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Many consumers have emailed me on the use and care of terracotta cookware. They have said: “OK, I purchased my clay bakeware, now what?”

Excellent question and I will try and help.

Before using your terracotta cookware for the first time, wash thoroughly with hot water. Do not us soaps.

Each time you use your clay bakeware, immerse both the top and base in cold water for about 15 minutes. Pour off excess water. After adding all the ingredients place your terracotta bakeware in the center of a COLD oven.

DO NOT ADD COLD LIQUIDS once the clay cookware is hot.

DO NOT PLACE your terracotta bakeware over on open flame or hot cooking plate.

Regular recipes can be converted for clay pot cooking by increasing the cooking temperature by 100F and deducting one-half hour of cooking time.

Terrcotta bakeware is ideal for the microwave. Because microwave ovens vary to such a great degree, use the oven manufacturer’s guidelines for cooking times.

Take care not to shock by clay pot cookware by moving it from one extreme temperature to another.

Use pot holders or oven mitts to move your terrcotta bakeware when hot, and place it on a trivet, mat or folded dishtowel when moving it out of the oven.

Cleaning after use: use hot water only, and a stiff natural bristle or mylon brush, or a nylon scouring pad to clean your clay pot cookware after each use. DO NOT USE SOAPS. A little baking soda will cut any grease. Never use cold water when the terracotta bakeware is hot.

When not in use, keep your clay cookware in a place where the air circulates. Place lid upside down on top of base when storing, to allow air to circulate inside the bottom of the roaster.

Use one clay pot cookware for fish and a separate one for meats, to keep the flavors separate.

In summary:

Hand wash your terracotta bakeware in hot water with some baking soda and a nylon or natural bristle pad or brush.

Do not wash with soaps or detergents.

Always place your clay pot cookware in a COLD oven.

Take care to avoid extreme temperature changes, ie. placing it in a hot oven.

Never pour hot liquids into a cold clay pot cookware, or cold liquids into a hot terracotta bakeware.

Always pre-soak for 15 minutes.

Avoid open flame or hot plate.

Clay pot cooking saves time, reserves nutrients and vitamines, avoids excess fats in cooking.

Terracotta bakeware for healthy natural cooking.

One of the best holiday meals I have tasted recently was baked in a clay pot.

You can find terracotta bakeware and cookware here www.BigBargainMatrix.com
Max VonHelsing is a noted cookbook author, chef and reviewer of cookware

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!

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.

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.