[bblost]

Here you go. Something I cooked yesterday.


Spatchcock Chicken


You need:

A whole chicken with skin.
Lots of coriander, garlic and green chilies chopped up really fine.
Any oil preferably olive or sesame.
Salt.
After you clean the bird, generously salt it and keep it in the freezer. About 2-3 hours before you plan to grill it, remove and let it thaw. Wash out the excess salt. The meat would have absorbed enough salt and do not add anymore at any time in the cooking process.

To spatchcock the bird, use kitchen shears or a sharp knife and remove the back bone all the way to the neck. Lay it down on a flat board with breast facing up. No using your palm, press down till the wish bone breaks.

Mix the oil with the finely chopped coriander, garlic and green chilies. Using your fingers stuff in as much of these into the gap between the skin and meat of the bird.

The advantage of spatchcocking the bird is that it protects the breasts while allowing the legs to attain higher temperatures.

Grill at 240C for about 45-55 mins. The time depends on the size of the bird. When the legs reach 75C and the breasts hover around 65C, the chicken is ready. You may want to blast it with maximum heat with only top setting for about 4-5 mins.

Let it rest for at least 10 mins before you start carving it up.

[Sheel]

^ Thanks

Need a recipe to cook sauteed vegetables at home. Ingredients shouldn't be fancy.

[bblost]

Originally Posted by Sheel

^ Thanks

Need a recipe to cook sauteed vegetables at home. Ingredients shouldn't be fancy.

How about this:
Honey Sesame Cabbage


You need:

A full head of cabbage. Cut into long strips.
2 tablespoons of honey
2 tablespoons of sesame oil or extra virgin olive oil.
pepper and salt.
Super simple as always.

Just roast the cabbage on a hot grill pan. You can also broil it in the oven. But a stovetop is easier. You may need to do the cabbage in batches. As cabbage shrinks when its cooked you can add them all back into the pan before the final step.

Whisk together honey and oil. Drizzle this over the cabbage. Season with salt and pepper. Its a simple and nice dish that goes great with any grilled protein.

[Sheel]

Originally Posted by bblost

How about this:
Honey Sesame Cabbage

Thanks That is good and will go well with grilled chicken/fish.

How does this appear?

Please share soup recipes as well, which would be simple to cook and should feel like it is from Ching's or Yo China but should be healthy.

[carboy]

Choley, when made is nice with oily & moist gravy. But when I put it in the fridge and take it out after a few hours - it's much drier than before - even after thawing or defrosting in the microwave. Is there anything which can be done to get it like before?

[Chetan_Rao]

Originally Posted by carboy

Choley, when made is nice with oily & moist gravy. But when I put it in the fridge and take it out after a few hours - it's much drier than before - even after thawing or defrosting in the microwave. Is there anything which can be done to get it like before?

May not work exactly the same, but something I do often to freshen up cold rice in my lunch box.

Add/sprinkle a bit of hot water to moisten, then microwave for a minute or two depending on quantity, take it out, close the lid, give a good shake and set aside for a few mins.

End result, cold boxed rice is now soft, moist, steamy rice.

P.S. The trick works for pretty much anything, even thick gravies and sauteed veggies. Heating without added moisture dries out stuff which I don't prefer, hence the water.

[carboy]

Originally Posted by Chetan_Rao

Add/sprinkle a bit of hot water to moisten, then microwave for a minute or two depending on quantity, take it out, close the lid, give a good shake and set aside for a few mins.

My problem is not caused by the microwave, it's caused by the refrigeration. Even after I remove from the fridge, if I don't microwave it but instead thaw by just keeping it out - I still face the same problem.

[avingodb]

Originally Posted by carboy

Choley

Using a lid or a clear foil when putting in fridge could help.

[Aroy]

Originally Posted by carboy

My problem is not caused by the microwave, it's caused by the refrigeration. Even after I remove from the fridge, if I don't microwave it but instead thaw by just keeping it out - I still face the same problem.

