Tips on How to Use a Smoker

Once you know how to use a smoker, cookouts will never be the same again. If you have ever been tempted to toss your grill and try smoking your meat but didn't know how to use a smoker, fear not! Using a smoker is easier than lighting a barbeque and it produces tastier meat.

A smoker is a piece of equipment that cooks food over heat created by burning wood, rather than burning coals. Once you have the know-how to use a smoker you will be able to make terrific food with unbelievable flavor. The secret to knowing how to use a smoker is all in the wood. Each type of wood used in a smoker creates a different flavor to the food. Mesquite wood gives your steak or your salmon a robust flavor, while oak or hickory adds a completely diverse flavor.

The first thing to do is find a location where there will be as little traffic as possible. Usually cooking with a smoker will take some time and occasionally the smoker will be left unattended so it should be in an area where children and pets are not likely to go. Wind conditions should also be taken into consideration so that smoke is not entering the house or interfering with outdoor activities.

A typical smoker has two barrels at the bottom. Build a fire at the base of the barrels with whatever type of wood you choose to cook with. Heat the wood for at least an hour. Those who know how to use a smoker will tell you that the key to making the best meals is to know just how long to heat the wood, and how much wood should be added to the steamer once you start. You want the wood to burn at a nice even temperature. This takes some practice so don't despair if you don't get it right the first time.

Once the wood has been thoroughly heated, you can add your food. You will need to monitor the temperature on a regular basis while the food is being smoked. Cooks who know how to use a smoker will tell you to that it takes practice to know when to adjust your flues and your dampers but that keeping the right temperature is the key to turning out delicious smoked food.

You have tons of options when cooking with a smoker. Not only can you pick between lots of different types of wood to give your food flavor, you can also experiment on smoking lots of different types of foods. Cooks who know how to use a smoker to their advantage not only smoke more than one kind of meat at a time (try smoking a turkey and steak at the same time) they also try different foods. Wait till you try chili in your smoker!

Seriously, once you know how to use a smoker, there is a whole new world of cooking experiences waiting for you!

How To Select The Best Cake Pans For Your Parties

When you are making a cake it is very important that you choose the right cake pan to meet your needs. Whether it is a round cake, a square cake or one in the shape of your favorite cartoon character, baking a cake can be very fun and very successful if you select the correct cake pan.

Shaped Cake Pans: You may think that a plain square or circle cake pan is not a very interesting choice. In fact, most extravagant wedding cakes and store bought cakes are made using only a square or circle. When it comes to using these traditional shapes it is all in the decorating. You can have the most exciting scenes created on a square cake. You could even find a heart for Valentine's Day or a four-leaf clover for St. Patrick's day.

When using a shaped cake pan here are some tips to follow. When greasing your cake pan, it is a good idea to stay away from butter. The butter actually may even make your cake stick whereas using shortening or a cooking spray will prevent this from happening. The cake pan should not touch either side of the oven to ensure proper heat distribution throughout. You can remove air bubbles from the batter by banging your cake pan on the counter firmly. Do not bang too hard as you may dent the cake pan, just hard enough to release the air bubbles will do fine.

Magic Line cake pans are a professional line of cake pans made from a commercial-quality aluminum which are one of the best conductors of heat. The most notable difference between Magic Line cake pans and regular commercial pans is that Magic Line pans have a straight edge whereas other commercial pans have slanted edges. This makes these cakes more attractive and easier for icing the finished product. They also do not have rolled edges which is good for removing the cake from the pan. These cake pans are the number one choice for professionals all over the world, however are available to the general public online.

Wilton cake pans are also very popular (and good). The company is a huge player in the cake making business. Basically, any type of cake pan you are looking for or own in your cupboard is probably from Wilton. The good thing about Wilton is that they stand behind their products with a direction directory right on their web site. Wilton cake pans are a good bet for any chef.

Whether it be Superman or Big Bird, you can find all types of character cake pans. The most important rule to follow when baking a character cake is to grease the pan well so the shape comes out perfectly. You also want to pay extra attention when you are decorating this type of cake and most of all to have fun!

