TECHNIQUE

Direct-fire kamado recipes

Direct fire is the kamado's oldest face: live coals just under the grate, vents wide open and the ceramic loaded between 280 and 400 °C. This is where Neapolitan pizza in ninety seconds, a ribeye seared a finger above the charcoal and vegetables marked until their mineral sweetness returns all belong. In this section we gather the recipes we've cooked on our Torrevieja terrace, on the afternoons when the levante wind lets the coals breathe. We don't chase softness here: we chase crust, colour and the small margin of error that rewards the attentive cook.

26 recipes published

Triángulos de sandía con marcas de parrilla, feta desmenuzado, hojas de menta e hilos de reducción de balsámico sobre una tabla de roble junto a un kamado encendido.

Grilled Watermelon with Feta, Mint and Balsamic Reduction

Watermelon wedges seared over live coals: the sugars caramelize at the edges while the centre stays cool and juicy. Salty feta, fresh mint and a thread of balsamic make a sweet-savoury summer dessert-salad.

10 min6 servings250 °C

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Galette rústica de albaricoques caramelizados con miel, recién horneada sobre tabla de madera, junto a albaricoques frescos.

Kamado-Grilled Apricots with Honey and Rosemary

Peak-summer apricots, halved and seared over live fire until caramelised, glazed with warm rosemary honey and served with mascarpone or vanilla ice cream. The easiest stone-fruit dessert off the kamado.

10 min4 servings230 °C

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Sardinas frescas con sal gruesa y la piel chamuscada, recién asadas al calor de las brasas de un kamado, servidas con gajos de limón y pan rústico.

Skewered Sardines al Espeto on the Kamado

The icon of the Mediterranean summer at home: fresh sardines with coarse salt, roasted by the side heat of the kamado's embers without touching the grate. Charred skin, juicy flesh, bread and lemon.

12 min4 servings250 °C

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Lomo de atún rojo con costra de sésamo blanco y negro, sellado y cortado en láminas con el centro crudo y rojo, sobre una tabla de madera junto a un kamado cerámico encendido.

Sesame-Crusted Seared Bluefin Tuna on the Kamado (Tataki)

A bluefin tuna loin rolled in sesame and seared 30-45 seconds per side over a screaming-hot kamado: a toasted crust outside, a raw, juicy core, and a soy, ginger and lime sauce that wakes it all up.

4 min4 servings280 °C

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Codornices doradas con glaseado de miel en brocheta, presentadas sobre un plato oscuro, estilo editorial.

Honey-Rosemary Glazed Grilled Quail

Quail spatchcocked and seared over direct heat in the kamado, lacquered with honey, soy and rosemary: crisp skin, juicy meat and a taste of small game ready in minutes.

15 min4 servings250 °C

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Contramuslos de pollo tandoori dorados y especiados sobre la parrilla de un kamado, junto a un cuenco de raita de pepino y gajos de lima.

Tandoori Chicken Thighs on the Kamado

Yogurt, garam masala and live fire: tandoori chicken thighs on the kamado come out juicy inside and lacquered with spice outside, with a cool cucumber raita to cut the heat.

16 min4 servings220 °C

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Naan recién horneado y ampollado, pincelado con mantequilla de ajo y espolvoreado con cilantro, sobre una piedra junto a un kamado de cerámica.

Garlic Butter Naan on the Kamado

Yogurt-leavened Indian flatbread cooked on a blazing stone until blistered, then brushed with garlic-cilantro butter. The perfect partner for a curry or for mopping up anything off the grill.

18 min6 servings260 °C

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Mazorcas de maíz asadas a la brasa estilo elote, untadas con mayonesa-lima, queso cotija desmenuzado, chile en polvo y cilantro, sobre la rejilla de un kamado.

Grilled Corn Mexican Elote Style on the Kamado

Cobs charred over direct fire, slathered with lime mayo, cotija cheese, chili and cilantro. Got leftovers? Strip the kernels and turn them into cups of esquites.

15 min4 servings230 °C

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Espárragos trigueros marcados a la brasa sobre la rejilla de un kamado, con ralladura de limón y escamas de sal, algunos envueltos en jamón serrano.

Charred Wild Green Asparagus on the Kamado

Wild green asparagus seared over direct fire, tender with a crisp bite, optionally wrapped in jamón serrano and finished with extra-virgin olive oil, lemon zest and flaky salt. The easiest spring starter.

8 min4 servings240 °C

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Pimientos de Padrón brillantes de aceite y con la piel ampollada, recién salteados en una sartén de hierro sobre un kamado, espolvoreados con sal en escamas.

Blistered Padrón Peppers on the Kamado

Summer's quickest starter: Padrón peppers tossed over fierce heat in a cast-iron skillet on the kamado, finished with good olive oil and flaky salt. Eight minutes, and some are hot, some are not.

8 min4 servings260 °C

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Dátiles Medjool envueltos en bacon caramelizado y glaseados con Pedro Ximénez, recién hechos sobre la parrilla de un kamado.

Bacon-Wrapped Dates on the Grill

The sweet-and-savory bite that vanishes first: Medjool dates stuffed with blue cheese, hugged in crisp bacon and lacquered with Pedro Ximénez, caramelized over the kamado's direct fire.

