled pork, a bit too much fruit for the rib and especially the brisket. A disappointment in that some at first thought the wine, delicious as it was, would be a favorite with the food.

Woodward Canyon Merlot 'Nelms Road,' Washington State 2008

Soft, easy Merlot with a good crisp squeeze at its end. Doesn't blend well with the turkey, suits all others well especially the brisket.

Conclusion: Without doubt the Aalto Ribera del Duero drew the most favorable comments for its suitability with the full range of meats along with it just being so damned good to drink. Both the Janasse and the Quivira came second for suitability both with the turkey and pulled pork, ranked well on their own followed closely by the Seghesio. Fin Amour topped out with the ribs though its mineral-driven character makes it a better candidate for cellaring than a wine for drinking on its own. It seems that no one wine set itself up for primacy with what's surely Texas' and Franklin's manifest meat, brisket.

Runners-up were Alpha, Barboursville, Caduceus, Fall Creek, and Woodward Canyon.

David Furer is a wine writer, educator and consultant, based in Austin, Texas and is on the editorial board of Sommelier Journal.

How to drink vodka like a Russian

I have to admit I accepted Leonid Shutov’s invitation to taste vodka with some trepidation having heard tales of the hangovers that some of my colleagues had suffered as a result of their visits to his Soho restaurant Bob Bob Ricard.

My worst fears were confirmed when he insisted that our vodka shots should be downed in one but as it turned out his assertion that ‘that was the way it was done in Russia’ was not a line.

I Googled ‘How to drink Russian vodka’ afterwards and came up with this excellent article on BBC’s h2g2 which asserted that “a traditional Russian drinking bout is generally preceded by toasts, during which it is considered rude not to drain your glass 'bottoms up' as a sign of respect to whomever is being toasted.” And who was I to be disrespectful?

Anyway we were there (in theory) to try three antique vodkas and to explore how they went with food or ‘zakuski’ - the little tapa-sized appetisers that are vodka’s traditional partner.

The qualities that are valued in vodka in Russia, Leonid explained, are smoothness and lack of aftertaste - “flavour in vodka indicates you can’t afford a more expensive drink."

Until the1980’s Russian vodka - which is always made from wheat not from other grains or potato - was the only beverage that would be drunk throughout a meal but Leonid genuinely believes it brings out the flavour in food. “You see flavours shine in a way they wouldn’t on their own.”

All the vodkas we tried were served ice cold ( -18°F ) in small shot glasses - he disapproves of drinking it at room temperature.

We kicked off with Kauffman Collection Vintage 2006 (£65 from the Vodka Emporium, £69.99 from Fareham Wine Cellar) The use of the word 'vintage' in relation to vodka indicates that the grain it is made from comes from a particular year. This is a limited production vodka - just 5000 cases - and to me tasted very smooth, slightly sweet and woody (it is apparently sweetened with honey) and very slightly minty: a perfect foil to a dish of jellied ox tongue with horseradish flavoured cream (above) that would not have been out of place at a Victorian banquet. Horseradish is a spot-on match for vodka.

The next vodka was Kaufmann Luxury Vintage 2003 which is apparently flavoured with shizandra or extract of magnolia vine and costs a hefty £23 a shot at BBR (though you can buy a bottle for a comparatively modest £135 at Fareham Wine Cellar). Only 25,000 bottles are made and it takes fourteen distillations to achieve the requisite level of purity.

Not being a habitual vodka taster I struggled for a vocabulary in which to write my tasting notes but it was again very pure and smooth with a faintly toasty flavour that apparently comes from infusing it with dried wheaten bread crusts. It was partnered with blinis and (farmed) Beluga caviar from the Caspian sea which confirmed the conclusion I’d reached in a caviar tasting in New York that vodka and caviar is a great combination - the smoothness of the spirit helps you to appreciate the texture of the eggs. “You need a nice big mouthful” encouraged Leonid who told me he used to put away a pound of beluga a sittling in a previous life. He also sneaked in a shot of Stoli red to show how coarse it was by comparison. “You just taste the fatty acids.”

The third vodka was the silky Russian Standard Imperial (£32.95 a bottle from The Drink Shop), one of Russia’s best-selling premium vodkas - eight times distilled and filtered through quartz: “perfect for the effortless cosmopolitan" according to the website.This was served with herring cured Russian-style with cinnamon, cloves and allspice and warm potatoes which Leonid instructed us to eat in order. the warm potato after the herring. There were also some pickled cucumbers on the side - again, a totally natural register for the drink.

Frustratingly (and possibly unwisely) we then moved on to wine - a 1990 La Conseillante Pomerol which was solidly matched with a beef Wellington with truffled sauce and a half bottle of Chateau d’Yquem 2001 - served with a delicate Bramley and Cox Apple Jelly which it slightly overwhelmed. But after the vodkas, neither seemed quite as exciting as it should have done. I just wanted to get on with exploring other vodka pairings.

I dined at Bob Bob Ricard as a guest of the restaurant.

 

Craft beer and BBQ

Although I regularly recommend wines to pair with barbecue - most recently in my Guardian column - I’m actually an equal fan of beer. In fact I think many types of barbecue work better with it.

It appears that a majority of you agree. Craft beer came out top in a straw poll I put up on my Facebook page last week with almost twice as many votes as the most successful style of wine, a gutsy shiraz. You have to allow, of course, that beer fans are always more ready to fight their corner than winelovers but still . . .

So what kind of beer? It depends who’s coming and what kind of barbecue it is. If it’s all about the event - just a relaxed cook-up for family and friends I’d say the emphasis should be on a beer that’s refreshing and by that I don’t mean an ice-cold flavourless lager (not a popular choice in my poll).

If you’re looking for something different why not try a cloudy witbier or wheat beer, maybe even with a slice of lemon as they serve it in Lille or a citrussy single hop beer made from citra hops. Those would also work well with a seafood barbecue. A seasonal summer beer would be a good one to kick off with too.

For a real crowd-pleaser I’d pick a hoppy IPA, my favourite match with pulled pork and sausages. Amber ales and lagers are also good all-rounders and a saison or saison-style beer should impress any beer geek - a good match for beer-can or barbequed chicken.

With American-style barbecue like slow-cooked ribs or brisket I’d prefer something darker. A brown ale, a dark lager, a stout, porter or even an on-trend black IPA. And if you like to ramp up the smoky flavour you could try a smoked beer but that might be a little too much of a good thing.

You might notice that I’ve mentioned almost every style of beer. The message? Beer goes with barbecue. Period.

Image © saschi79 - Fotolia.com

If you don't agree - or want some wine options - see my article on which wine pairs best with barbecue.