Whats Cooking

Barbecue Smoker Recipe Man


Writing a website full of BBQ Smoker Recipes is a time consuming business even at the best of times. I take pride in ensuring that the pictures I put up on my site are of food that I have cooked and not some glossy template purchased on the internet and I also want my recipes to be innovative. What I enjoy most of all is when readers use my feedback form with ideas for improvements to my site and also to suggest recipes, there’s so much creativity out there and to harness just a small amount of it is truly humbling.

It’s a two way street of course and just as I get some great free barbecue recipes in return and I also get a lot of questions to which answers are free of charge. Many of the questions start with the sentence “I’ve just won / been given a smoker without any instructions and I’m gonna cook for 20 guests at the weekend, do you have any tips for me?”

I’m not sure about tips but my immediate reaction is a combination of:-

· Lucky you winning a smoker

· Cooking for 20 first time out, that’s a challenge……….

· Cooking for 20 first time out – are you mad?

Barbecue cooking for any number of people is challenge enough but doing it on a piece of equipment that’s never been used before is really asking a lot. Nevertheless I always respond with my “essential tips” for the novice smoker:-

1. Do a trial run. Not just to test your BBQ cooking abilities but also if the smoker is new it will be protected with an oily film that needs to be cleaned up. Just like any oven it’s important to give it a run otherwise your first food will not taste right.

2. Keep the temperature in the smoker between 230 – 250°F

3. It’s indirect cooking so heat should no be directly under the food, put the drip tray here and this will help keep it moist.

4. If it’s a charcoal smoker the coals will start to cool after 60 mins so keep a steady stream on fresh charcoal available and change every 45 mins

5. Slow cooking is the order of the day and you’ll need to allow up to 90 mins cooking time per pound of meat

6. Many argue that after 5 hrs smoking, the smoke adds no further flavour so you can finish off in the conventional oven if you wish. (Just wrap the food in foil to keep it moist)

7. Don’t be tempted to lift the cover of the barbecue too often – you only let the smoke out

8. Use a thermometer to check the internal temperature.

9. Practice makes perfect – don’t give up after the first attempt!

And that last point is so true, I’ve been cooking on grills and smokers for 20 years and I still get it wrong so don’t be too hard on yourself if at first you don’t succeed.

Even if you’re not a novice smoker, hopefully there’s something here for you to take away and you’ll have a happy and safe cookout or maybe you have got a tip for me?

Kirsten Whittaker


It’s been estimated that 90% of our kitchens… as well as some unknown number of dorm rooms and break rooms across the land contain a microwave cooking oven.

These marvels of modern ingenuity have made it possible to prepare all kinds of foods -everything from popcorn and side dishes to full blown meals – in much less time (and with much less mess) than the dinosaur of the cooking world… the conventional oven.

But just last week, the US government issued a new warning about frozen chicken dinners being cooked in a microwave oven after 32 people in 12 states got sick.

This comes on the heels of scares in 2007 concerning microwaving pot pies and frozen pizzas that had also made people sick.

Frozen food manufacturer’s have since revamped the cooking instructions on these and other products to be sure they allow enough cooking time to kill off any lingering bacteria.

But you do need to know the wattage of your microwave to use the directions so that you and your family stay safe. The higher the wattage a microwave has, the faster it cooks; smaller ovens may also not deliver enough wattage to cook some items properly. You can find the wattage of a microwave by:

- Checking the inside of the oven door for the wattage.

- Looking on the serial number plate on the back of the unit.

- Checking the owner’s manual you got with the oven.

- Doing a “Time-to-Boil” test to estimate the wattage.

You also need to understand that for all their sleek looks and high tech ways, microwaving is an uneven cooking method – heat penetrates only an inch to 1½ inches into the surface, leaving cold spots that can harbor bacteria like E. coli, salmonella or listeria. Nasty, contagious little monsters, these organisms enter your digestive tract and leave you feeling as sick as you’ve ever been for several days at best, a week or more at worst.

Last year over 325,000 people were admitted to hospitals with food related illnesses cause by these organisms. That old fashioned oven isn’t looking so bad now, is it?

“I think most food safety experts probably would have said it’s not a good idea to microwave anything that’s from a raw state.” said Michael Davidson, a University of Tennessee microbiologist. Microwaving foods like raw meat, eggs or poultry is a recipe for trouble.

