I sorry to hear a lot of your fathers were not into BBQ. My father... well wasn't either. Because we didn't have BBQ we had Mangal!
Every independence day, vacation, holiday, or just a nature trip had to have a Mangal meal.
This is a Mangal:
It has a small capacity for charcoal and is really hard to light. We did not have charcoal lighters. I only discovered those in my late 20's along with solid lighter materials.
The way to light a Mangal is:
1. Soak newspapers in cooking oil
2. Line the bottom of the Mangal with the paper
3. Pour charcoal over the paper
4. Light the paper
5. Watch the paper burn but the charcoal stays unlit - a very important step.
6. Pour lighter fluid over the coals and watch the bonfire.
7. Treat your burns with cold water or a cream if you came prepared.
8. Once the fire dies and you still don't have enough heat because the s**t charcoal didn't catch - use the Nafnafa.
This is a plastic Nafnafa:
If you weren't prepared with one then use an unburnt newspaper. If you were extra prepared then you would have an electric fan. :hail:
The Nafnafa is used to blow air by waving it fast near the coals to make them hot. Usually the kids job. Until some grownup came and said "you're doing it wrong... we will never eat..." etc.
The Nafnafa was also used to blow air on the coals when they got cold after burning a short while cooking. This blew up ash which added the desired ash flavour to the food.
The food was always:
Chicken parts. Mostly quarts. Boneless if you were rich.
Hot dogs
Romanian Kabab
And if the people with us were ok - i.e. no Kosher stuff - pork chops.
Everything was well done. The other option was "well well done". No beef which was either slow cook parts and we didn't have the time, or crazy expensive steaks.
Of all that I have to explain what Romanian Kabab is. It is minced garlic with some ground beef & pork. It is a little spicy and stays on your breath for days. You would burp and the whole class knows what you ate. In Romania it's called Mititay. It is really good.
It is also full of fat that causes huge fires in the Mangal. Served always burnt.
Those pictures are wrong.