Barbeque Rubs Are Great Alternatives To BBQ Sauces And Marinades

Barbeque rubs are a healthy alternative for cooking flavorful foods without using a lot of fattening oils in your coking. Barbeque rubs can be used on meats that are baked, smoked, grilled or simmered in a small amount of stock to create a delicious meal that anyone is sure to love.

Barbeque rubs are comprised of certain proportions of herbs, spices, sea salt, and minimal sugar or sweetener. Note, diabetics may prefer homemade barbeque rubs using Stevia. A sample rub might contain paprika, garlic powder, salt, black pepper, cayenne, onion powder, oregano, and thyme. These herbs and spices, as well as others, stimulate digestion, hydrochloric acid production, and, last, but not least, the taste buds and sensors. The palate won't know what hit it!

A pressing consideration is whether to use store-bought sauces, marinades or rubs on your meats, or if one should you use your own homemade blend of herbs and spices to add intense flavor. Nutritional experts concur with one another that, unless you can find a trust-worthy sauce, marinade or rub, it's wiser to create your own at home. Widespread herb irradiation, hydrolyzed cornstarch, MSG, artificial sweeteners, corn syrup, sugar, and other taste impostors will hurt your body whilst tricking your taste buds.

Hot, sour, tangy, spicy, sugary - these are all flavors that you can control when creating a homemade barbeque rub. It's best not to overpower the subtle, chewy, thick, juicy taste inherent to the meat with a bunch of high-power spices like cayenne and garlic powder. In other words, don't rub the meat in a pound of sea salt, cayenne, or anything else that strong for that matter. Impart the stronger ingredients lightly with a larger amount of milder, complementary spices to create a steady, natural seasoning.

The art of barbeque rubs is too broad to be covered in this short space, but it's worth noting that the application of the rub is just as important as the composition of the ingredients. Even, equal distribution is much more important than splotchy, uneven layers, even if it takes more time and dexterity to the rub added just right. Thick layers will cause your meats to be too spicy in some areas; whereas a thinner layer on other parts of the meats can cause those areas to taste bland.

Righteous Urban BBQ is just one example of a popular restaurant that built its restaurant's reputation around rubs. People clamor for its tangy, juicy rib dinners. One customer says that, "Real BBQ does not require sauce, it's merely a matter of preference but not essential nor the key ingredient to the meats." This startling revelation appears to imply that rubs can bring out the best flavors in meats without a bunch of sauce on top.

Many people use sauces when they BBQ meats. If you were to grill meats with sauce, and with barbeque rubs, at your next barbeque event then you may be surprised to find that the rubbed meats may be eaten much faster. Your friends and neighbors will think you're a genius because the rub will be barely visible on the surface of your ribs. "How are So-and-so's ribs so good?" they'll say. Little do they know that you learned how to rub 'em right, as they say in the Deep South.

The best barbeque rubs in the South were created out of necessity, with simple spices, and not thick sauces.

Additionally, barbeque rubs traditionally have longer expiration dates because dried spices last longer in cool, dry places than artificial sauces in cool storage. They're also cheaper to make and taste better in general.

5 Tips For Picking Perfect Meat

The slow cooked aroma of meat will send anyone back to happier times. Slathered in your own top secret sauce and just ready to be savored this is what you have been thinking of all week. However once eating this would be succulent meal something becomes very clear. The meat is bland. Talk about a waste of ingredients and time! Hopefully this list will help you avoid this situation all together and only picking the greatest pieces of meat.

1. Do your own tenderizing. Do not buy pre-tenderized meat. A plant that produces meat is on a fully automated system. Trust me when I say that there is not an employee being paid 15 dollars an hour to lovingly tenderize your piece of meat with a wooden mallet. This unnatural way of meat preparation will leave your barbecue flavorless and tough!

2. Make sure your butcher is on his game. I would not trust the future of my barbecue meal to someone who could not point out some details about my cut of choice. They should not basic things about the cattle such as if they are grain-fed or grass-fed. But also take some liberty and quiz him about preparation. You might learn something and you can see his knowledge level.

