The Professional Chef |

Barbecue Smoker Recipe Man asked:


Many friends and work colleagues have phoned in sick because of food poisoning and followed it up with something like “I had a BBQ at the weekend, and I must have eaten something not properly cooked”.

To be honest I think some of them probably just drank too much but clearly there’s enough of a belief out there that food hygiene is a problem at a barbeque for either a genuine day off work or a cast iron excuse.

In many of the barbecue articles that I’ve written I’ve concentrated on the phrase “sizzle is hot, flames are not” which focuses on the need to be patient and control the barbecue flames. If however you still haven’t mastered this point then maybe it’s time to resign yourself to buying a barbecue thermometer?

Why do I need a BBQ thermometer? Take this barbecue hamburger example:

Many folks assume that when barbecued hamburger is brown in the middle, it is well done but according to USDA research, 1 out of every 4 hamburgers turns brown before it reaches a safe internal temperature. The internal temperature must be 160°F before its safe to eat.

The bug we’re trying to protect ourselves against is e-coli, and bacterium that live on the surface of meat. This is an important point and essential to understand because we can happily eat a rare steak without any chance of food poisoning. Provided the steak is cooked well on the outside, the bacteria are killed.

This is not the case with a hamburger however because the burger is made from ground meat so surface bacteria could be anywhere inside the hamburger.

The signs and symptoms of food borne illness range from upset stomach, diarrhoea, fever, vomiting, abdominal cramps, and dehydration, to more severe illness-even death, but having said all this, please don’t be put off having some hamburgers at your next BBQ cookout. With a few simple precautions that follow the rules of basic food hygiene and barbecue food poisoning will be a thing of the past.

Use a food thermometer. Instant-read food thermometers are good for checking the internal temperature toward the end of the cooking time.

1. The food thermometer should be placed in the thickest part of the food and should not be touching bone, fat, or gristle.

2. Make sure to clean your food thermometer with hot, soapy water before and after each use!

The other option is to use a large-dial oven-safe or oven-probe thermometer and these can be inserted in the meat and used for the duration of cooking.

There are many types of food thermometers, so it is important to follow the instructions for your food thermometer to ensure the correct reading. When happy with the method of use you can refer to the USDA Recommended Safe Minimum Internal Temperatures to ensure a safe barbeque cookout.

· Steaks & Roasts – 145 °F

· Fish – 145 °F

· Pork – 160 °F

· Ground Beef – 160 °F

· Egg Dishes – 160 °F

· Chicken Breasts – 165 °F

· Whole Poultry – 165 °F

That’s the main one, but to finish off here are a few more tips to help you avoid food poisoning at your next BBQ:-

1. Wash hands and surfaces often

Use warm, soapy water for 20 seconds before and after handling food and wash you’re cutting boards after each food item is prepared

2. Don’t cross-contaminate, always keep raw and cooked food separate. Never place cooked food on a plate which previously held raw meat, poultry, or seafood.

3. Refrigerate promptly – but do not cover (e.g. with stretch wrap) if the food is still hot

Refrigerate or freeze perishables, prepared foods, and leftovers within 2 hours or sooner.

Be Food Safe! Prepare With Care

Know how to prepare, handle, and store food safely to keep you and your family safe. Bacteria can grow on meat, poultry, seafood, eggs, and dairy products, as well as cut-up or cooked vegetables and fruits.

Follow the above and food poisoning should be a thing of the past. Why not pass this onto your employees? You may see a marked improvement in Monday morning attendance – or maybe just a different excuse.

Mick Reade asked:


Every person likes their steak cooked a different way, so throughout this article I will make sure that I cover each possible different way so that you will always get the best result for yourself or whoever you cook for.

There are several different cuts of beef that will make a great steak, and there are also many grades of beef to consider, depending on what the cow was fed on the farm, so your first step is to choose which one you would prefer. The choices include rump, scotch fillet, porterhouse, eye fillet and T-bone as the main premium cuts generally eaten. The beef’s grading will come down largely to marbling and maturity of the meat. There is a debate as to which is better out of grain-fed and grass-fed cattle, and really the answer is grass-fed beef is healthier for you as it is the most natural form of the cattle, while grain-fed beef will have a lot more marbling and flavour, so I will leave that choice up to you which way you want to go. As for maturity, I recommend finding a butcher that will hang your meat for quite a long time in their meat locker before carving it, I have found that 27 days is ideal. This will help tenderize the meat by having it stretched out and relaxing the muscles, to give you the best possible final result.

