Thursday, January 8, 2009

Barbecue

CCOKING BASICS...

Barbecue
or barbeque (with abbreviations BBQ, Bar-B-Q and Bar-B-Que, diminutive form barbie, used chiefly in Australia, New Zealand and the United Kingdom, and called Braai in South Africa) is a method and apparatus for cooking food, often meat, with the heat and hot gases of a fire, smoking wood, or hot coals of charcoal and may include application of a marinade, spice rub, or basting sauce to the meat. The term as a noun can refer to foods cooked by this method, to the cooking apparatus itself, or to a party that includes such food. The term is also used as a verb for the act of cooking food in this manner. Barbecue is usually cooked in an outdoor environment heated by the smoke of wood or charcoal. Restaurant barbecue may be cooked in large brick or metal ovens specially designed for that purpose.

Barbecue has numerous regional variations in many parts of the world. Notably, in the Southern United States, practitioners consider barbecue to include only indirect methods of cooking over
hardwood smoke, with the more direct methods to be called "grilling".

In British usage, barbecuing and grilling refer to a fast cooking process directly over high heat, while grilling also refers to cooking under a source of direct, high heat—known in the U.S. and
Canada as broiling. In US English usage, however, grilling refers to a fast process over high heat, while barbecuing refers to a slow process using indirect heat and/or hot smoke (very similar to some forms of roasting). For example, in a typical U.S. home grill, food is cooked on a grate directly over hot charcoal, while in a U.S. barbecue, the coals are dispersed to the sides or at significant distance from the grate. Its South American versions are the southern Brazilian churrasco and the Argentine asado.

Alternatively, an apparatus called a smoker with a separate fire box may be used. Hot smoke is drawn past the meat by convection for very slow cooking. This is essentially how barbecue is cooked in most U.S. "barbecue" restaurants, but nevertheless, many consider this to be a distinct cooking process called smoking.

The slower methods of cooking break down the collagen in meat and tenderize tougher cuts for easier eating.

Techniques

Barbecuing encompasses two distinct types of cooking techniques. One type is grilling over direct heat, usually a hot fire (i.e., over 500°F) for a short time (minutes). Grilling may be done over wood or charcoal or even gas. The other technique is cooking by using indirect heat or low-level direct radiant heat at lower temperatures (usually around 240°F) and longer cooking times (hours), often with smoke.

Grilling

Wood
Large beef steaks over wood

The choice and combination of woods burned result in different flavors imparted to the meat. Woods commonly selected for their flavor include mesquite, hickory, maple, guava, kiawe, cherry, pecan, apple and oak. Woods to avoid include conifers. These contain resins and tars, which impart undesirable resinous and chemical flavors. If these woods are used, they should be burned in a catalytic grill, such as a rocket stove, so that the resins and tars are completely burned before coming into contact with the food.

Different types of wood burn at different rates. The heat also varies by the amount of wood and controlling the rate of burn through careful venting. Wood and charcoal are sometimes combined to optimize smoke flavor and consistent burning.

Charcoal

Cooking with charcoal, like cooking with gas, is a more manageable approximation of cooking over a wood fire. Charcoal cooking does not impart the rich flavour of cooking over hardwoods but is cheap and easy to purchase in sizes appropriate for close proximity cooking in typical commercially available home grills.

Charcoal grilling generally begins with purchasing a commercial bag of processed charcoal briquettes. An alternative to charcoal briquettes is lump charcoal. Lump charcoal is wood that has been turned into charcoal, but unlike briquettes, it has not been ground and shaped. Lump charcoal is a pure form of charcoal and is preferred by many purists who dislike artificial binders used to hold briquettes in their shape, and it also burns hotter and responds to changes in airflow much more quickly. Charcoal cannot be burned indoors because poisonous carbon monoxide (CO) is a combustion product.Carbon monoxide fumes may contribute to the pink color taken on by barbecued meats after slow cooking in a smoker. Many barbecue aficionados prefer charcoal over gas (propane) for the authentic flavor the coals provide.

Chimney starter in use

A charcoal chimney starter is an inexpensive and efficient method for quickly obtaining a good charcoal fire. A few pages of newspaper are wadded up underneath the chimney to start the fire. Other methods are to use an electric iron to heat the charcoal or to soak it with aliphatic petroleum solvent and light it in a pyramid formation. Charcoal briquettes pre-impregnated with solvent are also available. Although the use of solvents is quick and portable, it can be hazardous, and petroleum solvents can impart undesirable chemical flavors to the meat. Using denatured alcohol ("methyl hydrate", "methylated spirit") instead of commercial petroleum-based lighter fluids avoids this problem.

