Winter or summer, barbecuing is now a yearlong passion for most people. To make your bar-b-q party the talk of the town, follow some easy barbecuing tips. Armed with these barbecuing tips it is guaranteed that people will gatecrash to your BBQ party and your grilling wonders will be lapped up in no time.
™
All barbecuing tips are based on the premise that you have fresh food for the bar-b-q dish. Thus, the beef should be firm to feel, not squashy. It should be bright, cherry-red and its fat, milky white. The fish should be shiny, damp, while its steak or fillet must be intact.
Small cuts, whether animal products or vegetables, cook faster and evenly. And when grilling small food bits, use a grill basket. This makes grilling and cleaning-up easy.
A handy barbecuing tip is that marinades tenderize meat and also impart a delightful flavor to every bar-b-q food it graces. Tender beef cuts need to be marinated for only 15 minutes but if you want more intense taste, keep on the marinade for 2 or more hours. The flavors of the marinade will automatically seep into the meat. Don't pierce the meat, else all the juices and moisture will ooze out during the grilling.
Remember to always marinate in the refrigerator. However, take out the meat at least half an hour before grilling and keep it at room temperature. This makes the meat tenderer.
Cooking meat at high temperatures scorches the outside of the meat well before the insides are thoroughly cooked. A thin layer of fat around the steak preserves its succulent juiciness while grilling. Also pressing the meat robs it off its moisture. A handy advice to preserve the moisture of fish is to douse it with limejuice while grilling.
Grilling greats have come up with a few other ingenious tips to retain the moisture of fish and meat. One such way is to place a can of beer over the hot fire with the grill lid down. As the beer vaporizes, the meat soaks it in, flavors and all, and becomes moist. Else, during grilling add a pot of water close to the fire but away from the meat. Light basting sauces can be added throughout grilling.
Vegetables soaked in water for about 30minutes before grilling prevent them from being drying out.
To prevent fish from sticking on the grill grate, spray the grill rack with cooking spray or brush it with vegetable oil. Alternatively, the grill can also be covered with perforated foil.
After grilling, remove the food and cover it with a foil. This will also retain the moisture.
The barbecuing b&q Lincoln tips also hint at maintaining hygiene by ensuring that food is thoroughly grilled. A brown exterior can be deceptive and you should check the doneness of the meat and fish with a food thermometer or poke around with your fingers for firmness. Ride atop these barbecuing tips and boast a barbecuing prowess.
Last November I attended the Detroit Lions-Green Bay Packers game at Ford Field in Detroit, Michigan and thanks to the fine people at Levy Restaurants and Finn Partners, I was able to meet up with Executive Chef Joe Nader and learn about the wonderful culinary offerings that the stadium has available for its patrons.
Food at sporting events has long been thought of as overpriced and boring, with the basic staples of popcorn, hot dogs, pizza and nachos generally leading the way. However, over the past few years companies like Levy Restaurants, who operate the concessions and restaurants at over 100 venues around the world, have begun to take stadium food to the next level.
Although the staples are still popular on game day (Ford Field sells approximately 10,000 hot dogs a game), Chef Nader strives to deliver restaurant quality food throughout the stadium. To do this on a game day is no easy task. It typically sees the Chef and his team starting at 4AM and working until the stadium is cleared out. This includes preparing all the food for the 132 luxury suites, the Hall of Legends restaurant featuring the famous Chef's Table, all general concessions, a number of concept restaurants inside the stadium and catering for the press, teams and referees.
It didn't take longer than a couple minutes speaking with Chef Nader to realize how much passion he has for what he does and the product that him and his team are delivering. Not only is he passionate about what he is putting out, but also where it comes from. He told me that using local products and partnering with local establishments was very important to him. He uses a Detroit staple, Faygo pop, in his Rock and Rye Brisket Sandwich ($12 with chips), they have a Michigan Craft Beer stand in the stadium ($9 for a beer compared to $8.50 for Bud products) and they have partnered with a number of local establishments including Slows Bar-B-Q, Charlie Sanders' Gourmet BBQ Sauce, Hungry Howie's Pizza and American Coney Island to deliver the distinct taste of Detroit to attendees of Ford Field.
I had the pleasure of sampling a couple items while at the stadium. At Chef Nader's recommendation, I had the Deli Style Corned Beef and Swiss Sandwich from DFC Carvery in the South Club area. By whatever way you are judging a sandwich, this thing was the real deal. It was piled high with quality corned beef and came with a side of chips for $12. At that price it is comparable to what you would pay anywhere else for something of this quality.
I also tried one of the Extreme Loaded Dogs, which is one of the newer concepts in the general concession area. Topped hot dogs have become a very popular alternative to the basic stadium dog and at a slightly higher price ($7.50) I think you get a little more bang for your buck. I went with "The Heater", which features a perfectly cooked hot dog from Dearborn Sausage Company, topped with Buffalo wing sauce and a bleu cheese slaw. Although it was a little messy to eat, it delivers on it's promise. It is loaded with coleslaw that has chunks of bleu cheese and the spiciness of the Buffalo wing sauce is a perfect compliment.
Dearborn Sausage Company is another local Michigan vendor and this year has become the official hot dog of the Detroit Lions. The quality of the product is so good that I would challenge anyone to find another hot dog as good anywhere.
You cannot talk about the Detroit Lions and Ford Field without bringing up Thanksgiving. The Detroit Lions have hosted the annual Thanksgiving Day contest since 1934, with last years game against Houston being the 73rd in the teams history. Chef Nader had a few special things planned as always on Thanksgiving. At his Chef's Table he featured a Thanksgiving station with all the fixings and they also served over 1,000 jumbo turkey legs throughout the stadium.
If you are heading down to Ford Field in the future don't just get stuffed at the tailgate, get down to the stadium early and check out some of the excellent food items available.
I would like to send out a special thank you to Chef Joe Nader for being so gracious with his time and to Sarah Janousek of Finn Partners for making this all happen.