Refrigeration, does dry up food. Due to two reasons
1. Cold air has very low relative humidity, so liquids evaporate. You will notice a lot of fresh vegetables shriveling up when kept in a refrigerator.
2. Some curries thicken up with time, I have noticed this with meat curries and thick Dal.

To prevent first cause, keep Choley in a tightly sealed container.
For second case, just add a bit of water while reheating.

[fine69]

So I finally bought Weber's Smokey Joe Charcoal Grill and Weber's Rapidfire Chimney Starter.





Initially I thought BBQ was going to be a long and messy affair but I was able to light up wooden charcoal in 10-15 mins and 1.5 kg of 3 types of chicken was cooked and consumed by 4 people in less than 1 hour.

I'm happy with the purchase but there's one thing where I need help. See, I bought wood based charcoal which served the purpose well but it becomes a fire cracker for 5 mins when it starts burning first, pic below.



Wooden charcoal served me well except in 2 areas, the initial drama as you can see plus it wouldn't sustain very well whenever I wanted to cook it with the top closed.

This grill has side vents as well as vents on the top lid but in spite of that everytime I used to close the lid the red hot charcoal would start going out so I opted to cook on open grill only.

So what should I be buying next, is there a thing called stone based charcoal or is that coal only?

[hserus]

It is not healthy to cook using coal - so stick with wood charcoal. Break it up into smaller and evenly sized pieces so that you get a more even burn rate.

[fine69]

Originally Posted by hserus

It is not healthy to cook using coal - so stick with wood charcoal. Break it up into smaller and evenly sized pieces so that you get a more even burn rate.

Ok, will break them into smaller pieces next time. Is there merit in wetting the charcoal to avoid cracks & pops or will that aggravate the sparks even more? I mean any tips on preventing fireworks like you see in the above picture.

Another thing, if a charcoal hasn't burnt much and hasn't even turned to ash does that mean its still usable?

[hserus]

Originally Posted by fine69

Ok, will break them into smaller pieces next time. Is there merit in wetting the charcoal to avoid cracks & pops or will that aggravate the sparks even more? I mean any tips on preventing fireworks like you see in the above picture.

Another thing, if a charcoal hasn't burnt much and hasn't even turned to ash does that mean its still usable?

That is because of pockets of methane gas trapped in the lumps. Breaking the lumps evenly and laying them properly on the grill disrupts these gas pockets besides helping facilitate an even burn.

Ensure that there is adequate air circulation. Pack it too tightly and unevenly and there won’t be much air despite the vents.

Use firestarters to provide initial heat high enough to produce an even and hot flame. E.g. - a pyramid of charcoal over some scraps of paper. Leave enough space for Air to circulate and use evenly sized pieces of coal.

https://girlsatthegrill.com/grill-talk/faqs/

[Aroy]

Originally Posted by fine69

Ok, will break them into smaller pieces next time. Is there merit in wetting the charcoal to avoid cracks & pops or will that aggravate the sparks even more? I mean any tips on preventing fireworks like you see in the above picture.

Another thing, if a charcoal hasn't burnt much and hasn't even turned to ash does that mean its still usable?

Till there is only ash left, there is life in charcoal.

Here is a tip from one of my acquaintances.
. Collect the unburnt pieces and sift them till all the ash has fallen off.
. Coarse grind the residue.
. Mix with a bit of oil; any old oil left after frying will do; to make a thick paste.
. Now spread some newspaper in the sun and place small flat balls of the paste to dry.
. Once fully dried you have charcoal that is easy to handle and light.

In fact many companies use a more sophisticated version of the above method to make "Charcoal Briquets" popular in west

[fine69]

Originally Posted by hserus

That is because of pockets of methane gas trapped in the lumps. Breaking the lumps evenly and laying them properly on the grill disrupts these gas pockets besides helping facilitate an even burn.

Originally Posted by Aroy

Till there is only ash left, there is life in charcoal.

Here is a tip from one of my acquaintances

Thanks guys!

I think one mistake I did was to put huge blocks of charcoal instead of smaller pieces. I remember the charcoal seller (who was a 7-8 year old boy) telling me that I should pick smaller pieces instead of huge blocks if I plan on using them at home for cooking, should've listened to him.