The Tasting Panel magazine

July 2015

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july 2015  /  the tasting panel  /  87 C hef Kyle Bailey wears numerous toques as the Executive Chef of The Arsenal at Bluejacket and Birch & Barley, both in Washington D.C. While his loyalty is consistent from restaurant to restaurant, he has a special place in his heart to a monster Argentine-inspired grill called the Grillworks Infierno—a name that could have been taken from Dante, or at least Dan Brown, with its hint of infernal fires, tormenting the damned. Though in the case of Chef Bailey, the torment is reserved for cuts of beef, pork, lamb, chicken and seafood. And instead of being poked by demons, the sinners of D.C. are served by waiters. And the whole place exudes smoky goodness. Merrill Shindler: How did you discover the Infierno? Kyle Bailey: Believe it or not, I saw pictures of it on social media, simple as that. I had never grilled on anything that looked like that. I thought it was the coolest thing I had ever seen. What appealed to you? First of all, I love the idea of cooking on an open fire. And I like the fact that the Infierno has grills that can be raised or lowered. The open design, along with the firebox in the back and the firebrick along the inside, allows you to really get the heat going. It's an incredibly diverse grill. Have you tricked it out? Added a beer cooler or anything? Well, I did get a motorized spit for it, so there's really nothing you can't cook. That being said, a few of my favorite items are half chickens, burgers and thick, beefy steaks. These items take very well to the open flames and added smoke from good Virginia oak wood. Doesn't the room get pretty smoky? Ours is actually outside. It's on wheels, so we can move it wherever it needs to go—even though it's really big. We don't use it in winter, but as soon as spring hits, we fire it up. How do diners respond to it? It's like catnip—every time I fire it, groups of guys start showing up. You can smell the smoke from blocks away. It's as much a show as a kitchen tool. Any other tools you love? Sure. There's the milling attachment that goes on our Champion Juicer. I like the strong motor. It can mill whatever grains I'm working with. And it can mill them very finely. I've tried it to make my own polenta, my own couscous, my own rye for pasta. It grinds corn very well. It never fails. Anything low-tech? How about the Waring Spice Grinder? It will bust up anything. It looks like a little coffee grinder. But it does great things to pepper. I haven't found an herb it won't grind. Not yet. TOOLS OF THE TRADE The Problem: Grilling all types of meat The Solution: The Infierno The Problem Solver: Kyle Bailey, Executive Chef, The Arsenal, Birch & Barley, Washington, D.C. Kyle Bailey grilling on the Grillworks Infierno at The Arsenal at Bluejacket. Playing wh by Merrill Shindler Fire PHOTO COURTESY OF NEIGHBORHOOD RESTAURANT GROUP

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