Archive for March, 2010
Your stainless steel turkey fryer has lots of other uses.You don’t need to put it away because Thanksgiving is over. Spring and summer are perfect outdoor cooking weather and an outdoor cooker is perfect for a Low Country Boil.What is a Low Country Boil do you ask?This is a one pot meal created for a large group of people. It is more famous in the low country area of South Carolina & Georgia.And,the bigger the group of people,the larger the pot. Ingredients: Old Bay Seasoning TM to taste,5 lbs new potatoes,3 1lb packages of kielbasa,8 ears or fresh corn(husks removed & broken into about 3 pieces each),5lbs of whole crab broken into pieces or 4lbs of crawfish,4 lbs fresh shrimp,peeled & deveined. Some people like to add a bag of crab boil to the mix(especially if fresh crab isn’t handy.) Heat water in your stainless steel turkey fryer,or a large pot of water on your outdoor cooker.Add seasoning.Bring to a boil.Add potatoes and sausage.Cook for about 10 mins.Add the corn & crab. cook for another 5 mins,and add the shrimp&/or crawfish when everything is almost done.Cook another 3-4 mins.Pull your drain basket out of your pot,and pour over a table covered in newspapers.(Makes for easier clean-up.Or you can cut holes right into the table big enough for buckets for shells & cobs) Crack open a cold one,grab a plate & enjoy. (For smaller groups try a pot over medium high heat indoors.Put in 1 bag of crab boil &/ or Old Bay TM,1lb shrimp,1 lb crawfish,1lb kielbasa,2 ears corn,& 2 lbs potatoes.Boil water with seasoning 15 mins,add cut up sausage,cook 3 mins,add potatoes,cook 3mins,add corn,after another 3 mins, add shrimp(peeled & deveined) & crawfish together.Cook another 3 mins,drain & serve.)
Tailgating is an art.It can be low key, it can be fancy and over the top.But simple or fancy we are all looking for anything to make this art run as smoothly & easily as possible. From an easy disposable charcoal grill to a portable outdoor deep fryer,a blanket on the ground or a fold up table,whether you’re a race fan, college team fan, or pro team fan…or if you’re just looking for a nice day at the beach or a picnic in the park…it’s all tailgating.So pop the tailgate on the back of your truck and lets get cooking!
Some important things to remember about tailgating is having the right stuff you need to make your life easier.Of course you don’t always need everything but if you can get yourself a big plastic bin and fill it with some of these items you’ll be ready to roll at a moments notice.Just always remember to replenish.
Meat Thermometer
Sharp Knife & Serving Spoons
Plastic utensils to eat with
Aluminum foil & baggies
Salt,Pepper,Your Favorite Seasonings & Rubs
Trash Bags
Paper Towels(Cloth towels & wash cloths)
Stuff to eat off of…Paper or Plastic Plates,Bowls,Whatever
A jug of water is nice to have to clean your hands with.(Soap is good too.)Foil pans are handy for all sorts of things:cooking,storing,serving & leftovers.Whatever your cooking apparatus, it never hurts to have extra fuel…propane, charcoal,wood chips.A fire extinguisher is a great thing to bring along & a squirt bottle for small flare ups.Cutting boards are good,but paper plates make nice clean cutting surfaces.Condiments,olive oil,non-stick cooking spray,onions & garlic are necessity. A table to cut up stuff on and set the food on when its done is always a nice option.A fold up chair or two is great to have too…when your taking a break from cooking or after the game when your waiting for the parking lot to clear out a little.Extra beer is always plus…it’s a great bartering tool if you forgot something at home.ALWAYS make sure you have a good cooler & PLENTY of ice!Lastly…NEVER leave your grill or fryer unattended…besides the obvious safety reasons…your food can get ruined in a heartbeat!So have fun,enjoy yourself & eat hearty!