3. Make sure the facility you're buying from is safe. While obviously signs of dirty floors and a warm temperature should be red flags. You should also look at the smaller details. You will see cooler vents in all the display coolers. Make sure the meat is not stacked above that point. That alone could save you the hassle of rotten meat.

4. Quality grade does not mean quality meat. While starring at that leg cut you might be thinking it looks so tender! Not true, some cuts look more tender than others. Just know that the less the muscle was used the tenderer it will be. For instance ribs will be more tender than the shoulder. The tenderer always wins for my barbecue.

5. Packaging! Want to have a great barbecue meal make sure you don't have rotten meat. The easiest way to do that is by first checking to see if there are any cuts in the package. This is a serious health issue and should be brought to the attention of management if found. Secondly make sure there is no moisture in the package. This means that the temperature of the meat has risen to high and also should be brought to management's attention.

Pots and Pans Styles and Uses

Every cook dreams of having a kitchen like those you see on the Food Network complete with a pot rack full of gleaming cookware in every shape and size. While this probably is not very realistic, it is possible to have a well stocked kitchen that will fit your every cooking desire. Before you run out and purchase a set of pots and pans, get a working knowledge of what types of cookware are best suited to your needs. Use this information as a type of checklist to see what your kitchen is missing.

Skillet/frying pan has a flat bottom with short sides that are flared or sloped, which makes it easier to toss and turn food with a spatula. A skillet , generally a long handled pan come in four sizes, extra large (12 Inches), large (10 Inches), medium (8 inches), and small(6 inches). Cookbooks often refer you to certain size skillets, so it is important to know the measurement of each one. Occasionally you will have a recipe that requires you to place a skillet in the oven, so it is important to purchase a skillet with removable handles or one with handles that can withstand high temperatures. Roasting pans are usually of a rectangular shape with low sides allowing the heat to penetrate the entire surface of the meat. These types of pans are normally placed in an oven and are generally used with a rack to slightly elevate the food and prevent it from sitting in its own juice.

Saucepans are round with high straight sides and flat bottoms. Saucepans normally come in three sizes (1-, 2-, and 3-quart) and it is a good idea to have a few in each style. Saucepans have long handles and tight fitting lids. There is a wide range of uses for these types of pans from cooking soup, stewing vegetables to making sauces. There are a few that are unique to special purposes, a Windsor, has flared out sides and a saucier which has sides that are rounded.

A stockpot is a deep, tall, straight-sided pot with two big, loop handles. It is used for simmering large amount of liquid, such as stock, soup and stews, but also works well for thick soups, chili and for boiling pasta. Sometimes they come with a pasta insert - made of perforated stainless steel that fits inside and acts as a colander for draining pasta.

Double boilers consist of two pans - one inside of the other. The bottom pan contains hot water and the top pan holds the ingredients that are being cooked. Generally used for making delicate sauces that have a tendency to separate if cooked on direct heat. Double boilers can be made of stainless steel, enameled steel, glass and aluminum. Purchasing the right pans for the right meals will make time spent in the kitchen a whole lot more enjoyable.

15 Basic Cooking Tips To Make Your Life Easier!

There are some basic cooking tips that anyone could learn and use to help out in the kitchen. With todays' busy lifestyles becoming more prevalent, learning and using these basic cooking tips will save you time and headache.

The following fifteen is just a tiny handful of the many basic cooking tips that you could integrate into your everyday life to save time and money.