Once all coals are ashed over (generally 15-25 minutes, depending on starting technique), they can be spread around the perimeter of the grill with the meat placed in the center for indirect cooking, or piled together for direct cooking. Water-soaked wood chips (such as mesquite, cherry, hickory or fruit trees) can be added to the coals for flavor. As with wood barbecuing, the temperature of the grill is controlled by the amount and distribution of coal within the grill
and through careful venting.

For long cooking times (up to 18 hours), many cooks find success with the minion method, usually performed in a smoker. The method involves putting a small number of hot coals on top of a full chamber of unlit briquettes. The burning coals will gradually light the unlit coals. By leaving the top air vent all the way open and adjusting the lower vents, a constant temperature of 225°F can easily be achieved for up to 18 hours.

The Japanese-style kamado cooker utilizes lump charcoal for fuel. The kamado is made from ceramics and can be adjusted to cook for more than 30 hours on a single load of lump, the heat being retained in the ceramic walls, radiating into the food. There is no need to use water pans or replenish fuel during the cook, as is the case with steel water smokers. Furthermore, lump charcoal contains no additives or fillers as contained in charcoal briquettes. The very small amount of air needed to keep a ceramic cooker going at low temperature helps maintain a moist environment, whereas in a steel smoker, steam must be added from a water pan over the briquettes to keep the food from drying out. The kamado dates back several thousand years with roots in China and Japan.

Natural gas and propane
A typical propane barbecue grill in an urban backyard Grilling with natural gas or propane is a step further removed from cooking over a wood fire. Despite this, and the higher cost of a gas
grill over a charcoal grill, many people continue to prefer cooking over a gas flame.

Gas grills are easy to light. The heat is easy to control via knob-controlled gas valves on the burners, so the outcome is very predictable. Gas grills give very consistent results, although some charcoal and wood purists argue that it lacks the flavors available only from cooking with charcoal. Advocates of gas grills claim that gas cooking lets you "taste the meat, not the heat" because it is claimed that charcoal grills may deposit traces of coal tar on the food. Many grills are equipped with thermometers, further simplifying the barbecuing experience. However, propane and natural gas produce a "wet" heat (combustion byproducts include water vapor)
that can change the texture of foods cooked over such fuels. Added wood smoke flavor can be imparted on gas grills using water-soaked wood chips placed in an inexpensive smoker box (a
perforated metal box), or simply a perforated foil pouch, under the grilling grate and over the heat. It takes some experience in order to keep the chips smoking consistently without catching fire; some high-end gas grills include a built-in smoker box with a dedicated burner to simplify the task. Using such smokers on quick-grilled foods (steaks, chops, burgers) nearly duplicates the effects of wood and charcoal grills, and they can actually make grilling some longer-cooked foods, such as ribs, easier, since the "wet" heat makes it easier to prevent the meat from drying out.

Gas grills are significantly more expensive due to their added complexity. They are also considered much cleaner, as they do not result in ashes, which must be disposed of, and also in terms of air pollution. Proper maintenance may further help reduce pollution. The useful life of a gas grill may be extended by obtaining replacement gas grill parts when the original parts wear out. Most barbecues that are used for commercial purposes now use gas for the reasons above.

Solar power

There have been a number of designs for barbecues that use solar power as a means of cooking food. The device usually involves the use of a curved mirror acting as a parabolic reflector, which
focuses the rays of the sun on to a point where the food is to be heated.

Smoking

Smoking can be done with wood or charcoal, although many common commercial smokers use a gas, such as propane, to heat up a box of wet wood chips enough to cause smoke. The heat from the propane fire helps cook the meat while the smoke adds its unique and delicious flavor. The distinction between smoking and grilling is the heat level and the intensity of the radiant heat; indeed, smoking is often referred to as "low and slow". Additionally, during grilling, the meat is exposed to the open air for the majority of the time.

During smoking, the BBQ lid or smoker door is closed, making a thick dense cloud of smoke to envelope the meat. The smoke must be able to move freely around the meat and out of the top of the apparatus quickly; otherwise, foul-tasting creosote will build up on the meat, giving it a bitter flavor. Smoked meats such as pork exhibit what is known as a smoke ring: a thin pink layer just under the surface which is the result of the smoke interacting with the water in the
meat.
Cooking Basics....

Roasting


Roasting is a cooking basic method that uses dry heat, whether an open flame, oven, or other heat source. Roasting usually causes caramelization or Maillard browning of the surface of the food, which is considered a flavour enhancement. Meats and most root and bulb vegetables can be roasted. Any piece of meat, especially red meat, that has been cooked in this fashion is called a roast. Also, meats and vegetables prepared in this way are described as "roast", e.g., roast chicken or roast squash. Some foods such as coffee and Chocolate are always roasted.