The rump and porterhouse are firmer cuts, and the rump in particular can be a bit tougher and chewier than the rest, and you will find a strip of fat at the top of each of these steaks, which will help flavour and tenderize the steak during the cooking process. Both these cuts I would recommend eating rare to medium-rare (I will discuss steak doneness a little later).

Meanwhile the scotch fillet will come very nicely marbled with fat throughout, and can usually be distinguished by a C-shaped piece of fat close to one side. Due to the marbling it will be very tender and full of flavour (however if you’re on a diet it may be one to avoid for now), and I recommend eating it medium-rare to medium.

The eye fillet is the most tender cut of beef, and will normally be free of fat, although this also means you may need to do something extra to add some flavour to it, the most popular way being to wrap bacon around it during cooking, so the fatty flavours of the bacon are absorbed by the steak. This is my personal favourite steak, and is best eaten medium-rare to medium.

Lastly we come to the T-bone, which has both the eye fillet and porterhouse on either side of the bone, and will get its flavour from the strip of fat on the outside of the porterhouse. I recommend eating the T-bone rare to medium-rare, though it can be tricky to cook evenly due to the bone in the middle.

Once you’ve decided which cut of steak you will be eating, you need to work out how big a piece of meat you want. A normal-sized steak is generally around 300g for a good-sized meal, however it could range anywhere from 150g up to 1kg and even more! The size of your steak will become important later when you want to cook it to a particular doneness. For example, two different rump steaks could quite easily weigh the same amount, yet be completely different shapes, sometimes they can be wide and flat, and sometimes short and thick, depending on what part of the rump the steak was cut from. Choosing the size of your steak and the shape go hand-in-hand, it’s best to have a thicker steak for a rare or medium-rare steak, and when you want a medium-well or above thinner is better. This is so it doesn’t take a long time for you to cook, and you can still have a juicy steak without burning the outside.

Now let’s just get away from the steak for a minute and think about what you’re actually going to cook it on. Ideally you should have a chargrill, one that sits on an angle, and has enough space underneath the flame to have a tray that you can put a small piece of wood on. What I personally prefer is mesquite wood, which comes from the USA, and the best thing to do is to soak it in water for a couple of hours before cooking. This will help the wood give off its smoky flavour rather than just burn away, and it will also last longer, usually for at least a couple of hours.

I mentioned earlier that if possible your grill should be built on an angle, sloping up towards the back. As you know, heat rises, so naturally you should find the hottest part of your grill at the back, and get slightly cooler closer to the front. Most grills and hotplates in general will have certain “hotspots” that you will need to find for each one to work out the bests places to position your food when cooking. Once you’ve used a particular grill a couple of times you should find it quite easy to figure out your favourite spots to cook on. The combination of knowing where your “hotspots” are and using an angled grill will make it easier to find the best position to cook your steak. If you don’t have a chargrill to use and you have a flatgrill or a hotplate instead, I would recommend not cooking your steak entirely through on the hotplate, particularly for medium or above, seal it on both sides then place your steak on a tray and finish it off in an oven. Otherwise all you will do is burn the outside and lose all the moisture and juiciness from your meat.

The other element to consider is how you would like your steak cooked. In general, a well-done steak should be placed at the back, a medium steak in the middle of the grill, and a rare steak at the front. Obviously, this leaves medium-rare between the front and middle, and the medium-well between the middle and the back. In some situations you will need to adjust this slightly depending on the size and shape of your steak, a big, thick rump may need to be pushed a bit further up the grill to cook properly, while a thin and flat porterhouse might be best kept a little closer to the front to avoid overcooking. Your steak positioning will come down largely to personal preference and a bit of practice and experience with your grill.

