Archive for How to food

How to cook roast beef

Did you know that you can find great roast beef cooking tips on the Internet? It’s true and by using them you can really improve the results of your cooking. Here are just a few of the most common roast beef cooking tips that just about anyone can use.

Decide on the cut:

Rib eye, standing rib, and tenderloin are the best cuts during the holiday seasons, but the leaner cuts of round tip, top round, eye round, and tri-tip are also delicious when prepared correctly and they are more economical choices for everyday meals.

Decide on the weight:

Some of the most useful roast beef cooking tips involve knowing how much to buy. Here are some of the roast beef cooking tips that can help you figure this out.

Lean and boneless roasts, such as tenderloin, eye round and tri-tip will yield 4 three-ounce servings of cooked, trimmed beef per pound. In other words, 3-pound roast will yield 12 three-ounce servings.

Rib eye roasts, which have more fat, will yield about 3 three-ounce servings of cooked, trimmed beef per pound.

Bone-in rib roasts will yield 2-1/2 three-ounce servings of cooked, trimmed beef per pound. In other words, a 3-pound bone-in roast will yield about 7 three-ounce servings.

It is a good idea to plan in advance if you want leftovers or not when deciding on how much to buy. Some families enjoy having something left over to snack on later while other families prefer to not have leftovers.

Some of the most useful roast beef cooking tips involve smart shopping. Always try to buy your meat last during your shopping trip. This allows the meat to stay colder for longer.

Also try to buy only meats that are cherry-red in color, without any grayish or brown blotches. A darker purplish-red color is typical of vacuum-packaged beef. Once exposed to oxygen, beef will turn from a darker red to bright red.

There are many more tricks and hints available on the Internet if you wish to search for them. Many of these are located at websites that are especially designed for meat products and meat preparations. These experts are happy to share their knowledge with you via helpful roast beef cooking tips and information pages. These sites are very easy to find and they are written in easy to understand language.

Using these roast beef cooking tips will help save money and enjoy your choices more. Your family will also enjoy the taste of your dishes more. Try some of this tricks and see if you do not agree.

Also, one of the best ways to learn new cooking tips is to watch videos online. So check them out!
Still looking for information on Cooking? Check out MyCookingVideos.info a website specializing in FREE cooking videos!

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How to maintain your BBQ grill

Can’t you smell the burgers cooking? Do you smell barbeque chicken? What about those wonderful veggie kebabs? It may be only February; however it’s the perfect time to start thinking about getting the barbeque ready for spring.

Here are 5 tips to get your grill ready for early season grilling and BBQ parties.

#1 Clean the grill. A good wire brush can take care of last year’s baked on foodstuff. No one wants to eat off of food baked into the bars last year. A brass wire grill brush will get the majority of the gunk off. Once that is accomplished grab a steel wool pad, the already “soapy” kind is fine. If your pad doesn’t come prepped with soap, grab some dish soap and warm water and scour the remaining dirt and germs off of the grill.

#2 Lubricate the clean grate with cooking spray or a bit of vegetable oil to keep them from rusting.

#3 Make sure your gas connection is tight. If your grill uses a fuel tank, check to see if the tank is full and ready to go.

#4 Investigate your grilling tools and make sure they’re in good working condition. If your tools are in need of replacement, purchase a new set for the upcoming season.

Excellent grilling tools include:

§ Grilling baskets
§ Forks
§ Spatulas
§ Tongs
§ Kebab skewers
§ Meat thermometer

Once your grill is ready to go, consider stocking up on some good barbeque spices, seasoned skewers and grilling sauces. This will enable you to not only prepare a meal quickly and easily, it will add new flavor to household standards.

For example the seasoned skewers add zing to any grilled meat from chicken to lamb. Consider also the latest in meat rubs. All you need is the meat of your choice, a rub and a salad or vegetable. You have the perfect healthy and delicious meal!

To add a gourmet touch to any grilled meal, try a seasoned Gourmet Grilling Plank. They add a spectacular flavor to seafood, pork, chicken, and beef. You can even use them in your oven!

While it’s only February, spring and grilling season are right around the corner. Get a head start on the season by preparing your grill and stocking up on items that make grilling fun, easy, and delicious. Bon appetite!
To get the barbeque items you need, visit http://www.mysecretpantry.com for a full array of barbeque spices, utincils, sauces and grilling planks!

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How to make gourmet grilled cheese

If you aren’t dieting, the cold, crisp days of January are the perfect time of year to enjoy one of my favorite childhood lunch combinations: cream of tomato soup and grilled cheese. Although I’ve developed many recipes for tomato soup over the years, I’m always content with Campbell’s condensed cream of tomato soup (in fact, the Soup-at-Hand version of that soup is always on reserve in my office in case of soup-related emergencies). I’m more particular about grilled cheese sandwiches though.

My grilled cheese doesn’t have to be fancy but it must be made with real Cheddar and real butter and the bread, if white, has to be crusty and fresh. That said, I usually use whole grain sandwich bread at lunchtime. By the way, A is today’s mystery letter but let’s get back to grilled cheese, shall we? Over the holidays, I sliced a baguette into thin disks and made appetizer-sized grilled cheeses for the kids who attended our Christmas Eve soiree and these two-bite sandwiches were a hit with kids of all ages!

When making a grilled cheese sandwich, please remember that slow and easy wins the race; you can’t rush a good grilled cheese. My preferred method is to keep the heat under a heavy bottomed skillet medium so that the inside of the sandwich becomes molten and the outside doesn’t go beyond golden. If using a panini press, leave a cheese-free border around the edge so that the melted cheese doesn’t ooze out and burn.

