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Barbecue Tricks

BBQ Tips and Tricks

Archives for March 2015

March 30, 2015 Featured

How To Get A Good Smoke Ring

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A good smoke ring is a pit master’s point of pride.   A beautiful deep rustic red outer layer of the meat that is so tantalizing it’s considered a badge of honor.Here, red meat does not mean rare or under cooked it means roasted low and slow and smoked to perfection.

So how you really get a good smoke ring? Here are a few quick tricks to perfect your smoke ring – win friends, influence people and delight cookout guests.

A good smoke ring is actually formed as a chemical reaction with nitrogen and chemicals in wood smoke reacting to the surface of the meat. I’m not convinced the actual creation of a ring tastes any different… But it’s coveted and looks great.

Here’s How you Can Make The Smoke Ring:

  • First, the “ring” likes lower temps. Start extra low and slow. When your meat tops 145 degrees bark forms and smoke ring formation ( that chemical reaction ) ends. If you want a darker ring you’ll need to ramp up slowly. After that you could even throw it in the oven.
  • wetSecond. the “ring” likes it wet. Keep it moist with water pan and baste or sop with a mop sauce for first half of cook (or again until about 145f).
  • Trim fat. The smokering will not form or penetrate fat if it’s too thick (surprise on the brisket pictured here it did).
  • Use wood fire. More than just smoke, actual fire really develops the chemical reaction with the smoke & meat.
  • The cooker used in the video is spectacular for forming a great smoke ring.  Traeger pellet cookers use small compressed wood pellets. It’s real wood in the little fire pot underneath the cooker. It allows you to cook at a consistent low temperature and then ramp up and really give a strong fire source. It is real wood. I’m using the hickory pellets in the video example here and the flavor you get from the smoke is deep and spectacular. I really think that’s why so many of the competitive barbecue pit masters use Traegers. It makes it easy, and in a lot of the competition rules you have to cook with wood and the Traeger passes that test. It features the assistance of an electric fan controlling your temperature so you take your eyes off the cook and relax a bit.

A Special Ingredient

I said earlier you don’t necessarily taste the smoke ring but if you really want to there are ways to kind of cheat the ring without a lot of smoke.

Try Morton’s Tenderquick. It’s a curing salt with nitrites and nitrates that you can use before cooking (warning: in a rub – a little goes a long way. You can also dust on for an hour and rinse off before cooking). The “whole food” foodies probably wont like it but it forces the chemical reaction on the surface of the meat. It’s one secret ingredient for getting a smoke ring.

There’s also a thing called Fab and/or Pink Salt that is also out there. You can even take a more natural route by using celery. Celery salt, celery juice, and celery seed in your rubs will add more naturally occurring nitrates.

Just a few tricks will showcase the ring…. My precious… If u have tricks share in comments and send along a bbq plate pic #grateplate – Head over to www.barbecuetricks.com

https://barbecuetricks.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/03/SMOKE_RING_SMALL.mp4

March 8, 2015 Butcher's Guide

Tips For Cooking Ribeye Roast On The Grill

heart rib eye

By Diane Louise Villanueva

I have some friends who get frustrated whenever they cook ribeye meat on the grill. What do they complain about? Well, they say that their dishes don’t taste or look like the ones served in restaurants. And I tell that’s not a problem at all. Chefs have exhausted a lot of years just to learn and perfect the art of cooking ribeye steak (among many other dishes) on the grill and there’s no reason to compare. Now I’m not saying that we have to enroll in a culinary school just to be able to serve home-cooked goodness such as theirs. There are definitely ways on how we can better our cooking. For starters, check out these simple tips!

1. Buy steaks that are about 1.5 to 2 inches thick. I know this is not readily available in groceries because the ones being sold are either too thin or too thick. Don’t worry though because you may actually ask the butcher to have yours customized.

2. There are a lot of things that some of us apply on our steak. I suggest just going with the good old salt and pepper. You can always brush your steak with sauce a minute before it’s cooked. Just remember to apply your salt and pepper generously at least 40 minutes prior to cooking it on the grill.

3. When cooking ribeye steak on regular grills, experts recommend flipping the meat regularly (but not too much) to help the temperature work its magic and cook the meat evenly. However, if you’re using a grill with a lid, you can simply leave it covered and let the meat cook for an hour. Once that amount of time has passed, you can lift the lid up and flip your meat.

4. Searing your meat is a wonderful idea. You may use canola oil or also blend it with olive oil for additional flavor. Brush some oil on your steak to let it sear while cooking. This way, the end product will show a scorched coating and a nice medium-rare, pink inside.

5. Don’t forget to use your thermometer because it will help you identify whether the steak is already cooked in your preference or the otherwise. Here’s a quick guide:

  • Rare – 125 to 135 F
  • Medium Rare – 135 – 145 F
  • Medium – 145 to 150 F
  • Well-Done – 150 to 160 F

6. To give your meat beautiful grill marks, simply lift them up and turn them 45 degrees sideways. That should give them charred marks for gorgeous plating.

7. There’s no need to tent your steak. Tenting is a process wherein food items are covered with foil to reflect heat and avoid overcooking. Simply move your meat to a cooler side on your grill or transfer them to a trenched cutting board or a serving plate.

8. Don’t make your guests eat steak that has just been removed from the grill. That’s really too hot. Let your meat cool down for 10 minutes. During this time, you can cook your veggies and corn on the grill.

I hope that you find my tips really valuable. If you want to serve the most delectable barbecue dishes, only use the best barbecue grill in town. Get yours now from La Caja China!

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Diane_Louise_Villanueva
http://EzineArticles.com/?Tips-For-Cooking-Ribeye-Roast-On-The-Grill&id=8722763

 

 

March 1, 2015 Butcher's Guide

Cuisinart Electric Knife What You Need To Know Before you Buy

electric knife.Still002You can spend a lot of money on grilling and BBQ gear especially if you’re getting into competitions… so before you buy here’s a few things you need to know before you buy an electric knife...

Black & Decker EK700 9-Inch Electric Carving Knife, White
Cuisinart CEK-40 Electric Knife

Hamilton Beach 74250 Carve ‘n Set Electric Knife with Case, White

Rapala Rechargeable Cordless Electric Fillet Knife

Some are less than twenty bucks so think about the following…

  1. Cord length… it’s usually our first annoyance – look for a knife that wont force you to purchase an extender.
  2. Blade length -7 & half inches may not “cut it” when it comes to large turkey… compare the length of the blade – not necessarily the length of the handle.
  3. Can you remove the blades? That means is it easy to clean? Can you find Replacement blades ?
  4. Finally – how is the Grip? – Hard to tell online but think about a slick finish…. remember hand could be greasy – and you really want it to be able to lock into the on position?

Top sellers:

Black& Decker EK7009 inch

Hamilton beach

Rival 1250

And Rapala makes a battery rechargeable version for about $100 –

Some competitive cooks that slice through a lot of brisket go cheap and consider them almost as a disposable item replacing often. We’ll put links to a few of the most popular in the notes here and for tips tricks and reviews find what you love at barbecuetricks.com.>See The Electric Knife Video Here

 

https://barbecuetricks.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/03/electric-knife_1.mp4

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Hey Y'all... Thanks for stopping by. I'm Bill West. I blog about BBQ and occasionally country music. When it comes to BBQ I try to find solid time saving tips and tricks to make the grilling life a bit easier. It's life hacking for the backyard cooker. Read More…

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