• Bacon: Reduce shrinkage by running cold water over it before frying.
• Beans: Stop gas attacks by adding a tablespoon of bicarbonate of soda in a big pot of beans while they are soaking.
• Boiled Eggs: Add some vinegar or a little salt to the boiling water when boiling eggs. This basic cooking tips will keep the egg in the shell if it cracks.
• Ripening Fruits and Vegetables: Put your unripe fruit and vegetables in a brown paper bag and place the bag in a dark cupboard for few day. Using this basic cooking tips is an excellent way to save money on fruits and vegetables that has to be ripened.
• Salads: Cut your iceberg lettuce into wedges instead of tearing salad greens to save some time making a salad.
• Spaghetti Sauce: Add a small pinch of bicarbonate of soda to your spaghetti sauce to lower the acid taste from the tomatoes.
• Corn: Place the corn directly into boiling water, and do not add salt. Do not boil corn for more than three minutes. Overcooking reduces the taste level.
• Frozen Vegetables: When they are stuck together, simply run boiling water over them.
• Grating Cheese: Freeze for twenty five minutes before grating. It will shred so much easier.
• Pancakes: Use a small amount of sugar in the batter and they will brown more quickly.
• Pie Pastry: Substitute one teaspoon of vinegar for one teaspoon of the cold water called for in the recipe and the pastry will be much flakier.
• Quick Sauces: Use condensed cream soups such as cream of mushroom, cream of chicken, cream of tomato, cream of celery, to make fast and easy sauces.
• Quick Tenderizer: Use vinegar as a meat tenderizer. Add a tablespoon to water when boiling meat or ribs for stews. This basic cooking tips will help tenderizer even the toughest meat.
• Wilted vegetables: Soak wilted veggies in two cups water, one tablespoon vinegar to help bring them back to life.
• Wooden Skewers: Soak all your wooden skewers in cold water for twenty minutes to prevent them from burning.

Inspiration could be considered to be one of the key ingredients to writing. Only if one is inspired, can one get to writing on any subject especially like cooking.

Use some of these basic cooking tips to make your life in the kitchen more enjoyable.

The Difference Between Herbs and Spices

The difference between herbs and spices is rather subtle. But the main difference is in knowing where the plant species originates from and what part of the plant is used. Spices tend to come from plants grown in tropical climates where as herbal plants can be grown in many climates. Most herbs come from the green parts of a plant such as the stem and leaves while most spices come from the root, seeds, bark or flowers of a plant. Cinnamon is a spice made from the bark of the cinnamon tree. Ginger is made from roots while cumin and nutmeg are made from seeds.

Over the passage of time the meaning and definition of herbs and spices have changed and today the words are used interchangeably. One of the important differences between herbs and spices is in how to use them when cooking. For example, herbs are used in larger portions than spices for flavoring foods. Spices are generally stronger tasting and are used in much smaller amounts.

Some favorite herbs are: Thyme, Basil, Parsley, Chives, Oregano, Sage, Marjoram, Rosemary and mint

Some favorite spices are: Cinnamon, Ginger, Nutmeg, Cloves, Curry, Cumin and Vanilla

Many people seem hesitant to experiment with new food tastes and often stick with the tried and true. If you haven't tried some of these favorite herbs and spices cooked with your foods you may be surprised how good the food will taste. Combine various herbs and spices with foods and you'll find how much you enjoy altering the flavors of ordinary tasting dishes.

Flavorings

Since ancient times, herbs and spices have been used to alter flavoring to foods. Every part of the world has it's own favorite food tastes and if you've experimented with different cuisines then you know how much variety herbs and spices can bring to foods. We are truly fortunate today to have many of the world cuisines right in our own neighborhood restaurants. So, if you haven't already tried them, why not do so. Tasting food from various cultures will give you an appreciation of how herbs and spices can be used. For example, the oregano in Italian foods and curries used in Indian foods surely will demonstrate the difference that using herbs and spices make in cooking.

At home

If you're not prepared to spend money to experiment with restaurant cuisines, then try experimenting with these herbs and spices when cooking at home. Most supermarkets carry a good selection of fresh cut and dried herbs and spices. So, with just a little bit of effort, you can bring this world of flavors into your meals at home.

Using herbs

Herbs and spices are best added near the end of the cooking time to retain most of their flavors. Add them to soups and stews during the last hour of cooking. Adding freshly cut herbs such as parsley, basil and cilantro to salads is a great way to eat herbs right out of the garden. Other common uses of herbs and Spices are in making herbal teas or in the preserving of foods. Herbs have been used for medicinal purposes well before pharmaceutical products were ever invented. Another common use of herbs is in making cosmetic products.

As you can see there are many ways to add wholesome goodness to your life using herbs and spices.