For roasting, the food may be placed on a rack, in a roasting pan or, to ensure even application of heat, may be rotated on a spit or rotisserie. During oven roasting, hot air circulates around the
meat, cooking all sides evenly. There are several theories for roasting meats correctly: low temperature cooking, high temperature cooking and a combination of both.

* A low temperature oven (200 to 325 °F) is best when cooking with large cuts of meat, turkey and whole chickens. The benefit of slow roasting an item is less moisture loss and a more tender product. At higher temperatures (400 °F or more) the water inside the muscle is lost at a high rate.
* Cooking at high temperatures is beneficial if the cut is small enough (filet mignon, strip loin) to be finished cooking before the juices escape.
* The combination method uses high heat just at either the beginning or the end of the cooking process, with most of the cooking at a low temperature. This method produces the golden brown
texture and crust people desire but maintains more of the moisture than simply cooking at a high temperature, although the product will not be as moist as low temperature cooking the whole time. Searing and then turning down to low the piece of meat is also beneficial when a dark crust and carmelized flavor is desired for the finished product.

The objective is to retain as much moisture as possible in the finished product, while providing the texture and color people prefer. During roasting, meats and vegetables are frequently basted on the surface with butter, lard or oil to reduce the loss of moisture by evaporation. Recently, plastic oven bags have become popular for roasts. These cut cooking times and reduce the loss of moisture during roasting, but reduce flavor development from Maillard browning. They are particularly popular for turkeys.
Roasting originally meant turning meat or a bird on a spit in front of a fire. It is one of the oldest forms of cooking known.

Traditionally recognized cooking basics of roasting methods consist only of baking and cooking over or near an open fire. Grilling is normally not technically a roast, since a grill (gridiron) is used. Smoking differs from roasting because of the lower temperature and controlled smoke application.

Stir frying

Stir frying is an umbrella term used to describe two fast cooking techniques: chǎo (炒) and bào (爆). The term stir-fry was introduced into the English language by Buwei Yang Chao, in her book How to Cook and Eat in Chinese, to describe the chǎo technique. The two techniques differ in their speed of execution, the amount of heat used, and the amount of tossing done to cook the food in the wok.

Cantonese restaurant patrons judge a chef's ability to perform stir frying by the "wok hei" produced in the food. This in turn is believed to display their ability to bring out the qi of the wok.

Chao technique
The chao technique is similar to the Western concept of braising, itself somewhat different from its Asian counterpart. A traditional round-bottom iron pan called a wok is heated to a high temperature. A small amount of cooking oil is then poured down the side of the wok (a traditional expression in China regarding this is "hot wok, cold oil"), followed by dry seasonings (including ginger and garlic), then at the first moment the seasonings can be smelled, meats are added and agitated. Once the meat is seared, vegetables along with liquid ingredients (for example often including premixed combinations of some of soy sauce, vinegar, wine, salt, sugar, and cornstarch) are added. The wok then may be covered for a moment so the water in the liquid ingredients can warm up the new ingredients as it steams off. To keep the meat juicy, usually a cook would take
the seared meat out before vegetables are added, and put the meat back right before vegetables are done. In some dishes, or if the cooking conditions are inadequate, different components may be stir fried separately before being combined in the final dish (if, for example, the chef desires the taste of the stir fried vegetables and meats to remain distinct).

The food is stirred and tossed out very quickly using wooden or metal cooking utensils. Some chefs will lift the wok to the side to let the flame light the oil or add a dash of wine spirit to give the food extra flavor. Using this method, many dishes can be cooked extremely quickly (within a minute).

Some dishes that require more time are cooked by adding a few dashes of water after the stirring. Then the wok is covered with a lid. As soon as steam starts to come out from under the lid, the dish is ready. In this case, the food is stir fried on high heat for flavor and then steamed to ensure that it is fully cooked.

Bao technique

The wok is heated to a dull red glow. With the wok hot, the oil, seasonings and meats are added in rapid succession with no pause in between. The food is continually tossed, stopping for several
seconds only to add other ingredients such as various seasonings, broths or vegetables. When the food is deemed to be cooked it is poured and ladled out of the wok. The wok must then be quickly rinsed to prevent food residues from charring and burning to the wok bottom because of residual heat.

The main ingredients are usually cut to smaller pieces to aid in cooking. As well, a larger amount of cooking oil with a high smoke point, such as lard and/or peanut oil, is often used in bao.

