Equipment Corner-
Strike A Fire!!!
No more charcoal lighter fluid! Your taste buds will thank you and you will enjoy the true flavor of bbq!
I can't say that the threat of global warming is the cause of my rant to going to the greener side, but more so that charcoal fluid on so many levels is dangerous, harmful and nasty to the flavor of meat. Sure, you can burn it down till the odor is gone- so they say, but I can taste it every time when I eat food where charcoal lighter fluid was used. So what's the solution? Some would advocate for the chimney starter, that medieval device with a handle that you put newspaper on the bottom and light it, then 30 minutes later you have a can o' coals to dump in your grill, smoker, or other cooking device. In the right hands, its probably fine, but remember your dumping not just a little heat but alot of heat that will soften steel! If you have one mistake, you could be going to the emergency room, thanks to this great ball of fire. The next solution would be the electric charcoal starter wand- ok, it probably uses up some carbon credits when you plug that cattle brander-wand - note sarcasm here! It does get red hot and is effective, I just don't know what to do with that thing after I'm done, I have burned more patio furniture waiting for it to cool down and a few fingers for forgetting it was still hot, but it does work fast and is odorless, fast and pollution free.
Here is my solution- Diamond Brand Strike-A-Fire fire starters! You can find them at the grocery and retail stores that carry bbq products. Strike-A-Fire come eight to a package and retails for around $2.50 per box. I only use 1 stick to start my big smoker. They are clean burning, odorless and non-toxic,easy to use like a big match and won't affect the taste of food. They put out some heat -they will burn for over 12 minutes. I can usually get my 9ft smoker up to temperature in 20 mins or less using Strike-A-Fire sticks. For more info: http://www.diamondbrands.com/pages/firestarters/29.php
Also,there are non-petroleum eco-friendly fire starter gels on the market, but I haven't reviewed or used them. If you have used an eco-friendly gel with good results, drop me an email and let me know your experience.
eNewsletter
Chicken and Pork Butt 101Cooking Class, March 28th- @ GFS Marketplace Store, Murfreesboro, TN Learn how to make award-winning Chicken and Pork Butt for the oven, grill or smoker!
We will cover how to prep and cut up a whole chicken, cooking a whole chicken beer can style, cooking white VS. dark meat, tips on how to always have juicy chicken, the best temperature to cook chicken and more!
Pork butt- the BBQ meat you can't mess up! How to prep a pork butt, how to know when it's done, how to inject thick cuts of meat and make an injectable marinade to add flavor and more.
Spice rub- basics on making an all purpose rub to use on pork or Chicken.
GFS Marketplace has 3 locations in Middle TN and is a great resource for all things cooking and catering. We will take a tour of the store and discover products that are essential for great bbq and cooking. For more information go to www.gfsmarketplace.com For more information on signing up for the cooking class go to:www.lightmyfirebbq.com/cooking_class
Moores Marinade Recipe of the Month:
Kick up your chicken with this recipe!
Oh Honey Teriyaki glazed Chicken Thighs
6 Chicken thighs with skin, cut to nice squares or rolls
Combine the following:
1 cup Moore’s Marinade Teriyaki
1/2 cup Honey
1/2 cup water-
1 tsp. each of granulated garlic, season salt, and pepper (for additional heat add ½ tsp of cayenne pepper)
Save half in a bowl for glaze, other half use to marinade chicken thighs.
Reserve half of the unused marinade for the glaze...do NOT use the same marinade you used on chicken.
Wash chicken thoroughly in cold water. Trim Chicken thighs to nice squared or roll pieces for appearance, cutting off excess skin.Combine the remaining marinade ingredients in a bowl, and whisk until well-blended. In a large, seal-able container or seal-able plastic bag, pour in HALF the marinade and place chicken pieces in container.Reserve remaining MARINADE and place in refrigerator. Cover chicken thighs and refrigerate for 1 and a half hours. Turn pieces over, and refrigerate for another 1 and a halfhours for a minimum total of 3 hours.Prepare charcoal grill by cooking indirect- with charcoal on one side of grill, chicken skin side up.You will need to cook the chicken for about an hour or longer depending on grill temperature (or until the internal temperature reads 165-170), It is important to keep your grill temperature no more than 300 degrees.Turn chicken every 12-15 minutes, but do not pierce the skin. Use tongs. While chicken is cooking, bring marinade on the stove to a boil, for finishing glaze to put over the chicken, when it is nearly done. Do not put it on the meat too soon, or it will burn. When chicken is almost done, glaze both sides, cooking for a few more minutes to caramelize the glaze. Remove from grill. Allow chicken to cool about 5 minutes before serving.