Now that you should have worked out where on the grill you will place your steak, you’re almost ready to start cooking! What you need to consider now is how you will season your steak. You may not want any seasoning, that’s fine, go right ahead and start cooking. If you wish to use salt and pepper, I would suggest waiting until one side of your steak has been sealed before sprinkling any on, as salt has the tendency to leech out some of the moisture from your meat. My preferred method of seasoning is to get a really good steak seasoning spice and generously cover both sides before placing your steak on the grill. When you do place your steak on the grill, if you are going to have a rump or a porterhouse, make sure you place the strip of fat at the top, so as it cooks the fat will melt and drip through the steak, adding extra flavour to your meat.

The process of actually cooking your steak is quite simple, but there are a few key things you need to know to get the best result. Firstly, the advantage of using the chargrill means you can have nice cross-markings on your steak when it’s finished, which looks fantastic for presentation. To achieve this, your steak will need to be turned three times, the first time straight over itself, then on the second turn spin it around 90 degrees so the lines from the grill will cross over each other and make little brown squares all over the steak, and then the third and final turn will be straight over itself again. When you’re finished the steak should have cross-markings on both sides, and you can choose whichever side looks best to serve facing up.

What you should find if you have got the grill positioning right for your preferred doneness, 3-4 minutes in between each turn should have your steak turn out just the way you like it! (If you are cooking your steak bleu, you only need to cook it for 3 minutes on each side in total, just enough to seal each side basically).

This is just a guide to work by only, as each grill will produce slightly different results, but definitely the most important stage of cooking your steak is knowing when it is at the exact doneness you would like. This can sometimes be a little tricky, but there are a couple of methods for testing your steak without needing to cut into it. The best method to use when you’re just starting to learn would be what I call the “thumb test”. Hold your left hand out open and relaxed, and press the flesh of your left thumb with your right index finger. It should feel quite soft, and this is how a rare steak should feel when you press it with your finger.

Now lightly touch your left thumb to your left index finger, and press the flesh of your thumb with your right index finger. This is how a medium-rare steak should feel when it’s ready. Next, lightly touch your left thumb to your left middle finger, and pressing the flesh of your left thumb will feel like a medium steak when it’s ready. Touching your left thumb to your left ring finger will make the flesh of your left thumb feel like a medium-well steak, and touching the left thumb to your left little finger will make the flesh of your thumb feel like a well-done steak. Try this out as a guide to get you started, and as with all things, practice and experience will help you hone your ability and instincts to know just when your steak is cooked to perfection! And just as importantly, make sure you get feedback from every person that you cook a steak for, this will make your progress go much faster. As they say, “feedback is the breakfast of champions!”

Another method to use, which can be a little bit sneaky, is if you can see into the middle of the steak at the edges to see what colour the middle looks like. This works really well for a scotch fillet, as you can gently pull away part of the meat right where the C-shaped piece of fat is without damaging your steak, and see if the inside is red, pink or grey.

Now I will explain to you each doneness, so you can work out how you would like to cook it and so you know what to look for when it is finished.

I will start with bleu, which is basically just sealed, is still very red in the middle, quite mushy to the touch, and will feel a little cool inside, only slightly warmed.

Rare is red in the middle from edge to edge, a little mushy, and will just feel warm inside. Medium-rare is red in the middle and pink at the edges, and will feel warm inside. Medium is pink in the middle from edge to edge, feels tender to the touch, and will be warm to hot inside. Medium-well still has a quarter in the middle that is pink, and will be grey at the edges, feels quite firm and is hot inside. If you plan to cook your steak medium-well or above, I would suggest you could speed up the cooking time by using a steak weight to place on top of your steak. It should be shiny silver and kept clean, and what will happen is the heat coming up from the flames below will be reflected down on to the top of the steak so it cooks on both sides. Make sure if you use a steak weight that you only place it on your steak after sealing one side so there is no chance of cross-contamination. Well-done steaks are grey throughout, no pink at all, quite firm, although can still be juicy, and is very hot inside. Very well-done steaks are grey throughout with no pink at all, very firm, very hot, and no juices whatsoever. You can also get your steak cooked Pittsburgh, which basically means charring the outside so it is burnt while the inside doesn’t need to be completely cooked. For example, if you want to have your steak Pittsburgh-Rare, you could char the outside, and the inside would be red in the middle from edge to edge. To do this you will need some oil or butter, I personally use lemon butter just for the flavouring, and drizzle some over the steak until it drips onto the flames underneath. Your goal here is to build the flames up so they are licking at the steak and will cook the outside much faster than the inside.

