Cooking

Cooking Tips For Broiling A Chicken

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For decades, broiled chicken has been the meat of choice for those on low-fat and low calorie diets. Unfortunately, broiled white chicken has also acquired a reputation for being bland, rubbery and dry.

That’s a real shame, because chicken – especially white meat chicken – is one of the most versatile proteins available. All it takes is a bit of knowledge about how to broil (or grill) chicken so that it stays moist and flavorful and you will find that chicken tastes great even without all the sauces and gravies.

How to Broil Chicken That Melts in Your Mouth

One of the most important things to keep in mind about chicken white meat is that it has little fat of its own. The fat is all in the skin. While that makes it relatively easy to cook chicken with almost no fat, it also means that chicken white meat is prone to becoming very dry when cooked without the skin. Want to avoid dried out broiled chicken breasts? Here are some tips for broiling chicken that will be moist and delicious.

1. If fat is not a concern, broil breasts with the skin on, and turned toward the heat source. For broiling, start with the skin side down, and then flip chicken pieces halfway through. Broiling breasts with the skin on will not appreciably increase the fat content of the meat as long as you remove the skin before eating it.
2. If using skinless breasts, rub them lightly with olive oil or marinade before broiling. Experiment with flavored olive oils to find flavor combinations that you like. Or, brush breasts with Italian dressing – or spray lightly with cooking spray to give them a light coating.
3. Precook chicken breasts in chicken stock before putting them under the broiler. They will start out infused with extra moisture and flavor, and spend less time drying out under the broiler.
4. Use an herb rub to crust the chicken on the outside. You will a get browned, crusted outside and moist, tender inside.
5. Your heat source should be about 5 to 6 inches away from the top of the chicken for best broiling.
6. Flavor chicken meat with herbs, salt and spices before broiling.
7. Preheat the broiler for 9 to 10 minutes before putting the meat in. If you try to broil chicken in a broiler that is not preheated, they will dry out before they cook through.
8. Keep your eye on the chicken while it is cooking. If edges are cooking too quickly, rearrange the pieces on the pan or adjust the heat.
9. Conversely, shield the thinner edges of chicken breast with foil to prevent them burning before the rest of the chicken is cooked.
10. Flip chicken when top side is browned. Since breasts will not all cook at the same rate, keep an eye on the chicken so that you can remove breasts when they are done and prevent them from drying out.
11. Use tongs to turn chicken. Do not pierce with a fork or juices will escape, leaving chicken dry and stringy.
12. Brush top side of chicken with marinade, barbecue sauce, Italian dressing or flavored olive oil after turning. A light basting will refresh the moisture and infuse flavors into the meat.

Cooking

Cooking Brisket in the Oven – A Beginners Guide

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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.

Cooking

Grocery Shop to Cook on a Budget

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Cooking at home is certainly more cost effective than eating out. But in order to cook on a budget, it doesnt mean that you have to buy cheaper food. Generally, cheaper food is less healthy for you, and everyday cooking should call for the most wholesome ingredients you can find.

If you have stress over cooking at home while still cooking on a budget, the first place to start is in the grocery store where your food bill originates. There are some simple ways that you can lower your grocery bill without having to buy inferior products and still make cooking at home nutritious and fun.

First, know your basic portions for the people for whom you cook. The following list gives you the averages for each type of food product that Im going to discuss today (per meal): Protein = 5 ounces raw protein Vegetable = 4 ounces raw vegetable Starch = 3 ounces raw starch

What this means is that if youre cooking for four people, 5 ounces of raw protein times 4 people is 20 total ounces. Thats less than a pound and a half total. Now, you have a quantifiable number to buy. Dont buy the three pound container of chicken breasts, youll over-cook, over-portion and waste food and money.

Be able to do some simple math while in the grocery store, because packages are down-sizing. Notice that many boxes of pasta are no longer a full pound. Many have been down-sized to 12 ounces, but the price not down-sized appropriately. You need to figure out the cost per ounce, or some common denominator so you can compare the products correctly.

However, you also have to keep this in mind when you are thinking about portion sizes. In my household, I prepare 5.3 ounces of dry pasta for two people. This gives me three meals out of a 1 pound box. However, if I can only buy a 12 ounce box, its easy to just make the whole box. Dont! The result will either be that you overeat or have to throw leftovers away. Be aware of the portions and save the uncooked leftovers in the box for another day. Your stomach and your pocket will thank you.

Cooking at home can save you more money than ever when you know your portions. Knowing your portions and paying attention to package sizes will make you able to purchase with your cooking in mind and not over-buy, pay the highest price per ounce, or throw the leftovers away. Your goal for cooking on a budget is to purchase only what youll cook, and cook only what you purchase. This is everyday cooking with your budget in mind.

Cooking

Let’s Barbeque……….

