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About Spilyay tymoo. (Warm Springs, Or.) 1976-current | View Entire Issue (Aug. 6, 1982)
SPILYAY TYMOO Page 8, August 6,1982 Extension news— Barbeques are si nple but take planning The word barbecue comes from the French barbe a queue which was used to describe a pig or lamb cooked whole “from whiskers to tail.” Barbeque cooking is man’s oldest form of meal prepara tion. Prehistoric man was the first to barbeques. His care fire served to warm him and to tenderize the carcass.;s of animals caught in the hunt. Today the word has a much wider meaning. It is used to describe any meal involving foods, big or little, cooked in the open, whether hot dogs or a whole animal. Any type meal can be barbecued from making a daily, family meal different ad fun, to providing your own entertainment close to home through a get-together of family and friends. Barbecuing is special but it doesn’t have to be expensive or involved. It can be done year around when weather permits and with any type food that is in season. Following are the basic-from equipm ent to recipes-so that the whole family can be involved in learning this fun way to prepare meals. Although all types of food can be barbequed, meats are the most popular food to be involved in an o u td o o r barbeque. All cuts of beef, pork, lamb, poultry, fish and sp ec ia lty m eats can be barbequed. For a beginner best results will come through starting out on hamburger, hot dogs and the tender cuts of meat. Less tender cuts must be ground, or tenderized by pounding, m arinating or cooking under the ground for long periods of time. A good rule to follow when choosing meat to barbeque is to use any cut you would normally broil or fry at home. Any other cuts will need to be tenderized in some way. Marinade and Basting sauces Marinades are used on foods to be barbecued to add flavor, tenderize and keep juices in, and to add to or keep color of the food during cooking. Marinades can be made most inexpensively with ingredients in the home or a package marinade mix can be bought. All foods should be put in a marinade from at least two hours to overnight for best Equipment Equipment for barbequeing can be gathered inexpensively by using what is already in the home and by starting out on a small scale. Larger or better equipment can be bought after y o u k n o w y o u e n jo y barbecuing and after deciding what other equipment is needed. Following is a list of equipment needed. Equipment doesn’t need to be new and you will find by experimenting which objects help you the most. Barbeque pit (see under buying equipment) Large Knife Spatula Long handled meat fork Toner Basting brush or clean rag Aluminum foil Paper towels Pot holders Charcoal or wood briquets Fire starting or kindling Squirt bottle filled with water Wire brush to clean barbecue grill Tray for equipment Cutting board Seasoning What to look for when buying equipment A barbeque can take place over wood or charcoal contained in a pit in the ground, in an inexpensive small “ H ib a c h i” o r a m ore c o m p lic a te d t o r i s s e r i e barbeque unit. All will give good results, but size and price of the unit should be decided by considering the following: remember that practice makes perfect and keep experimenting until you find what methods work best for you and your equipment. Following is one way to start a barbecue fire plus tips to make starting and tending a barbecue fire easy. Use hardwood briquets or lumps for fuel. Briquets burn slower and more evenly than the lump form. As you try different brands you will be able to decide which briquets work best for you. Stack briquets in a “teepee” fashion or stack inside of a 2 or 3 pound coffee can with the ends cut out. 20-25 briquets is a good number to start with and others can be added later if more fire is needed. Squirt about 'A cup liquid fire starter over cools and let soak in about one minute. Light fire starter with a match 45 minutes or an hour before starting to cook. (Never use gasoline or kerosene to start a fire with as it will give food a bad flavor. Avoid contact nf anv starter with an open flame. It is highly combustable and dangerous. Let briauets burn until they start to turn to a grey ash at the edges. Rotate briquets one by one so that grey ash is touching the black parts of the briquets not yet lighted. Don’t stir briquets as it separates them so they can’t start one another and heat needed for cooking is lost. The fire is ready when coals are red hot and grey ash colored all over. Briquets should then be spread out so that they are touching and cover an area the size of the foods to be cooked. — How often the unit will be used Location -Amount of people to be fed at gatherings — How m uch m oney is available to spend — How much room isavailable to store the unit —What type of food will be barbecued. Specified things to look for and compare when shopping for a barbecue unit are: —Fire box or pit part of the unit should be made of heavy steel to prevent warping caused by high heat. —A baked enamal finish on the outside ot the pit is best to Withstand high heat. —Covered units should have tight fitting covers. —Legs should have strong, secure fastenings so they won’t wobble or collapse. —Hoods on units should cover half the fire box or put. —Grills and spits on rotisserie should be heavy and chrome plated. —Grill adjustment should be sturdy and of a crank type. —Larger units should have air vents at the upper and lower parts of the unit. —If buying a motorized rotisserie unit, motors should be heavy duty and UL approved and able to turn 15- 20 pounds of meat. Remember to experiment on inexpensive equipment and then do plenty of shopping around for the unit that will suit your needs and budget best. Starting and Tending the Fire Where the barbecue is located is important so that smoke doesn’t blow into gusts eyes and so that wind is blocked and won’t make a fire hard to start. Any fire should be started in an area free of trees, shrubs, and grass. If inside make sure barbecue is in a doorway or fireplace so that smoke can escape and the room is ventilated. Be sure the fire isn’t quickly which could mean a other flammable objects. Fire Tending flavor and tenderness, (see recipes). Basting sauces are brushed on foods as they barbeque and add flavor and color, but they don’t tenderize. Any sauce with tomato products it it must be Staring and tending the fire brushed on toward the end of cooking time as the sauce will for a barbecue will be different each time depending on burn if heated too long. “Liquid Smoke” can be fuel, location weather, the food added to any marinade or sauce being barbecued and the •b ar-b e cu er’s . s h e ll: J u s t to give it smokey flavor.