CAUTION! Be very mindful of how much butter you use, make sure you have fire safety equipment, and if necessary that you have adult supervision. Do not do this if you do not feel comfortable working with large flames, it can be very dangerous if something nearby catches fire, so please be very careful if this is how you would like to have your steak cooked.

Everybody has different preferences when it comes to their beef, but I would urge you to try each different way so you can work out for yourself what’s best for you. Many people fear the sight of blood coming out of their steak, if you can work up the courage to try something new for yourself, who know, you might find you really like it! I personally eat my steaks medium-rare, and would like to take this opportunity to mention that once your steak starts getting to medium-well and above, you really lose a lot of the nutritional benefits of eating beef, so I would recommend not cooking your steak any more than medium, but obviously that is a choice that is entirely up to you.

Now all that’s left to do is to serve up your perfectly cooked steak, there are many choices of sides and sauces, far too many to list here. I always love it with a creamy mashed potato and seasonal steamed vegetables, and my favourite sauce is mushroom sauce. If you have the time the best sauce is made using beef bones, cooked off with a little tomato paste, then make a stock by boiling the bones in water with some celery, carrots, onion, leeks, bay leaves and peppercorns. Simmer it for a couple of hours until it reduces about three-quarters, and then remove the bones and vegetables. Add some red wine and port, and reduce it down to about half of where it is now, until it starts to thicken with a nice consistency. From here you can add some sliced mushrooms, or peppercorns if you prefer, and even add a little cream if you like as well. This is very time consuming to make the jus (rich beef gravy), but if you can do it you will find it well worthwhile. One other little tip I have for you is to brush a small amount of lemon butter over your steak before saucing it, this will keep your steak very juicy and tender.

I hope you enjoy cooking and eating many steaks in the future, and make sure you go out and impress your friends with your newfound cooking skills!

Barbecue Smoker Recipe Man asked:


Outdoor cooking on the barbecue and smoker is now becoming a serious leisure pastime. Certainly in England where the weather is not altogether reliable, the advent of wonderful contraptions such as umbrellas and patio heaters has made outdoor cooking an extremely pleasurable recreation. In fact so much so that you’ll see people lighting the barbecue in all weathers – a funny lot those English!

Speaking as one of that “funny lot”, an extremely enthusiastic fan of outdoor cooking and now a creator and purveyor of outdoor bbq recipes and free smoker recipes I thought is was I did some research into the subject of my chosen fuel of fun.

What concerns me is that I’m thoroughly enjoying myself lighting fires, grilling fish and steaks and washing it all down with a glass or two of the falling down water and yet I must be damaging the environment, mustn’t I? Charcoal comes from wood, so with all these barbecues there must be serious deforestation going on followed by greater transport costs to ship it from further afield and less trees to absorb the carbon dioxide greenhouse gas.

So in the spirit of my own education and learning I wanted to find out about how charcoal is made and as a result I’ve found out about the process of coppicing.

Coppicing is the cutting of a tree or shrub to ground level. Doing this stimulates the tree to sprout a number of new shoots and they grow very vigorously. Coppicing could be described as similar to pruning except that with coppicing all the wood is removed and not just a few branches. By cutting the tree or shrub to the ground, all dead, diseased and old wood gets removed and that can be put to good use. The tree now free of disease is able to grow as fast as possible and this makes for a thicker plant that is also better for wildlife.

Coppicing is carried out in cycles from one year to many years depending on the species of tree and what the wood is going to be used for. This means that a variety of coppicing activity will be taking place in a wood thereby ensuring the continuation of the ecology and an ongoing supply of wood.

Coppiced trees can survive for many centuries and perhaps one of the most astonishing facts about the English countryside is that very often the oldest trees are those that have been cut down the most! Add to this the fact that because it’s sustainable there aren’t truckloads of charcoal pounding the roads, it really is a local industry.

So now I can write my free smoker recipes for your enjoyment safe in the knowledge that outdoor cooking on the charcoal BBQ grill can remain my chosen method of relaxation and recreation.

