Cooking Reports

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Cooking on Your Outdoor Fire Pit

January 25, 2025

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. Just 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.

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Outdoor Cooking Grill Tips

January 18, 2025

There is no better means to make food than to have it grilled on an outdoor cooking grill. The healthy mood of being outdoors also compliments perfectly the great quality of food you create when cooking outdoors. Although most people believe outdoor grilling is merely for barbecues, they are not aware of the many things you might do with an outdoor cooking grill such as baking, roasting, searing, steaming and smoking. Cooking utilizing an outdoor cooking grill isn’t only more pleasurable, but as well has a distinct outdoor cooking grill flavor.

Classic Outdoor Grilling

Out-of-doors grilling would in no way be accomplished without some foods that are typically prepared directly on the outdoor cooking grill. Direct outdoor grilling is best for cooking steaks, chops, sausages, fish fillets, kabobs and chicken cuts. Not only does grilling these things make it a lot easier for them to make, but cooking them directly would as well provide them a very agreeable zest that only an outdoor cooking grill could turn out.

As for whole fish, chicken, turkey or ribs, you can use another outdoor grilling method which is referred to as indirect outdoor grilling. This technique involves having only one side of the outdoor cooking grill turned on and putting the things on the other side of the burner that is not hot. A different method of indirect outdoor grilling would require having an aluminum foil placed on the center to regulate the temperature, moisture and adding a special flavor to the objects to be grilled. You might also place spices, lemon juice and other flavorings to improve the flavor of items on the outdoor cooking grill.

Roasting Using The Outdoor Cooking Grill

There are two main methods of roasting that you can perform on the out-of-doors grill. The first is pan roasting; this calls for having an aluminum foil pan on top of the outdoor cooking grill surface and having meats like ham, ducklings or large portions of meat. This process permits the meat to be grilled by its own juices which would drizzle to the pan while cooking and would turn into vapor during the procedure. For extra flavor, you can add spices, wine, lemon juice and additional flavorings to improve it.

The second manner of roasting on the outdoor cooking grill is called spit-roasting. This process is best utilized for poultry, meat and lamb and is known to give these meats with flavor more like themselves. The method is similar to pan roasting, except you have the item rotate over the heat having it constantly soaked in its own broth. The juices gathered here can later be collected and can be utilized as gravy.

Smoking Food Utilizing The Outdoor Cooking Grill

Whilst grilling out-of-doors most fishes, meats, turkeys, whole chicken and game tastes really excellent if smoked. Of all ways of outdoor grilling, smoking is known to have the most distinctive and agreeable flavor and it is fairly easy to achieve. The procedure of smoking calls for the use of firewood which provides that smoky taste to the objects to be grilled on the outdoor cooking grill. To prepare it, have the wood soaked all night in water. Once doing so, place the wet wood in aluminum foil and perforate a few holes on the side. Position holes facing facing up the length of briquettes and you are ready to get smoking.

Utilizing one or two of these uncomplicated secrets will help to change you from an out-of-doors cooking grill zero, to hero, in no time flat!

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Discovering Easy Cooking Recipes From Around The World

January 8, 2025

There are many different areas that make every country around the world unique somehow. The language, traditions, beliefs, clothing and foods all make up these very individual cultures. It is possible to sample different countries through books, movies, language classes and easy cooking recipes without ever leaving your home or city. This is certainly something that you and your family can enjoy and experience together.

It may not be as simple a task as you thought to decide which easy cooking recipes to try. There are so many tasty ethnic foods to enrapture your taste buds with. You may never go back to the same old meatloaf and mashed potatoes again. It could be fun and educational to create theme nights around these newly found easy cooking recipes.

Give the Globe a Yummy Spin

Begin your food sojourn in beautiful and exotic Africa with an easy cooking recipe for Chicken Couscous. Just wait until you begin to smell the delicious aromas of chicken, sweet limejuice and zesty garlic, as it will be enough to make your mouth water buckets. Garbanzo beans, artichoke hearts and raisin couscous ensure this easy cooking recipe to be a definite favorite.

Next, head to the Far East and sample some of the oldest and healthiest easy cooking recipes. While you might be tempted to conjure up a batch of fried rice and spicy chicken that would make General Tso blow his top, your taste buds will have more fun with a sweet and sour stir fry or even a teriyaki cabbage stir fry. Many popular Asian recipes call for duck instead of chicken, which is still poultry, but a slightly tastier alternative.

A food trip around the world would not be complete without a night in Tuscany. Or even Rome. While spaghetti has been a family dinner favorite for many years, there are many more amazing Italian dishes that remain undiscovered treasures for your stomach. Give your family something really different on this night with an easy cooking recipe for Lamb Chops Scottadito. The succulent taste of lamb paired with olive oil, garlic, and rosemary will draw a chorus of praises.

