Category: Cooking
Have you cooked on your outdoor fire pit? Get the most out of your fire pit. It is not only great for enjoying warmth and relaxation on a cool evening but it is also great for cooking.
Our ancestors have been cooking on open flames for centuries. Knowing how to cook is a necessity for all of us. Cooking on an open fire can be a great activity with your family while teaching your kids a useful skill. Whether you have a permanent or portable fire pit cooking on it makes for great food and fun. You may be having a large gathering with friends or a simple meal with your family, either one your fire pit can be a great way to add uniqueness to your meal. Contains about anything that you cook on your BBQ grill can be just as good and maybe better on your fire pit.
You can enjoy the outdoor cooking experience with any type of wood; any wood burning fire gives food a unique flavor. However, you can also experiment to get specific smoke flavors in your food. Using different types of wood can accent your food with different flavors. There are many different types of wood you can use but you need to be careful that you are going to get a flavor you like.
One key component to flavoring food when using different types of wood is the length of cooking time. The longer you cook the food the more flavors your food will pick up. If you are cooking foods for shorter periods of time the food will not pick up specific flavors. So don’t waste time trying to give specific flavor to fast cooking foods. The specific flavor is going to be dependent on the type of wood you use. Some woods will give a milder flavor while others will give stronger flavors. Woods such as almond, apple, apricot, cherry and citrus will give a milder light fruity flavor, while woods such as birch, maple, and oak give stronger but not over powering flavors. Alder is a traditional wood for smoking Salmon. Woods such as Walnut and Hickory can add strong over powering flavors.
Using a gas fire pit is another great way to cook food. You can use different types of wood chunks for different flavors. You simply moisten the wood chunks, you don’t want them dripping, then wrap them in foil. Poke 2 or 3 holes in the foil to allow smoke to escape. Lay them between the grill and burner. The foil will keep the ashes from getting into the burner and the smoke will flavor your food.
Two of my favorite recipes include:
Fresh Squash or Zucchini
Wash squash or Zucchini
Cut in half length wise
Scrape seeds out of middle
Cover with Zesty Italian dressing
Sprinkle with Parmesan cheese
Wrap in foil
Cook on fire until tender
Meat and Vegetable Shish Kabobs
Marinade your favorite meat chunks
Cut up favorite vegetables and marinade – mushrooms, pepper, onion, tomatoes
Place on wooden or metal sticks
alternating meat and vegetables
Place on fire until meat is cooked
through and vegetables are tender
So whatever it may be, a quick hamburger or hot dog meal that will cook quickly or your favorite poultry, leg of lamb or steak, get started now cooking on your outdoor fire pit.
Did you know that at one time, brisket was considered a very poor quality meat? History has it, that two brothers from Germany, back in the 1950’s decided to smoke up some leftover brisket they had. They left the brisket inside their smokehouse for an entire weekend. When they returned to work they sliced up the meat and served it to their customers. The meat was so flavorful and tender that it quickly became a hit.
I remember the first time I had the pleasure of eating beef brisket. It was at this fabulous little Barbecue Restaurant in Croton-On-Hudson, NY called Memphis Maes.
New York isn’t known for its BBQ, so my wife and I were a bit skeptical. But after we took our first bite of the “Texas BBQ Beef Brisket”, we became believers! My wife then looked at me and said , “You have to make this!” Not wanting to let the lovely wife down, I took it upon myself to try and recreate the BBQ brisket at home. I don’t own a smoker, so I needed to improvise and cook the brisket in the oven.
Believe it or not, the oven makes a pretty darn good BBQ brisket. Many BBQ enthusiasts will tell you that a smoker is the only way to cook brisket, but I can tell you from experience this is simply not the case.
The secret to a good beef brisket is to cook it nice and slow at around 225 degrees for several hours. So if you are looking for a quick and easy meal tonight, cooking brisket in the oven is not the way to go.
You will have to prepare this particular recipe one day in advance and you will need to plan some extra time to cook the brisket as it takes several hours to finish cooking.