Please note that this article is not a statement of scientific fact; it’s merely a way of absolving me of guilt at lighting a fire. Of course we need to be careful whenever the earth’s natural resources are consumed and I work on the principle that the cooking process itself is no more or less environmentally unfriendly that turning on the stove or the oven. Of course I maybe wrong but at least I feel happier knowing that I’m not contributing to serious deforestation.

Not all charcoal is produced the way I have described above so please be careful when buying charcoal to check that it does indeed come from a sustainable source.

Anmol Taneja asked:


Family Dinners are a beneficial way to increase the overall commitment of each family member to the other. In a world of two income families that translates into both parents having to work outside the home and the kids are at daycare or home alone. If both parents get off work after 5pm, getting dinner on the table any earlier that 6:30 is a dream or the night the family eats takeout while seated at the dinner table. In a world that moves this fast, kitchen gadgets make getting dinner on the table that much easier.

Pampered Chef is a kitchen company that strives to create products and recipes for the family that promote and facilitate the family meal every night of the week. Pampered Chef focuses their recipes and kitchen gadgets on the idea that every family should have dinner together every night. Many of their items are job focused kitchen gadgets that help the family chef get dinner on the table fast.

Micro-Cooker, An Innovative Kitchen Gadget That Gets Dinner To The Table Fast

An innovative product that they introduced a few years ago is the Micro-Cooker. This specially designed micro-cooker comes in a small and large size. The 2-quart size is ideal for all microwave ovens and provides a quick easy method to get dinner on the table fast. The Micro-Cooker is a kitchen gadgets that is designed to rapidly cook meat, vegetables, melt chocolate or butter. It is a very quick and easy way to create a side dish or main course in a matter of just a few minutes. The dual handles and pouring spouts make it easy for left or right-handed chefs to use. The micro-cooker is dishwasher safe when placed on the top rack and it comes with a one-year guarantee.

ravi.dec2008 asked:


Globalization and modernization had forced the human beings to live their life in rampage. Nowadays, such a situation has arrived that people has become oblivious and unable to fulfill their own requirement. Energy is needed for sustenance of life and it is biological need of the body. Energy is produced from combustion of food. That is the ultimate approach and beginning of every endorsement of work is food. For more details simply visits www.july4-recipes.com. Release of energy is evolving from food that has to be prepared time to time. Evidently, that means cooking of food is essential for every person to spend the life leisurely and relevantly.

Cooking is the unavoidable necessity of every human; it is not only a need but also a hobby, an interest, an art and priority of every household activity. The need of cooking is indictable and inexorable. So, people who don’t know cooking, they are tolerating problems. But now there is no need to worry. Cooking DVDs are the solution of this unprecedented problem which is required to be confronted. This online facility provided by various DVDs companies is very useful and helpful. Cooking DVD is easiest way to learn cooking for every individual. Cooking DVDs are easily available, affordable and act as an escalator for your knowledge about cooking. Other than English, cooking DVDs are available online in different languages also. Cooking DVDs are the simplest technique to learn cooking without combating and disturbing others. Users can get cooking DVDs very easily without high commitment of money. Now, cooking DVDs is one of the inescapable needs that facilitate delicious recipes instantly. Bring the modern, improved and informative cooking DVDs in your home and take the advantages accordingly. The good point of cooking DVDs is that they represent their items sequentially and in step by step procedure which proves to be advantageous for beholders. Cooking DVDs only advances your way of serving without any disadvantages. You can know a lot of dishes by seeking cooking DVDs in your home. Bring the cooking DVDs and start your self prepared restaurants.

In cooking DVDs, you will get every type of recipes from vegetarian to non- vegetarian dishes. For more details simply visits www.apples-recipes.com. Apart from cooking DVDs you can also find cookbooks online to try out. But cooking books are not that much understandable as cooking DVDs. In cooking DVDs you can here and also see when and what ingredients are put upped in the dishes while cooking. So, you can pull up a chair and know how to cook anything with the best cooking DVD techniques. Cooking video contains many topics and lessons of cooking. For beginners, cooking DVDs are the very best option available to learn cooking without anybodies help. Such cooking DVDs contain recipes right from the great chefs

Alexis Gibrault asked:


As the light Spring months descend upon us and the grills start coming out in earnest to nearly every backyard and deck, the age old question resurfaces of which is better: gas grills or charcoal grills, and why? What it really comes down to is a few key characteristics that each offers the consumer. What your individual priorities are such as cost, taste, energy consumption, etc in a grill determines which type of grill would be best suited to you. In this article, we’ll discuss some of the most important aspects of gas and charcoal grills below to help you find your way to the right type of grill.