Easy French cooking is as delicious as springtime in Paris. It is not all chocolates, croissants and red wine though. The French love food and love preparing it. Follow their lead with dishes that entwine eggplant, asparagus, potatoes and the tastiest herbs in the Western Hemisphere. Stew Provencale is rich and full of flavor, just like the French countryside where it was created and remains so very popular.

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How to Cook Pork Shoulder Its All In The Rub

December 10, 2024

Fall, Football and BBQ at the tail gate or on the patio; how can it get better than this?

Pork Shoulder is a great choice for a main fare feature at your next gathering and it has two great advantages. First, it is easy to prepare and second, you can feed a group for somewhere south of three dollars a pound. The pork shoulder is the front leg of the pig and comes in two different cuts. I like the butt cut, which is the top side of the leg and has less bone in it than what is called the picnic cut. The one we recently prepared was a six and a half pound roast, which served twelve people, with some left over.

Most pork shoulder recipes call for using a smoker, which is the key to cooking a pork shoulder, mainly because it is an indirect heat source and allows for a long slow cooking process. Dont have a smoker? No problem, neither do we. Just remember that the process requires indirect heat. Here are the keys to grilling a pork shoulder, using a three burner gas grill.

It starts with the rub. In a small bowl mix the following ingredients:
cup organic paprika
2 Tbs Salt
2 Tbs Pepper
2 Tbs organic cumin
2 Tbs organic garlic powder
2 Tbs. chile powder
3 Tbs brown sugar

Coat the pork shoulder with the rub. Be liberal. A 6 8 lb. roast should use the entire rub mix. By the way, dont cut off any of the fat on the roast. The butt cut usually has one side with a layer of fat and you want it. Once you have the roast well coated with the rub, put it in the refrigerator and let it set. Overnight works best, but if time does not permit, at least give it a couple of hours.

Using a three burner grill works great. You will need an aluminum pan, a raised rack and some foil. Follow these steps:
Turn the two outside burners on at low heat.
Place the pan, with the rack directly over it, on the middle burner.
Put your pork shoulder on the rack, fat side up.
Close the lid.

Dont open the lid for three hours. No peeking! At the end of three hours check the internal temperature of the roast. If its in the 130 140 range you are right on track and your roast should look like its done, but its not. Next, cover the roast with a tent of foil, reduce the heat to one burner and close the lib. In about 2 -3 more hours you should have a pork shoulder ready to serve at an internal temp of 185 degrees.

Enjoy!

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Chicken & Turkey Cooking Tips

October 26, 2024

People want to eat healthy foods today, and a good way to accomplish that is
through poultry. There are some chicken cooking tips that can help you in the
kitchen and protect your family as well.

Here are a few of the best chicken cooking tips available.

You must take care to always wash your hands, knife, and cutting board in
hot soapy water after preparing raw poultry.

You should never use the same utensils and cutting board for other
ingredients without thoroughly washing them first and after use. This
prevents cross contamination.

You should always marinate poultry in the refrigerator. Never leave it out
in the open.

Do not use the poultry marinade for basting.

If the marinade is to be used for the basis of a sauce, bring it to a boil
and boil for 2 minutes.

Never put cooked poultry on the same plate that was used to transport raw
poultry. Again, this prevents cross contamination.

Here are some chicken cooking tips for storing your poultry:

Fresh poultry is a very perishable food. You should not leave it out in the
open air. Instead, wrap it in plastic as soon as you get it home from the
store and always store it in the coldest part of your refrigerator. You
should use it within two days; if this is not possible, place it in a freezer
bag and freeze for up to three months. You should always freeze giblets and
livers separately from the whole bird.

Cooked poultry dishes can be frozen. However, you should not freeze poultry
dishes that contain mayonnaise or hard-boiled eggs.

Allow small poultry dishes to cool completely before wrapping and freezing
them. Allow larger items to cool in the refrigerator and then wrap airtight
and freeze.

You should never freeze stuffed poultry.

Some of the most important chicken cooking tips involve proper thawing of the
bird.

It is especially important that the poultry be properly thawed before cooking.
Allow it to thaw in the refrigerator while it is in the original wrapper.
You can place it on a tray to catch any drips that may fall as it thaws.

When thawing in the refrigerator is not possible because there is not enough
time, there are two other alternatives. For rapid thawing, you can put the
bird in watertight wrapping and then submerge in cold water. You should
change the water frequently as this will help quicken the process. Smaller
birds require about one to two hours.

The other alternative is to leave the bird in its wrapper and put it into a
heavy paper grocery bag. Close up the bag and put it into a cool room. You
will need to check it frequently, and once the bird is thawed, you must cook
it immediately.

Now for the Turkey!

Turkey is a long time favorite of many families and now there are some great
cooking tips tricks that anyone can learn and use to better prepare these
wonderful birds.

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