Award winning BBQ Tip: Investigation..Can there be too much smoke? Let's state the CSI obvious where ever you find bbq you find smoke,but can you have too much smoke?
Where there's smoke, there could be too much Smoke!
There is a certain CSI show that takes place in the state of Florida, that my Wife loves, I, on the other hand, never cared for a certain actor from First Blood, Hill Street Blues and now.. CSI Destin...er.. Miami. He seems to overstate the obvious-... the murder weapon your holding in your hand is probably how the victim died.... shot to Hummer rolling down the road.. as this red headed guy looks rather cool and NON-tanned..... never burned but never tanned either!
Ok, back to the smoke question, can you have too much smoke? According to old timers... NEVER! As they say great grand pappy smoked his meat to a cinder and it was good! Of course great grand pappy had no indoor plumbin' either, or a TV, so the entertainment of his day was watching meat smoke - a nice cold smoke of 150-180 degrees for days. So if you have 48 hours and want some fun, smoke meat at that temp, let me know how that worked for you.......
In smoking meat you can over-indulge it by having it exposed too long to smoke and also burn the meat rather than roasting it. Also, if you have a fire that is smoldering instead of burning, you will not get that nice "blue smoke" that is perfect for bbq. Smoldering fires will give meat a bitter taste and put particles on meat that are just down right nasty! I will admit I use what some clever bbq-er coined as the Texas Crutch- that is aluminum foiling your meat after a certain time to cook in its juices and not take on any more smoke. Theory has it that around 150 degrees meat won't take on any more smoke. BBQ is like jazz everyone has their own way of doing it. I just know if you don't want to spend all day cooking meat,then foiling after it reaches an internal temperature of 150 will give you very flavorful and juicy meat to enjoy.
After you foil, add your favorite liquid to keep the meat moist- you can add apple juice, beer, coke, or broth. You can put more spice rub on the meat to give it added flavor that is lost when it was smoking.
Guide for foiling meat:
Ribs- wrap after 2 1/2 or 3 hours @250 degrees or longer, if needed for more texture on meat
Chicken/Turkey- I always cook hotter @ 300 degrees and usually don't wrap.If I am cooking at a lower temperature, foil it when the chicken has a deep mahogany color and you dont want it any darker.
Brisket- wrap after 6 hours or when it has good texture @250 degrees Pork Butt- wrap after 6 hour or when it has good texture @250 degrees
The BBQ ZONE: Suffer from BBQ vertigo? Grilling engimas? Smoking dilemma's? Perplexing questions we give answers too! This Month's question-
What do the different beef grades mean? Is Prime that much better than Choice or Select? Is Angus better than other meat? What about Kobe beef and $100 burgers! Susie, Jonesboro, TN
The three USDA grades of beef most commonly found are Select, Choice and Prime. Select is the lowest grade with slight marbling, and it can be a good piece of meat if your careful not to overcook. Personally, I always use Choice or Prime- it just has better marbling to make it very succulent and flavorful. The picture to the right demonstrates the increased marbling that Prime has over Choice and Select - (from left to right).
Also don't fall for the Angus marketing labels that some stores, fast food and restaurants display. It is just a marketing name not an indicator of quality. With an exception- CAB- Certified Angus Beef which is always Choice or Prime grades and has 10 quality indicators that it must meet to be Certified Angus.
Kobe Beef comes from Kobe,Japan. It comes from a breed of cattle called Wagyu- to use the label Kobe Beef it must come from KobeJapan, be fed a strict diet of the finest grains and even gets massages! Why $100 Kobe burgers? It is rare, it must be imported, and it is only found one place in the world. Is it the best or is it just another marketing ploy? You can decide the answer by reading on. Don't confuse Wagyu with being beef from Japan- you can call beef raised in the US Wagyu, but not Kobe.
There are Wagyu cattle that are raised in the US that have just as good or better flavor and marbling. The one truth is that Kobe and Wagyu have marbling that exceeds USDA Prime!! Wagyu would score a 12 in marbling, where Prime would be around a 5. Wagyu's marbling is so abundant that some refer to it as "white steak" ! Is it worth the $80+ per pound? Buy a few pounds, invite me over and let our taste buds decide!
Susie wins a Moore's Marinade prize pack for her beef question!
Have a question? Email me and if we use your question you could win a prize! Jeff@lightmyfirebbq.com
