Month: December 2020

Smoking, Barbecuing, Grilling ? What Is The Difference?Smoking, Barbecuing, Grilling ? What Is The Difference?


A lot of people don’t understand the difference between smoking, barbecuing, and grilling. When grilling, you quickly seal in the juices from the piece you are cooking. An outside crust is created that acts as a barrier and prevents meat juices from migrating outside. Grilling takes minutes and it needs high temperatures to burn the meat on the outside. Smoking takes hours, sometimes even days. Don’t be fooled by the common misconception that by throwing some wet wood chips over hot coals you can smoke your meat. At best you can only add some flavor on the outside because the moment the surface of the meat becomes dry and cooked, a significant barrier exists that inhibits smoke penetration. A properly smoked piece of meat has to be thoroughly smoked, on the outside and everywhere else. Only prolonged cold smoking will achieve that result. All these methods are different from each other, especially smoking and grilling. The main factor separating them is temperature.

Smoking ? almost no heat, 52? ? 140? F (12?-60? C), 1 hr to 2 weeks

Barbecuing ? low heat, 200? ? 300? F (93?-150? C), few hours

Grilling ? high heat, 500? F (200? C), minutes

The purpose of grilling is to char the surface of meat and seal in the juices by creating a smoky caramelized crust. By the same token a barrier is erected that prevents smoke from flowing inside. The meat may have a somewhat smoky flavor on the outside but it was never smoked internally.

Barbecuing comes much closer, but not close enough. It is a long, slow, indirect, low-heat method that uses charcoal or wood pieces to smoke-cook the meat. The best definition is that barbecuing is cooking with smoke. It is ideally suited for large pieces of meat like ribs, loins or entire pigs. The temperature range of 200? ?300? F is still too high to smoke meats which is especially important when smoking sausages since the fat will melt away through the casings and the final product will taste like bread crumbs. A barbecue unit can be used for smoking meats but remember that to smoke a large piece of meat will take hours and if the temperature will be high the meat will be cooked for a long time. That will make it very dry. Burn your charcoal briquettes outside until the ash is white, then introduce them inside otherwise they will impart a nasty flavor to your meat. This charcoal flavor might be acceptable for barbecued meats but must not be allowed when making quality smoked meat. Now wood chips may be placed on glowing embers to generate smoke. You can not substitute hardwood with charcoal briquettes no matter how pretty they look and how expensive they are. Hardwood wins every time. Smoking is what the word says: smoking meats with smoke that may or may not be followed by cooking. Some products are only smoked at low temperatures and never cooked, yet are safe to eat. Generally we may say that smoking consists of two steps:

  1. Smoking
  2. Cooking

After smoking is done we increase the temperature to about 170? F (76? C) to start cooking. The Food And Drug Administration recommends cooking meat products to 160? F (71? C) which is fine when cooking fresh meats. Meats to be smoked are almost always cured with nitrite and a considerable safety margin is added and most professional books recommend 154? F (68? C). Smoked meats don’t always have to be baked to the safe temperature inside of the smokehouse. Many smoked meats such as hams, butts and sausages after smoking are cooked in hot water. The correct word would be poached as the water temperature is kept at about 176? F (80? C). There are important differences between smoking and barbecuing. Barbecued or grilled meats are eaten immediately the moment they are done. Smoked meats are usually eaten cold at a later date. When smoking foods a higher degree of smoke penetration is needed and that can be only achieved at lower temperatures. Furthermore, smoked meats are eaten cold. Many great recipes require that smoked products hang for a designated time to lose more weight to become drier. It is only then that they are ready for consumption.}

Preparing Quick And Simple Shrimp And Egg MealPreparing Quick And Simple Shrimp And Egg Meal


Well executed studies now show that low-fat shrimp and eggs, substituted for fatty foods, do not raise blood cholestero and aren’t a key contributor to center illness. A examine published inside the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition says in spite of all that colesterol, shrimp is flawlessly very good for you personally. This is no longer a well being concern, because shrimp is low-fat using a wealthy content of extremely unsaturated fatty acids, which lead for the formation of high-density lipids (HDL), generally known as “good cholesterol”. Consuming shrimp may really lower blood cholesterols. So here’s a great shrimp dish I make very typically. the original recipe came out of an old Fat Watcher cookbook, but as generally (some thing I discovered from my Grandma) I typically throw in the handful of extras to create it taste much better and substitute some components, but it really is nonetheless healthful cooking. I lost 40 lbs. on these recipes even with additions. Here’s a tip I would like to pass on about fish. I always soak it in milk prior to cooking; it appears to bring apart any bad fishy taste. Shrimp in Spicy Mustard Sauce 12 oz. shrimp, peeled, deveined 2/3 cup body fat free 1/2 & 1/2, or substitute evaporated skim, regular skim or low-fat milk or soy milk 2 tablespoons Dijon mustard 1/2 teaspoon curry powder 1/4 teaspoon cumin 1/4 teaspoon black pepper one teaspoon lemon juice 1/2 teaspoon chicken bullion powder or 1 cube one tablespoon olive oil 1/2 onion, minced 4 garlic cloves, minced parsley and parmesan cheese for garnish (optional) Shell & devein shrimp, established aside. In 1-cup liquid measure, combine milk, mustard and seasonings, established aside (If you are applying milk, instead from the 1/2 & 1/2, mix some of the milk with a tablespoon of cornstarch and include to sauce at end to thicken). In an 8 or 9 inch skillet, heat oil above medium-high heat; include onions, garlic and shrimp, stir regularly until shrimp just turns pink, a couple of to 3 minutes. Pour milk mixture into skillet, cook, stirring continuously till mixture comes to some boil. Cut down heat to low, (add cornstarch mixture if using), let simmer till slightly thickened, 1 or 2 minutes. Using a slotted spoon, get rid of shrimp to serving platter, set aside. Increase heat to medium-high, continue cooking sauce until mixture is lowered by half, about 5 minutes. Pour sauce over shrimp and sprinkle with parsley and parmesan cheese. Makes 2 servings This really is good served over noodles or rice. Hope you enjoy your shrimp!}