Hot salt frying

Hot salt frying

Hot salt frying is a cooking basic technique used by street-side food vendors in China. Coarse sea salt is placed in a large wok and heated to a high temperature. Dry food items, such as eggs in shell, are buried in the hot salt and occasionally turned with a spatula.
This technique is also seen in India, where street vendors sell shelled peanuts or popcorn cooked in salt heated in an iron wok.

Deep frying

COOKING BASICS

Deep frying is a cooking method in which food is submerged in hot oil or fat. This is normally performed with a deep fryer or chip pan; industrially, a pressure fryer or vacuum fryer may be used.

Deep frying is classified as a dry cooking method because no water is used. Due to the high temperature involved and the high heat conduction of oil, it cooks food extremely quickly.

If performed properly, deep-frying does not make food excessively greasy, because the moisture in the food repels the oil. The hot oil heats the water within the food, steaming it from the inside out; oil cannot go against the direction of this powerful flow because (due to its high temperature) the water vapor pushes the bubbles toward the surface. As long as the oil is hot enough and the food is not immersed in the oil for too long, oil penetration will be confined to the outer surface. However, if the food is cooked in the oil for too long, much of the water will be lost and the oil will begin to penetrate the food. The correct frying temperature depends on the thickness and type of food, but in most cases it lies between 175 and 190 °C (345–375 °F).

Some fried foods are given a coating of batter or breading prior to frying. The effect of these is that the outside of the food becomes crispy and browned, while the inside becomes tender, moist, and steamed. Some foods – such as potatoes or whole, skin-on poultry – have a natural coating and do not require breading or battering.

Cooking Basics

Frying

Frying is the cooking of food in oil or fat, a technique that originated in ancient Egypt around 2500BC. Chemically, oils and fats are the same, differing only in melting point, but the distinction is only made when needed. In commerce, many fats are called oils by custom, e.g. palm oil and coconut oil, which are solid at room temperature.

Fats can reach much higher temperatures than water at normal atmospheric pressure. Through frying, one can sear or even carbonize the surface of foods while caramelizing sugars. The food is cooked much more quickly and has a characteristic crispness and texture.

Depending on the food, the fat will penetrate it to varying degrees, contributing richness, lubricity, and its own flavour. Frying techniques vary in the amount of fat required, the cooking
time, the type of cooking vessel required, and the manipulation of the food. Sautéing, stir frying, pan frying, shallow frying, and deep frying are all standard frying techniques.

Sautéing and stir-frying involve cooking foods in a thin layer of fat on a hot surface, such as a frying pan, griddle, wok, or sauteuse. Stir frying involves frying quickly at very high temperatures, requiring that the food be stirred continuously to prevent it from adhering to the cooking surface and burning.

Shallow frying is a type of pan frying using only enough fat to immerse approximately one-third to one-half of each piece of food; fat used in this technique is typically only used once. Deep-frying, on the other hand, involves totally immersing the food in hot oil, which is normally topped up and used several times before being disposed. Deep-frying is typically a much more involved process, and may require specialized oils for optimal results.

Deep frying is now the basis of a very large and expanding world-wide industry. Fried products have consumer appeal in all age groups, and the process is quick, can easily be made continuous for mass production, and the food emerges sterile and dry, with a relatively long shelf life. The end products can then be easily packaged for storage and distribution. Examples are potato chips, french fries, nuts, doughnuts, instant noodles, etc.

Stew

A stew is a combination of solid food ingredients that have been cooked in water or other water-based liquid, typically by simmering, and that are then served without being drained.

Ingredients in a stew can include any combination of vegetables (potatoes, beans, etc.), fruits (such as peppers and tomatoes), meat, poultry, sausages and seafood. While water can be used as the stew-cooking liquid, wine, stock, and beer are also common.

Seasoning and flavourings may also be added. Stews are typically cooked at a relatively low temperature (simmered, not boiled), to allow flavors to combine.

The distinctions between stew, soup, and casserole are subtle and not always easy to judge. The ingredients of a stew may be cut into larger pieces than a those of a soup and retain more of their
individual flavours; a stew may have thicker liquid than a soup, and more liquid than a casserole; a stew is more likely to be eaten as a main course than as a starter, unlike soup; and a stew can be cooked on either the stove top (or range) or in the oven, while casseroles are almost always cooked in the oven, and soups are almost always cooked on the stovetop. There are exceptions; for example, an oyster stew is thin bodied, more like a soup.

Stewing is suitable for the least tender cuts of meat that become tender and juicy with the slow moist heat method. This makes it popular in low-cost cooking. Cuts having a certain amount of
marbling and gelatinous connective tissue give moist, juicy stews, while lean meat may easily become dry.

