Monday, September 7, 2009
The Best Way to Barbecue Fish
The primary reason why food sticks to the barbecue grill and falls apart is that the grill is not hot enough when the food is placed on it. You need to get the grill hot enough to not only produce the aromatic sizzling sound but also will continue to do so during the whole cooking process.
Secondly, you need to ensure that your grill is clean. Often food particles get stuck on the surface of the grill and these are areas that your fish may stick to. Keeping a clean grill will reduce the chances of your fish sticking.
Fish normally do not take a look time to cook and it is very important to be very aware of this a barbecue setting. People tend to over cooked it causing it to dry out rather than the deliciously juicy flesh. To ensure that you don't over cook your fish, make sure it is not frozen and it is at a cool temperature but not cold. Try not to use frozen fish at all if you can help it as fish loose its subtle texture and taste when frozen. These qualities also deteriorate rapidly if fish are kept in room temperature for an extended period presenting health risk.
Flipping your fish is like cooking a good piece of steak, you flip it only once. The tendency is not only to flip it more than once but trying to lift it up to see whether it is cook or not; these actions are sure recipe for disaster. The best way from avoiding this rather uncontrollable tendency is to use a timer. Invest in one, put the fish on, set it to the right duration, go away, come back and flip it when the alarms go off. The other trick is to always place the skin side face down first (if the skin is retained and this the recommended way of cooking fish in a barbecue as it helps to hold the flesh together). Furthermore, it adds the crispy texture to the whole dish.
So far, cooking time has been mentioned a number of times but how long is that, unfortunately this one of those 'how long is a piece of string' question - it all depends on the thickness, temperature of your stove and your cooking technique. However, fish in general take much shorter time to cook than meat, a lot shorter. If it is a whole fish you are cooking, slice diagonally across the middle section of the fish (the thickness part of the fish), make a few slices of about 2cm apart. This will allow the heat to get through evenly.
Another way to prevent sticking is to wrap the fish in foil. This way, you can also add flavorings, such as lemon juice and butter. Often you will find that this is the easiest way to keep your fish moist. It is much more difficult to prevent drying out when the fish is placed directly on the grill. However, keep in mind that this will prevent some of the taste of the barbecue from penetrating the fish.
A good invention has been that of the fish basket. You can place your whole fish inside one of these and place them on the barbecue grill. The advantages of these are that you can flip the entire basket, instead of attempting to flip the fish without it breaking. It will also prevent pieces of fish from falling through the bars of the grill.
Recipe of the Day - Barbecue Snapper with Chutney and Parsley
Serve
1. 2 People
Ingredients
1. 1 x 3/4 kg of Snapper whole
2. 1 Cup of freshly chopped Parsley
3. 2 Tspn Apricot & Date Chutney
4. Juice from half a lemon
5. 4 Tspn of Macadamia Oil
6. Salt & Pepper to taste
7. Aluminum foil for wrapping
Method
1. Ask the fishmonger to scale and clean the fish for you but keep it whole instead of fillet it. Make sure it is wiped dry using paper towels.
2. Make diagonal slice cut across the mid-section of the fish but do not cut through the bones and seasoned the whole fish with salt and pepper.
3. In another bowl, mix the chopped parsley, macadamia oil, apricot & date chutney and lemon juice together, add a bit more salt and pepper.
4. Spoon some of this mixture into the stomach of the fish and rub the rest throughout the fish. Wrap the fish using the foil and let it stand in a cool place for 30 minutes.
5. When your barbecue stove is ready, place the wrapped fish on the center of the stove. Let it cooked on one side for 5 minutes and turn it over (once only) for another 5 minutes. Note that depending on the thickness, you might need to vary this cooking time a bit.
6. Once it is cooked, unwrapped the foil but be careful of the steam in the wrapping, transfer it to the serving dish and serve hot. Make sure you transfer all the juice in the wrapping to the serving dish as well.
Thursday, August 6, 2009
Gourmets Get Ready for Induction Cooking
Up until now, there have been two basic methods of cooking food. Both methods follow the same basic principles. In the chemical method, a combustible material-such as wood, coal, or gas-is burned to generate heat; while the electrical method accomplishes the same thing by running a current through a coil, or more recently, a halogen-filled bulb. (A third, oven-only option for generating heat needed for cooking is microwaving, which generates the heat within the food itself.) Magnetic induction is a completely different technology.