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Its that time of year again, get out the grills and get ready for BBQ season. There are many different ways that people Barbeque. Here are some tips that you can use for when grilling out
and having family and friends over for a cookout. If you want to produce the perfect product which
includes mouth watering BBQ chicken, brisket and pork, there are four important factors in Barbequing. They are the meat, the method, the flavors and the smoke.

The right way to grilling is what is right for you and the only way to get good at anything
is the famous saying practice makes perfect. The first thing you need to do is purchase a Barbeque.
There are many barbeques that range from $30- $2000, just depends on how fancy you want to get.
When getting a barbeque you want to consider these simple things. The space you have for one
whether it is a big yard, get a large barbeque or a small space and get the smallest one possible. The second thing you need to do is consider the number of people you cook for regularly and you need to figure out the portions of food you will cook on your grill. If you want to have cookouts with family and friends all summer you need to consider a larger grill to put enough food to accommodate everyone. Also when it comes to grilling out you need to take into consideration if you want shelves and a workstation. It could make things easier to have a place to hold your meat and utensils and seasonings. The last thing to think about it how often you will use it, if it is just for the holidays then you might want
to go for the cheaper route since it once be used that much.

Once you have the grill and starts grilling you want it to be clean every time. You dont want the taste of fish on you steak. The best time to clean the grill is right after you get done cooking and use a wire brush to get off all residues. Before you start grilling you want to put a little bit of vegetable oil on the grill so that your food doesnt stick. Another good tip for grilling is when you begin a lot of people like to turn up the heat right before they put food on and that is wrong, you want to heat
up the grill 15-30 minutes before you start cooking your amazing food your about to make. You also want to have all your seasonings and utensils right beside you so youre not running back and forth to the kitchen. Also just in case things get out of hand and a flare up happens have a bottle of water nearby to put out unwanted flames.

When it comes to preparing you food for the grill, there are many different ways to do so. It can be your familys recipe or a sense of chef you have and try out different spices. Here are some ideas that can also help when it comes to preparing you meat for the grill. If you are going to grill a steak you might want to cut off any extra fat and put a pinch of salt and pepper on it and maybe add some steak seasoning before putting it on the grill. When cooking chicken you might consider putting it in the oven or microwave to cut down on cooking time and browning of the chicken. And when it comes to fish
one of my favorite things to do is to put it in a zip lock bag and add some olive oil and some herbs you like before grilling it. When you are grilling any kind of meat you want to keep to the cookbook guidelines when it comes to how long you leave it on the grill. Dont forget to have your cooking utensils such as long handed tongs, spatula, and fork and grill cleaner.

Everyone has their own techniques when it comes to grilling by use of their family recipes, tools, and marinades. Hopefully some of these will help you for this upcoming Barbeque season.
Nothing is better than spending time with family and friends while grilling out in the backyard having some amazing barbeque meals. Happy Grilling everyone!

Cooking

How to Cook Fantastical Pork Ribs-00-943

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There are several keys to remember when preparing barbecue pork spare ribs.

Key one to making actual professional bbq smoked taste : quality of the spare ribs. Spend the extra time or money on a good pack of spare ribs. Do not buy prepackaged spare ribs because you will be surely unsuccessful with the resulting product. Request fresh butcher cut spare ribs. If you must go with prepackaged meat, then make sure to look at the date on the label. The prime key to making actual professional bbq smoked taste is in two chief things: the quality of the spare ribs and the way of preparation. Also place the spare ribs as far away from the burning wood as possible because you want to slowly smoke the spare ribs instead of charring them. This is the single most important to making
actual expert rib smoker smoked taste.

Next, the prime key to making actual professional bbq smoked taste is in the preparation method. Be sure to removing the spare ribs membrane that is on the back side of the meat. Do not put too much seasoning as you do not want to drown out the taste of the spare ribs. Let the rub cure into the meat for at least 18 hours prior to cooking them. Also soak the wood prior to smoking the meat. This will ensure the wood to only burn slowly, while still producing plenty smoke.

Also place the spare ribs as far away from the burning wood as possible because you want to slowly smoke the spare ribs instead of charring them. This is the single most important to making
actual expert rib smoker smoked taste. And most of the barbecue
competitive folks will tell you this. The spare ribs must be made very slowly in order to make the
ideal amount of tenderness.

Use quality equipment too. For charcoal smokers, you will really need to make sure that it has proper air valves so that you can vary the amount of air that feeds the fire power. Also, make sure that the equipment of your water smoker or whatever you use to smoke ribs, has readily adjustable parts. Make sure that the water smoker or whatever you use to smoke ribs is made of metal, and not wood or pliable metals. Wood will lose adhesion and burn and cheaply made screws will also warp and break over time. Your water smoker or whatever you use to smoke ribs will be outdoors and will need to be tough.

Also, remember to use genuine wood when cooking
ribs or whatever you are cooking. Do not substitute liquid smoke for the real taste of real wood. Smoke the pork ribs for at least 6 hours. There are more chef’s tips to grilling pork ribs at our smoked ribs home site, including how we produce the ideal of moistness at our bbq cookouts.

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