Here is the recipe to Chef K's barbequed marshmallows. Sounded a little kooky at first, but these things are dynamite. As soon as we tasted them (once they were fairly set) we were reassured. As soon as we toasted them and ate them, we were blown away. We used these on a dish of lightly smoked, then C-Vapped garlic flank steak. The marshmallows were blowtorched on skewers tableside and placed upon each plate.
Here are the ingredients:
1 oz powdered gelatin, 3/4 C Kansas City Style BBQ sauce (please don't disrespect Chef K, who is a Kansas City boy, by using some other form of BBQ sauce such as Texas, Memphis, Carolina, Minnesota, etc.), 1 C water, 3 C sugar, 1 C dark corn syrup, 1/4 C molasses, 1/4 tsp smoked sea salt, 1/8 tsp ground coriander, 1/8 tsp ground ginger, 1 tsp smoked paprika, 1 tsp chile powder, 1/8 tsp granulated garlic, 1/4 tsp liquid smoke, dusting spiced sugar (recipe below)
Here's the method:
Clean and dry a 2 inch hotel pan, and spray generously with nonstick spray, In the bowl of a stand mixer, mix the following: gelatine, BBQ sauce, 1/4 C water, salt, spices, and liquid smoke. Fit mixer with a whip attachment and blend together.
In a sauce pot, add the sugar, remaining 3/4 C water, corn syrup, and molasses. Bring to a boil and simmer until temperature reaches the soft ball stage (112-114ºC, 235-240ºF). Remove from heat.
Turn the mixer on high, and slowly pour the sugar mixture into the bowl with the other ingredients... being very careful as the sugar is very hot. Whip the mixture on high for 10 minutes or until the marshmallow mix becomes light and fluffy with fairly stiff peaks. Quickly pour the mixture into the greased hotel pan and flatten and smooth with an oiled rubber spatula if necessary.
Cover the pan lightly with parchment paper (careful, it's sticky right now), and let sit out unrefrigerated for at least 24 hours.
Dust a work surface with spiced sugar, and flip the marshmallow out. Dust the entire surface of the marshmallow with spiced sugar through a sifter. Using a very sharp straight edge knife or X-acto knife, cut the marshmallow into desired shapes. You may oil the blade if necessary, but this is not as attractive when you dust the marshmallows all around.
The spiced sugar mix: 1 C 10X sugar, 1/4 C potato starch (or corn starch), 1/2 Tbsp paprika, 1/2 Tbsp smoked paprika, 1 tsp ground coriander, 1 tsp smoked sea salt, 1 tsp sea salt, 2 tsp chili powder, 1/2 tsp ground ginger, 1/2 tsp granulated garlic. Give the spices a quick spin in a spice grinder before adding them to the sugar and starch to make a finer dusting powder.
Here's one of 'em toasted on a grill. Indirect heat will melt the marshmallow quicker before browning. Use a direct flame for best results... a slightly charred exterior and moist gooey inside... but I'm not here to tell you how to toast yer marshmallows.
Lay the cut dusted marshmallows out separated from each other wrapped in an airtight container at room temperature, and they should last you 2 weeks. Perfect to make well ahead of time for your next campfire or backyard grill.