Convenience

Many people opt for a grill depending on the convenience attached to it. Is it easy to turn on? Does it take awhile to cook? In terms of how convenient it is to cook, gas grills win out. With the gas grill, you turn on the gas knobs, push the igniter button, and presto: the cooking can begin within about ten minutes. With a charcoal grill; however, though it is fairly simple to light the charcoal briquettes, it does take on average about 30 minutes to get to a medium grilling heat. So, depending on your lifestyle and how often you use your grill, you may have the time or may not.

Maintenance

Maintaining your grill, as is the necessary of all your worldly possessions, is also a factor to consider, when deciding upon a gas or charcoal grill. Hands down, the gas grill is easier to clean up..Many people just let the previous meats, veggies, fish burn off before grilling again, and perform once in awhile washing. With charcoal grills, however, the mess is more pronounced, and typically requires cleaning maintenance much more often than a gas grill.

Taste

Now when it comes to taste, this is where the playing field levels a bit; as many people report that fish, steaks, burgers, and everything else they choose to grill taste much more smoky and flavorful on a charcoal grill as opposed to the gas grill. This would make sense as your food is burning directly above the charcoal briquettes, and therefore take on the rich smoky flavor of the bricks; whereas gas flame doesn’t offer any smoky char-taste unless you cook your food longer.

Fuel Economy

When it comes to the fuel economy of your grill, it’s also important to recognize the varying convenience of the fuel/grill choice. The gas grill operates on a propane gas tank that-depending on the frequency of your use-can last a whole summer without needing to be replaced with another. Charcoal briquettes, on the other hand, take no time at all to use; so you must be prepared to make frequent store visits for bags of charcoal, if you are an avid griller. In the course of a summer, a gas grill propane tank will last you longer in relative comparison to the trips you would have to make to replace your charcoal briquettes; making the charcoal fuel economy more expensive.

Price

When it comes to barbeque grills and pricing, the range is pretty wide. Typically, gas grills range from $150 to upwards of $1000. Charcoal grills, on the other hand, range from $50 to $450. So, again it comes down to how much you want to spend, and what conveniences-if any-you require in a grill.

Brian Hill asked:


Grills for All Budgets and Needs

Today’s outdoor chef has many different choices of grills. Manufactures have come up with designs and functionality to meet the needs and expectation of every outdoor griller. Prices range from $30 to $1,000 or more. In general, charcoal grills are less expensive than gas units. Let’s start from simple and inexpensive and move our way up to fancy, near-gourmet-kitchen setups that allow you to impress your guests with your grill and your food.

In general, grills with a larger cooking surface are more expensive, so you need to think about how large a group you typically cook for. If you have parties with 20 or more guests, you may want to opt for the largest grill you can get. Features like warming racks, side burners and even ovens are now available on outdoor grills, making the griller’s job much easier, but also making the cost of the grilling unit higher.

Portable Grills

Weber Smokey Joe® Silver Charcoal Grill Around $30

This is the mini, go anywhere version of the classic Weber kettle grill. Small enough be easily portable to any outdoor event, the grill is also useful for those with smaller patios or backyards. The 14.5 in. grill width limits how much food can be cooked at once, but for those familiar with cooking with Weber kettles, it requires no learning curve and is a great value.

Aussie Pre-assembled & Completely Portable Charcoal Grill Around $50

This popular manufacturer of charcoal grills has come up with a versatile design for use in on camping trips, tailgating, picknicking-the griller on the go. No assembly is required. The grill’s legs are designed to fold and the hood and bowl lock for easy transport and storage. They’ve even thought of including a hook on the grill so that it can hang on the wall when not in use. The cooking grid is in a criss-cross design to prevent smaller food from falling into the charcoal. The manufacturer also says the grill is especially designed with adjustable hood and bowl vents to allow for maximum control of air flow.