Fried Foods, Not Oily Foods
Fact: deep-fried foods have a reputation for being oily or greasy. Greasy food is merely a sign of poor cooking technique and not an indictment of deep-frying itself.
Curious to see how much oil deep-fried food absorbs? Try this simple test:
1. Measure precisely how much oil you pour into the dutch oven deep fryer before cooking.
2. Measure it again after cooking — but wait for the oil to cool first!
The difference between before and after is how much oil ended up in the food. It might be a lot less than you thought. Draining items on paper towels before serving will help minimize oil content even more.
Corned Beef Hash 12 ounces chopped corned beef 2 whole potatoes cooked and grated 1/2 cup chopped mixed peppers 1/2 cup chopped red onions 1/2 cup chopped scallions 1 tablespoon chopped fresh parsley leaves 1 tablespoon chopped fresh rosemary leaves 1/2 teaspoon salt 1/2 teaspoon fresh pepper.Mix all the ingredients together and saute in a cast iron skillet until golden brown, about 8 minutes.
4 cups flour,1 1\2 teaspoon salt,1 teaspoon baking SODA,2 cups buttermilk(milk with tablespoon or 2 lemon juice…let it sit & curdle a minute before you add it to flour mixture) Preheat oven to 375. grease a cookie sheet or an 8″ cast iron skillet, or 8″ cake pan.(Cast iron works best!) In large bowl toss together dry ingredients. Add buttermilk…stir briskly with fork til dough forms together in a rough mass. Knead on a liberally floured surface for about 30 secs. then pat into a 8″ round about 1 1\2 thick.Slash a large 1\4″ deep cross across the top. Place in cast iron skillet & bake 45-50 mins.until nicely browned and the cross has spread open. Transfer to a rack to cool, then wrap in a slightly damp tea towel and let it rest for 8 hours.
Traditional Corned Beef & Cabbage 4 1/2 lbs corned beef 5 black peppercorns 1\2 tsp garlic powder 1 onion, peeled and left whole 2 bay leaves 1 pinch salt 1 small head cabbage,cored & cut into wedges 4large carrots,peeled and sliced 1/4 cup chopped fresh parsley 2 tablespoons of butter In at least a 4 qt. cast iron dutch oven place the beef brisket, peppercorns, garlic powder, onion, bay leaves & salt. Fill pan with water to cover everything plus one inch. Bring to a boil and cook for 20 minutes. Skim off any residue that floats to the top. Reduce heat to a simmer and cook for 2 to 3 hours, until meat is fork tender. Once the meat is done, add the cabbage, potatoes and carrots pressing them down into the liquid. Simmer for an additional 15 minutes or until the potatoes are tender. Skim off any oil that comes to the surface. Stir in the butter and parsley. Remove the pot from the heat. Remove meat from the pot and place on a cutting board to rest for 15 minutes. Remove the vegetables to a bowl and keep warm. Slice meat on a diagonal against the grain. Serve meat on a platter and spoon juices over the meat and vegetables.
Smoked Beef Brisket
1 cup kosher salt
1/2 cup freshly ground black pepper
1 tablespoon granulated garlic
1 teaspoon cayenne(or use your favorite dry rub mix)
1 whole beef brisket, about 10 pounds
Directions
Make a dry rub by mixing the salt, pepper, garlic and cayenne in a small bowl.
Trim the brisket fat and season liberally with the dry rub. Put into a preheated 250 degree Electric Bbq smoker and smoke it for 8 to 10 hours. Shift the position of the brisket every 2 hours. Remove when the brisket is tender which is determined by poking it with a toothpick. Transfer to a cutting board let rest for 15 mins and slice. Arrange on a serving platter and serve.
Seasoning Cast Iron
Seasoned Cast Iron can be considered odd to today’s “non-stick” cookware users.
Cast Iron Cookware must be seasoned properly and it will last a life-time.
New Pans
Heat the oven to 250 F – 300 F
Coat the pan with lard or bacon grease. Don’t use a liquid vegetable oil because it will leave a sticky surface and the pan will not be properly seasoned.
