Thursday 1 September 2011

HOW TO MAKE BARBECUE CHICKEN

One of the all-time family favorites is chicken barbecue. In every home, parties involving a main meal count in this type of food. It is conventional but never out of taste. Most people think that it is easy to prepare. Moreover, it does not cost many ingredients. All you have to do is have the right grill, right temperature and right meat.

There are basic steps to follow in cooking chicken barbecue- with these steps; you will be able to serve the best-tasting barbecue for your family and friends.

1.Cut the chicken into smaller parts, like thighs, breast, and the like. Wash them well and trim off excess fat or skin. Always consider the cleanliness in preparing food. It must not be sacrificed at any rate. Excess skin will just give more fats, so better get rid of it.

2.Make sure that you cut the chicken into even portions by a sharp knife. This will make these parts evenly-cooked. It would be very tasteful too.

3.Marinate these cut parts overnight. You can use the marinade of your choice. Place the marinated chicken in a container that will not allow to leak or will not allow outside elements to enter. Zip-lock bags are commendable. Then, put it in the refrigerator.

4.Another option is to rub barbecue spice rub to the chicken parts then place them in the refrigerator also overnight so that the flavors could be best absorbed.

5.After marinating, take out the chicken parts and place them on a cookie board or other flat containers. After that, sprinkle some barbecue rub to the chicken parts you have placed in the container.

6.Set the smoker between 225 to 250 degrees and put the chicken into the grill or smoker. In cases where you have to use grill over charcoal, make sure that you place the charcoal on one side of the grill leaving the other side for the chicken.

7.You have to cook the chicken for 4 to 6 hours at the above-mentioned temperatures.

8.Start grilling with skin side down. As ¾ cooking time has finished, you can turn the chicken to get done with the skin side up.

9.In order to make them more tasty, brush on them a mixture of apple juice or pineapple juice and barbecue sauce while grilling.

Before serving the barbecues, you could brush on them your favorite barbecue sauce. If you want it sweeter or hotter, you can experiment on the sauce you are going to use. You could freely put the taste you want. Just see to it that you heat the sauce.

These steps may seem easy but they may vary the taste of your chicken barbecue according to how you do them. Chicken barbecue will stay as a favorite for many. Make the best one for you, your home and anywhere you want to.

HOW TO MAKE SMALL CHOPS

 Basic Fresh Spring Roll Recipe (Summer Rolls)
12 spring roll wrappers 9" (rice paper)
6 oz. firm tofu (not silken)
2 T. or more soy sauce, tamari
6 oz. thin rice noodles (vermicelli)
48 fresh mint leaves
1/4 head leaf lettuce
3 shredded carrots (optional)
spring roll sauce (see below)

Method Slice the tofu into 1/2 inch slices. Pat dry with paper towels. Press it for an hour (optional). Put the tofu slices on a nonstick cookie pan. Add the soy sauce, trying to keep it on the tofu as much as possible.

Bake at 325 for about 45 minutes, turning occasionally
and adding more soy sauce if they look like they can absorb more. When they are nice and brown and dry, cut them into strips, about the size of French fries. You will need one strip per spring roll. (If you don't have
time to bake the tofu, cut it into strips and fry it with the soy sauce on a nonstick skillet for a few minutes, carefully turning each strip, trying to crisp it up a little on each side.) Set aside.

Wash and dry the lettuce. Tear it into 3 or 4 inch pieces, removing stems and crisp veins. Your lettuce needs to be on the limp side. Any crisp pieces will tear the spring roll wrappers when you try to roll them.

Wash and dry the mint. Remove all stems. Set aside. (If you can't get fresh mint, you can substitute fresh cilantro, but the spring rolls will taste quite different.

Shred or grate the carrots into small pieces.

Add the the rice vermicelli into boiling water and cook until just done, about 2 or 3 minutes. Pour into a colander, and rinse with cool water. The noodles need to be well drained and cool enough to handle. Set
aside.

Put an inch or two of water in a pan that is big enough to hold the spring rolls. (Cool water works fine). Separate the wrappers, and stack them in the water, making sure each one is completely covered with water
before putting in the next one. Leave the wrappers in the water until they are flexible (about 2 or 3 minutes). Remove the whole stack at once, and place them on a clean wet kitchen towel, covering them with another damp towel.

Assemble Spring Rolls Carefully remove one wrapper and put it on another surface such as a bamboo sushi mat or a damp towel. If you use a plate be sure to remove the excess water between each spring roll.

Working quickly place the following fillings onto a moistened wrapper; or 4 small pieces of lettuce, 4 leaves of mint, a handful of rice noodles, one strip of tofu, and a few tablespoons of carrots if desired. Quickly fold the bottom of the wrapper over the pile, fold in the sides, and continue to roll up. Place on a plate and cover with plastic wrap.

Note: If the spring rolls are falling apart make sure the wrapper is drained well and don't overfill the wrapper.

Serving

Cut each spring roll in half making a diagonal cut. Serve cold or room temperature with dipping sauce. The rolls can stay covered in the refrigerator for at least 6 hours. They can be packed and served for lunches and outings.

As appetizer, serve one or two per person. As a main course, count on at least three per person.
Sweet Spring Roll Sauce
4 T. sugar
1/4 c. soy sauce
1 c. broth or water
2 T. corn starch
1/4 c. cold water
1 clove garlic, crushed with 1/4 ts. salt

Combine sugar, soy sauce, and broth. Bring to a boil. Add corn starch mixed smoothly with the cold water, and stir until the mixture thickens slightly. Simmer, stirring for 1 minute. Stir in garlic. Serve warm or cold.