Stews may be thickened by reduction, but are more often thickened with flour, either by coating pieces of meat with flour before searing, or by using a roux or beurre manié, a dough consisting of equal parts of butter and flour. Other thickeners like cornstarch or arrowroot may also be use

Types of stew

In meat-based stews, white stews, also known as blanquettes or fricassées, are made with lamb or veal that is blanched, or lightly seared without browning, and cooked in stock. Brown stews are made with pieces of red meat that are first seared or browned, before a browned mirepoix, sometimes browned flour, stock and wine are added.

List of stews

* Baeckeoffe, a potato stew from Alsace
* Barbacoa, a meat stew from Mexico
* Boeuf Bourguignon, a French dish of beef stewed in red wine
* Bigos,a traditional stew typical of Polish and Lithuanian cuisine
* Birria, a goat stew from Mexico
* Bouillabaisse, a fish stew from Provence
* Booya, an American simple meat stew
* Brunswick stew, from Virginia and the Carolinas
* Burgoo, a Kentuckian stew
* Caldeirada, a fish stew from Portugal
* Carne Guisada, a Tex-Mex stew
* Carnitas, a pork meat stew from Michoacan, Mexico
* Cassoulet, a French bean stew
* Cawl, a Welsh stew, usually with lamb and leeks
* Cazuela, a beef and corn cobs stew from Sinaloa, Mexico
* Chamin, a Sephardic Jewish dish
* Charquican, a Chilean dish
* Chankonabe, a Japanese dish consisting of large amounts of protein sources and vegetables stewed in chicken stock and flavoured with soy sauce or miso. Chankonabe is traditionally eaten by sumo wrestlers.
* Chakchouka, a Tunisian and Israeli vegetable stew.
* Chicken stew, a cream and broth based dish consisting of parboiled whole chicken and seasonings, primarily served in North Carolina,
* Chicken paprikash, chicken stew with paprika.
* Chili con carne (Mexican and Tex-Mex)
* Chili sin carne (a meatless American adaptation of the Mexican dish)
* Chilorio, a regional pork stew from Sinaloa, Mexico
* Cincinnati chili, a type of chili developed by Greek immigrants in the Cincinnati area
* Cholent, an Ashkenazi dish
* Cochinita pibil, an orange color pork stew from Yucatan, Mexico
* Cotriade, a fish stew from Brittany
* Cocido, a staple home-cooked stew in Spain. In Portugal, it is called cozido.
* Daube. a French stew
* Dike. a Mexican stew, consisting heavily of beef, potatoes, beans and onions. Sometimes referred to as Bourche.
* Fabada Asturiana, a Spanish bean and meat stew
* Feijoada, Brazilian or Portuguese bean stew.
* Gaisburger Marsch, a German dish of stewed beef served with Spätzle and cooked potatoes, from Swabia
* Ghormeh Sabzi, an Iranian stew
* Goulash, a Hungarian paprika stew
* Gumbo, a Louisiana creole dish thickened with okra.
* Hasenpfeffer, a sour, marinaded rabbit stew from Germany
* Haleem, a Pakistani lentil/beef stew.
* Hayashi rice, a Japanese dish of beef, onions and mushrooms stewed in a red wine and demi-glace sauce, served with rice
* Irish stew, made with lamb or mutton, potato, onion and parsley
* Jjigae, a diverse range of spicy Korean stews.
* Karelian hot pot
* Khash, a stew from Armenia and Georgia.
* Khoresht, a diverse range of Persian stews, often prepared with liberal amounts of saffron.
* Lancashire Hotpot, an English stew
* Locro, a South American stew (mainly in the Andes region)
* Nikujaga, a Japanese beef and potato stew
* Olla podrida, a Spanish red bean stew
* Perpetual stew
* Peperonata, an Italian stew made with peppers
* Pescado Blanco, a famous white fish stew from Patzcuaro Michoacan Mexico
* Pörkölt, a Hungarian meat stew resembling goulash, flavoured with paprika
* Pot au feu, a simple French stew
* Puchero, a South American stew
* Ragout, a highly seasoned French stew
* Ratatouille, a French vegetable stew
* Red cooking, a Chinese stewing technique.
* Sancocho, a stew from the Caribbean
* Stoofvlees, a Belgian beef stew with beer, mustard and laurel
* Tajine, a Moroccan stew, named after the conical pot in which it is traditionally cooked and/or served in.
* Tharid a traditional Arab stew made of bread in broth
* Waterzooi, a Belgian stew