Simple, Easy-to-Use and Cost Effective Grills

Weber 22.5 In. One-Touch® Silver Charcoal Grill – Black Less than $100

This is the familiar classic kettle that many of us grew up using. The innovation in this reasonably priced unit is their exclusive One-Touch cleaning system made of alumnized steel.

Char-Broil 26,500 BTU 2 Burner Gas Grill Around $100

This inexpensive gas grill has an impressive 410 total square inches of cooking surface, and an electronic ignition system for easy lighting. The grill also features two metal side shelves that can be used as prep tables or holding areas for prepared food.

Char-Griller Super Pro Charcoal Grill/Smoker Less than $150

This unit is great for outdoor chefs who want to learn how to prepare smoked foods as well as grilled foods, but do not want to buy a dedicated meat smoker. Features of this unit include an adjustable grate and dampers, 3 level adjustable cast iron grates for even heating, an easy-dump as pan for simple clean-up and a wire storage rack. It also boasts a total cooking surface of 800 sq. ft.

Brinkmann Stainless Steel 4 Burner Grill Less than $200

This unit has 48,000 BTU’s and over 660 square inches of total cooking space. It has two large side tables to provide all the workspace you will need. Another great feature of this reasonably priced grill is a warming rack that allows you to keep foods heated while others finish on the grill. They also say their “integrated ignition” allows for a quick start each time.

These are just a few recommendations of inexpensive barbeque grills available.

Abhishek Agarwal asked:


Most people who are into cooking for the first time prefer taking up French cuisine. Many who plan to take up cooking would like to learn how to make great dishes from French recipes or learn how to make all those delicious pastries and cakes that the French as so famous for.

It is quite common to find many New York residents who are quite interested in learning how to cook French recipes. This is one main reason why you can find many cooking programs being offered all over the United States. In recent times the emergence of a French cooking school amateur in New York speaks volumes about the number of people who are ready to learn French cooking. It is possible for anyone to learn about the various French cooking recipes easily over the internet but it is only when one attends formal classes in a French cooking school amateur in New York that one can learn how to prepare the recipes directly from an expert and seasoned cook at French cuisine. Attending a formal cooking class provides you the opportunity to interact with your teacher and other students while this is certainly not possible when done over the internet. Here you will get a live demonstration on how to prepare and cook the various recipes along with lots of tips and ideas. The teacher is available on hand to make corrections in your recipe while it is being cooked by you under their expert guidance.

A French cooking expert , along with other expert cooks are the ones who teach eager students who want to learn how to cook French recipes in this French Cooking School in New York. These people are more than happy to share their knowledge in French cooking with other students. These teachers are people who have had years of experience in French cuisine.

Many students who pan to join classes in a French cooking school amateur in New York do so because they aspire to become expert French cooks. Here they are able to gain lots of knowledge so that they can gain experience which would ensure that they are guaranteed a job as a cook in any one of the fancy French restaurants or the five star hotels. There are also older people who take up French cooking classes in a French cooking school amateur in New York just because they want to learn how to cook the many delectable French recipes. Here they are given opportunities to cook the various recipes under the expert guidance of master cooks.

These French cooking schools offer programs which help the students to specialize in French Cuisine. Students can gather many useful information and tips which they cannot pick up over the internet or from books. This is because many of the teachers in his school here are expert cooks themselves who have devoted many years in this style of cooking. These teachers have expert knowledge in all the recipes and know thoroughly well how to turn out a recipe just right. Here students are also taught not only to turn out tasty dishes but also how to present them attractively. This is very important as most people are tempted to eat any food because of the attractive way in which it is presented.

Jack Sands asked:


Summertime is rapidly approaching. This means it is time to begin preparing meals without heating the house whenever possible. If you haven’t considered the value of cooking on the grill in the past, perhaps now is a great time to adjust your way of thinking.

Cooking on the grill is a great way to keep the heat of cooking outside your home as well as to bring the family together for the entire cooking process. Moms read: this is a great way to get dad to help out with meal preparation. While this is said somewhat in jest, there is some truth to the fact that men are much more inclined to slave away over a hot grill than a hot stove. More importantly, most of the mess of cooking on the grill remains outside your kitchen. I don’t know about you, but that is a huge bonus for me, when it comes to cooking.