14 min6 servings210 °C

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Dorada entera a la brasa con un limón asado y granos de pimienta sobre una tabla de madera oscura

Butterflied sea bream on the kamado, with garlic, chilli and lemon refrito

Sea bream butterflied open over direct coals, skin down first, finished with a hot garlic, chilli and lemon refrito. Mediterranean fish off Torrevieja, ready in 18 minutes. Serves 2.

18 min2 servings220 °C

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Rueda de provolone fundido a la brasa en sartén de hierro fundido con tomates cherry asados y una ramita de romero

Grilled provolone on the kamado with tomato, oregano and olive oil, in a cast-iron skillet

Argentine-style provoleta over direct heat: a wheel of provolone in a cast-iron skillet at 230°C until you get a golden crust and a molten centre. Tomato, oregano, olive oil and bread. A starter in 12 minutes. Serves 4.

12 min4 servings230 °C

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Rodajas de piña a la parrilla caramelizadas en un plato blanco

Rum-glazed grilled pineapple on the kamado

Thick pineapple rings with a rum and brown-sugar glaze, grilled direct at 220°C until the edges caramelise. About thirteen to fourteen minutes on the grill to the best barbecue dessert you'll taste all summer.

14 min6 servings220 °C

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Mitades de melocotón a la parrilla con helado de vainilla y menta

Grilled peaches with honey and vanilla ice cream on the kamado

Peach halves with golden grill marks, a thread of honey, thyme and a quenelle of vanilla ice cream. Eight minutes over direct heat and you have the kamado's summer dessert.

8 min4 servings210 °C

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Higos con queso, miel y nueces sobre tabla de madera

Kamado-roasted figs with goat cheese and honey

Figs scored into a cross, stuffed with melting goat cheese, glazed with honey and rosemary. Seven minutes over direct heat and you have the kamado's late-summer dessert.

7 min4 servings200 °C

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Escalivada de pimientos rojos y berenjenas asados al kamado, pelados y brillantes de aceite de oliva, con hierbas frescas por encima.

Kamado escalivada with smoked peppers and aubergine

Red pepper, aubergine and onion roasted whole over live coals until the skin chars black, then peeled and dressed with nothing but extra-virgin olive oil and flaky salt.

45 min4 servings230 °C

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Arroz a banda con marisco en paellera

Arroz a banda on the kamado, fisherman's socarrat

Alicante-style arroz a banda in a paella pan over the kamado grate: a rockfish fumet, a long sofrito and a textbook final socarrat.

35 min6 servings240 °C

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Sepia a la plancha con marcas de parrilla, limón y brotes

Griddled cuttlefish on the kamado with black garlic alioli

Fresh cuttlefish butterflied open, seared on a 260°C cast-iron griddle until golden, finished with garlic, parsley and a dark black-garlic alioli. Eight minutes of cooking, zero mystery.

8 min4 servings260 °C

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Gambones rojos enteros asándose sobre la parrilla, con brillo de aceite y tonos rojos intensos

Red prawns over live fire on the kamado in 6 minutes

Red prawns over a screaming cast-iron plancha with sliced garlic, dried chilli and a generous pour of olive oil: 6 minutes of cooking, crisp shell and juicy flesh. The starter that opens any summer lunch on the terrace.

6 min4 servings280 °C

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Verduras de temporada asadas sobre llama abierta, con marcas de parrilla

Costa Blanca grilled seasonal vegetables on the kamado

Eggplant, zucchini, Levante red pepper, red onion and whole skin-on garlic, grilled direct at 220°C and finished with warm sherry vinaigrette. A vegetarian plate that stands on its own, not a side.

35 min6 servings220 °C

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Hogaza de masa madre dorada saliendo de una cocotte de hierro fundido

Rustic sourdough loaf in a dutch oven on the kamado

The definitive loaf: 24 hours of fermentation with active starter, cold retard in a banneton and a dutch oven that turns the kamado into a pro bakery oven.

50 min8 servings230 °C

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Focaccia con romero recién horneada, miga aireada y aceite de oliva

Rosemary focaccia on the kamado

A light focaccia on the kamado: 80% hydration, a stone running red-hot, Bajo Aragón olive oil and fresh rosemary, ideally cut from the plant rather than dried.

20 min6 servings230 °C

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Solomillo de cerdo fileteado, listo para emplatar

Iberian pork tenderloin grilled with Pedro Ximénez glaze

Free-range Iberian pork tenderloin, embers at 280°C, two minutes per side and a Pedro Ximénez Montilla-Moriles reduction that turns into a knockout glaze at slicing time.

8 min4 servings280 °C

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Hamburguesa smash con bordes crujientes y queso fundido

Smash burger on the kamado with American cheese

The viral burger done right: 90 g ball, cast-iron plancha at 250°C and a 30-second smash that builds the definitive crust. No tricks, no marketing.

8 min4 servings250 °C

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Chuletón a la parrilla recién salido del kamado, costra ennegrecida y carne rosada

Galician ribeye on the kamado, direct sear

A one-kilo Galician ribeye, Maldon salt, embers at 350°C and not a thing more. The shortest recipe of the year and the hardest to mess up if you respect the timings.

12 min4 servings350 °C

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