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.' •