Leather Storrs: How to Make the Best Grill Paste

Men like fire and burning stuff. When it’s bad it’s arson, when it’s good it’s grilling. My brother in law Brooks is a good cook and an extraordinary “Gaucho”- he’s a grilling savant. There is some primordial connection between him and fire which makes him fearless when it comes to placement of protein and ember maintenance.

My friend Max is a scientist and he delights in the opportunity to apply his meticulous thinking to a variety of proteins at once. He orders oddly shaped ingredients into columns and rows to yield expert grill marks and even browning. When he’s coming to town, the first text I get is always “mixed grill!”

Though their approach and motivation is different, the paste that binds these men together is “The Paste”: a gutsy, aggressively seasoned rub for grilling that they learned cooking with me. I have been doing this goopy rub for years, it is infinitely malleable and it adds a level of savor and complexity that improves almost anything.

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“The Paste”-base:

1 yellow onion, peeled, rough chop
6 cloves of garlic
½ cup Dijon mustard
1 Tablespoon Fish sauce
Small pinch of chili flakes
1 Tablespoon salt
1 Tablespoon fresh ground pepper
1 Tablespoon fresh rosemary, chopped (optional)
1 Tablespoon fresh thyme, chopped (optional)
½ cup olive oil

Method:

Put all but the oil in the hopper of a blender or food processor. Buzz smooth and stop the machine. Add the olive oil and pulse just to combine (fast moving blades compromise the flavor of olive oil, lending a bitter quality). Massage the paste all over your grillable items. Use all of the paste. I put the pasted meats and vegetables in a zip-loc until I’m ready to grill.

Variations:

Lamb: Add one seeded ancho chili, softened in hot water and 2 teaspoons each of coriander, cumin and caraway that have been toasted and ground. Add one tablespoon chopped fresh marjoram or oregano.

Fish: Add ½ a fennel bulb and the zest of two lemons (squirt the juice on after). Omit the rosemary and substitute 1 tablespoon chopped fresh tarragon and 2 tablespoons chopped fresh parsley.

Vegetables: Omit the fish sauce to make the paste vegetarian. Add 1 raw carrot, 1 tablespoon parsley, 1 tablespoon chopped fresh savory, the zest of an orange and the zest of a lemon.

VA (vaguely Asian): Add 2 tablespoons light miso paste, 2 tablespoons minced ginger, 1 tablespoon brown sugar, a squirt of sriracha, a tablespoon rice vinegar and 3 scallions. Omit the thyme and rosemary.

Gaucho: Add two softened, seeded ancho chilis, 1 tablespoon each toasted and ground cumin and coriander, the zest of 2 limes and a big handful of cilantro.

The rate limiting factor on the paste is salt. The longer you marinate, the saltier and potentially tougher your meat becomes. 2-4 hours for thinner cuts and refrigerated overnight for larger roasts is a good rule of thumb. 

Pro tip: Halfway through grilling, roll your meat in the left over paste and return it to the grill for a flavor boost.

Leather Storrs is an Oregon native who has served 20 years in professional kitchens. He owns a piece of two area restaurants: Noble Rot and Nobleoni at Oregon College of Art and Craft, where he yells and waves arms. He quietly admits to having been a newspaper critic in Austin, Texas and Portland. 

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