Cooking on the grill is also a great way to get the kids involved in the meal preparation and clean up process. We like to use disposable plates when grill cooking and keep the dining al fresco. If you are hoping for instant family unity over the picnic table you might want to think again but there isn’t anything quite like it when it comes to not worrying about spills or dropped food as you can rest fairly certain that the animals will take care of anything that gets left behind.

Even small children can help when cooking on the grill by bringing utensils to the grill, holding plates, and ’setting’ the picnic table for your dining experience. If you intend to do a good deal of cooking on the grill you may want to invest in some portable and ‘kid friendly’ containers for things such as condiments, napkins, plastic ware, and tablecloth holders. Be sure to find containers that can handle a decent gust of wind without flying off too. These may be a little heavier for your little ones to hold but they won’t be nearly as difficult to chase when blowing across the lawn.

Cooking on the grill is a great way to enjoy nature after a long day of work. Be careful that you do not reserve this as a weekend event as you will find you miss out on some of the relaxing qualities it can bring to your midweek slump. One thing that can definitely be said about grill cooking is that the selections are almost as limitless as they are when cooking on the stove. You must use your imagination for maximum effect though very few meats and vegetables are truly off limits when it comes to cooking on the grill.

In addition to cooking meats on the grill, it is important to keep in mind that you can also cook all kinds of fresh fruit and vegetables on the grill as well. You should also keep in mind the awesome side dishes that go great with grilled foods such as baked beans, potato salad, and nice cool deserts and pies.

Cooking on the grill is a great way to bring family and friends together. The next time you plan to have a get together why not make it a night of cooking on the grill? You can have the best of all worlds with no muss, no fuss clean up and great food with good friends. Cooking on the grill is certainly a great way to get the neighbors out and about. There’s nothing on earth that can quite compare to the aroma of meat, fruit, and vegetables grilling over hot charcoal. If you don’t remember and your mouth isn’t watering just reading about, it’s been far too long since your last barbecue experience.

The most important thing to remember about cooking on the grill is that it should be an experience rather than a chore. Most of us truly enjoy the thought of having a good dinner under the sun or stars (whichever applies in your case). If you haven’t tried this in a while, it’s time to dust off the grill and refresh your memory and your taste buds.

David Fishman asked:


In today’s market you have many grill choices to choose from, some grills are sophisticated high tech, use charcoal or use natural gas grills and call these grills have the equivalent power of kitchen oven or stovetop. All grills come in many different sizes, metals and shapes and they have many different features these features depends on the manufacture. Of course the primary purpose of the gas grill is for outdoor cooking, which would normally be meat or poultry and some people cook vegetables. The dimensions and weight of the barbecue grill need to be taken into account because you need the ability to adjust the grill when needed, plus you should check to see what type of cooking features the grill has.

Natural gas grills are all the craze in outdoor cooking, and it isn’t surprising why. When looking for the best grill for yourself make sure you shop around and all the stores and online to find the best price and the best quality grill, there are many out there so do your research. If you like hamburgers, steaks or hotdogs on the grill then an outdoor grill is perfect item to purchase.

There are many debates about the which is better charcoal or grill, many like the taste of the charcoal grill because it gives the food a distinct taste while the gas grill is clean burning and does not add additional taste to the food. During the winter months all you can think about is cooking on the grill and eating a great big juicy steak and having fun with all your friends while everyone congregates around the barbeque grill. The gas grill is ideal for cooks with little or no experience with outdoor cooking.

A gas grill can be quite easy to maintain and the grill will make many occasions fun and festive. By cooking meats, fish and many other foods on the grill this leads many peoples spirits to be raised just because they are cooking on grill. Many times the entire party revolves around grill cooking, get a grill that is reliable and each time you use it you will not be sorry.

Many barbecue purists argue that charcoal gives the food a better taste than the gas grills. There have been many tests conducted during the life of the barbecue, which is better the charcoal

When choosing a grill the type of features and the styles are up to you style of taste, but when choosing the grill make sure it is the correct size and the right shape, because where you place the grill is very important because of the smoke that it lets off. When shopping for a grill you need to look at certain criteria like the right BTU and the correct size and style, you will need to make sure that the grill fits your needs, this can be challenging. There are many features that vary like the number of burners, the amount of space needed for cooking the size of the grill, the other thing to look for is the materials used to build the grill.