- Ashes should be knocked off b riq u ets during cooking. Stirring briquets makes them burn faster and lose heat quickly which could mean a fire may not last as long as it is needed. More briquets can be added around the base ot the fire if more heat is needed. To control wind, a shield of aluminum or a can cut in half lengthwise can be used when needed. If more heat is needed briquets can be moved closer together, the grill can be lowered, foil can be spread over the top of the food being cooked or vents on the barbecue can be opened. So the opposite if less heat is needed. To control grease drips causing flare ups, cut excess fat off of meats to be cooked, spread only small amounts of basting sources on foods, and use a squirt bottle to put out flare ups covered by grease and. sauce drippings. make clean up easy from barbecue to barbecue. Care and cleaning equipm ent properly will add to the life of barbecue equipment, and make equipment easier to use. Small utensils are easy to maintain and need no other care than a good cleaning between uses. The barbecue pit can be lined with foil and a layer of gravel about 1-1 l/ r thick on the inside of the pit bowl. This protects the bowl from excess heat that can weaken metal. The, gravel also keeps bowl clean and absorbs excess grease that can flame up during cooking, it allows air to circulate underneath fire, and cuts down on smoke during cooking. When gravel is grease filled it can be wash and dried thoroughly and be used again to line the barbecue. If gravel is not completely dry it can explode when heated again. Some other tips for cleaning and caring for barberque equipment are below: —Grease wheels and adjust ment crank with a few drops of oil every few months to keep them smooth moving. —Before using, wipe grill with oil of spray with a vegetable non-stick coating to prevent foods from sticking tolhe grill during cooking. Wipe grill with warm soapy water right after cooking. —Rub bottoms of pots and pans with soap before placing over the barbecue fire to make cleaning easier after they have collected soot from the fire. Warm water will wipe away the soot after the soap treatment. —Grills should be scraped clean before and after each use while they are hot to make cleaning easier later. To clean cooked on food off of a grill use oven cleaner and a scouring pad. Use this treatment only on unpainted surfaces. —A trick to save money spent on briquets is to reuse half burned briquets by dipping them in water to stop them from burning. Dry them out and use d u ring an o th er barbecue. Store unburned, new briquets in a dry place as they will absorb moisture and be hard to start on fire. Recipes Try some of the following basic barbeque recipes for your first try at cooking out doors ad on the grill. Good luck and lots of fun! Smokey hamburgers Grill hamburger patties on each side. Place on lightly toasted bun spread with smoke butter, made by blending % cup of soft butter or margarine with ¡4 teaspoon liquid smoke. Top with thin slices of tomato and onion, and a few mushrooms that have been sliced and sauteed in butter. Variation: 1 pound ground beef 54 teaspoon liquid smoke I egg Salt and freshly ground pepper Add the liquid smoke and the egg, beaten, to the meat; season and mix thoroughly. Form in cakes grill. Chicken Cut 3 frying chicken into Care and Clcan-np after a pieces as for frying. Brush with barbecue melted butter, and place over There are several-things that coals for about 5 minutes to can be done to preserve the life sear, and then turn. Brush with of barbecue equipment, and- sauce and turn every 3 to 5 minutes, brushing with sauce at each turn.Time required is about 45 minutes. Serves 6. Basting suce is made with: 54 cup white apple vinegar 1/3 cup salad oil 154 teaspoons Worcestershire sauce 54 teaspoon minced onion 1 clove garlic, minced 3 teaspoons salt 1 teaspoon paprika 154 teaspoons tomato paste 6 to 8 drops Tabasco sauce 54 teaspoons dry mustard Best to make the sauce at least 24 hours before using. Grilled fish Clean fish and remove heads. Flatten out in a triangular shape by completely splitting the fish through the tail and pressing them. Layer them in rock salt overight. Rinse well with cold water and dry; place in hinged wire grill frame or in rack improvised from chicken wire. Broil flesh side down for 54 hour, then expose other side. Total cooking time about 3 hours, for fuel, use alderwood, damp and green, to assure plenty of smoke. Salsa 2 tomatoes 1 small onion 2 canned jalapeno peppers, seeded 1 large clove garlic 54 cup tomato juice Chop tomatoes, onion and peppers; mince garlic; stir in the tomato juice. Refrigerate until ready to serve with the steak. Barbecue sauce 54 cup vinegar 54 cup tomato sauce 54 cup Worchestershir sauce % cup water 154 teaspoons dry mustard % teaspoon salt 54 cube butter, melted 54 cup chopped onion 54 teaspoon sugar 54 teaspoon chili powder Small clove garlic Dash of red pepper T h is s a u c e is g o o d with spareribs, venison, or may be served over steamed wild rice. May be used as either marinade or basting sauce. Roasted born on the cob Use only unhusked ears. Lay back husk and remove silk, return husks to heir former position and wire into place (with any fine wire) at center and near the tip of cob, covering the kernels as well as possible, roast on the grill, turning 3 or 4 times so that all surfaces are exposed to the heat. Snip the wires with wire cutter, husk the ears (gloves are necessary) and serve. Variation: Open the husk at one end and let about 2 tablespoons of barbecue sauce run inside the ear. Smooth husk back in place; tie and cook ais abpve.' •