Lets Talk About Dry Rubs
There are a variety of different dry rub recipes you can use for your beef brisket. One such recipe is listed below. Don’t be shy with your dry rub. You want to really coat the brisket well. Its not called a rub for nothing, so really rub those spices into the meat with your hands. After the rub has been applied put the brisket in the fridge and let it marinade over night.
DRY RUB
– 1/4 Cup Paprika – 1/4 Cup Light Brown Sugar – 2 Tbs Chili Powder – 2 Tbs Kosher Salt – 2 Tbs Freshly Cracked Black Pepper – 1 1/3 Tbs Granulated Garlic – 1 1/3 Tbs Granulated Onion – 2 Tsp Ground Cumin
THE SAUCE
We need some type of liquid to slowly braise the brisket in the oven. Braising is an excellent way to cook brisket in the oven because it keeps the brisket moist and very tender.
What I do is mix some good quality store bought barbecue sauce with a little beef broth to thin it a bit. I like to use a smoke flavored barbecue sauce. To give it a little more smoky flavor, I also add a few drops of liquid smoke. This makes a very tasty braising liquid.
LETS START COOKING ALREADY!
Before we start cooking, lets do a little preparation.
Remove the brisket from the fridge and leave it on the counter for 30 minutes or so to allow it to come to room temperature.
Those who love dessert recipes will agree with me that Biskuti ya Nazi is one the best dessert recipes in Kenya. I have tasted and enjoyed it and I wish to teach you how to make it.
Some of our African recipes are less known by the outside word and for that matter we see it as our responsibility to show the world how to make these Africa recipes.
In a place like Mombasa and Dar es Salaam in Tanzania Biskuti ya nazi is highy regarded as the best food to serve your guest and on this page we will give you the engredients and methods to make it.
INGREDIENTS TO MAKE BISKUTI YA NAZI
Three egg whites
One cup granulated sugar
Two and a half cups desiccated coconut
One cup macadamia nuts or cashew nuts, finely chopped
DIRECTIONS TO MAKE BISKUTI YA NAZI
1. Preheat the oven to 350F.
2. Lightly grease two baking sheets.
3. In a medium bowl, with an electric mixer on high, beat egg whites into soft peaks.
4. Gradually add the Sugar, beating after each addition until peaks are glossy.
5. Fold in the coconut and nuts.
6. With wet hands, roll tablespoonfuls of the mixture into rounds and set on baking sheets.
7. Bake for 20 to 25 minutes, or until lightly golden.
8. Cool on racks and store in an airtight container.
Though it may sound strange to you if you are not from East Africa, Biskuti ya Nazi recipe is one of the food recipes you should learn to make for your family.
Who said that you dont how to cook? Having been born from a family of many girls, I was not supposed to cook when all my sisters are present but when I joined work and start to live on my own, thats when cooking lessons became a reality.
Of course not every person like cooking but for those who enjoy to explore new foods and have the taste for delicious yummy yummy, this recipe in a must not miss.
Whether you are a college pupil merely starting your own culinary experiments or a seasoned chef by having countless dinner parties under your belt, there is consistently a little something new to study about cooking. Browse these suggestions for impressive assistance that you can easily carry out in your kitchen area tonight, and get used to wonderful home-cooked meals.
To easily remove the veins from shrimp make use of the sharpest knife that you have and slit down the back of the shrimp where the vein is. Put the knife at the top of the vein when slit and raise it out then rinse out the rest out of your shrimp with cool water. When cooking burgers, no matter exactly what the type of burger, it is essential to just turn it one time in order to retain all of the liquids. If you don’t do this your burger will certainly most very likely end up dry and will remind one of a hockey puck! Do not let that take place to your burgers.
When making huge amounts of bacon, lay the bacon on a foil-wrapped baking piece, and cook it in the range (according to package directions) as an alternative of on the stove top. The bacon will definitely not just continue to be flat during cooking, but you will not have to cook batch after batch to reach the amount you want. A terrific cooking point is to spray your pan by having oil before you cook by having it. Spraying the pan with oil will definitely make it so that the food doesn’t follow the pan. Attempting to clean a pan by having food stuck on it is able to be remarkably frustrating and time consuming.