Put the pan in the oven. In 15 minutes, remove the pan & pour out any excess grease. Place the pan back in the oven and bake for 2 hours.
Repeating this process several times is recommended as it will help create a stronger “seasoning” bond.
Also, when you put the pan into service, it is recommended to use it initially for high fat foods, such as bacon or foods cooked with fat, because the grease from these foods will help strengthen the seasoning.
Pans needing Re-Seasoning
If the pan was not seasoned properly or a portion of the seasoning wore off and food sticks to the surface or there is rust, then it should be properly cleaned and re-seasoned.
Remove any food residue by cleaning the pan thoroughly with hot water and a scouring pad.DO NOT USE DISH SOAP! Heating the pan first to a temperature that is still safe to touch helps open the pores of the metal and makes it easier to clean.
Dry the pan immediately with dish towel or paper towel.
Season the pan as outlined above.
Caring for Cast Iron Cookware
Seasoning a cast iron pan is a natural way of creating “non-stick” cookware. And, like you cook and clean the modern non-stick cookware with special care to avoid scratching the surface, your cast iron cookware wants some special attention too.
Clean the cookware while it is still hot by rinsing with hot water and scraping when necessary. Do not use a scouring pad or soap (detergent) as they will break down the pan’s seasoning.
Never store food in the cast iron pan as the acid in the food will breakdown the seasoning and the food will take on a metallic flavor.
Store your cast iron cookware with the lids off, especially in humid weather, because if covered, moisture can build up and cause rust. Should rust appear, the pan should be re-seasoned.
When you purchase cast iron cookware, they are medium gray in color, but after usage, they start turning darker. The pans are very black in color. This is normal and should be expected.
Ellen’s Sour Cream Donuts
Heat oil in the deep fryer to 375 degrees F
Yield: depends on how big the cutter is
Ingredients
4 1/4 cups flour total (or sub 2 C all purpose flour & 2 1\4 C whole wheat)
2 teaspoons baking powder
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon ground nutmeg
1 1/4 cup sugar
3 eggs
1 cup sour cream
Canola oil for deep frying
Cinnamon Sugar:
1 cup sugar
2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
Directions
In a large bowl combine the flours, baking powder, baking soda, and nutmeg, and make a well in the center. In a second bowl cream the sugar and eggs until lemon colored then add the sour cream. Pour the wet ingredients into the dry and stir until smooth. Cover the bowl and chill for 1 hour. Turn the dough out onto a lightly floured board and knead about 1 minute. Divide the dough in half and with a rolling pin roll it out to 3/8-inch thick. With a donut or cookie cutter cut out shapes. Repeat with the other half.
Heat canola oil to 375 degrees F. Carefully add donuts to the deep fryer in batches of 4 or 5 to the hot oil and fry until golden brown(about 1 to 2 minutes per side.)With a slotted spoon or spider transfer cooked donuts to drain on paper towels. Combine sugar and ground cinnamon, and before they cool, dredge the donuts in the cinnamon sugar.(I personally prefer to skip the cinnamon sugar step & just eat when cool with a tall cold glass of milk!)
Make sure the oil comes back up to temperature between batches!
BBQ smokers are considered by enthusiasts to be what barbecue is all about. Although grilling and bbq have long been thought of as the same thing,classic bbq refers to slow cooked meat.Low temperatures, slow cooking,and smoke allow flavor to develop in a natural, delicious way. Cooking at lower temperatures allows the meat to become tender while preserving its natural juices.The result is the most tender and juicy meat every time. Pork shoulders cooked for 12 hours at low heat melt in your mouth!A dark and smokey beef brisket cooked in a bbq smoker that’ll make you crave it every time you bbq.And ribs that just fall off the bone!The long cooking period allows for several different, simple cooking techniques to be used to create fabulous flavor while offering the cook time to enjoy life with family and friends.