But, if you’re not ready to rip out your trusty microwave just yet, here are some things to keep in mind to prepare food safely:

- Look at packages to see if frozen meals are precooked – you might think they are, they may look like they are, but in fact are not cooked at all. Look for “Cook thoroughly” on the front of a package.

- Heat microwaveable foods thoroughly and be sure to adjust your cooking time based on the wattage of the microwave you’re using. Lower wattages need more cooking time.

- Follow the package instructions carefully, and be sure the microwave you’re using is the proper wattage identified in the recipe.

- Use only microwave safe dishes and utensils, and cover foods with a lid or plastic wrap that’s allowed to vent.

- Stir foods (or turn) halfway through cooking time, this helps eliminate cold spots where bacteria can linger.

- Use a food thermometer in more than one place, to check the temperature of anything prepared in the microwave. Be sure to allow the food to stand, if needed, for the full length of time stated in the package directions before taking the temperature.

By following these common sense suggestions and teaching everyone in the house to do the same, you’ll significantly reduce the chance of suffering food poisoning from undercooked foods as a result of microwave cooking.

sudhakul

Traditional Indian recipe made easy with microwave. Check aaiskitchen.blogspot.com for details.

Delmondo Sorell


Chicken recipes are healthy, economical, and easy to prepare. The recipes are so popular because chicken is not only versatile, but incredibly tasty. Chicken recipes can be served with many different types of side dishes. Chicken recipes are probably the most sought after recipes, for meat dishes. Chicken provides an excellent source of protein, and has less fat than all other types of red meat. Chicken is an easy to cook, inexpensive, versatile, high-protein and low-fat food choice that goes well with other foods.

Chicken can be cooked in many different ways, including baking, frying, poaching, grilling and more. Chicken is low in fat, especially when baked because of the lack of added fats, and it is found in practically every cuisine in the world. Chicken bakes as well as it fries, broils, or grills and you can get really creative with toppings, stuffing and flavourings for baked chicken recipes. Chicken is a heart healthy food which also tastes wonderful and as a bonus fried chicken recipes are very economical to make. Chicken can be prepared in a variety of mouth watering dishes in different cuisines across the globe.

Chicken and a crock pot make wonderful partners. Chicken is not only great tasting but a good choice for a heart healthy diet. Chicken soup is truly food for the soul, and more of it just means that much more nutrition. Chicken dishes is not only limited with main entrees, but chicken meat can also be added to salads to make it more flavourful. Chicken salad is one of the most refreshing and light meat salads. Chicken casseroles are another good choice for the busy modern family they can be made up before hand frozen and pulled out when needed placed into a hot oven and in a short order deliver a scrumptious meal to your table. Chicken casserole makes a healthy meal since chicken is low in fat and chicken casseroles often have plenty of fresh vegetables added to them.

Chicken stew is the perfect healthy heart meal because the combination of chicken, vegetables, rice, and some kind of juice or gravy is not only delicious but also low in fat, high in flavour and good for your health. Chicken soup recipes and chicken stew recipes are especially popular and knowing that such delicious foods are also part of the healthy heart diet makes eating a true pleasure. Chicken recipes allow you to give your family a delicious and healthy meal. 

Roast chicken is not only an easy dinner to make, but when you cook it with the vegetables in the same pan it’s absolutely effortless.

Baked Roasted Chicken:

Ingredients:

1/2 cup butter

2 Tablespoons dried rosemary, crushed

2 Tablespoons minced fresh parsley

3 garlic cloves, minced

1 teaspoon salt

1/2 teaspoon pepper

1 whole roasting chicken (5 to 7 pounds)

8 small red potatoes, halved

6 medium carrots, cut into 2 inch pieces and halved lenghtwise

2 medium onions, quarted

Directions:

1. In a small saucepan, melt butter. Add rosemary, parsley, garlic, salt and pepper.

2. Place chicken with breast side up on a rack in a roasting pan, tie drumsticks together with cooking twine.

3. Spoon half of the butter mixture over chicken.

4. Arrange vegetables around chicken, drizzle remaining butter mixture over vegetables.

5. Cover and bake at 350 F for 1 1/4 hours, basting every 30 minutes.

6. Uncover, bake one hour longer or until a meat thermometer reads 180 degrees, basting occasionally.

7. Cover and let stand 10 minutes before carving.

ChinaSeaChina

Indian Food, Microwave cooking chana masala