Include onion in your spaghetti sauce, tacos, casseroles or further dishes without displeasing picky eaters by grating the onion before providing it to the pan. The onion will essentially dissolve into the additional food, adding wonderful onion flavor without including big chunks. Use a metal box grater for the best results. If you discover yourself with detail of a loaf of stale bread, do not thrust it away or feed it to the . Instead, turn it into croutons for a soup or tossed salad by tossing cubes of bread with oil and spices and baking them until crispy. You are able to even turn stale bread into breadcrumbs for lots of recipes.
If you are preparing an entire chicken or turkey, take the time to period under the skin as aspect of your preparation. By lightly gliding your fingers between the skin and meat in the breast area and thigh area, you are able to produce room for seasoning. Combination your favored herbs and spices and slowly rub them from the meat under the skin. The skin will lock in juices and enable your seasoning to soak up into the meat.
While cooking is fun, normally, the cleansing up that follows, is not. To prevent having to manage a large mess after a day of experimenting or dinner preparation in the kitchen area, keep your sink filled with warm soapy water, rejuvenating when necessary, and cleanse up as you go along. Besides keeping your end of day cleaning down to a minimum, you will certainly also have clean hands as you touch and prepare food throughout the day.
These ideas are a sensational start to developing an assortment of healthful and scrumptious dishes. Usage them in your own cooking to provide your family members an unique thrill today. Allow yourself to be enthusiastic as you obtain motivation to organize your kitchen and your cooking into a comfy spot where you serve mouth watering foods. Begin experimenting with recipes and carry out the tips that you have learned right here and enjoy. You never ever understand – you just may have discovered a brand-new vocation.
The Big Green Egg ceramic grill is incredible because of its flexibility. You are able to set up your Egg up for direct cooking, similar to a regular grill, to barbecue chicken. With only one additional component you can set up your grill to become a slow smoker that is able to do smoking “low n slow” all day long! You can also use your Egg as an oven to cook up bread, pizza or even cookies.
The traditional grilling set up is commonly known as direct cooking, because you are cooking your food directly above the hot coals. Simply set your Stainless Steel or Cast Iron Grid right on top of the Fire Ring, and you are ready to grill direct. Many Eggheads can lift the level of their cooking surface with extenders or lower their cooking surface by taking out the Fire Ring to set the grid right on the Fire Box.Shifting the level of the cooking surface affords you more control over the style of heat your food will encounter; make the grill surface higher to avoid the flames for grilling vegetables, and drop the cooking surface to quickly sear pork chops. Direct grilling is commonly used for steaks, hamburgers, fish, pork tenderloin, and vegetables.
The Plate Setter Accessory is a heat barrier sold by the Big Green Egg manufacturer. If you possess a Plate Setter, you are able to use your Big Green Egg for indirect smoking. To configure your Big Green Egg for indirect barbecuing simply set the Plate Setter right on the Fire Ring with the legs facing up, rest a drip pan full of water on the Plate Setter, and then place your grid on top of the Plate Setter. If you are baking pizzas you can put your ceramic baking stone directly on the grid and you are ready to grill cook indirectly.The basic concept behind indirect smoking is that your meat is indirectly exposed to the fire, so it roasts via convection and radiant heat. This cooks the food slower than exposing it to direct heat, and is the only choice for true smoking. If you want to slow smoke brisket, pulled pork, or ribs you will need to do it via indirect grilling.
If “low and slow” isnt your thing, you can make use of the Plate Setter to change your smoker into an outdoor oven. Even though the fire is being blocked by the Plate Setter, the internal grill temperature can reach as high as 600F and allow you to cook out of this world brick-oven style pizzas. Contains about anything you could bake in a normal oven you can roast using the indirect cooking set up of the Big Green Egg.