I’ve made grilled cheese sandwiches with sliced cheese and with shredded. You can get good results with either but I’ve found that for most home cooks, it’s easier to shred the cheese than to slice it evenly.

Although I always dip my grilled cheese sandwich in ketchup (the soup isn’t tangy enough for me), I can acknowledge that there are other good condiment options such as sun dried tomato pesto, branston pickle and Bengal chutney that can be spread right inside the sandwich before grilling to make a very tasty lunch!
By Dana McCauley

Blog: http://danamccauley.wordpress.com

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How to be safe with BBQ

Outdoor cooking is meant to be a fun and festive event so a little careful planning and awareness can ensure that your next barbecue is fun, safe, enjoyable and tasty. Not only should you be careful when setting up a barbecue but ensuring that safe food handling and cooking practices are used is critical to your next outdoor event’s success.

Grill Safety

When cooking on a barbecue, hibachi, or a barbecue pit make sure that you and your guests are safe. Hot coals, hot surfaces or grease flare ups can create a dangerous situation. Whether using coals or a gas grill you should be aware of fire safety at all times. Some critical items to consider:

Make sure any outside games and traffic paths are away from your grill so that someone doesn’t accidentally push over it over or gets burned on a hot surface. Also, be aware of pets getting too close.

Be sure to use proper utensils that are long enough and capable of handling the weight of what you are cooking.

Follow all correct lighting procedures weather using gas or coals. Turn the gas on only when you are ready to light and never throw lighter fluid on already lit coals or flames.

Food Safety

Perhaps one of the biggest dangers that people overlook is proper food safety. While setting up a barbecue safely is more obvious because the dangers are more readily seen, food born illness can create an uncomfortable and even dangerous situation if proper food handling and cooking procedures are not done correctly. The challenges of refrigeration and improper cooking can create unsafe food for consumption very quickly and spoil your outdoor event. It begins with shopping and doesn’t end until the last leftover is eaten.

When shopping, be sure to purchase your meats last. Utilize the plastic bags at the store for the raw meats and make sure they are all bagged separate from other perishables such as fruits and vegetables. Drive directly home from the store and refrigerate within two hours and certainly sooner (less than 1 hour) if the outside temperature is above 90 degrees. Freeze ground meats and poultry if they’re not going to be used within 2 days and other meats within 4 to 5 days.

When transporting to a picnic or even outside, make sure that the meats remain in an ice chest below 40 degrees and keep cool until you’re ready to cook. Keep the cooler out of direct sunlight to avoid any warm spots. Also, make sure that any beverages are in a separate cooler so that raw meats don’t contaminate drink containers. Be sure to use different utensils and plates when handling uncooked meats versus handling cooked items for serving. Always wash your hands thoroughly after putting on the meats to cook and prior to handling the finished product.

Cook meats to their proper temperatures to ensure correct cooking. Use a quality meat thermometer and check thick portions and never near a bone, fat, or gristle. Internal meat temperatures are as follows:

Poultry: 165 deg F

Ground Beef: 160 deg F

Beef, Veal and Lamb:

Medium rare 145 deg F

Medium 160 deg F

Pork: 160 deg F.

When smoking meats, be sure to smoking temperatures are maintained at 250 deg to 300 deg until the internal temperatures above are reached. If pre-cooking, make sure that you start your final cooking just after pre-cooking, without delay. Be sure to keep foods hot at 140 deg F or higher until serving. If outside weather is above 90 def F, don’t let food set out for more than an hour. Be sure to refrigerate leftovers within two hours of serving and within an hour if over 90 def F.

Summary

As outlined above, a few simple precautions can make or break a great outdoor cooking event. Be aware of your surroundings when cooking and be sure to follow safe food handling and cooking practices. A good cooking thermometer is essential to your barbecue supplies. And yes, good sauces, good meats and a great BBQ are required but safe practices are also critical BBQ supplies.

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How to defrost a turkey

There are several ways to thaw (or “dethaw”, depending on where you’re from) a turkey, but only a couple I recommend:

Thaw in the refrigerator

Thaw in cold water
Let’s quickly discuss both methods.

Thawing a turkey in the refrigerator

Thawing a turkey in the refrigerator is the preferred method, but you’ll need to allow several days for it to thaw. A good rule of thumb is 24 hours for every 5 pounds of turkey. So for a 15 pound bird, allow 3 days. A 20 pounder will take 4 days. Give yourself plenty of time. If it’s thawed a day early, it’s no big deal. A thawed turkey can be safely kept in the refrigerator for up to one full day.

There’s no real science here. Just put it in a pan large enough to hold the bird, and cover with plastic wrap or a lid. You can also use the large Ziploc bags for this.

Thawing a turkey in cold water

If you don’t have several days to thaw your bird, you can use the cold water method. You can thaw your turkey in your kitchen sink, a large pot, or even a clean cooler. Be sure to use ice cold water. Even the coldest water will thaw a turkey quickly, so keep it cold. Replace the water with clean, cold water every 30 min or so. You’ll need to plan for 30 min per pound of turkey, which means you can thaw a 12 pound turkey in 6 hours, or a 20 pounder in only 10 hours!

If thawing in cold water, you should prepare the turkey as soon as it’s thawed.

Again, thawing in the refrigerator is preferred simply because it’s a controlled environment where the temperature is constant. However, if you don’t have the time or the space in your fridge, that cold water method works well too.

When you’re ready to prepare your turkey, simply rinse it with clean, cold water inside and out. Oh, and don’t forget to remove the giblets! (I have a story about that, but I’ll save that for a another time.)
Jay Lotz is a blogger at http://www.drinkmowgrill.com a blog covering beer, lawn care, and grilling.

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