A crash course in basic physics explains how it works. When a conductor is placed in the presence of a changing magnetic field, electricity is produced in the conductor. The result is an electromagnet. In induction cooking, an electromagnet is placed under the cooking surface. When turned on, an alternating current runs through the electromagnet, producing a magnetic field. A large metal object on the surface will pick up the current and generate heat. Voila! Now we're cooking!
The biggest difference between induction cooking and its counterparts is where the heat is generated. Gas and electric stovetops produce heat on a burner. The heat is then transferred, more or less efficiently, to a cooking vessel and its contents. In contrast, induction cook tops generate heat in the vessel itself, while the burner stays cool. Since there is no transfer of heat from burner to pan, there is virtually no wasted heat. Studies have shown that induction cooking may be up to 90% energy efficient, compared to electric and gas cooking, which are 47% and 40% energy efficient respectively. In addition to efficiency, induction cooking is the superior choice when it comes to safety issues. Because the cooking surface stays cool (i.e. room temperature) there are no more burned hands or hot pads and there is no open flame sending potentially dangerous fumes into the air. Best of all, with the heat focused in the right place, the kitchen--and the chef--stays cool and comfortable.
But the real luxury of induction cooking-the things that sets it apart as the Porsche of cook tops-is the precision and control it gives the chef. By varying the strength of the magnetic field, the heat generated in the pot responds instantly. This means water boils in half the amount of time it takes electric and gas stoves. Low temperatures work as well as high ones-meaning you can toss out your double boiler! One experiment showed chocolate chips melting at such a low temperature they held their shape until spread with a spoon. Induction warmers are great for caterers as well, since they hold low temperatures and keep food warm better than any of the alternatives.
Unfortunately there are a couple big disadvantages to induction stoves. For the pan to conduct energy it must be magnetic-that is, it must contain iron. Therefore, cast-iron and steel pots and pans are necessary. Test your cookware by passing a magnet across the pan. If the magnet sticks, the pan will work. Some cookware, made with layers of aluminum and copper for distribution, will still work beautifully on an induction cook top, as long as the surface of the pan is steel.
The second disadvantage is unavailability. For some reason, induction cooking has been slower to take off in America than it has across the Atlantic. Therefore, it's still hard to find, and models are more expensive. (Prices start well above a thousand dollars.) However, as the market increases, look for prices to steadily fall. If you can't wait, there are several websites where you can order an induction cook top and have it delivered to your home. Installation is relatively easy.
After using an induction cook top, it's easy to imagine the day when we will look back on electric or gas ranges with the same astonishment and nostalgia as we do grandma's old wood stove.
Thursday, May 21, 2009
Zwinky Games Collection
Susi Restaurant Susi Restaurant : Please read through the instruction and follow those tips to play this game. Hope you see that interesting job to do.
Halloween Dress Up Halloween Dress Up-Halloween Dress Up: Help her choose a scary costume for Halloween!
Doodle Bug Coloring Colour the picture using the paints on the left.
Spotlight Dress Up Spotlight Dress Up-Spotlight Dress Up: What's best to wear when you're in the spotlights? rn
Cooking games Cooking games is very interesting games for kids and girls, here you can make a birthday cake
Halloween shop Are you ready for Halloween? Come this shop to find the favorite dress.
Sweet Clothing Dress Up Kara is going to get a new job. She is wondering what clothes to dress.Help her pick a cute look for her new job to make her so self-confident on the first day at the new work place.
Fashion for Halloween In Halloweenrsquo;s masquerade, this lovely girl looks so beautiful even she dresses up with spectral costumes.
Dress up a Carton Baby My name is Miao Miao and I have been your carton baby for years. Would you like to help me dress up today?
Fairy Cooking Prepare your cake, put it in the oven, decorate and sell it to your clients.
Bibi Chibi Dress Up The Babie Bibi Chibi wants to go out and play with her friends. Get Bibi Chibi well dressed now!
Mickey Mouse Cooking Session Take everybody's orders and let Goofy cook the right meals.