The Churrasco Flambadou is an old tool in a forged version: a cone on a long handle that you place in glowing coals until it's glowing hot itself. Then you put a piece of beef fat in it. It melts within seconds, catches fire and drips, burning, over whatever you hold underneath. What's left is a thin coating of fat that tastes of smoke and charred meat, exactly the layer you'll never get with a brush.
What you make with the Churrasco Flambadou
Classic is kidney fat over a piece of grilled beef or over oysters, but it works just as well over toasted bread, a baked potato or grilled cauliflower. You decide how heavy-handed you go: one pass gives a subtle sheen, two or three give a clear smoky flavour.
- Forged tool that can take the heat of a coal bed
- Long handle, so your hand stays clear of the flame
- Works on the kamado, the charcoal barbecue and open fire
- Gives meat, bread and shellfish a smoked fat coating
- Finishing a dish at the table: guests see it happen
How to use it
Place the flambadou in the coal bed until it changes colour and is properly glowing. Then put a piece of hard beef fat in it and hold it straight over your dish. Keep moving it, so the fat spreads instead of staying in one spot. Work over the barbecue or a fireproof surface, never over a tabletop.
Care
Let the flambadou burn out in the fire after use, so fat residue disappears. Scrub it clean afterwards and store it dry. As with all forged tools and cast iron: moisture is the enemy.
Find the rest of your fire tools in the BBQ tools, and gloves to go with this in the BBQ accessories. Prefer working with a pan over the coals? Check out BBQ cast iron.
